Transcript AP PSYCH UNIT 13 NOTES

Social Psychology
(Social Thinking)
 Attributing theory and error
 Attitudes
 Compliance
 Role-playing Zimbardo
Focuses in Social Psychology
“We cannot live for ourselves alone.”
Herman Melville
Social psychology scientifically studies how we think
about, influence, and relate to one another.
Attributing Behavior to Persons or to
Situations
http://www.stedwards.edu
Attribution Theory: Fritz
Heider (1958) suggested
that we have a tendency
to give causal
explanations for someone’s
behavior, often by
crediting either the
situation or the person’s
disposition.
Fritz Heider
Situational Attribution
Situational Attribution
Situational Attribution
Dispositional Attribution
Dispositional Attribution
Dispositional Attribution
Attribution
Fundamental Attribution Error
• Tendency to attribute the behavior of
others to internal disposition rather
than to situations
• People tend to blame or credit the
person more than the situation
Attitude
Belief and feeling that predisposes one to respond
in a particular way to objects, people and events.
If we believe a person is mean, we may feel dislike
for the person and act unfriendly.
Attitudes Can Affect Action
Our attitudes predict our behaviors imperfectly
because other factors including the external situation
also influence behavior.
Although Democrat leaders supported Bush’s attack
on Iraq, under public pressure, they had their private
reservations.
Actions Can Affect Attitudes
Not only do people stand for what they believe
[attitude] in, but they start believing in what they
stand for.
Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs).
Compliance
Small Request –> Large Request
Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: tendency for
people who have first agreed to a small request, to
comply later with a larger request.
“Well, if you are
already spending this
on a dress, what’s a
few more dollars to
get this?”
Another method of compliance
Large request --> Small request
• Door-in-the-face phenomenon
– After disagreeing to a large initial request, a
person is more likely to agree to something that
seems less expensive, painstaking, etc
“So you can’t
afford the luxury
model, how
about the next
level down?”
Actions Can Affect Attitudes
Why do actions affect attitudes? One explanation is
that when our attitudes and actions are opposed,
we experience tension, called cognitive dissonance.
To relieve us of this tension we bring our attitudes
closer to our actions (Festinger, 1957).
Cognitive Dissonance
Role Playing Affects Attitudes
Zimbardo (1972) assigned the role of guards and prisoners to
random students and found that guards and prisoners
developed role appropriate attitudes. Our schemas and
perceptions affect our thinking and behaviors when we assume
other roles.
Social Influence
• Conformity- Asch
• Obedience- Milgram
• Persuasion
Social Influence
The greatest contribution of social psychology is its
study of attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and actions and
the way they are molded by social influence.
Conformity & Obedience
Behavior is contagious, modeled by one followed
by another. We follow the behavior of others to
conform (Asch).
Other behaviors may be the expression of
compliance (obedience) toward authority.
Conformity
Obedience
Group Pressure & Conformity
Suggestibility is a subtle type of conformity–
adjusting our behavior or thinking toward some
group standard.
The Chameleon Effect
Conformity: adjusting one’s behavior or thinking
to coincide with a group standard (Chartrand &
Bargh, 1999).
Group Pressure & Conformity
Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept
others’ opinions about reality.
Asch found that these conditions
strengthen conformity
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2.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
One is made to feel incompetent or insecure.
The group has at least three people.
The group is unanimous.
One admires the group’s status and attractiveness.
One has as open mind.
The group observes one’s behavior.
One’s culture strongly encourages respect for social
standard.
An authority figure or respected individual models.
Reasons for Conformity
Normative Social Influence: influence resulting from
a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection.
Respecting normative behavior, because price may
be severe if not followed.
Informational Social Influence: The group may
provide valuable information, only stubborn
people will never listen to others.
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Obedience
People comply to social
pressures. But how would
they respond to outright
command?
Stanley Milgram designed
a study that investigated
the effects of authority on
obedience.
Stanley Milgram
(1933-1984)
Milgram’s Study
Milgram’s Study: Results
Persuasion
• The researcher in the Milgram study used a
Central route for persuasion – that is, he
focused on facts and logic to attain the
desired behavior. What were these?
• Group leaders tend to use a Peripheral route
for persuasion – one which focuses on
emotional appeal, personality and positive
regard for the group at hand.
