Introductory Psychology Concepts Professor Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. CHAPTER 14 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Introductory Psychology Concepts

Professor Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

CHAPTER 14SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

© 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 14-2

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.


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



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.



Obedience: Stanley MilgramThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent AuthorityMilgram’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.



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.


100

80

60

40

20

0Slight

15 voltsStrong

135 voltsIntense

255 voltsDanger:SevereShock

375 voltsModerate75 volts

Ver strong195 volts

Extremeintensity315 volts

XXX435-450

volts

Per

cent

age

of p

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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.



Attitude FormationPersuasion is the process of changing attitudes. Social psychologists have discovered two primary information-processing routes to persuasion:• Central route processing

Recipient carefully considers the issues involved in persuasion.• Peripheral route processing

More 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



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



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.



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.


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.


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



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 +


Consummate love

(intimacy + passion + decision/commitment)



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: Prejudice

Prejudice: Negative Attitudes about and Treatment of OthersPrejudices are the negative (or positive) evaluation of a particular group and its members.Although prejudice can be positive (“I love the Irish”), social psychologists have focused on understanding the roots of negative prejudice (“I hate immigrants”).

Two main forms of prejudice:• Explicit:

Prejudices that people display publicly.• Implicit:

Prejudices that people keep hidden from the public view.


Prejudice: Negative Attitudes Toward OthersCommon stereotypes and forms of prejudice involve racial, religious, and ethnic groups.



Discrimination: Differential Treatment of IndividualsActing on negative stereotypes results in discrimination —behavior directed toward individuals on the basis of their membership in a particular group.• In-Group: the group a person identifies with• Out-Group: groups that are treated with prejudice



Social Norms: Shared Expectations About How People Should Think, Feel, and Behave• Social norms are the glue that binds social systems together.

(Schaller & Crandall, 2004)

• Some norms are formal laws, but many are implicit and unspoken.

• Social norms regulate daily behavior without our conscious awareness; we take them for granted until they are violated.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Norms


Social Role: Consists of a Set of Norms That Characterizes How People in a Given Social Position Ought to BehaveSocial roles of “college student”, “professor”, “police officer”, and “spouse” carry different sets of behavior expectations.



Informative Social InfluenceFollowing the behavior and opinions of others because we believe that they have accurate knowledge and that what they are doing is right.



Normative Social InfluenceConforming to obtain the rewards that come from being accepted by other people while at the same time avoiding their rejection. (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004; Deutsch & Gerard, 1955)



Social Influence ComplianceThe adjustment of individual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to a group standard.

Foot-in-the-doorPeople use a small request in hopes that you will later comply with a large request.

Door-in-the-faceMaking a large request that is expected to be rejected, and then presenting a smaller, more approachable request.

Low-ballingGetting you to conform to an action, then increasing the cost of said action.That’s-not-allPresenting a request, with following incentives that “sweeten the pot”.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Influence


Social InfluenceGroupthink: Tendency for group members to suspend critical thinking because they are striving to seek agreement.


Antecedent conditions Some symptoms ofgroupthink

Groupthink increases riskof defective decision making

1. High stress to reach a decision2. Insulation of the group3. Directive leadership4. High cohesiveness

1. Illusion of invulnerability(group overestimates itself)2. Direct pressure on dissenters3. Self-censorship4. Illusion of unanimity5. Self-appointed mind guards

1. Incomplete survey of alternatives2. Incomplete survey of objectives3. Failure to examine risks of preferred choice4. Poor information search5. Failure to reappraise alternatives


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

Social Influence: Solomon Asch Conformity StudiesCompliance, or conformity—the adjustment of individual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to a group standard.



Social Influence: Stanley Milgram Obedience StudiesThe 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.



Social Influence: Stanley Milgram Obedience StudiesThe Dilemma of Obedience: When Conscience Confronts Malevolent AuthorityMilgram’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.



Social Influence: Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Studies Milgram’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.

100

80

60

40

20

0Slight

15 voltsStrong

135 voltsIntense

255 voltsDanger:SevereShock

375 voltsModerate75 volts

Ver strong195 volts

Extremeintensity315 volts

XXX435-450

volts

Per

cent

age

of p

eopl

e ob

eyin

gco

mm

and

at e

ach

shoc

k le

vel


Social Influence: Due to The Presence of Others Social FacilitationA person performs a task individually (in front of an audience or with a co-actor) and does not pool his/her effort with anyone.Social LoafingThe tendency for people to expend less individual effort when working in a group than when working alone.



Social Attitudes: A Tendency to Respond Positively or Negatively Toward Ideas, Persons, Objects, or SituationsOur attitudes help define our identity, guide our actions, and influence how we judge people (Fazio & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2005).

Do the attitudes expressed by these protestors influence your impression of them?

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Attitudes


Three Components of an AttitudeAffectiveInfluenced by or resulting from our emotions.BehavioralInfluenced by our learned behavioral patterns.CognitiveInfluenced by our perceptions (what we think about stimulus).



Attitude ChangePersuasion: the intersection of social thinking and social influence.Key elements of persuasion:• Communicator credibility

How believable we perceive the communicator to be is often key to effective persuasion.

• The messageResearch indicates that the two-sided refutational approach is most effective when trying to persuade someone.

• The audienceA message loaded with logical arguments may prove highly persuasive to some people yet fall flat on its face with others.



Cognitive Dissonance: Mismatch When Actions Do Not Match AttitudesWhen two or more cognitions contradict one another, the person experiences an uncomfortable state of tension (cognitive dissonance), and becomes motivated to reduce this dissonance.

Participants lied to a fellow student by saying that a boring task was interesting


+1.5

+1.0

+0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0Control $1.00 High $20.00 LowR

atin

gs o

f tas

k en

joya

blen

ess

dissonance


Social RelationsPeople like and love, and dislike and hate. They help one another and hurt one another. Social relations take many forms.

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Relations


Factors in AttractionProximityWe tend to interact most with people who are physically closer.SimilarityPeople are often attracted to others who are similar to themselves.Reciprocity of LikingA tendency to like those who like us. Knowing that someone evaluates us positively promotes our attraction to that person.



Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of LovePsychologist 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 +


Fatuous love(passion +


Consummate love

(intimacy + passion + decision/commitment)



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.

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.



Social Learning Theory: Learning by Observing Models in the Environment

Social learning theory emphasizes that people learn by observing the behavior of models and acquiring the belief that they can produce behaviors to influence events in their lives (Bandura, 1969, 2004).

Introductory Psychology Concepts: Social Learning Theory


Observational Learning: Learning Through Watching Others

Observational learning occurs by observing the behavior of a model.• Teachers, parents, and coaches often help us learn by

intentionally modeling skills, but observational learning extends beyond such contexts.

• We also learn fears, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and social behaviors by watching others (Olsson & Phelps, 2004).

• Observational learning can be highly adaptive. By observing others, an organism can learn which events are important, which stimuli signal that events are about to occur, and which responses are likely to produce positive or negative consequences.



Vicarious Conditioning: Classic Conditioning by Watching the Reaction of Another

Stanford University psychologist Albert Bandera emphasizes that people learn not only through classical and operant conditioning but also by modeling—observing the behavior of others.• We are not equally likely to imitate all behavior of all models.• We are considerably more likely to imitate a model whose

behavior we see reinforced (vicarious reinforcement) than when we see that behavior punished in the model (vicarious punishment).



Bandura’s Four-Step Process of ModelingBandura views modeling as a four-step process that includes

several cognitive factors:• Attention: First, we must pay attention to the model’s

behavior.• Retention: Second, we must retain that information in

memory so that it can be recalled when needed.• Reproduction: Third, we must be physically capable of

reproducing the model’s behavior or something similar to it.• Motivation: Fourth, we must be motivated to display the

behavior.



Bandura’s Classic Study: Bobo DollClassic modeling experiment by Bandura (1965)

demonstrated the learning-versus-performance distinction in humans.• Children watched a film in which a model acted

aggressively toward a “Bobo doll”.• One group saw the model rewarded with praise and candy,

second group saw the model reprimanded for aggression, third group saw no consequences for the model.

• After the film, each child was placed in a room with various toys, including a Bobo doll.



Bandura’s Classic Study: Bobo DollResults of Bandura’s experiment:

• Children who saw the model punished performed fewer aggressive actions toward the Bobo doll than did children in the other two groups.

• To find out if this group had failed to learn how to respond aggressively, the experimenter later offered the children attractive prizes if they could do what the model had done.

• All of the children quickly reproduced the model’s aggressive responses.



Bandura’s Classic Study: Bobo Doll


In Bandura’s (1965) experiment, most children who watched an aggressive model attack a Bobo doll later imitated that behavior.

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Introductory Psychology Concepts Professor Veronica Emilia Nuzzolo © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. CHAPTER 14 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY