1. Social Psychology
The branch of psychology that studies how people think, feel, and behave in social situations

2. Two Main Areas of Study
Social Cognition--making sense of the social environment
Social influence--how behavior is affected by situation and other people

3. Physical Attractiveness
Implicit cultural message is “beautiful is good”
Attractive people are perceived as more intelligent, happier, and better adjusted
Really no difference between attractive and less attractive people having these characteristics
Attractive people are more likely to attribute other people’s approval of their accomplishments to looks rather than effort or talent.

4. Attribution
Process of inferring the causes of people’s behavior, including one’s own
The explanation given for a particular behavior

5. Attribution Bias Fundamental attribution error
Actor-observer discrepancy
Blaming the victim (just-world hypothesis)
Self-serving bias

6. Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency to blame the person and not focus on the situation.
Blaming the victim- the tendency to blame an innocent victim of misfortune for having caused the problem or for not taking steps to prevent it.

7. Fundamental Attribution Error
Just world hypothesis- the assumption the world is fair and therefore people get what they deserve and deserve what they get.
Actor-observer discrepancy- “I slipped on ice, you’re a klutz”
*We attribute our own behavior to the situation and others to them.

8. Fundamental Attribution Error
Self-serving bias- the tendency to attribute our own successful outcomes to internal causes and …
Unsuccessful outcomes to external causes.

9. Using Attitudes as Ways to “Justify” Injustice
Just-world bias
a tendency to believe that life is fair, e.g., it would seem horrible to think that you can be a really good person and bad things could happen to you anyway
Just-world bias leads to “blaming the victim”
we explain others’ misfortunes as being their fault:
e.g., he deserved to be mugged, what was he doing in that neighborhood anyway?

10. In Class Exercise Give Example
Fundamental Attribution Error (elevator)
Blaming the victim (they caused it)
Just world hypothesis (world is fair)
Actor-observer bias- (I slipped, you’re a klutz)
Self-serving bias- (success internal, failure external).

11. Attitudes What is an attitude?
predisposition to evaluate some people, groups, or issues in a particular way
can be negative or positive
Has three components
Cognitive—thoughts
Affective—feelings or emotions
Behavioral—your actions

12. Prejudice
A negative attitude toward people who belong to a specific social group

13. Prejudice
Prejudice affects all of us -- majority group members as well as minority group members.

14. Prejudice
Prejudice is dangerous, fostering negative consequences from lowered self-esteem to genocide.

15. Prejudice
Over the past 30 years, blatant discrimination has been reduced; however, prejudice still exists in subtle -- and sometimes blatant -- forms.

16. Prejudice Prejudice and Self-Esteem
Being a member of an oppressed group can lower a person’s self-esteem.

17. Prejudice A Progress Report
Real progress has been made for women and minorities in the last few decades.
However, it would be a mistake to think that prejudice is no longer a serious problem in the United States.

18. Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination
Prejudice: The Affective Component
Prejudice is a hostile or negative attitude toward a distinguishable group of people, based solely on their membership in that group.

19. Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination
Stereotypes: The Cognitive Component
A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members.

20. Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination
Discrimination: The Behavioral Component
Discrimination is an unjustified negative or harmful action towards a member of a group, simply because of his or her membership in that group.

21. Social Categories In-group—the social group to which we belong
In-group bias—tendency to make favorable attributions for members of our in-group
Out-group—the social group to which you do not belong
Out group homogeneity effect—tendency to see members of the out-group as more similar to each other

22. Social Influence
How behavior is influenced by the social environment and the presence of other people
Conformity
Obedience
Helping behaviors

23. Conformity
Adopting attitudes or behaviors of others because of pressure to do so; the pressure can be real or imagined
2 general reasons for conformity
Informational social influence—other people can provide useful and crucial information
Normative social influence—desire to be accepted as part of a group leads to that group having an influence

24. Asch’s Experiments on Conformity
All but 1 in group was confederate
Seating was rigged
Asked to rate which line matched a “standard” line
Confederates were instructed to pick the wrong line 12/18 times
Comparison lines
Standard lines 1 2 3
Discovering Psy 2e slides, Shulman

25. Asch’s Experiments on Conformity
Results
Asch found that 75% participants conformed to at least one wrong choice
subjects gave wrong answer (conformed) on 37% of the critical trials
Why did they conform to clearly wrong choices?
informational influence?
subjects reported having doubted their own perceptual abilities which led to their conformance – didn’t report seeing the lines the way the confederates had

26. When Do People Conform? Group size (5)
Difficult to be a minority of one
Cohesion- more bound together, more power it has over members
Status- high status more impact
No previous commitment!
©PhotoFest

27. Why Conform? People conform because they want to be liked (normative)
People conform because they want to be right. (informational)
© Ken Lambert/ The Washington Times Photo Agency

28. Who Conforms?
According to Kurt Lewin, every psychological event depends on the person and the environment
Asch’s study crosses cultures, except Zimbabwe which frowns on conformity
©Mark Peterson/SABA

29. Obedience
Obedience
compliance of person is due to perceived authority of asker
request is perceived as a command
Milgram interested in unquestioning obedience to orders
This photo of Stanley Milgram was scanned in from the Myers text, NOT on the CD

30. Stanley Milgram’s Studies
Basic study procedure
teacher and learner (learner always confederate)
watch learner being strapped into chair
learner expresses concern over his “heart condition”
Photo scanned in from Gray 3e fig 14.8, NOT on CD