Persuasion
• Central Route – Adds in
facts, logic and strong
arguments
• Peripheral Route –
Emphasizes emotional
appeal, focuses on personal
traits and generates
positive feelings
• Three components –
source, message and
audience
• Source – We are more likely to believe sources that
appear honest, trustworthy, have expertise and
credibility and are attractive.
• Message – messages using a central route are
convincing and understandable, however, the
peripheral route may appeal to people more. Fear
tends to be a good technique.
• Audience – audiences who want the facts should be
given the central route, others the peripheral. Know
your audience and their attitudes
Individual Resistance
A third of individuals in Milgram’s study resisted
social coercion.
An unarmed individual single-handedly
Challenged a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square.
Lessons from the Conformity and
Obedience Studies
In both Asch's and Milgram's studies participants
were pressurized between following their standards
and being responsive to others.
In Milgram’s study, a step forward, participants
were torn between hearing victims pleas and
experimenter’s orders.
Group Influence
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Group behavior
Individual Behavior in the Presence
of Others
Social facilitation: Refers
to improved performance
on a task in the presence
of others. Triplett (1898)
noticed cyclists’ race time
were faster when they
competed against others
than against a clock. This
only occurred, however, if
the person already
acquired the skill.
Social Loafing
Tendency of an individual in a group to exert less
effort toward attaining a common goal than when
tested individually (Latané, 1981).
Hey, I wore a tie at
least.
Deindividuation
Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group
situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
Mob behavior
Effects of Group Interaction
Group Polarization:
enhances group’s
prevailing attitudes
through discussion. If a
group is like-minded,
discussion strengthens its
prevailing opinions and
attitudes.
Groupthink
Mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for
harmony in a decision-making group overrides
realistic appraisal of alternatives.
Where were those weapons of
mass destruction????
Antisocial Relations
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Prejudice
Group Bias
Aggression
Conflict
Social Relations
Social psychology teaches us how we relate to one
another from prejudice, aggression and conflict to
attraction, altruism and peacemaking.
Prejudice
Simply called, “prejudgment,” a prejudice is an
unjustifiable (usually negative) attitude toward a
group and its members – often of different cultural,
ethnic or gender groups.
Components of Prejudice
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2.
3.
Beliefs (stereotypes)
Emotions (hostility, envy, fear)
Predisposition to act (to discriminate)
Reign of Prejudice
Prejudice works at the conscious and [more so] the
unconscious level. Thus prejudice is more like a
knee-jerk response than a conscious decision.
• Implicit racial associations – trouble identifying
pleasant words
• Unconscious patronization – lower expectations
• Race-influenced perceptions – perceived to have
weapon more frequently
Divide into 2 groups
• Create list of characteristics that your group
shares
• Create list of characteristics that defines the
other group
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Social Roots of Prejudice
Why does prejudice arise?
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Social Inequalities
Social Divisions
Emotional Scapegoating
Social Inequality
When people have money, power and prestige, and
others do not, prejudice develops. Social inequality
increases prejudice.
Ethnocentrism
• The tendency to think that your nation or
culture is superior to others
• Judge other cultures based on your own
rather than on its own merits
In and Out Groups
Ingroup: People with whom one shares a common
identity. Outgroup: Those perceived as different from
one’s ingroup. Ingroup Bias: The tendency to favor
one’s own group.
Scotland’s famed “Tartan Army” fans.
Emotional Roots of Prejudice
Prejudice provides an outlet for anger [emotion]
by providing someone to blame. After 9/11 many
people lashed out against innocent ArabAmericans.
Cognitive Roots of Prejudice
One way we simplify our world is to categorize. We
categorize people into groups by stereotyping
them.
Foreign sunbathers may think Balinese look alike.
Cognitive Roots of Prejudice
The tendency of people to believe the world is just
and people get what they deserve and deserve what
they get (the just-world phenomenon).
Aggression
Aggression can be any physical or verbal behavior
intended to hurt or destroy whether done reactively
out of hostility or proactively as a calculated means
to an end.
Research shows that aggressive behavior emerges
from the interaction of biology and experience.
The Biology of Aggression
Three levels of biological influences on aggressive
behavior are:
1. Genetic Influences
2. Neural Influences
3. Biochemical Influences
Influences
Genetic Influences: Animals have been bred for
aggressiveness – for sport and at times for research.
