SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 7: Social Perception and Cognition Chapter 8: Attitudes 2 Social Cognition and Perception • Social Cognition = the process of interpreting stimuli or input from the social environment in terms of information we have stored in our memory. • Social perception = constructing an understanding of the social world from our sensory data. 3 Two Fundamental Assumptions • 1. How people think about social stimuli determines how they respond to those stimuli. • 2. There are limits to the capacity for human cognition, so human though is shaped by principles of efficiency; we are • Cognitive Misers 4 SOCIAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURES: Categorization and Social Identities • Categorization is the basic mental process. • Cognitive Structures are representations of knowledge organized into systems of categorization. • We tend to categorize stimuli into classes or members of a group rather than as isolated, unique entities. • We use prototypes, abstractions that represents the “typical” of a class or group; i.e. wealthy, cultured, rough neck, etc. 5 SOCIAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURES: Categorization and Social Identities • These stored categories are average instances of a class or group, classified into increasingly abstract categories. • Each category is identified by its unique distinguishing similarities and differences compared to other categories = Identity. • SOCIAL IDENTITIES • = mental categories that define and differentiate social objects/entities (people, groups, relationships, activities, events, situations). 6 SOCIAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURES: Categorization and Social Identities • Common Social Identities: • Age, gender, race, ethnicity, SES, group membership, place of residence, physical characteristics, personality traits. • Social Identities collapse a range of behaviors and characteristics into mentally manageable bundles. 7 Attitudes • An Attitude is a predisposition to respond to/behave toward a particular object in a particular way (favorable or unfavorable). • A summarized memory of our thoughts and feelings which imparts a tendency to behave in a certain way. • Formed though socialization, direct experience, or the reports of others’ experiences. • A person’s attitude influences the way in which he/she perceives and responds to the world. 8 Three Components of Attitude 1. Behavioral = predisposition, intentions, action tendencies; the predisposition to respond or a behavioral tendency toward the object/identity. 2. Cognitive = Thoughts and Beliefs about the characteristics of social identities. An object label, rules to apply the label, and a set of cognitions associated with that label. 3. Affective/Evaluative: Feelings/emotions and Evaluations associated with social identities. Vary in direction (positive or negative) and intensity (very weak to very strong). 9 SOCIAL SCHEMA • Social Schema = a well-organized structure of cognitions about some social entity (such as a person, group, role, or event). • Cognitive structures (thought patterns) that organize the mental processing of complex information about social identities. • Organize the information we store in our memory. • Guide our inferences and judgments about people and objects • Enable us to organize and remember facts, to make inferences that go beyond the facts immediately available, and to assess new information. 10 Content/Types of Social Schema • 1. Physical Characteristics and Effects • • 2. Personality • • • Body type, height, attractiveness Implicit Personality Theories = how personality traits go together 3. Social Statuses • Physical, personality, power dimensions 11 Forms of Social Schemas • The ways we carry social patterns in our minds. • Vary in generality/specificity • Organized by the evaluative dimension • Person schemas are cognitive structures that apply to only a single person, or type of person/personality. • Self-Schemas are cognitive structures that organize our conceptions and evaluations of our own characteristics. 12 Forms of Social Schemas • Group schemas involve the members of a particular social category or group identity. • Separate Components: • Stereotypes = beliefs about the social identity • Allow us to make quick decisions about our impressions and response based on minimal information • Overgeneralizations that can foster errors in perception and judgment 13 Forms of Social Schemas • Group schemas involve the members of a particular social category or group identity. • Separate Components: • Prejudice/Social Esteem = feelings and evaluations about the social identity • Resulting Action Tendencies Discrimination = when negative predispositions are enacted. = type of interaction in which the rights and privileges enjoyed by some are denied to others. 14 Forms of Social Schema • Role Schema indicate what attributes and behaviors are typical of persons occupying a particular role. • Event Schema regard social events/situations. Include activities constituting the events, order of sequence for activities, roles/statuses involved; Scripts. 15 Why do we use Schema? • • Schemas help us respond appropriately to situations. Schemas make this possible by: 1. Making certain facts easier to remember. 2. Helping us process information faster. 3. Guiding our inferences/judgments about people and objects. 4. Help us interpret ambiguous elements in the situation. 16 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSING • Cognitive Processing is concerned with how the information retained in cognitive structures is acquired, used, and altered. • An interactive system of Memory, Inference, Judgment. 17 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSING • Cognitive Processing – MEMORY: Attention – directed toward information Encoding – attaching meaning to information Storage – schema hierarchy Retrieval • Don’t remember details, just perceptions • • • • 18 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSING • • • • • Cognitive Processing – INFERENCE: Schema affect the inferences we make about social entities by supplying missing facts when gaps exist in our knowledge. On the basis of certain facts we know, we infer other facts to help us understand and respond. Cognitive Processing – JUDGMENT: Schema influence our judgments or feelings about social entities 19 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSING Errors in Cognitive Processing • Advantage of efficiency = disadvantage in accuracy • Inferred information may be inaccurate • Resistant to change • Confirmatory Bias • • More readily pay attention to and accept information that fits with our schema Self-fulfilling comfirmation 20 IMPRESSION FORMATION: Attributions of Characteristics • Impression Formation is the process of organizing diverse information into a unified impression of the other person. • Supplement the information we are able to acquire from the environment about a social object with stored information from our social schema = attribute other characteristics (intelligence, kindness) in order to arrive at an impression • Various models for integrating – additive, averaging, etc. 21 IMPRESSION FORMATION: Attributions of Characteristics • The environment influence How Much we rely on our schema, and Which schema we activate. • Time pressure increases reliance on stored schema • Cues in the setting activate Event schema • Master status Identities • Characteristics of the perceiver • In-group/Out-group membership • Perceiver’s identities, role performance, moods 22 Trait Centrality • Some traits have more impact than others on the impressions we form. • A trait has a high level of trait centrality when it has a large impact on the overall impression we form of that person. • Central traits include: • intelligent, skillful, industrious, warm, determined, practical, cautious, wise, happy, good-natured, humorous, sociable, popular, humane, altruistic, and imaginative. 