Social Psychology 1nd Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 9 12 Self Serving Attributions Take credit for our successes avoid taking blame for our fail ures How good of a person am i Self serving biases we fool ourselves into thinking we re better than we are Downward social comparison Compare ourselves with people worse than us Makes accurate self knowledge difficult Attitudes the extent to which we like or dislike something Person idea object What attitudes are NOT Outlook on life manner disposition Why do we hold the attitudes we hold We have attitudes Attitudes Behavior Are we rational actors Cognitive Dissonance An unpleasant state caused by holding two or more conflicting cognitions Attitude Behavior How to deal with hypocrisy Change behavior Rationalize behavior change attitude to match behavior How do we live with our lives Noble ways Stop lying Less noble ways Lie only a little Avoid self awareness Convince ourselves the ends justify the means Convince ourselves we didn t lie The case of smoking Dissonant Cognitions I smoke Smoking will kill me Let s Talk About Sex Aronson Mills 1959 Women invited to a group discussion about sex Embarrasment Test given Mild initiation group control Had to recite words like petting or fondle Severe Initiation Group Experimental Had to recite words like F ck and other explicits Also had to recite passages from lurid book Everyone passed the test Listen in on talk about sex first Found out the talk was about sex in worms Who enjoyed the discussion more Cognitions I worked hard to get into this group This group is boring Dissonance Convince yourself the group is enjoyable Who are We Attitude guides behavior rational actor Behavior guides attitude Rationalizing actor Who do we want to be Why do we hold the attitudes that we hold Persuasion Others attempt to change our attitudes What do we find more persuasive Random high school student who presents facts Harvard professor giving goofy information Some students were told if the initiative was passed it would take af fect in one year Other students were told it would take affect in 10 years In 10 year condition professor was more persuasive In 1 year condition high school student was more persuasive When things don t affect you you make mindless decisions Elaboration Likelihood Model Petty Cacioppo 1986 2 Routes to Persuasion Central Route Attend to arguement quality Peripheral Route attend to peripheral cues factors that are ir relevant to the central merits of the attitude object Source expertise Source attractiveness Emotion Labels Who do we want to be The nail that sticks up gets hammered down The nail that sticks up is a brave nail Social Influence Occasion in which our thoughts feelings or actions are affected by others 3 Types Conformity When people behave in line with group standards Compliance When people agree toa request made by another Obedience When people follow a direct command from an authority Subtle Conformity Have you conformed today 2 Types of Conformity Public Conformity Changing behavior based on response to group pressure even when you know the group is wrong Private Conformity Changing your attitude opinions or behavior because you think the group is right Favorable peripheral cue Strong argument Why is public conformity more obvious Because we can feed it Need to get along Need for accuracy The Subtlety of Private Conformity Moral Relativism Believing that its ok for people have different moral views Groups Deindividuation The loosening of normal constraints on behavior when people do not perceive themselves as individuals Group membership Deindividuation Group Membership Perceived Unaccountability Deindividua tion Group Membership Overstimulation Deindividuation Deindividuation even when alone Two multiple choice tests grade test yourself Control 24 cheated Experiment Wore sunglasses 61 cheated Does deindividuation lead to indiscriminate violence women in the 70s Randomly assigned to either wear normal clothes or KKK robes Someone is mean to you Chance to retaliate KKK robes provided harsher shock Third Condition Nurse costume Less shock Roles shared expectations about how particular people are supposed to behave Zimbardo Prison Study Basement of building Randomly assigned students to either be prisoners or guards