Chapter 13 Social Psychology What is it A discipline that studies how we thing about influence and relate to other people Social cognition study of how people use cognitive processes to help them make sense of other people as well as themselves Person Perception First impressions I Physical appearance social schemas stereotypes i Physical appearance why do we rely on it It s available a b Literally the first thing we see c base impressions off of many things e g gender race clothes hygiene d attractiveness we view attractive people as more trustworthy healthier more successful more socially aware and better adjusted ii Social Schemas a General knowledge structure b Stored in long term memory c Relates to social experience or people e g car salesmen fast food workers iii Stereotypes a A collection of beliefs and impressions held about a group and its members e g gender race religion b Forming Stereotypes 1 Similar to how theories of categories are formed 2 Prototype theories of stereotypes store an abstract representation of the typical features of the stereotype 3 Exemplar theories of stereotypes store memories of particular individuals to form the basis of a stereotype c Activating Stereotypes 1 Activate when exposed to beliefs and actions that agree with a held stereotype e g boy with glasses who always sits at the front of the class would activate the nerd stereotype 2 More susceptible to stereotype interpretations of behavior in certain situations mood environment primary example when college students took a survey with words associated with the elderly they walked slower leaving the testing room d Self fulfilling prophecies 1 People will act in ways that fulfill stereotypes Experiment Snyder 1977 men called women deemed attractive of plain were not shown their actual pictures they acted differently based on which description they were given 2 Stereotypes are rooted in society stereotypes may be different for groups in different societies e Leads to Prejudice when groups and members are evaluated in negative ways 1 Explicit Prejudice consciously endorsed negative attitudes 2 Implicit Prejudice prejudicial thoughts that come to mind unintentionally and may not be consciously recognized of controllable 3 Discrimination those beliefs lead to behaviors that are directed against members of the group 4 Combating prejudice awareness of stereotypes repeated exposure to other groups taking perspectives of members of another group Attributions I Inference processes people use to assign cause and effect to behavior i Covariation Model a e g David going to the gym co varies with him being in a good mood b May be Correlation not necessarily Causation 1 Consistency is he always happier after going to the gym 2 Distinctiveness is his good mood unique to going to the gym 3 Consensus only applies to one person or other people as well ii External Attribution a Attributing cause of a person s behavior to an external event iii Internal Attribution II Biases in Attribution i Fundamental attribution error a Attributing the cause of a person s behavior to an internal personality trait a Tendency to attribute other people s behavior to internal envents b Tend to overestimate influence of personal factors and underestimate the role of external or situational factors ii Actor Observer Effect behavior to internal sources iii Self serving bias a Tendency to attribute our own behavior to external factors but others a Internal attributions about one s own behavior when it comes to positive outcomes b External attributions about one s behavior when it comes to negative outcomes iv Reduced if Working on a task with people you know well In a negative mood more likely to blame situation for other s behavior Cultural differences in attribution bias Attitudes I Positive or negative evaluation or belief held about something 1 Cognitive component 2 Affective Component 3 Behavioral Component i Formed through experiences and learning including classical conditioning operational conditioning and observational learning II Elaboration Likelihood Model i Proposes two routes to attitude change a Central route operates when people are motivated and focused on the message b Peripheral route people are unmotivated or unable to process the message 1 Source characteristics such as attractiveness or credibility matter more III Attitudes conflict with behavior for peripheral route i Cognitive dissonance tension produced when people act in a way that is inconsistent with their attitudes ii Self perception Theory own beliefs a People use observations of own behavior as a basis for interpreting their b Two persuasion techniques based on this theory 1 Foot in the door acceptance of a small request leads to later acceptance of a larger request this is because people want to be consistent 2 Lowball technique first propose an attractive offer that will be accepted encourage commitment make it clear that the decision is their own afterwards change the agreement to what you really want people have already set their minds on completing the deal so they are more likely to accept the offer anyways A The study of how the thoughts and behaviors of individuals are affected by the Social influence presence of others B Social Facilitation i The enhancement in performance that is sometimes found when an individual preforms in the presence of others e g ants dig tunnels faster when other ants are around C Social Interference i The impairment in performance that is sometimes found when an individual preforms in the presence of others e g forgetting your lines choking at bat D Interacts with task difficulty ones E Altruism ii May be because the presence of others raises arousal i Others facilitate performance of easy tasks hinder the performance of difficult i Acting in a way that shows unselfish concern for the welfare of others ii Why a Evolutionary consideration Reciprocal altruism The idea that if you do something for someone now they will help you in the future F Bystander Effect i Reluctance to come to the aid of a person in need when others are present ii Diffusion of Responsibility when people know or thing that others are present in a situation they allow their sense of responsibility to spread out among those who are there a Mindset of someone else will help b The more people that are around the less likely we are to take responsibility i Tendency to put out less effort when working with a group compared to working G Social Loafing
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