Thinking About Psychology:

The Science of Mind and Behavior

Charles T. Blair-BroekerRandal M. Ernst

Sociocultural Dimensions of

Behavior

Chapter 14

Social Thinking and Social Influence

Module 32

Introduction

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Psychology• The scientific study of how people think

about, influence, and relate to one another– Why do people act differently in the same

situations? Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by.

– Why one person may act differently in different situations? Ex. Give money to Salvation Army “red kettle” but not give money to a homeless person.

Social Thinking

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Thinking: Attributing Behavior

to Personal Disposition or the

Situation

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Attribution Theory

• People tend to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

Situational Disposition

• Attributing someone’s actions to the various factors in the situation

• Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by.

• Situational reason: “I was late for a doctor’s appointment and I did not have time to stop.”

Dispositional Attribution

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

• Ex. Stop and help a person pick papers up and others walk by.

• Dispositional reason: “Jamie is just self-centered and didn’t stop to help pick up the papers. What did you expect?”

Fundamental Attribution Error• The tendency for observers, when

analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition

• People tend to blame or credit the person more than the situation

• Ex. “That person just cut that car off! What a jerk!” Did not consider that person is in the middle of an asthma attack. (situational)

Social Thinking: Attitudes and Actions

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Attitude

• A belief and feeling that predisposes a person to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events

• Ex. Think cheating is wrong – less likely to cheat

Attitudes Affecting Actions• Many studies suggest a person’s

attitudes do not match their actions• Attitudes can predict behavior if:

– Outside influences are minimal (smoking is bad: many friends smoke: you will probably smoke)

– People are aware of their attitudes (grandpa died of lung cancer: you will NOT smoke)

– Attitude is relevant to behavior (know exercise is good for you, but don’t like to sweat: won’t exercise)

Actions Affecting Attitudes

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

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

• The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

• Ex. People who put a political bumper sticker on car are more likely to put a sign in their lawn

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.

Cognitive Dissonance• The theory that people act to reduce the

discomfort (dissonance) they feel when their thoughts are inconsistent with their actions

• When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the dissonance.

• Ex. You dislike soccer. You start to date a girl from Brazil. You start to watch soccer b/c she loves it. You are uncomfortable b/c you are a committed football fan. Soon, you start to find little things to like about soccer.

Social Influence

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Influence: Conformity and

Obedience

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Conformity

• Adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with (comply/agree with) a group standard

• Ex. My son will not play “Dora Dance” on the X-Box because it is a “girl game”.

• Ex. Even though it is freezing middle school boys will only wear a hoodie, not a jacket.

Solomon Asch (1907-1996)

• Social psychologist who researched the circumstances under which people conform

Asch’s Conformity Study

Asch’s Conformity Study

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.

Stanley Milgram (1933-1984)

• Social psychologist who researched obedience to authority

Obedience

• The tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

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

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority

Obedience increases when

• Victim cannot be seen• Authority figure giving orders was close at

hand• Authority figure linked to a prestigious

organization

Social Influence:Group Influence

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Social Facilitation• Improved performance of tasks in the

presence of others (sing, play basketball)

• Occurs with simple or well learned tasks but not with tasks that are difficult or not yet learned

• Who wants to come up here and solve a random math problem on the board?

• How about the date and letter day?

Social Loafing• The 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.

• Ex. Companies have a charity drive & individual employees contribute more $ when …?

Deindividuation

• The 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.

• Ex. Say something mean about someone on a blog, anonymously, but not to…

Social Influence:Group Interaction

Effects

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Group Polarization

• The enhancement of a group’s prevailing attitudes through discussion within the group

• Ex. You attend a lecture/meeting about the benefits of Democratic policies. You leave even more committed to the democratic party. You think that “they” the Republicans, are 100% wrong.

Groupthink• The mode of thinking that occurs when

the desire for harmony in a decision- making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives

• Ex. Most of the weather forecasts call for 6 inches of snow starting at 6am. Most of the schools in your area have cancelled school. Your superintendent believes two forecasts that say the snow won’t start until 4pm and that it will only be 2 inches of snow. But, he decides to cancelled school anyway. Why?

Social Influence:Our Power as Individuals

Module 32: Social Thinking and Social Influence

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

• Occurs when belief about others (or ourselves) leads one to act in ways that confirm the belief

• Ex. If someone describe you as “helpful” and you didn’t think you were, you’d be MORE helpful around that person or in general. Why?

The End