Carlos Andres Rodriguez Herrera 1 30 23 Psychology 1100 Chapter 13 Social Psychology 504 515 524 545 Social Psychology Social Psychology the study of causes and consequences of sociality Study of how people influence others attitudes beliefs and behaviors Why Study Social Psychology It helps us understand why we Help others Cave under group pressure Blindly accept irrational unsubstantiated beliefs held by others Commit crimes Humans are a social species Humans form groups We know on average ISO people reasonably well Social rejection and physical pain have similar neural correlates Resources food water and shelter are essential for survival Resources are always scarce Humans solve this problem by hurting each other and helping each other Hurting others aggression Helping others cooperation Survival Aggression behavior whose purpose is to harm another verbal or physical Aggression Frustration Aggression Hypothesis aggress only when their goals are thwarted Alternatively aggression may be caused by negative affect a principle stating that animals including humans Who is Most Likely to be Aggressive Young men are responsible for about 90 of murders and 80 of violent crimes Aggression is associated with the presence of testosterone Testosterone makes people concerned with their status and confident in their ability to prevail Feeling this way makes people more aggressive Culture and Aggression Aggression has decreased across historical time Aggression changes with geography More aggression in the south More exposure to aggression in your culture can increase aggression Aggression varies with culture people learn from example Cooperation Cooperation behavior by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit The Ohio State University 1 Carlos Andres Rodriguez Herrera 1 30 23 Able to accomplish much more when working together Risk is that others are not cooperating and or cheating Who Can We Trust Group from others When grouping make sure to consider a collection of people who have something in common that distinguishes them Prejudice a positive or negative evaluation or feeling thought of a person based on their group membership Conclusions often drawn before evaluating the evidence Discrimination a positive or negative behavior toward another person based on their group membership How Can We Combat Prejudice and Discrimination By working toward a shared goal Examples Jigsaw classrooms children make independent contributions to a shared project Robber s Cave groups were given a series of activities that required them to cooperate to achieve an overarching goal Deindividuation when immersion in a group causes people to become less concerned with their personal values their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for Diffusion of Responsibility Deindividuation Exclusion It s important to nurture our social relationships We have an inherent need to socialize Exclusion is associated with poorer physical and psychological outcomes behavior that benefits another without benefiting oneself Altruism Is it altruistic if its our relative we are helping with their relatives Altruism Kin selection o What if we expect something in return Reciprocal altruism benefits will be returned in the future behavior that benefits another with the expectation that these process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate Selectivity Sex comes to a greater cost for women Women are more selective than men in finding a sexual partner Cultural factors can lead to higher reputational costs for women than men Men become more selective when seeking a long term mate Promiscuous women seen as easy and men as studs Social Influence Social influence Three basic motivation make us susceptible to influence the ability to control another person s behavior o Hedonic Motive o Approval Motive o Accuracy Motive The Ohio State University 2 Carlos Andres Rodriguez Herrera 1 30 23 Hedonic Motive The Hedonic Motive we prefer pleasure over pain o Social influence exerted by rewards and punishments The Approval Motive we depend on others for safety sustenance and solidarity o Are motivated to have others like accept and approve of us What is the Norm is appropriate benefitted them Norm Normative influence a customary standard for behavior that is widely shared by members of a culture another person s behavior provides us with information about what Norm of reciprocity the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have a strategy that uses reciprocating concessions to o Returning the favor Door in the face technique influence behavior granted o Making a larger request before making the small request we re hoping to have Conformity the tendency to do what others do simply because others are doing it Altering your behavior as a result of group pressure o o Once a norm is defined we feel obligated to honor it Asch Conformity Study Participants were told it was a study on visual perception 1 participant 4 confederates Asked to pick a matching line confederates all gave some wrong answer We say now that we shouldn t agree with the group but 75 went along with the group s obviously incorrect answer Obedience the tendency to do what powerful people tell us to do Obedience Is actually a good thing in small doses Allows society to run smoothly keeps social order Just taking orders used to excuse inhumane behavior Milgram s Obedience Study Study examining obedience to authority Yale University 1960s Subjects told to shock learner a confederate for wrong answers increasing intensity of shocks How far will subjects go with the shocks Conclusions from Milgrams Study o Lower levels of authority equated that participants were more likely to defy the experimenter o Higher levels of authority associated with greater likelihood of complying with experimenters demands Evaluation Attitude an enduring positive or negative evaluation of an object or event Belief o Tell us what we should do an enduring piece of knowledge about an object or event o Tell us how to do it when another person s behavior provides information Informational influence about what is good or right o Look to others to provide us with information about objects or events when we are ignorant The Ohio State University 3 Carlos Andres Rodriguez Herrera 1 30 23 Persuasion from another person Systematic persuasion appeals to reason appeals to habit or emotion Heuristic