Social psychology is the branch of psychology
concerned with the way individuals’ thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
Social psychology
• The text focuses on six broad topics in social psychology:
• person perception,
• attribution processes,
• interpersonal attraction,
• attitudes,
• conformity and obedience,
• and behavior in groups
• Prejudice and discrimination.
• An ingroup is the group that one associates
and identifies with, while an outgroup is the
opposite - a group one does not identify with.
Ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation
are reactions that, according to the social
identity perspective, occur because one’s
social identity or pride in belonging to a group
is being threatened.
ATTRIBUTIONS
ATTRIBUTIONS
How people explain the causes of the
behavior we see in us and others
Self-Serving Bias:
Cultural Differences in Making
Attributions
• Individualism involves putting personal goals
ahead of group goals and defining one’s identity
in terms of personal attributes rather than group
memberships.
Cultural Differences in Making
Attributions
• Collectivism involves putting group goals ahead of
personal goals and defining one’s identity in terms
of the groups one belongs to (such as one’s family,
tribe, work group, social class, and so on).
Attitudes: Making Social Judgments
Attitudes are positive or negative evaluations of objects
of thought, with affective, behavioral and cognitive
components. (ABC)
Conformity: being shaped by real or
perceived social pressures
• Normative influence: conform to
social expectations out of fear of
negative consequences
• Informational influence:
conforming by looking to others for
guidance in ambiguouus situations
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Stimuli used in Asch’s
conformity studies
= group size and group
unanimity are key
determinants of
conformity
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Compliance when people follow direct orders of someone who
is usually an authority
28
26
65% of
subjects
24
22
20
Number 18
of subjects 16
who stopped
14
giving shock
12
10
0
15 45 75 105 135 165 195 225 255 285 315 345 375 405 435 450
Very Extreme Danger:
Slight Moderate Strong Intense
strong intensity severe xxx
shock shock shock shock
shock shock shock
Level of shock (as labeled on Milgram’s shock machine)
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Compliance when people follow direct orders of someone who
is usually an authority
28
26
65% of
subjects
24
22
Most people can be coerced into
Number
20
18
engaging in actions that violate
of subjects
who stopped
16
their morals and values
l ?
14
c a
giving shock
e t h i
12
t h i s
10
Wa s
8
0
15 45 75 105 135 165 195 225 255 285 315 345 375 405 435 450
Very Extreme Danger:
Slight Moderate Strong Intense
strong intensity severe xxx
shock shock shock shock
shock shock shock
Level of shock (as labeled on Milgram’s shock machine)
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Cultural Variations
Variations in conformity
appear to be related to the
degree of individualism
versus collectivism seen in a
society
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Power of the Situation
• The Stanford Prison
Simulation ((Philip
Zimbardo)
• Behavior can conform to…
• Social role expectations
• Situational pressures
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Cognitive
Contradictory Attitude
dissonance,
cognitions change
tension
Forming Explaining Liking Making Social Conformity Behavior
Impressions Behavior and Loving Judgments and Obedience in Groups
of Others
Group Behavior
• A group consists of two or more individuals who interact and
are interdependent.
• The bystander effect is the phenomenon that people are less
likely to provide needed help when they are in groups than
when they are alone.
Liking=feel close to a person
Infatuation: one-sided, idealized object
Romantic love=strongly drawn to each other, but
no long term commitment
Empty love= only a commitment, little feeling;
last stage of some long-term relationships
Fatuous love= physical feeling only; will end
when passion is gone
Companionate love= passion fading, but
closeness and commitment are strong
Consummate love= all three components strong;
many strive for this but difficult to attain