Twin studies show aggression may be genetic. In men,
aggression is possibly linked to Y chromosome.
Neural Influences: Some centers in the brain,
especially the limbic system (amygdala) and the
frontal lobe are intimately involved with aggression.
Influences
Biochemical Influences: Animals with diminished
amounts of testosterone (castration) become docile,
and if injected with testosterone aggression increases.
Prenatal exposure to testosterone also increases
aggression in female hyenas.
The Psychology of Aggression
Four psychological factors that influence aggressive
behavior are:
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Aversive Events
Learning Aggression is Rewarding
Observing Models of Aggression
Acquiring Social Scripts
Aversive Events
Studies in which animals and humans experience
unpleasant events reveal that those made miserable
often make others miserable.
Ron Artest (Pacers) attack on Detroit Pistons.
Frustration-Aggression Principle
A principle in which frustration (caused by blocking
to achieve some goal) creates anger, which can
generate aggression.
Learning that Aggression is Rewarding
When aggression leads to desired outcomes, one
learns to be aggressive. This is shown in animals and
humans alike.
Cultures that favor violence breed violence. ScotchIrish settlers in the South had more violent tendencies
than their Quaker, Dutch counterparts in the
Northeast of the US.
Acquiring Social Scripts
The media portrays social scripts and generates
mental tapes in the minds of the viewers. When
confronted with new situations individuals may rely
on such social scripts. If social scripts are violent in
nature, people may act them out.
Do Video Games Teach or Release
Violence?
The general consensus on violent video games is
that to some extent it breeds violence. Adolescents
view the world as hostile, get into arguments, and
get bad grades after playing such games.
Summary
Cult Persuasion
“brainwashing,” mind control,
cult conversion, and
deprogramming
Roots of cultic research
• POW camps in the Korean war:
– emergence of the term “brainwashing”
• “When Prophecy Fails: Festinger, Riecken, & Schacter’s 1956
analysis of an end-of-the earth cult
• 1960’s: popularity of Hare Krishnas and transcendental
meditation
Modern day cults: a sad, brief chronology
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1978: Reverend Jim Jones and 900 followers, •
including children, commit suicide in
Jonestown Guyana by drinking cyanide-laced
punch.
1991: a Mexican minister and 29 followers
suffocate after he instructs them to keep
•
praying and ignore toxic fumes filling the
church.
1993: At least 80 Branch Davidians, followers
of David Coresh, perish in a fire and shoot-out •
with the BATF at their compound in Waco,
Texas.
1993: 53 Vietnamese tribal villagers commit
suicide with primitive weapons in the belief
they will go straight to heaven.
1994: 67 members of the “Order of the Solar
Temple,” cult are found burned to death in
the French alps in Switzerland and in Quebec,
Canada.
1995: Shoko Asahara & Aum Supreme Truth
released Sarin gas in five Tokyo subway
stations killing 12 people (one dying a year
after the attack) and sickening more than
5,500 others.
1997: 39 members of the “Heaven’s Gate”
cult, led by Marshall Applewhite, commit
suicide in California. They die so they can join
the Mother Ship following the Hale-Bopp
comet.
2000: More than 900 members of a reclusive
Christian doomsday cult in Africa were
murdered by their leaders. Many burned to
death, others were buried in mass graves.
2003: Members of the Raelians, a cult
founded by Claude Vorilhon
now known as "Rael" claimed that with the
assistant of Clonaid, a human cloning
company, they had cloned two or more
infants.
“Rael” and Brigitte
Boisselier, Raelian bishop
and CEO of Clonaid
Omnipresence of cults and cult activities
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Some estimates suggest there are over
5000 cults in the U.S. alone (including
militia groups, extremist religions, and
new age sects)
The new millennium rekindled interest
and membership in cults.
– Some estimates suggest upwards of
185,000 converts per year
Not all cults are religious or spiritual in
nature. Modern cults include large
group-awareness trainings,
psychotherapy, business, political, and
"New Age" groups
What is a “cult?” Definitional considerations:
• Difficulty of defining cults precisely:
– One person’s cult is another person’s
religion
– Europeans call them “sects”
– “cult” is a pejorative term, usually used
by one group to brand another.
