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Introductory Psychology Concepts
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Instructor nameClass Title, Term/Semester, YearInstitution
Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.2
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
Social Psychology: The Study of Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior Influenced By the Real, or Implied Presence of OthersSocial Psychology studies how we think about our social world, how other people influence our behavior, and how we relate toward other people.
“He’s been under a lot of stress lately.” “He only thinks about himself. What a jerk!” Depending on which attribution she makes for her husband’s outburst, this woman may respond with understanding or anger.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.3
Compliance: Solomon AschCompliance, or conformity—the adjustment of individual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to a group standard.
In Asch’s classic (1956) conformity experiments, students were asked to judge which of three comparison lines was the same length as the standard line.
Upon hearing other group members say that line 1 was the correct match, participants wondered whether their own judgments were correct.
A 21 3
Comparison linesStandard line
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.4
Obedience: Stanley MilgramThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent Authority
• Stanley Milgram (1974) asked a disturbing question:
• Would ordinary citizens obey the orders of an authority figure if those orders meant physically harming an innocent person?
• He conducted 18 studies between 1960 and 1963 to answer this question and to identify factors that increased or decreased obedience to authority.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.5
Obedience: Stanley MilgramThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent Authority
Milgram’s Method:• Participants: 40 men, 20-50 years old, “teachers”.• Each participant was introduced to a “learner” (confederate).• Participants were told that the experiment studied the effects of
punishment on memory.• Each time the learner made an error, the teacher was
instructed to administer an electric shock, beginning with 15 volts and increasing to 450 volts.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.6
Obedience: Stanley MilgramMilgram’s Results:
This graph shows the percentage of male participants who continued to shock the learner through various voltage levels. SOURCE: Based on Milgram, 1974.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
100
80
60
40
20
0
Slight15 volts
Strong135 volts
Intense255 volts
Danger:SevereShock
375 volts
Moderate75 volts
Ver strong195 volts
Extremeintensity315 volts
XXX435-450
volts
Per
cen
tag
e o
f pe
opl
e ob
eyin
gco
mm
and
at
each
sho
ck le
vel
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.7
AttitudesAn attitude is a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus, such as a person, action, object, or concept (Tesser & Shaffer, 1990).
Attitudes represent an important form of social thinking. They help define who we are, and they affect the way people judge one another.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.8
Attitude FormationPersuasion is the process of changing attitudes.
Social psychologists have discovered two primary information-processing routes to persuasion:
• Central route processingRecipient carefully considers the issues involved in persuasion.
• Peripheral route processingMore likely used by uninvolved, inattentive targets, less enduring.
Message Target
+ Highly Involved+ Motivated+ Attentive
Central route
processing
+ Uninvolved+ Unmotivated+ Inattentive
Peripheral route
processing
Stronger, lasting attitude
change
Weaker, less persistent
attitude change
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.9
AttributionAttribution theory seeks to explain how we decide, on the basis of samples of an individual’s behavior, what the specific causes of that person’s behavior are.
Noticing an event
Interpreting the event
Is time available?Are cognitive
resources available?
Is there motivation to change the
initial explanation?
Forming an initial
explanationYes
Formulate and
resolve problem
Is the explanation satisfactory?
Event explained; process
stops
No
Yes No
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.10
AggressionThe intentional injury of, or harm to, another person.
Types of aggression include:• Instinct Approach:
Aggression is an innate, or inborn, reaction due to our natural fight and survival instinct.
• Frustration-Aggression Approach: Feelings of frustration lead to anger which can then lead to a readiness to act aggressively.
• Observational Learning Approach: Social and environmental conditions can teach individuals to be aggressive.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.11
Prejudice and Discrimination• Prejudices are the negative (or positive) evaluation of a
particular group and its members.• Discrimination is the actual behavior directed toward
individuals based on one’s prejudices.
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
Like father, like son.
Social learning approaches to stereotyping and prejudice suggest that attitudes and behaviors toward members of minority groups are learned through the observation of parents and other individuals.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.12
Liking and Loving: forms of interpersonal attraction and close relationships that stem from positive feelings for others.Research has given us a good deal of knowledge about the factors that initially attract two people to each other (Harvey & Weber, 2002).
Important factors considered by social psychologists include:• Proximity• Mere exposure• Similarity• Physical Attractiveness
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.13
Liking and LovingPsychologist Robert Sternberg suggests that love consists of three parts: • Decision/commitment• Intimacy• Passion
Liking (intimacy)
Infatuation (passion)
Empty love(decision/commitment)
Romantic love(intimacy + passion)
Companionate love(intimacy +
decision/commitment)
Fatuous love(passion +
decision/commitment)
Consummate love
(intimacy + passion + decision/commitment)
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.14
Prosocial BehaviorAltruism: helping behavior that is clearly beneficial to others, but often includes self-sacrifice.
The Basic Steps of Helping
Noticing a person, event, or situation that may require help
Interpreting the event as one that requires help
Assuming responsibility for helping
Deciding on and implementing the form of helping
Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Psychology