23 First Impressions • • • Research supports the widely held belief that first impressions are especially important and have an enduring impact. Possible explanation: Primacy effect: more weight is given to information received early in the sequence than to information later on. - Interpret later information in light of earlier - Stop paying attention Especially important in everyday life 24 First Impressions • Recency effects: under certain conditions, the most recent information we acquire exerts the strongest influence on our impressions. • • Judging characteristics that change First Impressions as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy • Correct or not, the impressions we form of people influence our behavior toward them. • When our behavior toward people reflects our impressions of them, we cause them to react in ways that confirm our original impressions. 25 ATTRIBUTION THEORY: Attributions of Cause • Causal Attribution = the process that an observer uses to infer the causes of another’s behavior. • Theories of attribution focus on the methods we use to interpret another person’s behavior and to infer its sources and effects. • In attribution, we observe another’s behavior and infer backward to its causes, such as the intentions, abilities, traits, motives, and situational pressures • Explain why people act as they do. 26 ATTRIBUTION THEORY • Types of Causal Attributions • Internal/Dispositional Attribution: Attach responsibility for a behavior and its effects to the internal state(s) or dispositions of the person who performed it. • External/Situational Attribution: Attach responsibility for a behavior and its effects to external state(s) or factors in a person’s environment. 27 Inferring Dispositions From Acts • Several factors influence observers’ decisions regarding which effect(s) the person is pursuing, thus what inference is appropriate • Social Desirability • Normative Expectations • Subtractive Rule = observer subtracts the perceived impact of situational forces from the personal disposition implied by the behavior. 28 Attribution Theory Schema of Causal Attribution Covariation Model of Attribution The Principle of Covariation • Attributing the behavior a factor that is: 1. Present when the behavior occurs AND 2. Absent when the behavior fails to occur - A factor that covaries with the behavior. 29 Attribution Theory Schema of Causal Attribution The Principle of Covariation Attribution depends on determination of whether the behavior is cause by the Actor, Object, or Context. Three types of information: 1. Consensus – do all actors perform the same? 2. Consistency – does the actor always behave the same? 3. Distinctiveness – does the actor behave the same toward all objects, or only that object? 30 Bias/Error in Causal Attribution • Observers at times deviate from the methods described by Attribution theory resulting in errors or misperceptions. • Cognitive Biases • Errors of Perspective • Due to types of information that Perceivers have available, are able to acquire and process. 31 Biases in Causal Attribution ▪ Focus of Attention Bias: A tendency to overestimate the causal impact of whomever or whatever we focus our attention on. • Arrows indicate visual focus of attention. • Following a conversation, observers attributed more influence to the speaker they faced than to the other speaker. • Observers on the side, attributed equal influence to both speakers. 32 Biases in Causal Attribution • Fundamental Attribution Error • = tendency to overestimate the importance of personal factors, and underestimating situational influences as causes of behavior • Very common • I failed the test because I am stupid. • BIAS = Internal more than External 33 Biases in Causal Attribution • Actor-Observer Difference • Actors and observers have a different perspective, and make different attributions for behavior. • = Observers tend to attribute actors’ behavior to the actors’ internal characteristics. • = Actors see their own behavior as due more to characteristics of the external situation • BIAS = Internal for Others/External for Self 34 Biases in Causal Attribution • Evaluative Biases • Errors of Motivation/Emotion –feelings needs, interests, goals • Emotions are part of our schema, and we are emotionally attached to our schema 35 Biases in Causal Attribution • Evaluative Biases • Social Schema: confirmatory biases • Self Schema: Self-serving Biases • = are the tendency people have to take credit for acts that yield positive outcomes, whereas they deflect blame for bad outcomes and attribute them to external causes. 36 Attributions for Success and Failure • Evaluative Biases • Social + Schema => • BIAS = Internal for Self-Success, Other-Failure External for Self-Failure, Other-Success. 37 Attributions for Success and Failure • Linking Biases of Perspective and Evaluation • ULTIMATE ATTRIBUTION ERROR • Social-Self-Serving Bias = Internal for Success of In-groups Failure of Out-groups External for Failure of In-groups Success of out groups 38 Attribution for Success and Failure • Attributions for Success and Failure • Whenever someone succeeds or fails at a task, a variety of explanations can be advanced for the outcome. • Two Dimensions: • Internal/External, Stability/Instability • Four Possible Outcomes: • (1) ability (2) effort (3) task difficulty (4) luck 39 Perceived Causes of Success and Failure Locus of Control Degree of Stability Internal External Stable Ability Task difficulty Unstable Effort Luck 40 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY • The elements of a cognitive structure are called cognitions. • A cognition is an individual’s perception of personal attitudes, beliefs/values, and behaviors. • Consistency among a person’s cognitions is widespread. • Consistency theories hypothesize: • If an inconsistency develops between cognitive elements, people are motivated to restore harmony between those elements. 