Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

CHAPTER 13:

Social Influences

Social Influences

Social Perception Social Influence Social Relations Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Making Attributions  Social Perception 

The processes by which we come to know and evaluate other persons

 Attribution Theory 

A set of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Kelley’s Attribution Theory

 For behaviors that are consistent, people make personal attributions when consensus and distinctiveness are low.  People will make stimulus attributions when consensus and distinctiveness are high. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error 

A tendency to overestimate the impact of personal causes of behavior and to overlook the role of situations

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error  A simulated quiz show gave questioners an advantage over contestants.  Observers and contestants still judged questioners as more knowledgeable.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Fundamental Attribution Error: A Western Bias?  U.S. and Indian subjects described the causes of several behaviors.  Cultural differences were not seen in young children.  With age, Americans made more personal attributions  However, Indians made more situational attributions. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Forming Impressions Mixed Evidence: Does it Extinguish or Reinforce First Impressions?  Participants were asked to evaluate a person’s academic potential and had high or low expectations.  Half watched videotape of person taking achievement test.  Without viewing the tape, expectations influenced evaluations.  Viewing the videotape magnified these initial expectations. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Forming Impressions Behavioral-Confirmation Process

 We use our existing beliefs to interpret new information, which affects our behavior.  This may create false support for our biases. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Attraction  Two important predictors of attraction are similarity and physical attractiveness.  Mere-Exposure Effect 

The attraction to a stimulus that results from increased exposure to it

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Perception Attraction Media Influences on the Attractiveness Stereotype  Participants watched film clips with strong or weak link between beauty and goodness.  Later they judged graduate school applications which included photo.  Those exposed to the stereotype favored the attractive applicants more. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Social Influence as “Automatic” The Chameleon Effect  Participants worked with a “partner”.  Hidden cameras recorded behavior.  Participants mimicked their partner without realizing it.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Conformity A Classic Case of Suggestibility  Subjects in dark room were shown a light and while alone estimated the distance the light moved.  In three group sessions, they again made distance estimations.  Subjects’ estimates converged on a common value thus establishing a group norm. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Conformity Line-Judgment Task Used in Asch’s Study

 Subjects in a group were asked which comparison line is the same length as the standard line.  Confederates in the group picked the wrong line.  Subjects went along with the wrong answer on 37% of trials. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Conformity  Informational Influence 

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Conformity motivated by the belief that others are correct Seen in Sherif’s study

 Normative Influence 

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Conformity motivated by a fear of social rejection Seen in Asch’s study Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Private and Public Conformity  Under conditions of low motivation, the difficulty of the task did not influence conformity.  However, when motivated, people conform more when the task is difficult and less when it is easy. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Group Size and Conformity  Conformity increases with group size up to a point.  Fifteen people had no more impact on conformity than did four people.

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Obedience to Authority  In Milgram’s studies of obedience, 65% of participants fully obeyed the experimenter and delivered 450 volts of electric shock.  Three factors influence obedience.   

The authority The victim The situation

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change  Persuasive Communications Involve: 

The Source • Credibility • Likability

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The Message • Discrepancy • Emotional appeal

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The Audience • Motivation • Cognitive ability

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change Two Routes to Persuasion

 If the central route is taken, people are influenced by strong arguments and evidence.  If the peripheral route is used, people are influenced by superficial cues (e.g., the attractiveness of the source). Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Attitudes and Attitude Change Cognitive Dissonance Study  Behavior that conflicts with attitudes can arouse cognitive dissonance.  Dissonance creates tension, which people are motivated to reduce.  Dissonance can be decreased by changing the attitude that conflicts with behavior.  Group paid $1 to lie about the boring task said they liked it more. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Group Processes

Social Facilitation: The tendency for the presence of others to enhance performance on simple tasks and impair performance on complex tasks. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Group Processes Social Loafing 

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People tend to exert less effort in group tasks for which individual’s contributions are pooled. The more people in the group, the more each individual’s effort decreases. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Group Processes Ways to Decrease Social Loafing  Separate each individual’s performance from that of the group’s effort.  Make each individual’s contribution necessary for overall group success.  Reward individual as well as group.  Increase cohesiveness of group.  Make tasks personally meaningful. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Influence Groupthink A group decision-making style by which group members convince themselves that they are correct  A group may over-emphasize unity when members suppress their own doubts and open dissent is stifled by other group members.  This can lead to lower-quality decisions made by the group. 

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Aggression 

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Behavior intended to inflict harm on another person who is motivated to avoid it Aggression is influenced by: • Biology (e.g., testosterone) • Aversive stimulation (e.g., pain) • Situational Cues (e.g., weapons) • Media violence

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Aggression The Link Between Heat and Violence

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Aggression  Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis 

The theory that frustration causes aggression

 Deindividuation 

A loss of individuality, often experienced in a group, that results in a breakdown of internal restraints against deviant behavior

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Altruism 

Helping behavior that is motivated primarily by a desire to benefit others, not oneself

 Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis 

The theory that an empathic response to a person in need produces altruistic helping

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Altruism Two Pathways to Helping

 People have two reactions to someone in need:  

Personal distress (guilt, anxiety, and discomfort) Empathy (sympathy and compassion for the person)

 Both selfish and altruistic motives can lead to helping Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations The Bystander Effect 

The finding that the presence of others inhibits helping in an emergency

 Diffusion of Responsibility 

A tendency for bystanders to assume that someone else will help

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations A Model of Bystander Intervention

Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin

Social Relations Bystander Intervention Cyberhelping  Individuals in an online

chat room exhibited the bystander effect.  However,when the individual’s name was identified, the presence of others did not decrease helping as measured by the time it took people to help. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin