Chapter 14 Social Psychology

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2 Social Cognition Social perception –judgement about the qualities of individuals –how we form impressions of others –how we gain self-knowledge from perception of others –how we present ourselves to others to influence their perception of us

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 3 Social Cognition Impression formation –primacy effect the enduring quality of initial impressions Social comparison –the process in which individuals evaluate their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and abilities in relation to others

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 4 Social Cognition Impression management –the process in which individuals strive to present themselves in a favorable light Self-monitoring –individuals’ attention to the impressions they make on others and the degree to which they fine-tune their performance accordingly

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 5 Social Cognition Attribution –attribution theory individuals are motivated to discover the underlying causes of behavior as part of their interest in making sense out of the behavior –fundamental attribution theory observers’ tendency to overestimate the importance of traits and underestimate the importance of situations

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 6 Social Cognition Attitudes –beliefs and opinions that can predispose individuals to behave in certain ways Cognitive dissonance –an individual’s motivation toward consistency and away from inconsistency Self-perception theory –making inferences about attitudes by perceiving behavior

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 7 Social Influence: Interpersonal influence Persuasion –The communicator (source) expertise credibility trustworthiness power, attractiveness, likableness, similarity –The Medium (channel)

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 8 Social Influence: Interpersonal influence Persuasion –The Message (communication) foot-in-the-door strategy door-in-the-face strategy –The Audience (target) Obedience –behavior that complies with the explicit demands of an individual in authority

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 9 Social Influence: Influence in Groups The nature of groups –norms rules that apply to the members of a group –roles rules and expectations that govern certain positions in a group

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 10 Social Influence: Influence in Groups Conformity –individuals’ adopting the attitudes or behavior of others because of real or imagined pressure from others to do so Groupthink –the motivation of group members to maintain harmony and unanimity in decision making

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 11

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 12 Social Influence: Influence in Groups Deindividuation –a state of reduced self-awareness, weakened self-restraints against impulsive actions, and apathy about negative social evaluation Cults –religious groups that isolate themselves from the outside world and practice severe lifestyles as part of their worship

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 13 Social Influence: Influence in Groups Leadership –Great person theory individuals with certain traits are best suited for leadership positions –situational theory of leadership the needs of a group change from time to time and a person who emerges as leader in one circumstance will not necessarily be the leader in another

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 14 Interpersonal Relationships Attraction –consensual validation our own attitudes and behavior are supported when someone else’s attitudes and behavior are similar to ours –matching hypothesis we choose someone who is close to our own level of attractiveness

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 15 Interpersonal Relationships Friendship –involves enjoyment, acceptance, trust, intimacy, respect, mutual assistance, understanding, and spontaneity Romantic love –strong components of sexuality and infatuation –often predominates in the early part of a love relationship

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 16 Interpersonal Relationships Companionate love –occurs when an individual desires to have the other person near and has a deep, caring affection for the person Triangular theory of love –love comes in three main forms: passion, intimacy, and commitment

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 17

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 18 Interpersonal Relationships Altruism –an unselfish interest in helping someone else Social exchange theory –individuals should benefit those who benefit them, or that, for a benefit received, an equivalent benefit should be returned at some point

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 19 Interpersonal Relationships Egoism –an attitude in which one does something beneficial for another person in order to ensure reciprocity –to present oneself as powerful, competent, or caring –to avoid social or self-censure for failing to live up to normative expectations

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 20 Interpersonal Relationships Bystander effect –individuals who observe an emergency help less when another observer is present than when they are a lone observer Diffusion of responsibility –the tendency to feel less responsible and to act less responsibly in the presence of others