41 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Consistency • • • There can be a great discrepancy between what people do and what they say. Many studies find only a modest correlation between attitude and behavior. Four variables (reasons) why the correlation is not stronger: 1. 2. 3. 4. The activation of the attitude. The characteristics of the attitude. The correspondence between attitude and behavior. Situational constraints on behavior. 42 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • Attitude Activation • When an attitude is activated, it is brought from memory into conscious awareness. • An attitude is usually activated by environmental cues, or exposure of the person to its object (object, person, situation), particularly if the attitude was originally formed through direct experience with the object. 43 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • Attitude Characteristics • A) Affective-Cognitive Consistency • The greater the consistency between cognition and evaluation, the greater the strength of the attitude-behavior relation. • B) Direct Experience • Attitudes based on direct experience are more predictive of subsequent behavior. 44 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • Attitude Characteristics C) Strength • The greater the strength of an attitude, the more likely it is to influence behavior. D) Temporal Stability • To predict behavior from attitudes, the attitudes must be stable over time. 45 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • Attitude-Behavior Correspondence • Attitudes are more likely to predict behavior when the attitude and the behavior are at the same level of specificity. • The greater the degree of correspondence, that is, the number of elements that are the same in the two measures, the better we can predict behavior from attitudes. 46 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • Situational Constraints • = an influence on behavior due to the likelihood that other persons will learn about the behavior and respond positively or negatively to it. • Situational constraints often determine whether our behavior is consistent with our attitudes. 47 The Influence of Attitude and Situational Constraints on Behavior • A strong relationship exists between behavior and attitude when: • the individual has a strongly held attitude and situational influences encourage behavior consistent with that attitude. • Behavior and attitude are less likely to be consistent when: • situational influences produce pressure to behave in ways inconsistent with one’s attitude or when the attitude is weak. 48 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY Attitudes – Behavior Inconsistency • The Reasoned Action Model • Based on the assumptions • That behavior is rational. • That Behavior is determined by behavioral intention. Behavioral intention is influenced by attitude subjective norms. 49 The Reasoned Action Model 50 Assessment of the Reasoned Action Model • This model has been criticized because it assumes our behavior is determined largely by our intentions. • In fact, our past behavior may be more influential than our intentions. • Research suggests that our behavior may be affected by intentions AND also by whether we have the resources or the ability to carry out the intention. • Therefore, an additional variable, perceived behavioral control, should be added to the model. • This model is referred to as the theory of planned behavior. 51 COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY THEORIES • Balance Theory • Concerns cognitive systems with Three elements/cognitions. • A Person (P) • Some Other Persons (O) • Impersonal Object (X) • Balance theory assumes that people will try to restore balance among their attitudes. • An imbalanced state is one in which two of the relationships between elements are positive and one is negative or in which all three are negative. 52 Balanced Cognitive Systems & Resolution of Imbalanced Systems 53 Cognitive Consistency Theories: Theory of Cognitive Dissonance • Dissonance theory deals with consistency between two or more elements: attitudes, beliefs, behaviors • Three possible relationships 1. Cognitions may be Irrelevant to each other 2. Cognitions may be Consonant 3. Cognitions may be Dissonant 54 Cognitive Consistency Theories: Theory of Cognitive Dissonance • • Since people are motivated to appear consistent to themselves and others, cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state of tension people are motivated to reduce. There are two common situations in which dissonance occurs: 1. 2. After a decision. When one acts in a way that is inconsistent with one’s beliefs. 55 Cognitive Dissonance Theory • Not all inconsistencies produce tension. • The dissonance is greater when • The attitude is strong • The person believes they are committed to the behavior • The person feels responsible for the behavior (makes an internal attribution) 56 The Dissonance Effect • The greater the reward for engaging in a counter attitudinal behavior, the less likely will be an attitude change through dissonance pressures. • The greater the punishment, then the more likely the undesired behavior but the less likely the attitude change. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 9: Symbolic Communication and Language 2 Communication and Symbols • Communication is the how people transmit information about their ideas, feelings, and intentions. • We communicate through spoken and written words, through voice qualities, physical closeness, gestures and posture. • Symbols are arbitrary forms used to refer to ideas, feelings, intentions, or any other object. • Symbols represent our experiences in ways that others can perceive through sounds, gestures, pictures, even fragrances. 3 Vehicles of Interaction Verbal Symbols Language and Verbal Communication • Spoken language is a socially acquired system of sound patterns with meanings agreed on by the members of a group. • Words are the symbols around which languages are constructed. 1. 2. 3. Frees us from the constraints of the here and now. Allows us to communicate with others about experiences we do not share directly. Enables us to transmit, preserve, and create culture. 4 Linguistic Communication • Spoken languages include sounds, words, meanings, and grammatical rules. • Components that must be recognized for people to understand a string of words: 1. 2. 3. Distinct sounds (phonetic components) Combination of sounds into words (morphologic component) Conventions for putting words together (syntactic component) 5 Models of Linguistic Communication • The Encoder-Decoder Model • views communication as a process: 1. an idea or feeling is encoded into symbols by a source 2. transmitted to a receiver, and 3. decoded into the original idea or feeling. • Communication Accuracy • The degree to which the message inferred by the listener matches the message intended by the speaker. • The speaker wants his/her messages to create a mental image/feeling that he/she intends to convey. • The primary influence on accuracy is codability, which is the extent of interpersonal agreement about what something is called. 6 The Encoder-Decoder Model 7 Models of Linguistic Communication • Intentionalist Model • Communication involves the exchange of communicative intentions. • Messages are merely the means to this end. • The basic unit of communication is the message, which has its origin in the desire of the speaker to communicate. • There is not a fixed, one-to-one relation between words and intended effects. • The speaker can use a variety of messages or utterances to achieve his/her intended effect. 8 “Get me a drink of lemonade.” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Get me a glass of lemonade. Can you get me some lemonade? Would you get me some lemonade? Would you get me something to drink? Would you mind if I asked you to get me some lemonade? I’m thirsty. How is that lemonade we bought? Did you buy some lemonade at the store? 9 Models of Linguistic Communication • Speech Act Theory • According to speech act theory, utterances both state something and do something. • All eight of the utterances (previous slide) perform an action; each has the force of a request. • The significance of an utterance is not its literal meaning, but what it contributes to the work of the interaction in which it occurs. 10 Models of Linguistic Communication • The Cooperative Principle • A speaker must cooperate with a listener by formulating the content of speech so it reflects the listener’s way of thinking about objects, events, and relationships. • People must work together to attain a shared understanding of each other’s utterances. • Both the listener and the speaker must actively engage in the process. 11 Models of Linguistic Communication • The Perspective-Taking Model • Depicts the process of communication as both creating and reflecting a shared context between speaker and listener. • Communication involves the exchange of messages using symbols whose meaning grows out of the interaction itself. • Shared context requires reciprocal role taking. • Successful communication depends on inter-subjectivity. • Each participant needs information about the other’s status, view of the situation, and plans or intentions. 12 Models of Linguistic Communication Sociolinguistic Competence • Language performance must be appropriate to the social and cultural context. • • • Otherwise mutual understanding won’t occur. “My mother eats raw termites”, expresses an idea that is incongruous with American culture. Speakers are expected to use language that is: 1. Appropriate to the status of the individuals they are discussing and 2. Appropriate to their relationship of intimacy. 13 Vehicles of Interaction: Nonverbal Symbols • Paralanguage • All the vocal aspects of speech other than words. • Body language • The silent movement of body parts. • In addition to the approximate 250,000 different facial expressions that humans can make, nonverbal communication uses many other bodily and gestural cues. • Interpersonal spacing cues • Positioning ourselves at varying distances and angles from others. • Cultural norms • Relationship type Meanings of Gestures Across Cultures The meaning of a gesture can vary greatly from one culture to another. A good example is the “thumbs up.” In the United States, the gesture is often associated with the late film critic Roger Ebert. When he and his TV cohost, Gene Siskel, both reviewed a film positively, they gave it “two thumbs up,” meaning it was an excellent film. It is widely used to signal “good work,” “awesome,” and it has that meaning in Russia and several other countries. However, in several Middle Eastern countries it is a vile insult. In Iran it means “F— you!” © Featureflash/Shutterstock.com 15 Normative Distances for Americans • Public distance (12–25 feet) is prescribed for interaction in formal encounters, lectures, trials, and other public events. • Social distance (4 –12 feet) is prescribed for many casual social and business transactions. • Personal distance (1 1⁄ 2– 4 feet) is prescribed for interaction among friends and relatives. • Intimate distance (0 –18 inches) is prescribed for giving comfort, making love, and aggressing physically. 16 Vehicles of Interaction: Nonverbal Symbols • Physical Characteristics • Height, weight, build, skin/hair color • Personal effects • What a person wears that communicates information about that person. • Facial Expression • Important communication channel • Especially for emotional expression Nonverbal Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication Type of Cue Definition Examples Channel Paralanguage Vocal but nonverbal behavior involved in speaking Loudness, speed, pauses in speech Auditory Body language (kinesics) Silent motions of the body Gestures, facial expressions, eye gaze Visual Interpersonal spacing (proxemics) Positioning of body at varying distances and angles from others Intimate closeness, facing head-on, looking away, turning one's back Primarily visual; also touch, smell, and auditory Choice of personal effects Selecting and displaying objects that others will associate with you Clothing, makeup, room decorations Primarily visual; also auditory and smell Nonverbal Communication • Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) • Communication is entirely by written language • Removes paralingual cues, kinesics, and proxemics • Messages may be harder to code • Potential for restriction of topics • Increased risk of inaccuracy • Techniques to increase clarity: ALL CAPS, emoticons ☺ • Asynchronous communication • Some CMC, such as email and texting, are asynchronous • No immediate feedback • Lag time becomes potentially meaningful 19 Intended Communication • Goffman • Expressions Given • = intended symbols • Expressions Given-Off • = symbols transmitted unintentionally 20 Multichannel Communication Combining Nonverbal and Verbal • We tend to interpret symbols via one channel within the context of the other channels. • Multiple cues convey added information. When consistent • reduce ambiguity, and increase the accuracy of communication. • Multiple cues also resolve inconsistencies • the messages can be evaluated separately and weighed with facial cues first, then paralanguage and verbal cues. • Strategies used to resolve inconsistencies depends on inferences about the reasons for the inconsistency. • When no deception is suspected, people may • Rely heavily on facial signals, and less paralinguistic or verbal cues • Rely on social context to determine importance of each channel 21 Content of Interaction Types of Symbolic Meaning • 1. Affective Information • Convey emotion toward the other • Intimacy is concerned with the expression of affiliation and affection that creates social solidarity. • 2. Instrumental Information • Aimed at accomplishing a task 22 Content of Interaction Types of Symbolic Meaning • 3. Status Information • Relative ranking to the other • Status is concerned with the exercise of power and control. • 4. Self Information • Present our self image 23 Rules of Symbolic Interaction • Initiating Rules for Conversations • Who we should start conversations with in what settings • Conversations must be initiated with an attentiongetting device. • A “how are you?” - summons-answer sequence initiates the mutual obligation to speak and to listen that produces conversational turn taking. 