Objective 3/24/17
 Provided notes & an activity SWBAT explain the
importance of attribution in social behavior, while
also explaining the effect of role-playing on attitudes
in terms of cognitive dissonance theory.
Agenda:
-Do Now
-Notes
-Activity
Do Now
 Go to my teacher page under AP Psych. Do Now’s
and click on the link for today’s date.
Social Psychology
AP PSYCHOLOGY: UNIT 12
The scientific study of how
we think about, influence
and relate to one another…
Introduction: Fact or Falsehood?
 Compared to people in Western countries,
those in East Asia are more sensitive to
situational influences on behavior

True
 In order to change people’s racist behaviors,
we first need to change their racist attitudes

False
 Chimps are more likely to yawn after
observing another chimp yawn

True
Introduction: Fact or Falsehood?
 Most people refuse to obey an authority
figure who has told them to hurt an innocent
person

False
 Studies of college & professional athletic
events indicate that home teams win about
60% of the time

True
Introduction: Fact or Falsehood?
 Individuals pull harder in a team tug-of-war
than when they pull in a one-on-one tug-ofwar

False
 The higher the morale & harmony of a social
group, the more likely its members are to
make a good decision

False
Introduction: Fact or Falsehood?
 From research on liking & loving, it is clear
that opposites do attract

False
 We are less likely to offer help to a stranger if
other bystanders are present

True
Social Psychology:
Social Thinking
PART ONE
Social Psychology: Social
Thinking, Attribution
Explaining Behavior
Social Thinking: Attribution
 Attribution Theory (Fritz Heider)
 The theory that suggests the way in
which we explain the behavior of
others…

We credit that behavior either to the
SITUATION (external attribution) or to
the person’s DISPOSITION (internal
attribution)
 Example
• Was my friend a jerk because he had a bad day or is he
simply a bad person?
Social Thinking: Attribution
 The Scenario
 You are a teacher. Clive,
your student, is always
hostile towards you. He
tells you that your class
is a waste of time, that
you’re his least favorite
teacher and that he
already knows more than you could possibly teach
him.

Using attribution theory, how might you explain Clive’s
behavior?
Social Thinking: Attribution
 Situational Factors (External Attribution)
 Clive’s parents are getting divorced & he’s lashing out
 Clive has a bad memory of a teacher picking on him &
now he dislikes all teachers
 Clive has your class right before lunch & his hunger
makes him wish class was over
 Dispositional Factors (Internal Attribution)
 Clive has an aggressive personality; he’s lazy; he’s
disrespectful…
Social Thinking: Attribution
Social Thinking: Attribution
 Fundamental Attribution Error (David
Napolitan & George Goethals)

The tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s
behavior, to underestimate the impact of the
situation and to overestimate the impact of personal
disposition

Example
 How do students typically view a teacher’s cranky
behavior?
• Most probably attribute it to their personality, as opposed
to their profession…
 Actor-Observer Bias…
Social Thinking: Attribution
You believe
that cheating is
bad/wrong...
But you cheat
on your math
test…
Your teacher
was mean; in
that class it was
okay…
Social Thinking: Attribution
 What is the function of the
fundamental attribution
error?

To protect our self-esteem

If we do something wrong, it
makes us feel better to blame
outside factors, as opposed to
blaming ourselves
Social Thinking: Attribution
 Defensive Attribution
 The tendency to blame
victims for their misfortune,
so that one feels less likely
to be victimized in a similar
way

Also know as “Just-World
Bias”
 “What terrible criminals these
prisoners must have been to receive such treatment…”
Social Thinking: Attribution
 Culture & Attributional Tendencies
 Individualistic Cultures
United States,Australia ,Great Britain
 Intermediate Cultures
 Israel ,Spain,India
 Collectivist Cultures
 Hong Kong, China, Singapore

 Who commits the fundamental attribution
error more often?

