Ch. 15 Social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of the ways in which the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of one individual are influenced by the real, imagined, or inferred behavior or characteristics of other people.

1.Social Cognition A. Impression Formation Schemata - ready-made categories Primacy effect Early info weighs more Self-fulfilling prophecy We bring about expected behavior in another person Stereotypes A set of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category

B.Attribution Explaining behavior Biases Fundamental attribution error Overemphasize personal causes for others and underestimate personal causes for self

Defensive attribution Success attributed to own efforts, failure to external factors Just-world hypothesis - assume bad things happen to bad people Attribution across cultures Varies dramatically

C.Interpersonal Attraction Proximity - living or working close Physical Attractiveness Power assumptions about character Similarity In attitudes, interests, values, background Exchange We like people who appreciate us Intimacy - self disclosure

2.Attitudes A. The Nature of Attitudes Attitudes and behaviors Relatively stable beliefs, feelings, and behaviors (math) Self-monitoring Behave as others expect Attitude development Imitation Reward Teachers Peers Mass media

B.Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice Unfair attitude Sources of prejudice Frustration-aggression theory Displaced frustration - scapegoat Authoritarian personality Rigidly conventional

Racism Directed at particular racial group Modern racism More subtle Institutional racism $36,915 average income of white family $21,423 average income of African-American family

Reducing prejudice Recategorize Catholics and Protestants view themselves as Christians Education Equal status contact and one-to-one contact Cooperation

C.Attitude Change Process of Persuasion 1. Attention 2. Comprehending 3. Accepting

Communication Model Source Message Medium Audience Cognitive dissonance Two contradictory cognitions Increase consonant elements

D.Compliance Change in behavior in response to a request E.Obedience Obey orders

3. Social Influence A. Cultural Influence Norm Shared idea about how to behave B. Cultural Assimilators technique of asking why people behave a certain way - staying open-minded

C. Conformity Yield to social norms Conformity across cultures Varies - higher in collectivist cultures

D. Compliance Change in behavior in response to a request from someone foot-in-the-door (get them to say yes first) lowball (get compliance then raise price) door-in-the-face (get them to decline large request then ask something smaller)

E. Obedience Change in behavior in response to a command Milgram

4. Social Action A. Deindividuation Loss of personal sense of responsibility in a group B. Helping Behavior Altruistic behavior - helping behavior that is not linked to personal gain Bystander effect - helpfulness decreases as bystanders increase Helping behavior across cultures

C. Group Dynamics Polarization in group decision making Shift toward more extreme position The effectiveness of groups Groupthink - Bay of Pigs invasion, Watergate cover-up, Challenger disaster

Group Leadership Great person theory Personal qualities qualify one to lead

D. Organizational Behavior Productivity Hawthorne effect Just attention of experimenter changed behavior Communication and responsibility Buy-in is important Shared governance