24 Rules of Symbolic Interaction • Feedback and Coordination • Through feedback, conversationalists coordinate what they are saying to each other from moment to moment. • Back channel feedback are small vocal and visual comments a listener makes while a speaker is talking, without taking over the speaking turn. 25 Rules of Symbolic Interaction • Regulating Turn Taking • A pervasive rule of conversation is to avoid bumping into someone verbally. • To regulate turn taking, people use many verbal and nonverbal cues, separately and together, with varying degrees of success. • Intrusion Rituals • Termination Rituals 26 Social Structure and Communications • Gender • Women are more visually attentive and better judges of non-verbal cues. • Women’s style may reflect their greater concern with intimacy and connection • Men talk faster and interrupt more. • Men’s style may reflect their greater concern with status and independence 27 Social Structure and Communications • Status/SES • Higher relative ranking is reflected in forms of address, talk-time and interruption. • Standard speech that adheres to vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar rules is typically perceived as reflecting higher SES/power. • Nonstandard speech does not reflect differences in cognitive ability, and is equally rich as standard speech. • Speech style (formal/informal) is influenced by the interpersonal context. 28 Theory of Speech Accommodation • • • Individuals who wish to express liking alter their own 1. pronunciation 2. speech rate 3. vocal intensity 4. pause lengths 5. utterance lengths All to match those of their partner. Individuals who wish to communicate disapproval modify these vocal behaviors in ways that make them diverge from their partner’s. 29 Social Interaction and Social Relationships • The way we communicate both reflects and recreates our relationship to the other person • Social Relationship = social interactional linkage between two people that is characterized by a relatively stable set of expectations and enduring pattern of interaction. • Type of Relationship = pattern and content of interactions 30 Structure of Social Relationships • Simmel • 1. Dyads – the basic interactional unit. • Involves relational bond A B = direct, intense, intimate, fragile 31 Structure of Social Relationships • Simmel • 2. Triads – adding one person adds two relationships = social system • A B C == AB, AC, BC = less intimate, more durable, possibility of elaborate interaction patterns (coalition formation) 32 Structure of Social Relationships • Simmel • 3. Networks = web of relationships • Includes both direct and indirect ties • Overall structure characterized by both size and degree of interconnectedness • Small world studies indicate that any random two people in the U.S. are connected through about 5-7 indirect ties or intermediaries. 33 Social Groups • = two or more individuals collectively interacting with their environment with a common identification • Collective Identity – groups have boundaries • Sumner’s Ideal Types: • In-Group = social unit that we belong to or identify with (we, us) • Out-Group = social unit that we do not belong to or identify with (they, them) 34 Content of Social Relations • Content of the bond = type of relationship • 1. Affective (Intimacy) Bonds = based on attraction, emotional connection Primary Relationships/Groups = interactions are direct, intimate, informal, personal, ends in themselves 35 Content of Social Relations • Content of the bond = type of relationship • 2. Instrumental Bonds = attachments based on needs to achieve goals. Secondary/Role Relationships/Groups = interactions are indirect, low emotion, formal, impersonal; means to an end 36 Content of Social Relations • Content of the bond = type of relationship • 3. Normative Bonds = attachments based on use the others’ norms, values, and perspectives as standards to evaluate the self. Significant Others, Reference Groups, Kinship 37 Content of Social Relations • Content of the bond = type of relationship • 4. Status Bonds = attachments based on the expression of status differences, the exercise of power. Authority, Dominant/Minority Groups 38 Forms of Social Interaction • Four types of symbolic content linked to four types of relational bonds: • affective, instrumental, status, self • Dominant content in the bond profile => form of social interaction 39 Forms of Social Interaction • Socialization - focus on normative, self-origin content • Social Influence / Power - focus on status content & activation 40 Forms of Social Interaction • Social Attraction, Primary relations - focus on affective content • Secondary relations - focus on tasks, achieving goals Cooperation / Competition 41 Forms of Social Interaction • Helping - beneficial to the other Altruism, Reward Exchange • Harming - detrimental to the other Aggression, Conflict SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 10: Social Influence and Persuasion 2 Social Influence = when the behavior of one person causes the actions of another person to change. Social influence occurs when: one person (the SOURCE) engages in some behavior (conveys expectations) that causes the other person (the TARGET) to behave, think, or feel differently than they would otherwise (responds) 3 Social Influence Social influence can be unintentional or intentional Social influence attempts can be Manipulative (hidden from the Target) or Open (apparent to the Target) = persuasion, threats, promises, orders 4 Social Influence SOCIAL POWER = a process of social interaction in which one person produces intended changes in another person’s actions (attitude or behavior) EVEN in the face of the other’s resistance. CONFORMITY = the behaviors and/or attitudes consistent with social expectations the result from real or imagined pressure from individuals or groups 5 Social Influence COMPLIANCE = behavioral conformity irrespective of attitudes Target’s behavior conforms to Source’s demands - can be relatively short-term CONVERSION = behavioral and attitudinal conformity internalization/identification with norms or expectations 6 Forms of Open Influence Differs on the basis of power used by the Source to attempt to change the Target’s actions. Informational Influence = the communication of informational resources (thoughts, feelings) as pressure to bring about conformity in attitudes and/or behaviors Normative Influence = invoking normative resources (sanctions, self identification, status) to bring about conformity in attitudes and/or behaviors 7 Forms of Conformity 1. PERSUASION = change in Target’s private attitudes or beliefs about some issue, person, or situation through informational influence. Use of cognitive and emotional appeals which influence attitudes, and attitudes toward behaviors. 