• Singer & Lalich (1995): “a cultic
relationship is one in which a person
intentionally induces others to
become totally or nearly totally
dependent on him or her for almost
all major life decisions, and inculcates
in these followers a belief that he or
she has some special talent, gift, or
knowledge.”
More problems with defining cults
• What is the difference between a “cult”
and a “social movement,” or an
“extremist group” or a “club.”
• Which, if any, of the following are cults?
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Unification Church (“moonies”)
Church of Scientology
Mormonism
Amish
the Manson family
Masons or Shriners
Militia groups
Hell’s angels
Suicide bombers
Fraternities
Amway
Trekkers and Trekkies
Boy Scouts of America
“brainwashing,” a misnomer
• People can’t be “brainwashed.” There is no science of
brainwashing that allows people to be programmed,
deprogrammed, or reprogrammed like a computer.
– A cult convert has to be a willing participant in
his/her conversion. He or she may not be aware of
a persuasive effort, but he or she has to go along
with the process.
– Cults use the same basic techniques of persuasion
as other persuaders, but in addition, they rely on
many unethical strategies
– Cults employ many strategies at once; physical
isolation, ego-reinforcement, sleep deprivation,
deception, etc.
– Cults control the physical environment of members
as well (that is why cults often live away from the
rest of society in a compound, commune, etc.
Robert Lifton’s (1987) 8 marks of
mind control
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Robert Jay Lifton
Milieu control: control of the environment, communication, access to
information
Mystical manipulation: the leader gets to reinterpret events and history as
she/he sees fit.
Demand for purity: society is corrupt, members must be purified. The
desire to become mentally and physically pure makes members susceptible
to guilt, fear, and other moral appeals used by the leader.
Cult of confession: control of shame and guilt; members must confess any
wrongdoing to the leader, including mental infractions
Sacred science: reliance on dogmatic principles; the leader has all the
answers. Only the leader is privileged to know the absolute truth.
Loading the language: reliance on thought-restraining phrases and
language; serves to isolate members from the outside world and constrict
members’ thinking
Doctrine over person: the cause’s doctrine takes precedence over the
individual. Members’ character and identity have to be reshaped.
Dispensing of existence: Outsiders are unworthy unless they join the
group. Members fear being expelled from the group.
Recruitment techniques: the cult conversion
process
• How it starts:
– Windows of vulnerability: targets are most susceptible during an
emotional crisis (divorce, death of loved one, serious illness, etc.)
• target’s judgment may be confused, impaired
• target is looking for an answer to life’s problems
• Befriending the target
– Ingratiation strategies (compliments, flattery, especially about
sources of insecurity)
– Lure of forming a serious or close relationship
• Invitation to attend a meeting or retreat
– isolation from friends, family
– control over environment
– Difficult to leave
• Deception: withholding the true identify of the group, withholding the
purpose of befriending another, etc.
Psychological techniques of persuasion
• Unconditional positive
regard
– “love bombing,”group
hugs, etc.
• Meditation, chanting, and
other mind-numbing
techniques
• Peer group pressure
– Pressure to conform, be
part of the group
• Verbal abuse
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Confession
Fear, guilt appeals
Sacrifice; personal, financial
Loyalty tests
Demonizing (doubts are
the Devil at work)
Physical techniques of persuasion
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Physical isolation
Sleep deprivation
Fasting
Control of the person’s
time (rigorous schedule,
no free time)
• Loss of privacy
• Constant praying or
witnessing of beliefs to
the group
• Repetitive motion (chanting,
dancing)
• Hallucinations (via
hyperventilation, hallucinogens,
chanting, etc.)
• Body manipulation
• Extreme dress codes
• Loyalty tests
Warning Signs: Checklist of cult characteristics
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The group is focused on a living leader to whom members
seem to display zealous, unquestioning loyalty
The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members
The group is preoccupied with bringing in money
Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged, or even
punished
Mind-numbing techniques like chanting, speaking in
tongues
denunciation sessions are used to suppress doubts about
the group or its leadership
The leadership dictates in great detail how members
should think, feel, act. (permission to come and go, where
to live, how to discipline children, etc.
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status. The
leader is considered the Messiah
Extra-biblical revelation: God communicates directly to
the group’s leader.
For more
information, see
Dr. Margaret
Singer’s
excellent book,
Cults in Our
Midst (1996).