WHY?
Social Psychology: Social
Thinking, Attitudes
Making Social Judgments
Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Positive or negative
evaluations regarding
objects of thought

Social issues


Groups


Capital punishment, guns…
Farmers, liberals...
Institutions

Catholic Church, Supreme Court…
 Do attitudes always predict behavior?
Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Components of Attitude
 Attitudes may include up to 3
different components
Cognitive Component
 Beliefs about the object of an
attitude
 Affective Component
 Emotional feelings stimulated by an object of thought
 Behavioral Component
 Predispositions to act in certain ways toward an
attitude object

Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Dimensions of Attitude
 Attitudes may vary along several crucial dimensions
Strength
 How firmly held? Durable over time? Impact on
behavior?
 Accessibility
 How often & how quickly does it come to mind?
 Ambivalence
 Conflicted evaluations that include both positive and
negative feelings
 The higher the level of ambivalence the less predictive
of behavior

Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Explicit Attitudes
 Attitudes that we hold consciously and can readily
describe
 Implicit Attitudes
 Covert attitudes that are expressed in subtle,
automatic responses; we generally have little
conscious control over these
Best example in modern culture?
 Implicit Association Test (IAT)
 https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/

Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Methods of Attitude Persuasion
 Central Route Persuasion


Occurs when interested/analytical people
focus on the arguments & respond with
favorable thoughts
 Example: Followers of world
religions
Peripheral Route Persuasion

Occurs when people are
influenced by incidental cues,
such as a speaker’s attractiveness or endorsements by
respected people
 Example: Kennedy v. Nixon (1960)
Social Thinking: Attitudes
 Cognitive Dissonance
Theory

The theory that we act to reduce
the dissonance we feel when two
of our thoughts or attitudes are
inconsistent

Example
 A person who smokes, yet knows the health risks will
either…
• Stop smoking
• Rationalize that nothing bad will happen to them
Objective 3/28/17
Provided notes & an activity SWBAT discuss the
results of Asch’s experiment on conformity, Milgram's
experiments on obedience & explain how group
interaction can facilitate group polarization and
groupthink.
Agenda:
-Do Now
-Notes
-Activty
Social Psychology:
Social Influence
PART TWO
Social Psychology:
Social Influence, Conformity
Adjusting one’s behavior
or thinking to coincide
with a group standard;
yielding to real or
imagined social pressure
Social Influence: Conformity
 Influential Studies

Asch’s Conformity Study
(Solomon Asch, 1955)
 50 subjects; young,
undergraduate men
 Found that participants
conformed on 37% of the
trials
• Of the 50 participants…
 13 never caved
 14 conformed on more
than half of the trials
Social Influence: Conformity
 Conditions that
Strengthen Conformity







Feelings of incompetence or
insecurity
Group size; at least 3 people
Group is unanimous
Admiration of the group’s
status/attractiveness
No prior commitment to any other response
Strong cultural “respect” for social standards
Other’s watch one another
Social Influence: Conformity
 Reasons for
Conforming

Normative Social
Influence


Conformity to social
norms for fear of negative
social consequences
Informational Social
Influence

Conformity to social norms when one looks to others for
guidance about how to behave in ambiguous situations
Normative
Social Influence
or
Informational
Social Influence?
Social Psychology:
Social Influence, Compliance
A change in behavior
prompted by a direct
request, as opposed to
social norm pressure
Social Influence: Compliance
 Foot-in-the-Door
Phenomenon

The tendency for people
who have first agreed to
a small request to comply
later with a large request

Considerations
 The original small
agreement creates a bond between the requestor and
the requestee
 Pro-social requests are especially effective with this
technique
Social Influence: Compliance
 Door-in-the-Face Phenomenon
 The tendency for people who have first disagreed to a
large request, to accept a more reasonable request

Considerations
 The requestee feels guilty for turning down the first
request; fears rejection if they continue to decline
 The second
request
looks good
compared
to the first
Social Influence: Compliance
 Low-Ball Technique
 The tendency for people to
accept an unattractive detail
if it is introduced after the
deal is made, but not the
other way around

Considerations
 People will behave consistently to their beliefs in order
to sustain their commitment
 Many may believe that they can’t back out after the
initial agreement
Social Psychology:
Social Influence, Obedience
A form of compliance that
occurs when people follow
direct commands, usually
from someone in a
position of authority
Social Influence: Obedience
 Influential Studies
 The Milgram Experiment
(Stanley Milgram, 1974)


“I was only following
orders…” –Adolf Eichmann
Administration of electrical
shocks (varying levels)
Findings?
 Gender differences?

