CH14- SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYSocial Psychology: the scientific study of how we think about, influence and relate to one another.Social psychologists- focus on the situation. Study the social influences that explain why the SAME PERSON will act differently in different situations.*Social behavior arises from our social cognitionAttribution theory (Fritz Heider): we can attribute the behavior to the person’s stable, enduring traits (dispositional attribution). OR we can attribute it to the situation (situational attribution)Fundamental Attribution Error: we overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situations.Ex: Seeing a quite person in class having fun and being loud at a party.Loud person being quiet in class- David Napolitan and George Goethals experiment: demonstrated fundamental attribution error with Williams College students. o Had students talk one at a time with a young woman who either acted cold and critical or warm and friendly.o Before: researcher told half the students that the woman’s behavior would be SPONTANEOUS. And the other that she was ACTING for the experimento Hearing the truth did NOT affect the impressions. If she acted friendly, both groups decided she was really a warm person. If she acted unfriendly, both decided she was cold. o Attributed her behavior to her PERSONAL DISPOSITION even when told her behavior was SITUATIONAL(acting for the experiment)When explaining our OWN behaviors, we are sensitive to how behavior changes with the SITUATION. Use the situation as the reason for our behaviors (Exception: we often attribute our INTENTIONAL&ADMIRABLE actions to our own disposition/good reason rather than situations) we are sensitive to the power of the situation when we explain the behavior of people we KNOW WELL and have SEEN in DIFFERENT context.-most likely to commit fundamental attribution error with strangers.Our attributions – to a person’s disposition or situation – have consequences.Real-life effects:- jury must decide whether shooting was malicious (persons disposition) or self defense (situational).- A partner must decide whether loved ones mean remark is because of their bad day or because theyre a malicious personSocial and economic effects of attribution:- Political conservatives tend to place blame on the personal dispositions of thepoor/unemployed: “they get what they deserve, those who don’t work are freeloaders. Those who take initiative can get ahead”- Political liberals: more likely to blame the past and present situation.Attitudes: feelings, often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events.- If we BELIEVE someone is threatening us, we may FEEL fear and anger towards the person and ACT defensively- Our attitudes affect our actions, vice versaAttitudes Affect ActionsPersuasion efforts:1. Peripheral route persuasion: occurs when people are infl. by incidental cues such as endorsements by respected people, speakers attractiveness. Ex: perfume ad luring us with images of beautiful people in lovea. does NOT engage systematic thinking.b. Fast results, snap judgements2. Central route persuasion: occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughtsa. Occurs mostly when people are naturally analytical or involved in the issueSituation also influences behavior. Ex: strong social pressures can weaken attitude-behavior connection.Actions Affect AttitudesAttitudes follow behavior. People will stand up for what they believe and believe more strongly for things they have stood up for.Foot-in-the-door phenomenon: tendency for people who have first agreed to small requests to comply later with larger ones.- Korean War: u.s. prisoners held in war camps. Without brutality, the captors secured prisoner’s collaboration in various activities. Some ran errands or accepted favors, false confessions. When war ended, 21 prisoners chose to STAY with the communist captors. More returned home “brainwashed” convinced that communism was a good thing for Asia.o Began with harmless requests but gradually escalated their demands- Prisoners adjusted their beliefs to be more consistent with their public acts-to get people to agree with something big, start small and build. A trivial act makes the next act easier. -succumb to a temptation and you find the next temptation harder to resist.- WORKS WITH GOOD DEEDS TOO* o Boosts charitable contributions, blood donations, product sales.o Experiment: researchers posing as safe-driving volunteers asked people to permit the installation of a large, poorly lettered sig in their front yards. Only 17% allowed They approached other home owners with a SMALL REQUEST FIRST: display a 3inch high sign. Nearly all the people said okay When approached 2 weeks later to allow the large ugly sign in their yards, 76% said okay.o To secure a big commitment, it pays to put your foot in the door: start small and build.- Racial attitudes follow behavioro Years following the desegregation of schools, white americans expressed diminishing racial prejudice. As americans in different regions came to act more alike – they began to think more alike.o Moral action strengthens moral convictions Role playing affects attitudesRole- a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in theposition ought to behave.- In the beginning you feel phony because you’re acting a role. Before long, you adopt the role.*Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment: randomly assigned some male college volunteers to be guards with outfit, club, and whistle. others prisoners with humiliating outfits.- For a day or two, the volunteers self-consciously “played” their roles- But then it became too real. The guards started acting cruel and gave degrading routines.- Prisoners broke down, rebelled or became passively resigned.- After 6 days, Zimbardo called off the study.WHAT WE DO, WE GRADUALLY BECOMEBut people differ: some succumb to the situation, others don’t: person and situation interactCognitive Dissonance: theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.-when we become aware that our attitudes and actions clash, we can reduce the resulting dissonance by changing our attitude.We cannot directly control all our feelings but we can influence them by altering our behavior.Ex: if we are unloving, we can become loving be behaving as if we