Chapter Sixteen

Module 16.1

Perceiving Others

Impression Formation

• Process by which we form an opinion of another person

• Influenced by

– Personal disclosure

– Social schema, first impressions

– Stereotypes

– Self-fulfilling prophecies

Attributions

• Personal explanations about the causes of behaviors or events

– Dispositional versus situational causes

Cognitive Biases in Attribution

• Fundamental attribution error

– Attribute behavior to internal factors

– Disregard external situational factors

• Actor-observer effect

– Attribute one’s own behavior to external causes

– Attribute others’ behavior to internal causes

• Self-serving bias

– Attribute personal success to internal factors

– Attribute failure to external factors

Attitudes

• Evaluation or judgment of person, object, social issue

• Components

– Cognitions, beliefs

– Emotions

– Behaviors

Sources of Attitudes

• Social environment

• Heredity, through

– Intelligence

– Temperament

– Personality traits

Attitudes and Behavior

• Attitudes only modestly linked to behavior

• Factors limiting relationship

– Situational constraints

Persuasion

• Attempts to change another’s attitude

– Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)

• People more likely to evaluate a message when

– Motivational state is high

– Possess relevant skills/knowledge

– Central rather than peripheral route

Variables Influencing Persuasion

• Source variables

– Communicator who presents message

• Message variables

– Presenting one or two sides

– Running counter to source’s interests

– Repetition

• Recipient variables

– Intelligence, self-confidence, mood

Module 16.2

Relating to Others

Attraction

• Feelings of liking others

• Having positive thoughts about them

• Inclinations to act positively toward them

• Includes friendships and romantic relationships

Determinants of Attraction

• Similarity

– Attitudes, appearance, class, race, other similarities

• Physical attractiveness

– Major determinant of initial attraction

– Matching hypothesis

• Proximity

– More chances for interacting

• Reciprocity

– Liking others who like us back

Helping Behavior

• Murder of Kitty Genovese

– Lack of prosocial behavior

• Bystander intervention

– Decision-making process

• See need for help

• Recognize as clear emergency

• Assume personal responsibility

• Determine kind of help

• Implement course of action

Influences on Helping

• Situational ambiguity

• Perceived cost

• Diffusion of responsibility

• Similarity

• Mood and gender

• Attributions of the cause of need

• Social norms

Prejudice

• Preconceived attitude formed without critical thought or evaluation

– Usually negative

– Components

• Cognitive: biased beliefs

• Emotions: dislike

• Behavior: discrimination

Development of Prejudice

• Negative stereotypes that are learned or acquired

• Direct experience

• Cognitive biases

– Out-group negativism

– In-group favoritism

– Out-group homogeneity

Prejudice: Individual Differences

• Why are some people more prejudiced than others?

– Learning experiences

– Cognitive style

• Universalist orientation: less prejudiced

– Authoritarian personality style

• Rigidity, obedience and respect for authority

Effects of Stereotyping and Prejudice

• How do they effect stereotyped groups?

– Lowered expectations

• Underperformance, lowered motivation

• Lower self-esteem

– Stereotype threat

Reducing Prejudice

• Allport: contact hypothesis

– Reduce prejudice by bringing groups into close contact

– Facilitated by

• Social and institutional support

• Acquaintance potential

• Equal status

• Intergroup cooperation

• Teach empathy

• Avoid stereotypical thinking

– Rejecting negative thoughts

– Rehearsing positive images

• Diversity education

Human Aggression as Instinct

• Fighting instinct as basic survival mechanism

• Between males

– Establish dominance

– Defend territory

– Claim food, mates, resources

• Human aggression may be too complex to be based on instinct

Influences on Aggression

• Biological

– Violent behavior and abnormal brain circuitry

• Neurotransmitter serotonin

– Male sex hormone, testosterone

– Inherited tendencies

• Learning

– Albert Bandura

– Aggressive behavior learned like other behaviors

– Observational learning, reinforcement

• Sociocultural

– Violence occurs within social contexts

• Social stressors, child abuse

• Violence as social influence tactic

• Alcohol use

– Strongly linked to aggressive behavior

– Loosens inhibitions

– Impairs cognitions, sensitivity, perception

• Emotional

– Frustration, anger may trigger aggression

• Environmental

– Rising temperatures, more aggression

• Induce angry, hostile thoughts and feelings

– Extreme high temperatures, dampen aggression

Module 16.3

Group Influences on Individual Behavior

Our Social Selves

• Two parts of self-concept

– Personal identity (individual identity)

• Distinguishes as unique individual

– Social identity (group identity)

• Member of social groups

Conformity

• Adhering to social norms

– General social norms

– Group or peer norms

• Asch’s classic study

– Measured performance in face of wrong answers by group members

• Why do people conform?

– Assume majority must be correct

– Highly value group acceptance

– Easier to go along

• Gender and cultural differences

• Personality

– Low self-esteem, shyness, desire to be liked

• Situational factors

• Process of acceding to the requests or demands of others

• Influences

– Recognized authority

– Social validation

– Consistency

Compliance Techniques

• Foot-in-the-door technique

– Small then larger favor

• Bait-and-switch technique

– Item not available as advertised

• Low-ball technique

– Low price becomes higher

• Door-in-the-face technique

– Excessively large, then smaller request

Obedience

• Compliance with commands of others, usually authority figures

• Milgram’s research

– “Teacher” shocks “learner”

– Most subjects obeyed, delivering high voltage shock

– Demonstrates potential for ordinary people to do harm by following authority

• Why do people obey immoral commands?

– Legitimization of authority

• Early socialization

• Taught to obey authority figures

– Social comparison

– Foot-in-the-door effect

Social Facilitation

• Tendency for people to work better in the presence of others

– Exposure to others induces energizing arousal

– Increases performance of dominant responses

• Not always correct response

Social Loafing

• Tendency for people to apply less effort working as members of a group

– More likely when performance not evaluated

– Reduced with

• More appealing tasks

• Visibility of individual performance

• Individual accountability

• Public feedback on individual performance

Mob Behavior

• Deindividuation

– Sense of losing sense of individuality in a group

– May be destructive

• Deviant, reckless mob behavior

• Examples: lynchings, looting, riots, hate groups

– Results from

• Anonymity

• Shifting attention (to actions of group)

Group Decision Making

• Group polarization

– Group members become more extreme

– Risky-shift phenomenon may occur

• Why does it occur?

– Social validation

– Normative influences

• Groupthink

– Tendency for members of a group to lose ability for critical evaluation

– Pressure to conform prevents debate

– Likely with

• Members strongly attached to group

• External threat present

• Strong-minded leader

Avoiding Group Think

• Recommendations

– Encourage consideration of all alternatives

– Group leader avoids stating preferences

– Outside opinions and analyses

– Encourage “devil’s advocate”

– Subdivide into independent groups

– Meetings to reassess and evaluate new information

Module 16.4

Application: Psychology Goes to Work

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

• I/O psychology

– Studies people at work and organizations in which they work

– Major areas

• Job satisfaction

• Adjustment to changing workplace

I/O Psychology: Job Satisfaction

• Job satisfaction depends on

– Qualities of job

• Status, pay, benefits

• Interesting and fulfilling

– Personality traits of employees

• Self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional stability

– Fit between attributional style and amount of control at work

I/O Psychology: Changing Workplace

• Challenges of the changing workplace

– Less secure

– Changes in technology

– Flexible work shifts, locations

• Organizational culture

– Shared values and norms

– Develop to fit needs of workers, workplace