“The most fundamental lesson of our study is that ordinary people, simply doing
their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in
a terrible destructive process…” – Stanley Milgram
Social Influence: Which One?
 Influential Studies
 Stanford-Prison Experiment
(Philip Zimbardo, 1972)


Demonstrated the power of
“roles,” as well as
deindividualization
Abu Ghraib Prison (Iraq, 2004)
 The power of social roles
and the situation

Conformity? Compliance? Obedience?
Social Psychology:
Social Influence, Groups
Consists of two or more
individuals who interact
and are interdependent…
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on
Performance

Social Facilitation (Do GOOD, Do
BETTER)

An individual’s performance gets
better in the presence of others
 Pool players who made 71% of
their shots when alone, made
80% when they had spectators
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on Performance
 Social Inhibition/Impairment (Do BAD, Do WORSE)

An individual’s performance gets worse in the presence
of others
 Poor players who made 36% of their shots when alone,
made only 25% of their shots when they had spectators
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on
Productivity

Reasons for reduced
individual productivity
in groups?
Reduced efficiency
resulting from the loss
of coordination
 A general reduction in
effort, known as social
loafing…

Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on
Productivity

Social Loafing

A reduction in effort by
individuals when they
work in groups as
compared to when
they work by themselves
• Tug-of-War
• Group projects
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on
Decision-Making

Group Polarization

The enhancement of a
group’s prevailing
inclinations through
discussions within the
group; may produce a
shift towards a more
extreme decision
 Typically considered a “normal” group process
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on
Decision-Making

Groupthink

When members of a
cohesive group emphasize
concurrence at the expense
of critical thinking in
arriving at a decision
 Typically considered a
“diseased” group process
• Bay of Pigs Invasion
• Challenger Explosion
Social Influence: Group Influence
 Group Influence on Helping Behaviors
 Bystander Effect

A paradoxical social phenomenon in which people are
less likely to provide needed assistance when they are in
groups, as opposed to when they are alone
 Summarizing many different studies, psychologists
estimate that…
• People who are by themselves provide help 75% of the time
• People who are surrounded by others help 53% of the time

WHY?
• What does inaction by other people suggest?
• Diffusion of responsibility
Social Psychology:
Social Relations
PART THREE
Social Psychology:
Social Relations, Prejudice
Social Relations: Prejudice
 Prejudice
 An unjustifiable and negative attitude toward a
group; based on stereotypes
Generally involves beliefs, emotions & behavioral
dispositions
 Explicit Prejudice v. Implicit Prejudice

 Discrimination
 Unjustifiable & negative behavior toward the
members of a group
 Do prejudice and discrimination always go
hand-in-hand?
Social Relations: Prejudice
 Examples
 In one study, most white participants perceived a
white man shoving a black man as “horsing around;”
however, when they saw a black man shoving a white
man, they interpreted it as “violence”
 A black New Jersey dentist who drove a gold BMW
was stopped more than 75 times within a year
 People tend to perceive fathers as being more
intelligent than mothers
 Female circumcision in some African countries
Social Relations: Prejudice
 Examples
 In Los Angeles, 1115 landlords
received identically worded
emails from a would-be
tenant (actually a researcher)
expressing interest in vacant
apartments advertised online
 Encouraging replies came back to:
56% of emails signed “Tyrell Jackson”
 66% signed “Said Al-Rahman”
 89% of those signed “Patrick McDougall”