8 Reactions to Persuasive Messages • Accept message and change attitude. • Ignore it. • Dismiss the communicator. • Listen to the message but suspend judgment on the issue. • Misperceive or misconstrue the content of the message. • Attempt counter-persuasion 9 Factors Affecting Persuasion: Communication-Persuasion Paradigm Source Message Target Effect expertise discrepancy intelligence change attitude trustworthiness fear appeal involvement reject message attractiveness 1-sided or 2-sided forewarned Counter-argue suspend judgment derogate source 10 Source • The identity of the source provides the target with information above and beyond the content of the message itself. • Communicator Credibility = the extent to which the communicator is perceived by the target as a believable source of information. • The communicator’s credibility is “in the eye of the beholder” • A given source may be credible for some audiences but not for others. 11 Credibility of the Source • Factors that influence the extent to which a source is credible include: • Expertise • Trustworthiness • Attractiveness, Likeability • Number of sources 12 The Source’s Expertise • A message from a source having a high level of expertise relevant to the issue will bring about greater attitude change than a similar message from a source having a lower level of expertise. • However, the more personally relevant the issue is to the target, and the more knowledgeable the target is about the issue, the less communicator expertise matters 13 The Source’s Trustworthiness • Can the source be trusted? • A source may be an expert in the field, but still not very credible. • The motives of the source are important. • The source’s identity is important as this carries information about the source’s goals and values. • A source with goals and values similar to the target will be more persuasive than a source with dissimilar values. Source Credibility and Expertise As an automobile owner listens to the message from the garage mechanic, he assesses not only the quality of the argument but also the credibility of the communicator. The mechanic may have expertise, but can he be trusted? © savas keskiner/iStock 15 The Source’s Attractiveness • We like people we perceive to be attractive. • We pay more attention to people we are attracted to, and higher levels of attention facilitate greater persuasion. 16 Social Impact Theory • • Social Impact Theory: • The impact of an influence attempt is a direct function of: 1. strength (social status or power) 2. immediacy (physical/psychological distance) 3. number of influencing sources. A message presented by several different sources is more influential than the same message presented by a single source. 17 Message Content: Cognitive Cognitive content = factual information contained the argument. Message Discrepancy A discrepant message is a message that advocates a position different from what the target believes. • A moderately discrepant message changes a target’s beliefs/attitudes more than a minimally discrepant message. 18 Message Content: Cognitive One-sided vs Two-Sided Message • A one-sided message emphasizes only those facts that explicitly support the position advocated by the source. • A student gives one reason why he/she should take a week off from school. • A two-sided message presents not only the position advocated by the source but also opposing viewpoints. • The student gives the reason why he should and the reason why he should not be given a week off from school. 19 Message Content: Emotional Intended to arouse basic drives/emotions. The most common emotional appeals involve fear. • Fear-arousing messages are especially useful when the source is trying to motivate the target to take some specific action. • Tactic is commonly used by Politicians, Sales persons • Communications arousing high levels of fear produce more change in attitude than communications arousing low levels of fear. 20 The Target • Involvement with the issue affects the way the target processes a message. • A need for cognition, or how much an individual enjoys puzzling through problems and thinking about issues, plays an important role in persuasion attempts. • Distraction, or anything that prevents the target from giving full attention to the argument, will affect the persuasion attempt. 21 Personal Involvement and Persuasion • A study of college students found: • students in the high-involvement condition were affected primarily by the strength of the arguments rather than by the expertise of the source. • students in the low-involvement condition were affected primarily by the expertise of the source rather than by the strength of the arguments. 22 Target Resistance and Persuasion • Attitude-Inoculation – degree to which the Target has been immunized with counter-arguments to defend their beliefs • Forewarning – when the Target has been warned that they are about to be exposed to a persuasion attempt, must be involved. • Reactance - when persuasion attempts go “too far”, Targets may feel their freedom and independence are threatened, and react counter to the persuasion attempt. 23 Elaboration Likelihood Model • Elaboration = when the Targets scrutinizes, evaluates, and interprets the message. • Persuasion through the Central Route = Target elaborates the message Involved target, strong argument, not distracted • Persuasion through the Peripheral Route = not based on the message, but the properties of the source, packaging of the message, or the situation The Elaboration Likelihood Model 25 Persuasion via The Media • Each year, advertisers spend tens of billions of dollars on media campaigns. • Most media campaigns do not produce large amounts of attitude change. • Political media campaigns may produce only a small percentage shift in public opinion, yet it may be enough to get the candidate elected. • Media campaigns are effective in strengthening preexisting attitudes, or creating attitudes toward objects that were previously unknown. 26 Forms of Conformity COMPLIANCE = behavioral conformity through normative influence when the Target’s behavior or public attitudes conforms to the Source’s demands on the basis of expected rewards and punishments. Threats and Promises are two types of social power that can be used to induce compliance. 27 Contingencies: Threats and Promises • Threat is a communication from one person to another that takes the general form, “If you don’t do X, then I will do Y.” • Promise involves a reward controlled by the source. A person using a promise says, “If you do X , then I will do Y.” • Greater probability of compliance based on: • Greater magnitude of the contingency • Greater likelihood of the contingency 28 Credibility of Threats and Promises. • Bluffing • Bluffing or not, any threatener wants the target to believe the threat is credible and to comply with his demand. 