More warning signs
• The group exhibits a polarized “us-them”
mentality. Outsiders are evil and must be
shunned.
• The group’s leader is not accountable to any
authorities, inside or outside of the group
• The group teaches that its ends justify the
means (such as collecting money for phony
charities)
• The leadership induces guilt, fear, in group
members in order to control them
• Members’ subservience to the group causes
them to cut ties with family and friends, and to
give up personal goals in the interests of the
group
• Social encapsulation: Members are encouraged
to live with, or socialize with the group
exclusively
A warning and advice:
• Beware of the “self serving bias”
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Most people think they are smarter than average
Most people think they are better looking than average
Most people think they are more skilled than other drivers
Most college students think they will outlive their peers
• People tend to think they are immune to cult influence
– “I’m too smart to be duped by a cult”
– “People with low self esteem join cults”
– Only 5 to 6 percent of cult members demonstrate major psychological problems prior
to joining a cult (Singer, 1995).
• Once involved, it can be difficult to take one’s exit
– psychological commitment
– the need to save face
• the vast majority of cult recruits are normal, productive people--people
confident in their ability to shrug off cult influence tactics
• the single most important defense against cult influence is the realization
that we are all vulnerable
Examples of Destructive Cults
Aum Shinrikyo
Branch Davidians
The Family (Charles Manson)
Heaven's Gate
The People's Temple (Jim Jones)
Order of the Solar Temple
Jim Jones
• “Dissent was unthinkable…
Offenders sweltered in "The Box,"
a 6-by-4-foot (1.8-by-1.2-meter)
underground enclosure.
Misbehaving children were
dangled head-first into the well
late at night. Loudspeakers
broadcast Jones' voice at all
hours.
• Deborah Layton – escaped from
Jonestown
Brainwashed????
• Brainwashing is a forced attitude change that
requires a captive audience
• POW’s often subjected to brainwashing
techniques
• Patricia Hearst
• Physical and psychological aspects of
brainwashing:
– Physical abuse
– Lack of sleep
– Humiliation
– Isolation
– Giving hope
– Fear
Cults
• Cults often look for people who socially isolate
themselves from friends and family
• They then work to further isolate them and
make them initially feel like the cult is their
family
• Jim Jones used sedatives to calm people and
armed guards to keep people in line
• People who join cults
often do so because of
the personality of the
leader, not necessarily
what they believe in
• Often see leader as
infallible
• They often follow
leader without question
• Often used guilt,
manipulation,
deception, fear, and
high-pressure
indoctrination
Group behavior
• Group cohesion – when
groups bond strongly
together due to
common attitudes
• Group norms –
unwritten rules that
may be spoken or
simply understood
about behavior of the
group
How do we form groups?
• Maslow cites the need for love and
belongingness
• Schacter cites the need for affiliation
• Festinger cites the social comparison theory –
which states that humans are compelled to
compare themselves to others in group to
determine correct beh.
• Mullen & Copper cite the fact that people like
to join task-oriented groups – where every
member has specific tasks to complete.
Makes people feel needed
– People are more willing to work hard if there is a
group cohesion
• Others cite the fact that people join groups
that are socially oriented
Prosocial Relations
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Attraction
Love
Altruism
Bystanders
Social Norms
Peacemaking
“No Man is an Island”
• No man lives in isolation
– All people are interconnected
– People need social relationships
Social Perception
• Nonverbal Communication – unspoken communication
and the distance we keep from one another
– Haptic – physical contact
• Waitresses get larger tips, mood increases
• Must be appropriate, depends on the person
– Eye Contact
• Gazing – steady, intent look (Sign of friendship)
• Staring – looking fixedly with wide-open eyes (Sign of anger)
– Paralinguistic – tone, volume, …
– Proxemics, Body language, Facial expression, Gestures,
and Appearance
Attraction and Relationships
• Relatively new to social psychology
• Psychologists generally only focus on
individuals
• Romance and attraction isn’t a
‘scholarly’ thing to study
• Relationships have a number of
important health benefits.
Ideal Qualities in a Romantic Partner
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3
Less than me
About the same as me
More than me
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Extraversion
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Conscientiousness
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Agreeableness
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Openness
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Neuroticism
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Age
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Height
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Education
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Intelligence
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Good Looks
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Social Status
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Spirituality
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Dominance
Overview
 What leads to
attraction?
