Social Psychology
The Lunch Date Produced by Adam Davidson (1989) (won the 1990 Oscar for best short film)
Social Thought Social Cognition Schemata The collection and assessment of information about other people Schemata Primacy effect
Condition “Friendly” Ratings One-paragraph, friendly 95% One-paragraph, unfriendly 3% Two-paragraph, friendly-unfriendly 78% Two-paragraph, unfriendly-friendly 18%
Social Thought Schemata Primacy effect Recency effect Stereotypes A set of characteristics presumed to be shared by all members of a social category
Social Thought Attributions Internal/Dispositional External/Situational
Kelley’s Covariation Model of Attribution Consensus Consistency Distinctiveness
Attribution Errors Fundamental attribution error/Correspondence error tendency to explain others’ behavior in terms of dispositional (internal) rather than situational (external) causes Self-serving bias tendency to take credit for positive behavior or outcomes by attributing them to internal causes, but to blame negative ones on external causes, especially on factors beyond our control
Attribution Errors Just World Hypothesis Halo effect People get what they deserve Halo effect Good goes together… Assumed similarity bias Tendency to assume others are like self, even when meeting for first time
Attitudes A relatively stable organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavior tendencies toward something or someone Can be positive or negative Affect behavior
Attitudes Components of Attitudes Beliefs Feelings Behavior tendencies
Actions can affect attitudes… Foot-in-the-door effect Door-in-the-face effect Lowball procedure That’s-not-all technique Not-so-free sample technique
Cognitive Dissonance Discomfort experienced when there is an obvious gap between our attitudes and our actions or between two attitudes
Boring Task (turning pegs) Explain to next subject that it was interesting Paid $20 Paid $1 “It was boring” = NO Attitude Change “It was fun” = Attitude Change
Persuasion Any attempt to change an attitude, and ultimately, behavior Source Message Medium Audience
When Attitudes Go Bad… Prejudice Discrimination Belief negative stereotype Feelings strong, negative Behavioral Tendencies strong
Sources of Prejudice Frustration-aggression theory Social conflict theory Social learning theory Information processing Stereotypes
Social Influence Attempts made by one or more people to change the attitudes or behavior of others Obedience A change of behavior in response to a command from an authority figure Stanley Milgram
Relieved of personal responsibility Signs of authority Commands were gradual
Conformity Voluntarily yielding to social norms, even at the expense of one’s own preferences Asch’s conformity studies 35% conformity rate Influential factors Situational characteristics Group size, unanimity Nature of the task Personal characteristics
Social Action Bystander Effect Diffusion of Responsibility Mob behavior Deindividuation The more anonymous people feel in a group, the less responsible they feel as individuals