1. CHAPTER 13: Social Influences Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

2. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influences Social Perception Social Influence Social Relations

3. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Making Attributions §Social Perception l The processes by which we come to know and evaluate other persons §Attribution Theory l A set of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior

4. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Kelleys Attribution Theory §For behaviors that are consistent, people make personal attributions when consensus and distinctiveness are low. §People will make stimulus attributions when consensus and distinctiveness are high.

5. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error l A tendency to overestimate the impact of personal causes of behavior and to overlook the role of situations

6. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error §A simulated quiz show gave questioners an advantage over contestants. §Observers and contestants still judged questioners as more knowledgeable.

7. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error: A Western Bias? §U.S. and Indian subjects described the causes of several behaviors. §Cultural differences were not seen in young children. §With age, Americans made more personal attributions §However, Indians made more situational attributions.

8. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Forming Impressions Mixed Evidence: Does it Extinguish or Reinforce First Impressions? §Participants were asked to evaluate a persons academic potential and had high or low expectations. §Half watched videotape of person taking achievement test. §Without viewing the tape, expectations influenced evaluations. §Viewing the videotape magnified these initial expectations.

9. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Forming Impressions Behavioral-Confirmation Process §We use our existing beliefs to interpret new information, which affects our behavior. §This may create false support for our biases.

10. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Attraction §Two important predictors of attraction are similarity and physical attractiveness. §Mere-Exposure Effect l The attraction to a stimulus that results from increased exposure to it

11. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Perception Attraction Media Influences on the Attractiveness Stereotype §Participants watched film clips with strong or weak link between beauty and goodness. §Later they judged graduate school applications which included photo. §Those exposed to the stereotype favored the attractive applicants more.

12. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Social Influence as Automatic The Chameleon Effect §Participants worked with a partner. §Hidden cameras recorded behavior. §Participants mimicked their partner without realizing it.

13. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Conformity A Classic Case of Suggestibility §Subjects in dark room were shown a light and while alone estimated the distance the light moved. §In three group sessions, they again made distance estimations. §Subjects estimates converged on a common value thus establishing a group norm.

14. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Conformity Line-Judgment Task Used in Aschs Study §Subjects in a group were asked which comparison line is the same length as the standard line. §Confederates in the group picked the wrong line. §Subjects went along with the wrong answer on 37% of trials.

15. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Conformity §Informational Influence l Conformity motivated by the belief that others are correct l Seen in Sherifs study §Normative Influence l Conformity motivated by a fear of social rejection l Seen in Aschs study

16. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Private and Public Conformity §Under conditions of low motivation, the difficulty of the task did not influence conformity. §However, when motivated, people conform more when the task is difficult and less when it is easy.

17. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Group Size and Conformity §Conformity increases with group size up to a point. §Fifteen people had no more impact on conformity than did four people.

18. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Obedience to Authority §In Milgrams studies of obedience, 65% of participants fully obeyed the experimenter and delivered 450 volts of electric shock. §Three factors influence obedience. l The authority l The victim l The situation

19. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change §Persuasive Communications Involve: l The Source Credibility Likability l The Message Discrepancy Emotional appeal l The Audience Motivation Cognitive ability

20. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change Two Routes to Persuasion §If the central route is taken, people are influenced by strong arguments and evidence. §If the peripheral route is used, people are influenced by superficial cues (e.g., the attractiveness of the source).

21. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change Cognitive Dissonance Study §Behavior that conflicts with attitudes can arouse cognitive dissonance. §Dissonance creates tension, which people are motivated to reduce. §Dissonance can be decreased by changing the attitude that conflicts with behavior. l Group paid $1 to lie about the boring task said they liked it more.

22. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Group Processes Social Facilitation: The tendency for the presence of others to enhance performance on simple tasks and impair performance on complex tasks.

23. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Group Processes Social Loafing l People tend to exert less effort in group tasks for which individuals contributions are pooled. l The more people in the group, the more each individuals effort decreases.

24. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Group Processes Ways to Decrease Social Loafing §Separate each individuals performance from that of the groups effort. §Make each individuals contribution necessary for overall group success. §Reward individual as well as group. §Increase cohesiveness of group. §Make tasks personally meaningful.

25. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Influence Groupthink l A group decision-making style by which group members convince themselves that they are correct §A group may over-emphasize unity when members suppress their own doubts and open dissent is stifled by other group members. §This can lead to lower-quality decisions made by the group.

26. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Aggression l Behavior intended to inflict harm on another person who is motivated to avoid it l Aggression is influenced by: Biology (e.g., testosterone) Aversive stimulation (e.g., pain) Situational Cues (e.g., weapons) Media violence

27. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Aggression The Link Between Heat and Violence

28. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Aggression §Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis l The theory that frustration causes aggression §Deindividuation l A loss of individuality, often experienced in a group, that results in a breakdown of internal restraints against deviant behavior

29. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Altruism l Helping behavior that is motivated primarily by a desire to benefit others, not oneself §Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis l The theory that an empathic response to a person in need produces altruistic helping

30. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Altruism Two Pathways to Helping §People have two reactions to someone in need: l Personal distress (guilt, anxiety, and discomfort) l Empathy (sympathy and compassion for the person) §Both selfish and altruistic motives can lead to helping

31. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations The Bystander Effect l The finding that the presence of others inhibits helping in an emergency §Diffusion of Responsibility l A tendency for bystanders to assume that someone else will help

32. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations A Model of Bystander Intervention

33. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Social Relations Bystander Intervention Cyberhelping § Individuals in an online chat room exhibited the bystander effect. § However,when the individuals name was identified, the presence of others did not decrease helping as measured by the time it took people to help.