What do attitudes allow us, as humans, to do? In this baby’s situation, how does a positive attitude help him get through a tough day?

True/False  1. In order to change people’s racist behaviors, we first need to change their racist attitudes.  2. Most people would refuse to obey and authority figure who told them to hurt an innocent person.  3. Studies of college and professional athletic events indicate that home teams win about 6 in 10 games.  4.Individuals pull harder in a team tug-of-war than when they pull in a one-on- one tug-of war.  5. The higher the morale and harmony of a social group, the more likely are its members to make a good decision.  6. Sex-selective neglect and abortions have resulted in China and India together having 76 million fewer females than they should have.  7. Those who keep a gun in the house are more likely to be murdered.  8. From research on liking and loving, it is clear that opposites do attract.  9. We are less likely to offer help to a stranger if other bystanders are present.  10. Simply putting individuals from two prejudiced groups of people into a close contact will defuse conflict. 1. False 2.False 3.True 4.False 5.False 6.True 7.True 8.False 9.True 10.False

Social PsychologySocial Psychology Social psychology scientifically studies how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. 1.Does his absenteeism signify illness, laziness, or a stressful work atmosphere? 2.Was the horror of 9/11 the work of crazed evil people or ordinary people corrupted by life events?

Social ThinkingSocial Thinking Social thinking Social thinking involves thinking about others, especially when they engage in doing things that are unexpected.

 1: If a very good friend gets angry with you, how would you explain his/her behavior? If that same friend does something nice for you, how would you explain the behavior?  2: Are your thoughts about your good friend’s behavior different than your thoughts about someone you're only acquainted with? Why or Why not?

Attributing Behavior to Persons or to SituationsAttributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations Attribution Theory: Fritz Heider (1958) suggested that we have a tendency to give causal explanations for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition. Fritz Heider Was my friend a jerk because she had a bad day or is just a bad person?

Fundamental Attribution ErrorFundamental Attribution Error fundamental attribution error. The tendency to overestimate the impact of personal disposition and underestimate the impact of the situations in analyzing the behaviors of others leads to the fundamental attribution error. Judging Mrs. Taylor you might say I am outgoing you have inferred that I have and outgoing personality. You know me only in the classroom, a situation that demands outgoing behavior. Catch me when I am in a faculty meeting. Example: Someone trips you and you think they did it on purpose because they are mean.

Fundamental Attribution ErrorFundamental Attribution Error 1. You are out to dinner and your server brings you the wrong food. If you were committing the fundamental attribution error, you might assume that this happened because…

Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations A teacher may wonder whether a child’s hostility reflects an aggressive personality (dispositional attribution) or is a reaction to stress or abuse (a situational attribution).

Break into your groups and work on the situation/dispositional wksht. Explain each one with the two types of theories.

Big BrotherBig Brother What attributions did people give for their own behavior? Do you “buy” these explanations?

The Effects of AttributionThe Effects of Attribution  Social Effects: Happy Couples chalk up an argument to other person having a bad day. Divorced couple could attribute it to the other person just being mean.  Political Effects: how do we explain poverty? Ex. Conservatives tend to attribute social problems to the poor and unemployed. Liberals blame past and present situations.  Workplace Effects managers could attribute poor performance of personal factors.

Preview Question:Preview Question:  Does what we think predict what we do, or does what we do affect what we think?

Attitudes & ActionsAttitudes & Actions If we believe a person is mean, we may feel dislike for the person and act in an unfriendly manner. Attitude: A belief and feeling that predisposes a person to respond in a particular way to objects, other people, and events.

People can be persuaded in different ways: The central route to persuasion involves being persuaded by the arguments or the content of the message. For example, after hearing a political debate you may decide to vote for a candidate because you found the candidates views and arguments very convincing /10/political-blog.html

People can be persuaded in different ways: The peripheral route to persuasion involves being persuaded in a manner that is not based on the arguments or the message content. For example, after reading a political debate you may decide to vote for a candidate because you like the sound of the person's voice, or the person went to the same university as you did. The peripheral route can involve using superficial cues such as the attractiveness of the speaker. Political persuasion.

Social Pressures and Attitudes Strong social pressure can weaken the attitude –behavior connection, such as when Democratic leaders supported Bush’s attack on Iraq under public pressure. However, they had their private reservations.

Actions Can Affect Attitudes…Actions Can Affect Attitudes… Not only do people stand for what they believe in (attitude), they start believing in what they stand for. Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs). Discussion: The Low-Ball Effect

Compliance Strategies Brainstorm how you have used these strategies.  Foot-in-the-door phenomenon tendency for people who agree to a small action to comply later with a larger one. Norms of reciprocity “hey if I scratch your back I expect you to scratch mine” Door-in-the-face phenomenon large request is made knowing it will probably be refused so that the person will agree to a much smaller request

Cognitive Dissonance Theory:Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Relief from Tension  We do not like when we have either conflicting attitudes or when our attitudes do not match our actions. When they clash, we will change our attitude to create balance. Dark Knight - Cognitive Dissonance