Social Relations: Prejudice
 Roots of Prejudice
 In-Group
People with whom one shares a common identity; “us”
 In-group bias
 The tendency to favor one’s own group


Out-Group

Perceived as different or apart from one’s in-group;
“them”
 Significance?
 Once an in-group is established, prejudice and
discriminatory treatment of the out-group soon
follows…
Social Relations: Prejudice
 Realistic Conflict Theory
 Prejudice & discrimination will be increased between
groups that are in conflict over a limited resource

Examples
 Early Crusaders & Muslims
 Native population of you-name-the-country & the
colonists who wanted the land
 Scapegoating
 When does this phenomenon become most prevalent?
 Why/how is it used?
Social Relations: Prejudice
 How do people learn prejudice?
 Social Identity Theory


Formation of a person's identity within a particular
group is explained by social categorization, social
identity & social comparison
 Helps to explain why people feel the need to categorize
or stereotype others, producing the in-group sense of
“us versus them” that people adopt toward out-groups
Stereotype Vulnerability

The effect that people’s awareness of the stereotypes
associated with their social group has on their behavior
 Self-fulfilling prophecy
Social Psychology:
Social Relations, Attraction
“I just don’t know what she sees in him. She
do so much better for herself. I suppose he’s
a nice guy, but they’re just not right for
each other…”
Social Relations: Attraction
 The Rules of Attraction (Key
Factors)

Physical Attractiveness
Research indicates that attractive
people of both sexes enjoy
greater mating success
 We also consider our OWN
LEVEL of attractiveness when
pursuing partners
 The “Matching” Hypothesis

Social Relations: Attraction
 Did You Know?
 Physical attractiveness is the #1 most desirable trait
(though it has been found that women lie about this)
 Babies gaze longer at attractive faces…
 Americans spend more money on beauty supplies
than education, but women are unhappier with their
appearance today than ever before…
Social Relations: Attraction
 The Rules of Attraction
(Key Factors)

Proximity/Physical Closeness

Availability depends heavily
on proximity
 Mere Exposure Effect
• The phenomenon that
repeated exposure to novel
stimuli increases our
liking of them
• “He grew on me…”
• (Applies to our perception of our self as well)
Social Relations: Attraction
 The Rules of Attraction
(Key Factors)

Similarity Effects
Birds of a feather flock
together…
 Age, race, religion, social class, education, intelligence,
physical attractiveness, values and attitudes…
 Serves to validate us…
 Similarity causes attraction; however, attraction can
also foster similarity…


Reciprocity of Liking

The tendency of people to like people who like them
Social Relations: Attraction
 Components of Love (Robert Sternberg,
1997)

Intimacy


Passion


Feelings of closeness; emotional ties
The physical aspect of love; characterized by large swings
in positive & negative emotions
Commitment

The decisions that one makes regarding a relationship
 May coexist, but don’t necessarily go hand-in-
hand…
Sternberg’s
Triangular
Theory of
Love
Social Relations: Attraction
 Love as Attachment (Cindy Hazan & Philip
Shaver, 1987)

Studied similarities between love & attachment
relationships in infancy and in adulthood

The vast majority of people relive their early bonding
experiences (with their parents) in their adult
relationships
Social Relations: Attraction
 Secure Attachment
(56% of adult subjects)



I find it relatively easy
to get close to others…
I am comfortable
depending on others
and having them depend
on me…
I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about
someone getting too close to me…
Social Relations: Attraction
 Avoidant Attachment
(24% of adult subjects)




I am somewhat
uncomfortable being
close to others…
I find it difficult to trust
them & difficult to allow myself to depend on them…
I am nervous when anyone gets too close…
I often feel that partners want me to be more intimate
than I feel comfortable being…
Social Relations: Attraction
 Anxious-Ambivalent
Attachment (20% of
adult subject)



I find that others are
reluctant to get as close
as I would like…
I often worry that my
partner doesn’t really love me or won’t want to stay
with me…
I want to merge completely with another person, and
this desire sometimes scares people away…