1. Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior 2e
Charles T. Blair-Broeker
Randal M. Ernst

2. Variations in Individual and Group Behavior Domain

3. Social Psychology Chapter

4. Social Thinking and Social Influence
Module 34

5. Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Introduction
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

6. Social Psychology
The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

7. Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

8. Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence
Social Thinking: Attributing Behavior to Personal Disposition or the Situation
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

9. Attribution Theory
Theory that we tend to explain the behavior of others as an aspect of either an internal disposition (an inner trait) or the situation

10. Situational Disposition
Attributing someone’s actions to the various factors in the situation

11. Dispositional Attribution
Attributing someone’s actions to the person’s disposition, i.e. their thoughts, feelings, personality characteristics, etc.

12. Situational Attribution

13. Situational Attribution

14. Situational Attribution

15. Dispositional Attribution

16. Dispositional Attribution

17. Dispositional Attribution

18. Attribution

19. Fundamental Attribution Error
Tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal disposition rather than to situations
People tend to blame or credit the person more than the situation

20. Social Thinking: Attitudes and Actions
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

21. Attitude
Belief and feeling that predisposes someone to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

22. Attitudes Affecting Actions
Many studies suggest a person’s attitudes do not match their actions
Attitudes can predict behavior if:
Outside influences are minimal
People are aware of their attitudes
Attitude is relevant to behavior

23. Attitudes Affecting Actions

24. Actions Affecting Attitudes
Under some circumstances one’s actions can influence attitudes. They include:
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
Role playing
Cognitive dissonance

25. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon
Tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

26. Role Playing Playing a role can influence or change one’s attitude
Zimbardo’s Prison Study
College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison.
The study was ended when the guards became too aggressive and cruel.

27. Zimbardo’s Prison Study
College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison.
The study was ended when the guards became too aggressive and cruel.

28. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent
When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the dissonance.

29. Cognitive Dissonance Theory

30. Cognitive Dissonance Theory

31. Cognitive Dissonance Theory

32. Cognitive Dissonance Theory

33. Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

34. Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

35. Conformity
Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard

36. Solomon Asch ( )
Social psychologist who researched the circumstances under which people conform

37. Asch’s Conformity Study

38. Factors Increasing Conformity
The person feels incompetent or insecure.
The group has three or more people.
The rest of the group is unanimous.
The person is impressed by the status of the group.
No prior commitments were made.
The group is observing the person respond.
One’s culture encourages conformity.

39. Stanley Milgram ( )
Social psychologist who researched obedience to authority

40. Obedience
Tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority

41. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

42. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority (Data from Milgram, 1974)

43. Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

44. Obedience to Authority
Play “Obedience: The Milgram Study” (4:04) Segment #34 from Psychology: The Human Experience.

45. Social Influence: Group Influence
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

46. Social Facilitation
Improved performance of tasks in the presence of others
Occurs with simple or well learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet learned

47. Social Facilitation

48. Social Loafing
Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
People may be less accountable in a group, or they may think their efforts aren’t needed.

49. Deindividuation
Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity
People lose their sense of responsibility when in a group.

50. Social Influence: Group Interaction Effects
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

51. Group Polarization
Enhancement of a group’s already existing attitudes through discussion within the group

52. Groupthink
Mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives

53. Social Influence: Our Power as Individuals
Module 34: Social Thinking and Social Influence

54. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
When we believe something to be true about others (or ourselves) and we act in ways that cause this belief to come true

55. Minority Influence Minority groups can influence the majority
Minority groups must be firm in their conviction
Rosa Parks

56. The End

57. Name of Concept
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58. Name of Concept
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