 Proximity
 Mere exposure
 Physical attractiveness
 Similarity (Chameleon
Effect)
 Matching
 Mimicry
Psychology of Attraction
1. Proximity: Geographic nearness is a powerful
predictor of friendship. Repeated exposure to
stimuli increases their attraction
(mere exposure effect).
Ever like a song the more
times you hear it?
This is why long-distance
relationships don’t work out
(sorry) 
Attraction
• Mere exposure
– Moreland & Beach (1992): women coming into
class; the more they came to class, the more other
students liked her
Preferred Qualities in Partners (Buss
et al., 1986)
Women
1) Kind/understanding
2) Exciting Personality
3) Intelligent
4) Healthy
5) Easy Going
6) Physically Attractive
Men
Kind/understanding
Exciting Personality
Intelligent
Physically Attractive
Healthy
Easy Going
Psychology of Attraction
2. Physical Attractiveness: Once proximity affords
contact the next most important thing in
attraction is physical appearance.
Physical Attraction
– “What Is Beautiful Is Good”
stereotype
– People tend to attribute desirable
characteristics such as sociable,
friendly, poised, warm,
competent, and well adjusted to
those who are good looking
– Attractive children and adults are
judged and treated more
favorably
– Implications for career & salary
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Physical Attraction
• Physical attractiveness:
– Walster, Hatfield,
Berscheid (1966):
– Computer Dance
• Randomly matched 752
incoming students as blind
dates for an orientation
dance
• What was the MOST
IMPORTANT determinant
in future dating???
Walster et al. Computer
Dating Study
• Freshman “Welcome Week” dance
• I.V.s
– Attractiveness rated
– Personality tests (social skills; introversionextroversion; masculinity-femininity; MMPI)
– IQ
• Subjects matched for date (randomly)
• D.V.s
– Rated date at intermission
– Contacted several months later about further dates
Computer Dating Study
• Physical attractiveness the most important
factor
• Intelligence and personality were not related
to future dating
Symmetry
Card activity
Don’t look at your card.
Match with the person with the highest card
who will also agree to match with you.
Psychology of Attraction
3. Similarity: Having similar views between
individuals causes the bond of attraction to
strengthen.
Similarity breeds content!
Similarity
– Couples tend to be similar in age, race,
religion, social class, personality, education,
intelligence, physical attractiveness, and
attitudes
– Personality similarity related to marital
happiness.
– Perceived similarity more strongly
associated with marital satisfaction than
actual similarity
What personality traits are
important to match on?
• Malouff, et al. (2010) meta-analysis
• Connection between personality traits and
relationship satisfaction.
• Low neuroticism,
• Higher agreeableness, conscientiousness and
extraversion.
• Matching on Individual Big 5 traits does not
predict satisfaction but matching on overall
profile does.
Similarity
• Why do we like people like us?
• Why does similarity increase relationship
satisfaction?
Mimicry-Similarity in Behavior
• When we want to belong to a group or want
others to like us, we mimic their behavior.
– Mirror Neuron
• We like people who mimic our behavior.
• But don’t be too obvious!!!
People get more similar over time
• Zajonc et al. (1987)
• Dissimilar looking couples at marriage look more
similar 25 years later.
• Happier couple look more similar
• Decades of shared emotions?
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Similarity to Pets
Romantic Love
Passionate Love: An aroused state of intense positive
absorption in another usually present at the beginning
of a love relationship.
Two-factor theory of emotion
1. Physical arousal
2. Perceptions of that arousal
• Attraction can be attributed to the
event/feeling versus the actual person
Romantic Love
Companionate Love: Deep affectionate attachment
we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.
Equity: A condition in
which people receive
from a relationship in
proportion to what they
give to it.
Self-Disclosure:
Revealing intimate
aspects of oneself to
others.
Commensurate Love
Triangular Model of
Love
• Intimacy – closeness
• Passion – attraction
• Commitment recognition
When all else fails…
• Misattribution of arousal
Conclusions-Summary
• Many factors contribute to attraction
– Proximity
– Physical attractiveness (matching)
– Similarity
• Importance of personality similarities
• Mimicry  increased liking
• We become more similar to our partners over time
Altruism
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
Bystander Effect
Tendency for any given
bystander to be less likely
to give aid if other
bystanders are present.
