Social Psychology

What Is Social Psychology? The scientific study of the ways in which the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of an individual are influenced by the real or imagined behavior of others. Main areas Social cognition Attitudes Social influence Social action

SOCIAL COGNITION Knowledge and understanding concerning the social world and the people in it (including oneself) Building blocks Impression formation Attribution Interpersonal attraction

SOCIAL COGNITION continued…….. Impression Formation Schema A set of beliefs or expectations about something that is based on past experience Primacy effect The fact that early information about someone weighs more heavily than later information in influencing one’s impression of that person. Self-fulfilling prophecies The process in which a person’s expectation about another elicits behavior from the second person that confirms the expectation. Pygmalion effect Stereotypes A special type of schema about members of a social category

SOCIAL COGNITION continued…….. Attribution Theory The theory that addresses the question of how people make judgments about the causes of behavior. Behavior is typically explained as being the result of either internal or external factors. Biases in Attributions Fundamental attribution error/actor-observer bias The tendency of people to overemphasize internal causes for other people’s failures and overemphasize external causes for other people’s successes. Defensive attribution / self-serving bias The tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors. Attribution across cultures

SOCIAL COGNITION continued…….. Interpersonal Attraction Major determinants Proximity Physical attractiveness Similarity Exchange Equity Intimacy Self-disclosure

ATTITUDES A relatively stable organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavior tendencies directed toward something or someone—the attitude object. Components of an Attitude Evaluative beliefs Feelings Behavioral tendencies Attitude & behavior Self-Monitoring The tendency for one to observe a situation for cues about how to react. Acquiring Attitudes

Attitude continued…………….. Prejudice - an attitude An unfair, intolerant, or unfavorable view of a group of people. Discrimination - behavior An unfair act or series of acts taken toward an entire group of people or individual members of that group. Interplay of prejudice and discrimination Sources of Prejudice Frustration aggression/displaced aggression Authoritarian personality Racism Prejudice and discrimination directed at a particular racial group

Attitude continued…………….. Changing attitude The Process of Persuasion Must attend to the message, Comprehend the message The source The message The medium of communication Characteristics of the audience Accept it as convincing Cognitive Dissonance Perceived inconsistency between two cognitions Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance Increase the number of thoughts that support one of the beliefs. Reduce the importance of one of the cognitions.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE The process by which others individually or collectively affect one’s perceptions, attitudes, and actions. Social Influence and Culture Cultural norms learned through formal & informal way Perception about other’s culture

Social Influence continued…... Conformity Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one’s own preferences factors influencing conformity Characteristics of the situation Size of the group, Degree of unanimity, Nature of task Characteristics of the individual Attraction of group, Expected future interaction, member’s low status in the group, lack of member’s complete acceptance Conformity across cultures

Social Influence continued…... Compliance A change of behavior in response to an explicit request from another person or group. Obedience A change of behavior in response to an explicit command from another person, typically an authority figure. Milgram’s Obedience Studies Classic work by Stanley Milgram showed that many people were willing to obey orders to administer harmful shocks to other people. situational factors Power of authority Surveillance Responsibility of act is shared

SOCIAL ACTION Change of behavior which depends on presence of others Deindividuation: Loss of personal sense of responsibility in a group Mob behavior A snowball effect, Protection Helping behavior

SOCIAL ACTION CONTINUE…. Linked with self interest Not linked with self-interest/Altruistic behavior Factors Influencing Helping Situational variables Presence of other people/ Bystander effect, Ambiguity of situation Personal characteristics Amount of personal responsibility felt Amount of empathy felt One’s present mood No fear of embarrassment High need for approval Helping behavior across cultures

Social Action continued……. Group Dynamics Group polarization in decision making: The tendency for people to become more extreme in their attitudes, especially in risk taking (risky shift), as a result of group discussion. Factors Affecting Group Effectiveness Nature of the task & Skills of group members Interaction among members Group size & Social loafing Cohesiveness & Group think

Social Action continued……. Group Leadership Great person theory: Leadership is a result of personal qualities and traits that qualify one to lead others. Concept of born leaders ignores social and economic factors. Right person at right time at right place Transactional View of Leadership A number of factors interact to determine who becomes a leader: Traits of the potential leader Aspects of the situation in which the group finds itself Response of the group and the leader to each other Fiedler’s Contingency Model Task-oriented; Mainly focuses on doing the task well Relationship-oriented; Focuses on maintaining group harmony and cohesiveness Leadership across cultures

Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology I/O psychology is concerned with the application of psychological principles to the problems of human organizations. Decision making, job motivation, productivity, job satisfaction, team work, job stress, leadership etc