Social Psychology

1. Social Psychology www.ablongman.com/lefton9e

2. What is Social Psychology? • Social Psychology is the science of how people are affected by the real or imagined thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others and by the social situation • In other words, how we affect and are affected by others

3. What is the Social Self? • The Self in Social Psychology • Self-awareness required to form a self-concept – our perceptions of our self • Self-esteem: Feelings about the self • Self-presentation: The behavioral aspect of the self

4. ATTRIBUTION THEORY • Looks to explain how we perceive the “causes” of events

5. Internal Vs. External Attributions • Internal Attributions – attributing the cause to personality • “That driver just cut me off. What a jerk!” • External Attributions – attributing the cause to the situation or external factors • “That driver just cut me off. She must be distracted.”

6. Errors in Attribution • Self-Serving Bias (helps us maintain our self-esteem) • “I passed the psychology test because I’m smart. I failed the math test because it was unfair.” • Fundamental Attribution Error – *underestimating situational/external factors and overestimating personality/dispostional factors • “He yelled at his mother because he’s mean.” • Not because he’s having a bad day, she said something rude, etc.

7. Thinking About Self and Others • Errors in Attribution • Lead to blaming others inappropriately • Also lead to failure to accept responsibility for our own behavior • Do not exist equally in all cultures

8. How Are Attitudes Related to Behavior? • Attitudes are • Patterns of evaluative beliefs • About ideas, objects, other people • Based on past experiences • Play a role in one’s behavior • Usually involve judgments of good or bad • Usually long-lasting, but may be changed

9. How Are Attitudes Related to Behavior? • Dimensions of Attitudes • 1. Cognitive dimension • 2. Emotional dimension • 3. Behavioral dimension

10. Dimensions of Attitudes • We are sometimes unaware of all dimensions of our attitudes • Explicit attitudes are those we are aware of • Implicit attitudes are those we are unaware of • Unconscious and uncontrollable • Automatically activated • Affect behavior • E.g., implicit racial attitudes

11. How Are Attitudes Related to Behavior? • Does Behavior Determine Attitudes? • Common-sense view • Attitudes shape behavior • Behavior follows from attitudes • Bem’s Self-Perception Theory • We observe and interpret our own behavior • Then attitudes are formed

12. Does Behavior Determine Attitudes? • Cognitive Dissonance Theory • When attitudes conflict with each other or when attitudes conflict with behavior, a state of discomfort arises • Cognitive dissonance • People are motivated to reduce cognitive dissonance • By changing attitude • By changing behavior

13. How Are Attitudes Related to Behavior? • How Does Attitude Change Occur? • 1. Attitude Change Through Persuasion • a. Source of the persuasive message (Who?) • b. Message (What?) • Argument quality • Fear appeals • Repetition – THE MERE EXPOSURE EFFECT • c. Medium through which message is communicated (How?) • d. Audience characteristics

14. How Do People Relate to Each Other? • Attraction and Relationship Formation • 1. Proximity • 2. Physical Attractiveness • 3. Similarity • 4. Complementarity

15. Attraction and Relationship Formation • Friendships • Concept develops in preschool • Gender differences emerge early • Definitions of Love • Three components (Sternberg, 1986) • Intimacy • Commitment • Passion • Companionate love • Consummate love

16. Attraction and Relationship Formation • Intimate and Love Relationships • Intimacy • Not present in all friendships or romantic relationships • Related to self-disclosure

17. How Do People Relate to Each Other? • Aggression and Violence • Aggression is any behavior intended to harm another person or thing • Physical • Verbal • Emotional

18. Aggression and Violence • Is Aggression Innate? • The potential to behave aggressively may be innate, but whether people behave aggressively or not depends on learned inhibitory responses and social context

19. Aggression and Violence • Does Frustration Cause Aggression? • Frustration–aggression hypothesis • More likely, frustration creates a readiness for aggression (Berkowitz, 1964)

20. Aggression and Violence • Do People Learn How to Be Aggressive? • Social learning theory • Violence in the media (MODELING) • Effects may be long-lasting • Effects on immediate behavior • More exposure, more aggression • Less likely to help real-life victims of violence • Desensitizes to violence

21. Aggression and Violence • Can Aggression Be Controlled? • Punishment is not very successful • Some violence prevention programs are successful • Help children interpret others’ behaviors as less hostile • Develop interpersonal skills

22. How Do People Relate to Each Other? • ProsocialBehavior – any behavior that benefits others • Altruisim: Helping Without Rewards

23. Prosocial Behavior • The Bystander Effect • Witnesses’ unwillingness to help during an event • Increases when there are more witnesses • Latane and Darley (1970) • Is it an emergency? • Use other witnesses’ behavior as cues • Diffusion of responsibility • Even the imagined presence of others decreases the likelihood of helping

24. The Bystander Effect • When are bystanders more likely to offer help? • When alone • When they feel competent to help • When they know the victim

25. Stereotypes • Fixed, simplified ideas about the attributes of a specific group • Mental shortcuts to categorize objects and people • Often ignores individual differences

26. Stereotypes • Illusory Correlations help maintain stereotypes • An incorrect connection between two events that seem to be related • Often due to memory distortions • Stereotype threat • Occurs when in a situation that one fears will confirm a stereotype about one’s group • Stereotype threat alone can lead to worsened performance

27. Prejudice and Discrimination • Prejudice is a negative evaluation of a group • Discrimination is behavioral

28. Prejudice and Discrimination • Explanations for prejudice • Authoritarian personality • Characteristic of prejudiced people • See the world as good or bad • Are prejudiced against those they blame for their failures

29. Prejudice and Discrimination • Explanations for prejudice • Realistic conflict theory • Prejudice stems from competition for scarce resources • Allport Erroneous Generalizations Competition Arousal Prejudice

30. Prejudice and Discrimination • Explanations for prejudice • Social Learning Theory • Children learn to be prejudiced

31. Prejudice and Discrimination • Overt prejudice and discrimination less common now • Today, psychologists study more subtle, automatic prejudice • Implicit attitudes • Measures reaction times • Faster reaction times indicate stronger associations between concepts

32. Prejudice and Discrimination • Modern Racism • Prejudice and discrimination expressed in subtle ways • Individuals may possess positive explicit attitudes and negative implicit attitudes • Sexism • Prejudice based on gender