Kitty Genovese
Bystander Intervention
The decision-making process for bystander
intervention.
The Social Norms for Helping
Unselfish regard for the welfare of others.
Social Exchange Theory: Our social behavior is an
exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize
benefits and minimize costs.
 Reciprocity Norm: The expectation that we should return help, not harm, to
those who have helped us.
 Social–Responsibility Norm: Tells us to help others when they need us even
though they may not repay us in kind.
 Social Trap: A situation in which a person acts to obtain short-term individual
gains, which in the long run leads to a loss for the group as a whole.
Peacemaking
Superordinate Goals are shared goals that override
differences among people and require their
cooperation.
Communication and understanding is developed
through talking to one another. Sometimes mediated
with a third party.
Peacemaking
Graduated & Reciprocated Initiatives in
Tension-Reduction (GRIT) A strategy designed
to decrease international tensions. One side
recognizes mutual interests and initiates a small
conciliatory act that opens the door for
reciprocation by the other party.
AP info…
• Know attitudes, prejudice, stereotypes
• Know Asch (conformity), Milgram (obedience),
and Zimbardo (role-playing)
• 3 factors of attraction (proximity, physical,
similarity)
• Group think (harmony), group polarization
• Bystander Effect
• Social traps
More AP info…
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Central and Peripheral routes to persuasion
Just-world phenomenon
Fundamental attribution error (Heider)
Normative vs Informative social influence
Compliance (foot-in-the-door, door-in-theface)
• Cognitive dissonance (Festinger)
• Relative deprivation
The Psychology of Culture
• System of subtle and obvious rules
(shared beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors)
established to ensure a group’s survival
• The rules are passed from one
generation to the next.
• The “software of our minds”
• Different from nationality, race, and
ethnicity
Factors Influencing Culture
• Four factors influence culture
–Population density
–Climate
–Resources
–Technology
Individualism and
Collectivism
Individualism
• Cultural style that places personal goals
or needs ahead of group goals or needs
Collectivism
• Cultural style that places group goals or
needs ahead of personal goals or needs
Self-Concept
• One’s sense of self
• Individualist cultures have an
independent understanding of self
–Are separate from others
• Collectivist cultures have an
interdependent understanding of self
–Are connected with others
Motivation and Culture
• Individualist cultures view motivation as
an internal push and achievement as an
individual triumph.
• Collectivist cultures view the desire to
achieve as emerging from a sense of
indebtedness or obligation to the group.
Cross-Cultural
Research:
Culture and
Personality
Locus of Control
• Person’s perception of the source of
control over fate or what happens in life
• Two types:
–Internal locus of control
–External locus of control
Cross-Cultural
Research:
Attachment
Secure Attachment
• Parents in the United States value secure
attachment with their children.
• Some other cultures consider such
attachment as spoiling the child.
Cross-Cultural
Research:
Developmental
Psychology
Socialization
• Learning to become a member of a
culture including behaviors the
individual expects, and what is expected
of the individual
Personality Development
– Heredity
• Aptitude – capacity to learn a particular skill
• Limits on what is possible
– Birth Order
• Siblings, birth order influence behavior
– 1st born – achievement oriented, cautious, cooperative
– Later-born – more affectionate, friendly, creative
– Parental Characteristics
• Age of parents, level of education, religious orientation, cultural
heritage,…
– Cultural Environment
• U.S. – competitiveness, assertiveness
• Ik – children out of home by age three
– Male or female, region of country
Personality Development
• Isolation in Childhood
– Few human characteristics
• No reasoning, no ability to move like human beings,…
– Institutionalization
• Show similar characteristics of isolated children
– Feral Children
• Raised by animals
The Development of the Self
• Tabula Rasa
– John Locke
– Each of us is born without a personality
• The Looking Glass Self
– 3 step process of developing sense of self
• Perceptions of how others judge us to develop feelings
about ourselves
• Role-Taking
– Learn how to see ourselves and allows us to
anticipate what others expect of us
Agents of Socialization
• Specific forces and situations that shape socialization
experiences
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The Family
The Peer Group
The School
The Mass Media
Religion
Sports
Other Agents