29 Over-Conformity = directed entirely by norms overidentification with situational roles Deindividuation = state of diminished self-awareness in which an individual does not feel identifiable or thus individually responsible for their behavior or its outcomes. Zimbardo mock prison experiments. 30 Forms of Conformity OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY = behavioral conformity through normative influence when the Target’s behavior or public attitudes conforms to the Source’s demands on the basis of status or legitimate authority Normative influence stems from the legitimate right to issue orders or directives 31 Forms of Conformity AUTHORITY = the capacity of one member to issue orders or directives to others which is vested in the status/role occupied by the Source. • People’s roles/positions within an organization give them certain rights/obligations, and these typically give one person authority over another with respect to certain acts and performances. 32 Level of Obedience to Authority Depends on Four Factors 1. Display of Status Symbols 2. Surveillance 3. Relative Status 4. Group Pressure 33 Obedience • Obedience to authority frequently produces beneficial results • Obedience facilitates coordination among persons in groups or collective settings. • Civil order hinges on obedience to authority. • In some cases, obedience to authority can produce very negative consequences • The orders involve actions that are morally questionable or reprehensible. 34 Over-Obedience • Factors influencing greater obedience increase the likelihood of external attributions. • Milgrim’s study of obedience • Oversocialized view of humans SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 11: Altruism and Prosocial Behavior Chapter 12: Aggression 2 Forms of Social Interaction: Social Behavior • PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR = category of actions that are considered by society as being beneficial to others, having positive social consequences • ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR = category of actions considered by society as being detrimental to others, having negative social consequences (violent, destructive, criminal) 3 PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR • Helping = prosocial action that has the consequence of providing some benefit to, or improving the well-being, of other persons. • Altruism = helping, voluntary action that is intended to provide aid to someone else without expectation of external reward. 4 PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR • Reward Exchange = intentional exchange of benefits; reciprocal helping. • COOPERATION = action engaged in by one person that, in combination with the actions of others, produces benefits for all involved. 5 ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR • Harming = antisocial action that has the consequence of being detrimental to, or decreasing the well-being of, other persons. • Aggression = action intended to harm another person that the other person wants to avoid. Exercise of some type of power. 6 ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR • Conflict = intentional exchange of harmful actions; reciprocal harming. • COMPETITION = situation in which people perceive themselves as having incompatible objectives or goals so that the success (or benefit) of one necessitates the failure (or detriment) of others. 7 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR • Why do some people help or harm while others do not? • Instinct / Personality • Profit • Environment 8 Instinct and Personality • Evolutionary Theory: Any genetically determined physical attribute or trait that helps an individual survive will be passed on to the next generation. • Sociobiology is a theoretical perspective related to the principle of “survival of the fittest”. • Evolutionary psychologists say that aggressive or even altruistic behavior is selectively targeted to increase the chances that our own genes will be passed on to subsequent generations. • Evolution is an incomplete explanation. • Personality (relatively inherent) is also incomplete. 9 Profit: Rewards minus Costs • Personal attitudes often drive the decision to help, but • • • • cost/benefit calculations and situational cues play important roles in explaining who will offer help or act to harm. Reward = anything that benefits a person. Cost = anything a person would rather avoid. Profit = Reward minus Cost. Aggressive and/or Altruistic behavior is motivated by perceived reward minus costs. • All helping act imposes some cost on the helper • There are costs to potential helpers for not helping 10 Environment • Social Learning is the mechanism for producing the link with cost/benefit calculation. • Social Modeling • Children may learn aggressive or altruistic behavior through imitation and reinforcement from their parents, the media, etc. • Social/Situational Norms 11 Situational Influences: Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis = asserts that (1) every frustration leads to some form of aggression and (2) every aggressive act is due to some prior frustration. • This hypothesis has been modified based on research studies: • frustration does not always produce aggressive responses (more so with arbitrary, illegitimate frustrations). • aggression can occur without prior frustration. 12 Situational Influences: Empathy-Altruism Model • Empathy is the vicarious experience of an emotion that is congruent with or possibly identical to the emotion that another person is experiencing. • Evidence supports the finding that feelings of empathy for a person in need will lead to helping behavior. • This model proposes that adults can experience two distinct states of emotional arousal while witnessing another’s suffering: distress and empathy. • Distress: unpleasant emotions such as shock, alarm, worry, and upset at seeing another person suffer. • Empathy: emotions such as compassion, concern, warmth, and tenderness toward the other. 13 Empathy-Altruism Model • Empathy Witness suffering Distress Empathy Help sometimes - if necessary to alleviate own distress Help always - in order to reduce sufferer’s distress 14 Factors Involved in Helping/Harming: Characteristics of the Other Similarity and Group Membership • We are more likely to help those who resemble us in race, attitudes, political ideologies, and even mode of dress. • Similarly, aggressive behavior most often involves two people of the same race or ethnicity. 15 Factors Involved in Helping/Harming: Characteristics of the Other Gender • Men are more likely to engage in helping behavior that involves danger. • Women are more likely to assist in situations requiring caretaking, nurturance, and emotional support. • The gender targets of aggression outside the family depend on the type of aggression. • More than 95% of reported cases of rape or sexual assault involve a male offender and a female victim. • More than 80% of violent crime involves aggravated assault, an attack by one person on another with the intent of causing bodily injury. 