1. Ch Social Psychology

2. How does society affect our thinking and actions?

3. How do people explain behavior?
Fundamental attribution error
Overestimating the influence of personality
Underestimating the influence of situation

4. How do our actions affect our attitudes?
The “foot-in-the-door” phenomenon
People who agree to a small action, will comply with a larger one later.

5. How does the role we play affect our attitudes and actions?
Philip Zimbardo’s prison study
Students randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners
Guards acted like guards
Prisoners acted like prisoners
Study called off after only six days because participants were endangered by their role playing.
Result: Roles call for certain behavior if we play that role long enough we may become that type of person.

6. How do our actions affect our attitudes?
Cognitive dissonance theory
Leon Festenger
Cognitive = thinking
Dissonance = Unresolved differences
When we act differently than we believe, we experience cognitive dissonance.

7. Cognitive dissonance (cont.)
To reduce dissonance, we will change our attitudes (or behavior) to produce agreement.
We change our attitudes to justify past behavior.

8. Cognitive dissonance (cont.)

9. How do we influence each other?
Will you conform to group pressure?

10. Solomon Asch conformity study
Comparing lengths of lines
People rejected what they could see, to conform with the group

11. Obedience - Will you do what you are told even if it would hurt someone?

12. Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments
Teachers - gave shock ( volts)
Learners - received shock
Results: The majority of “teachers” ordered to shock the “learners” complied fully, and gave the highest level of shock.

13. Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments (Cont.)

14. What causes prejudice? Scapegoat Theory
Frustration & feeling disadvantaged creates prejudice
“They caused my problems.”
The Cultural Theory of prejudice
Emery Borgardus
People well adjusted to a “culture of prejudice” become prejudiced.

15. What causes aggression?
Frustration - aggression hypothesis
Frustration - anger - aggression
E.g. Hurting someone that frustrated you (not always physical)

16. Situations that increase aggression
Hot days, pain, humiliation

17. How can social perception create reality?
The “Self fulfilling prophesy”
1. You believe something is true (even if it is not)
2. You act as if it is true
3. The other person (or country) reacts by becoming the way you thought they were.
E.g. Bill thinks Sally is rejecting him
E.g. The “cold war” - Russia v.s. U.S.

18. Have you ever been “In love”?
Passionate love
Fully absorbed with the other
“Walking on clouds”
Companionate love
A deep affectionate attachment to the other
Based on equity and self disclosure

19. Sternberg’s theory of love
Intimacy
Passion
Commitment

20. Will you help someone in an emergency?
The bystander effect
Kitty Genovese
Before helping, people must:
Notice the situation
Interpret it as an emergency
Assume responsibility

21. Bystander effect (cont.)
The more people are available to help, the less chance any one person will help.

22. Why do we help? Self interest The “Social Exchange” theory
Cost - benefit analysis
Will the cost (money, time, discomfort) be less than the benefit (reduced guilt, social approval, good feelings).