psychology worksheet 3 For Researcher_D only
mid_19
socialpsych1.pptSocial Psychology
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What is Social Psychology?
- Branch of psychology concerned with the way individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
- Part 1
- Person Perception & Stereotypes
- Attributions
- Part 2
- Attitudes & Persuasion
- Social Influence
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Person perception – stereotypes, expectations influence how we form impression of others
Attribution processes
Interpersonal attraction
Attitudes
Conformity/obedience
Person Perception
- Our impressions of other people
- We form opinions about people based on very little information
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Who is more competent?
Left
Right
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Who is friendlier?
Left
Right
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Who is more sociable?
Left
Right
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Who is more attractive?
Left
Right
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Who is more attractive?
Left
Right
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Who is more attractive?
Left
Right
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Halo Effect
- A cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait (i.e. a characteristic of a person or object) is influenced by the perception of another trait (or several traits) of that person or object
- Example: Thinking a beautiful person is also intelligent
Stereotypes about attractive people
- There is little correlation between physical attractiveness and personality traits
- Why do we tend to incorrectly assume that beautiful people are smarter, more fun, and friendlier?
- Stereotypes: generalized beliefs and expectations about a particular group and its members
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Effects of physical appearance
little correlation between attractiveness and personality traits
good looking people are more sociable, friendly, warm, poised, well adjusted.
good looking people are more competent
good looking people get better jobs, have higher salaries…
Social schemas
schemas – cognitive structures that guide information processing
social schemas – organized clusters of ideas about categories of social events and people
e.g., dates, picnics, business meetings: people- dumb jocks, wimps
Stereotypes
If you were a teacher, which students would you expect to be high achievers?
Left
Right
“Thugs” “Punks”
“Good Students”
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Self-fulfilling Prophecy
- If a teacher thinks her students who dress a certain way lack ambition, she will treat them in a certain way that brings out a lack of ambition.
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Is this a reason to have dress codes or uniforms?
Yes
No
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Where do our stereotypes
come from?
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Johnny’s dad tells a bunch of racist jokes and his dad’s friends laugh hysterically. Now Johnny tells these jokes at school.
Social Identity Theory
Classical conditioning
Observational learning
Media’s influence
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Melanie loves to watch The Sopranos. When she meets an Italian kid at school, she asks him if his dad is in the mafia.
Social Identity Theory
Classical conditioning
Observational learning
Media’s influence
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Sandra comes from a family that is very proud of their African American heritage. Her grandmother has taught her that black is beautiful and that other races are not. She tells Sandra that she should only date and marry African American men. Sandra spends very little time around white people and has no interest in doing so.
Social Identity Theory
Classical conditioning
Observational learning
Media’s influence
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Where does prejudice come from?
- Observational learning
- Media
- Social Identity Theory
- We use group membership as a sense of pride and self-worth, which can be good, but…
- This can result in hatred towards “out groups”
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Stereotypes
- Widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their group membership
- Gender, Ethnic, Age, Sexual Orientation, and Occupational stereotypes
- Simplification at cost of accuracy
- stereotypes -> evaluations (prejudice) -> discrimination
- Putting someone in a small, distorted social box is limiting and insulting
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Even people who say there are exceptions to stereotypes likely have biased expectations (slanted probabilities)
Stereotypes cont.
- Why is it so hard to change people’s stereotypes?
- When someone who judges people using stereotypes (prejudice) meets a likeable member of the out-group, they consider this person the “exception to the rule.”
- How can they be changed?
- Equal-status, cooperative contact
- Research shows that personal contact with a disliked group at work/school can lead to mutual good feelings if there are not obvious differences in power or status
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Have negative stereotypes about African Americans improved?
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Doll Test Research
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What have we covered so far?
- Person Perception
- Stereotypes
- About attractive people (and the Halo Effect)
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
- Origins of stereotypes
- Observational Learning
- Social Identity Theory
- Media
- Changing Stereotypes
- Doll Test Research
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Everyday we form impressions about why people do what they do based on very small amounts of information.
ATTRIBUTIONS
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Attributions
- Our assumptions about why we and others do the things we do.
- We like to make sense of our world, so we make up explanations for why things happen.
- Influence our reactions toward others.
- Internal vs. external
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Must take into account internal as well as external causes of behavior
A person making an internal attribution thinks an observable behavior is due to a person’s personality
Someone making an external attribution believes a person’s behavior is caused by outside events
How would you feel if your son wrecked your car because…
- It was snowing…
External Attribution
How would you feel if your son wrecked your car because…
- He was speeding…
Internal Attribution
The woman in line in front of you is using food stamps to pay for her purchases. If you had to choose one of the options below, which would you choose?
She is lazy.
She is uneducated.
She is not intelligent.
She got laid off.
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If you have ever used food stamps, or if you use them in the future, which of the following would be the most likely reason?
You are lazy.
You are uneducated.
You are not intelligent.
You got laid off.
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Think about the last time you got a bad grade. What was the main cause?
It was my teacher’s fault.
I didn’t study enough.
I didn’t try hard enough.
My motivation was low.
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Think about the last time you got a good grade. What was the main cause?
My teacher is easy.
I studied really hard.
My teacher gave clear instructions.
I got lucky.
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Errors in Attribution
- Mental shortcuts lead to mistakes.
- Common errors
- Fundamental attribution error
- When explaining other’s behavior, we overestimate the role of internal factors.
- Self-serving bias
- Good things - internal attributions
- Bad things - external attributions
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Errors or bias can occur in making attributions about the behavior of others. Sometimes errors occur because people use mental shortcuts that are not accurate
fundamental attribution error - assume people’s behavior is caused by their internal dispositions. Situational influences are underestimated. People tend to pay attention to behavior, and not to the circumstances in which it occurs; Fundamental attribution error- the tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
actor-observer - tendency to attribute the behavior of others to internal causes. One’s own behavior is attributed to situational causes. Individuals know their day-to-day behavior varies. People have less information about others, and are more likely to make internal attributions about them
Some errors in attribution occur because people generally see themselves as having more positive traits than others do
self-serving bias - tendency for people to feel their positive behaviors are due to their internal traits. At the same time, they blame their failures and shortcomings on external, situational factors. The bias may develop in order to protect one’s self-esteem. People tend to take credit for their successes, but blame others for their failures. Self-serving bias and attribution errors help some people maintain self-esteem. However, they may inhibit some people from having realistic goals, setting them up for disappointment
According to the fundamental attribution error, which of the following would most people attribute someone’s financial problems (eg., food stamps)?
The person is lazy.
The person got laid off.
The economy is poor.
The person has been mistreated by society.
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According to the self-serving bias, if you don’t do well in this class, what will be the reason?
You didn’t study hard enough.
You were unmotivated.
Dr. Kelly is a bad teacher.
You didn’t read the book.
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According to the self-serving bias, WHEN YOU do well in this class, what will be the reason?
You are smart.
The class was easy.
Dr. Kelly is a great teacher.
The class was fair.
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Attribution Concepts
- Attribution Errors
- Fundamental attribution error
- When explaining other’s behavior, we overestimate the role of internal factors.
- Self-serving bias
- Good things - internal attributions
- Bad things - external attributions
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Next time…
- Attitudes & Persuasion
- Social influences
- Conformity
- Obedience
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