16 Factors Involved in Helping/Harming: Characteristics of the Other Deservingness and Intention • Responses based on causal attributions: • Potential helpers respond more when the needy person’s dependency is caused by circumstances beyond his/her control. • Aggression following harm is both more probable and stronger when we attribute the attack to the actor’s intentions rather than to accidental or legitimate external pressures. 17 Factors Involved in Helping/Harming: Characteristics of the Other Acquaintanceship and Liking • Key factors in activating our propensity to help. • We are more likely to help someone we like than to help someone we do not like. • Knowing someone can increase the chances of an aggressive incident because the people we know are the ones most available to us as targets or participants in interpersonal conflict. 18 Factors Involved in Helping/Harming: Characteristics of the Other • Retaliatory Capacity • Expected retaliation reduces aggressive behavior. • Reinforcement theory • The threat of retaliation reduces aggressive behavior. • Displaced aggression = aggression toward a target that exceeds that which is justified by provocation by the target. 19 Context of Altruism and Aggression: Situational Factors Rewards and Costs • When deciding to act aggressively/help, people usually make a potential costs/benefits analysis of their action. • Three rewards that promote aggression are: • Direct material benefits: if material benefits are reduced this type of aggressive violence will decline. • Social approval: every society has norms that approve aggression against particular targets in particular circumstances. • Attention: when aggressive behavior is ignored and cooperation is rewarded with attention and praise, aggressive acts are reduced. 20 Context of Altruism and Aggression: Situational Factors Modeling • The presence of behavioral models (someone else who is • • • • • helping another) tends to increase helping behavior. Aggressive models can do exactly the same for negative behaviors, E.g., Mob behavior. Demonstrates what kinds of actions are possible or effective. the appropriateness of helpful actions in particular situations. information about costs and risks. 21 Context of Altruism and Aggression: Situational Factors • Mood and Stress • When people are in a good mood, they are more likely to help others, and when people are in a bad mood they are less likely to help others than when they are in a neutral mood. • Bad mood can sometimes increase helping. • Stress increases the likelihood of aggressive behaviors. • Chronic social stressors can increase frustration. Situational Influences Moods Good moods Bad moods • Tend to increase helping • Tend to decrease helping • Not preoccupied with problems; become aware of others’ needs • Focused on personal problems; do not notice others’ needs • Feel more fortunate than others; want to use resources to improve others’ lives and restore balance • Feel more deprived than others so they resist giving up resources to assist others • Want to retain the “warm glow” of positivity by helping others • BUT good moods can decrease helping if people believe that helping others will feel unpleasant • BUT bad moods can increase helping if people believe that helping others will feel pleasant → “Negative-state relief hypothesis” 23 Contexts of Altruism and Aggression: Environmental Cues • When aggressive cues are present in the environment, it can increase the likelihood of an aggressive response. • People who have been aroused or frustrated respond more aggressively when in the presence of a gun than in the presence of neutral objects. • Cues in the environment signal how another will respond. • The greater the number of bystanders in an emergency, the less likely any one bystander will help 24 Bystander Intervention • The term bystander intervention denotes a quick response by a person witnessing an emergency to help someone who is endangered. • Bystander research was inspired by the tragic murder of a young woman named Catherine (Kitty). • A total of 38 people witnessed Kitty being stabbed, and later stalked and re-stabbed by an assailant. • No one called the police even though Kitty cried for help. • 35 minutes later, one neighbor called the police to get Kitty help, but she had died. 25 A) Making a Decision to Act A potential helper must: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Notice something is happening. Interpret the situation: Is Help Needed? Is Help Deserved? Determine responsibility. Determine ability to help. Know the appropriate form of assistance. Decide what to do. - cost/benefit analysis - others’ reactions 26 The Bystander Effect • The bystander effect refers to the fact that the greater the number of bystanders in an emergency, the less likely any one bystander will help. 27 The Bystander Effect • 1. Defining the Situation • Diffusion of Cautiousness • 2. Evaluation Apprehension • Other bystanders as audience • 3. Diffusion of Responsibility • Takes no action because other bystanders share the responsibility for intervening; probability of helping decreases as the number of strangers who witness the emergency increases. 28 Contexts of Altruism and Aggression: Social Norms • Cultural norms mandate helping as appropriate/inappropriate depending on the conditions • When mandated as appropriate, helping becomes an approved behavior, supported by social sanctions. • Negative norms of retaliation 29 Context: Types of Helping Norms • Specific helping norms : • Relationship Norms: • kinship obligations, friendship reciprocity • Norms of Sympathy • By type of relationship; owe gratitude in return • Social Responsibility Norms: • Direct us to help whoever is dependent on us. • Norm of Reciprocity: • Direct us to reciprocate intentional benefits we receive; not help those who have denied us. 30 Context: Types of Helping Norms • Specific Helping Norms: • Profit Equity Norm: • Distributive Justice – we should receive rewards equal to our costs. • Personal Norm: • Direct us to notice another’s need and feel responsible for relieving it. • The impact of our personal norms on helping behavior depends on whether we accept or deny our own responsibility. 31 Contexts: Help and Reciprocity • If the norm of reciprocity is salient in the situation, the person receiving help may feel obligated or indebted to the helper. • In cases where the recipient has the opportunity and ability to reciprocate, there may be no problem. • In cases where it is more difficult to reciprocate, the person who received the help may develop a lingering sense of indebtedness and may develop resentment and negative sentiments toward the benefactor. 32 Context: Norms and Aggression • Negative reciprocity norm requires that the retaliation be proportionate to the provocation. • This saying “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” promotes retaliation for attacks. • In a national survey: • More than 60% of American men considered it proper to respond to an attack on one’s family, property, or self by killing the attacker.
Purchase answer to see full attachment