31. Stanley Milgram’s Studies
Teacher goes to another room with experimenter
Shock generator panel – 15 to 450 volts, labels “slight shock” to “XXX”
Asked to give higher shocks for every mistake learner makes
If teacher protested, ‘the experiment requires that you continue”
Figure adapted from Hockenbury 12.4, was on CD

32. Stanley Milgram’s Studies
Learner protests more and more as shock increases
Experimenter continues to request obedience even if teacher balks
120
150
300
330
“Ugh! Hey this really hurts.”
“Ugh! Experimenter! That’s all.
Get me out of here. I told you
I had heart trouble. My heart’s
starting to bother me now.”
(agonized scream) “I absolutely
refuse to answer any more.
Get me out of here. You can’t hold
me here. Get me out.”
(intense & prolonged agonized
scream) “Let me out of here.
Let me out of here. My heart’s
bothering me. Let me out,
I tell you…”
This table was adapted from Hockenbury, Table 12.3

33. Obedience How many people would go to the highest shock level?
65% of the subjects went to the end, even those that protested
When asked to predict results professionals and college student predicted wrong!

34. Obedience
This figure is from the Myers text,

35. Explanations for Milgram’s Results
Abnormal group of subjects?
numerous replications with variety of groups shows no support
People in general are sadistic?
videotapes of Milgram’s subjects show extreme distress
Some quit at the 315volt level…

36. Explanations for Milgram’s Results
Obedience framework--subjects volunteered and accepted payment
Context--prestige and “advancement of science”
Experimenter self-assurance and acceptance of responsibility
Separation of learner and experimenter
New situation and no model of how to behave

37. Follow-Up Studies to Milgram
Original study
Different building
Teacher with learner
Put hand on shock
Orders by phone
This figure is adapted from the CD version of figure 12.5 in Hockenbury
Ordinary man orders
2 teachers rebel
Teacher chooses shock level
Percentage of subjects administering
the maximum shock (450 volts)

38. What Breeds Obedience? Emotional distance of the victim
Closeness and legitimacy of the authority
Institutional authority
The liberating effects of group influence
© Stanley Milgram, 1965, From the film Obedience, distributed by the Pennsylvania State University

39. Critiques of Milgram
Although 84% later said they were glad to have participated and fewer than 2% said they were sorry, there are still ethical issues
Do these experiments really help us understand real-world atrocities?

40. Why Don’t People Always Help Others in Need?
Latané studies
several scenarios designed to measure the help response found that
if you think you’re the only one that can hear or help, you are more likely to do so
if there are others around, you will diffuse the responsibility onto others
Kitty Genovese incident

41. Kitty Genovese incident
Led to research on altruism and prosocial behavior (Lantane and Darley)

42. Why Don’t People Always Help Others in Need?
Diffusion of responsibility
presence of others leads to decreased help response
we all think someone else will help, so we don’t
Bystander effect--the greater the number of people present, the less likely each person is to help

43. Factors that Increase Likelihood of Helping
Feel good do good effect
Feeling guilty
Seeing others willing to help
Perceiving person as deserving of help
Knowing how to help
Personalized relationship with person

44. Factors that Decrease Likelihood of Helping
Presence of other people
Being in a big city or small town
Vague or ambiguous situation
When personal costs or helping outweigh the benefits

45. Prosocial behavior--any behavior that helps another person regardless of underlying motive
Altruistic behavior--helping another person without expectation of personal reward or benefit

46. Would you help?
You are in a moderately crowded swimming pool and you see someone under water; close to the side of the pool, who has not moved for a minute or so.

47. Would you help?
You are driving down the road and see a very old woman struggle to change a flat tire on her car.

48. Would you help?
You see a child knock a younger and smaller child to the ground and then jump on and pound the younger and smaller child.

49. Would you help?
You are about to enter a 7-11 when you see someone holding a knife on the clerk.

50. Would you help?
As you walk through your neighborhood, you see an adult who has fallen off a bicycle and is bleeding. You do not know the person.

51. Why Do We Help? Gaining rewards, avoiding punishment
Social exchange- we are most likely to help someone who approval we desire
We weigh the cost and benefits of helping
Internal rewards
Guilt
mood
Feel good, do good
Rewards can also be external

52. Persuasion
Lets see how good you are at persuasion…

53. Class Exercise
1. Pedro is running for office. You want someone to put a huge sign that says, “Vote for Pedro” in their front yard. How?
You have a job as a used car salesman. You need to sell a 1992 Saturn for $3400. You meet a man who wants to spend $3000. How do you get him to agree?

54. Does Behavior Determine Attitudes?
The foot-in-the-door phenomenon- People are more likely to do big favor if you first get them to agree to a small favor…small sign
Low-ball technique- Get person to agree to price then add on $.
© Phil Zimbardo

55. Return the favor…
We feel obliged to return favors, even those we did not want in the first place
salesperson gives something to customer with idea that customer will feel compelled to give something back (buying the product)
even if person did not wish for favor in the first place

56. Defense against Persuasion Techniques
Sleep on it—don’t act on something right away
Play devil’s advocate—think of all the reasons you shouldn’t buy the product or comply with the request
Pay attention to your gut feelings—if you feel pressured, you probably are being pressured