Social Cognition
A.
Attribution—Attributions are explanations for behaviors or
events that make us feel safer and more in control. The basic question is
whether our actions are due to internal dispositions (derived from our
own traits and motives) or external situations (derived from the
environment or situation). Attribution is subject to several forms of
error and bias. The fundamental attribution error reflects our tendency
to overestimate internal, personality influences and underestimate
external influences when judging the behavior of others. The saliency
bias is the tendency to focus on the most noticeable factors when
explaining the causes of behavior. The self-serving bias occurs when we
attempt to find reasons for our own behavior, as we tend to take undue
credit for positive outcomes and attribute negative outcomes to external
causes. Both fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias may be
partially an artifact of Western society due to the strong emphasis on
the self and individuality. More collectivist cultures (such as Asian and
certain Native American societies) do not define themselves as much in
terms of individual traits.
B.
Attitudes—Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to
objects, people, and events in a particular way. The three
components of all attitudes are affect (feelings), behavior
(actions), and cognitions (thoughts and beliefs). We sometimes
change our attitudes because of cognitive dissonance, which is a
feeling of discomfort caused by a discrepancy between two
conflicting cognitions or between an attitude and a behavior.
This mismatch and tension motivate us to change our attitude
to restore balance. Cognitive dissonance may reflect a particular
way of evaluating the self that is distinctively Western.
Social Influence
Conformity–Social Influence—Conformity refers to changes in behavior
in response to real or imagined pressure from others. Asch's classic
study of conformity demonstrated that people will often conform to
group opinion even when the group is clearly wrong. People conform
for approval and acceptance (normative social influence), out of a need
for more information (informational social influence), and to match the
behavior of those they admire and feel similar to (their reference
group). People also conform because it is often adaptive to do so.
Obedience—Obedience involves following a direct command, usually
from an authority figure. Milgram's experiment with obedience to
authority demonstrated that a large number of people will follow
orders even when another human being is physically threatened. Four
factors determine the likelihood of obedience: legitimacy and closeness
of the authority figure, remoteness of the victim, assignment of
responsibility, and modeling and imitating others. Social psychologists
also emphasize socialization, foot-in-the-door technique, and relaxed
moral guard as influential to obedience.
Group Processes —Group membership is the basic relationship
members of a group immediately recognize and share. As a member of a
group we then play various roles. The importance of these roles in
determining and controlling behavior was dramatically demonstrated
in Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study. College students who were
assigned to play the role of either a prisoner or guard in a simulated
prison became so completely and dangerously immersed in acting out
their roles that the experiment was prematurely ended.
Deindividuation occurs when one is less self-conscious and less
inhibited, and less personally responsible as a member of a group than
when alone. Group decision making is often considered to be
conservative and “middle of the road,” but research on the risky-shift
phenomenon shows that sometimes groups support riskier decisions.
This is influenced by how group discussions affect individual opinions
(group polarization) and how group membership affects access to
information (group-think). Sharing ideas with "like-minded" others
often reinforces the group's preexisting and dominant tendencies,
resulting in group polarization. Groupthink is a dangerous type of
thinking that occurs when the group's desire for agreement overrules
its tendency to critically evaluate information.
Social Relations
Prejudice and Discrimination—Prejudice is a generally negative attitude
directed toward specific people solely on the basis of their membership
in an identified group. It contains all three components of attitudes
(cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements). Discrimination is not
the same as prejudice. It refers to the actual negative behavior directed
at members of a group. People do not always act on their prejudices.
The major sources of prejudice are learning (classical and operant
conditioning and social learning); personal experience (negative
experiences and getting attention from others); limited resources;
displaced aggression (scapegoating), and mental shortcuts (in-group
favoritism and out-group homogeneity effect). Cooperation and
common goals, intergroup contact, cognitive retraining, and cognitive
dissonance are four major methods for reducing prejudice and
discrimination.
Aggression—Aggression is any behavior intended to harm someone.
Research points to both internal and external factors leading to
aggression. In the search for internal factors leading to aggression, some
researchers have focused on inborn instinctual factors and the role of
genetic predispositions toward aggression. Biological investigations
have also explored the role of hormones (elevated levels of testosterone)
and neurotransmitters (lowered levels of serotonin and GABA), as well
as aggression circuits in the brain. Psychosocial factors also play a role
in aggression. Substance use, particularly alcohol, is related to
aggressive behavior. Aversive stimuli, frustration (and displaced
aggression), social learning (observation of models who are rewarded
for aggression), and media violence may be the most important external
factors. Releasing aggressive feelings through violent acts or watching
violence has not been shown to be an effective way to reduce
aggression. More effective ways are to produce incompatible responses
(such as humor) and to improve social and communication skills.
Altruism—Altruism refers to actions designed to help others with no
obvious benefit to oneself. Why do we help? Evolutionary theorists
believe altruism is innate and has survival value. Psychological
explanations for altruism emphasize the egoistic model, which suggests
that helping is motivated by anticipated gain, or the empathy-altruism
hypothesis, which proposes that helping is activated when the helper
feels empathy for the victim. Why don't we help? Whether or not
someone helps depends on a series of interconnected events, starting
with noticing the problem and ending with a decision to help. Altruism
is inhibited by the fact that many emergency situations are ambiguous
and the potential respondent is unsure of what to do. Inhibition also
comes from not taking personal responsibility and assuming someone
else will respond (the diffusion of responsibility phenomenon). To
increase the chances of altruism, we should reduce ambiguity by giving
clear directions and assigning responsibility to those who may be
watching, providing altruistic models, and reducing legal liability.
Interpersonal Attraction—The degree of positive or negative feelings
we have toward each other account for a variety of social experiences
including admiration, liking, friendship, intimacy, lust, and love. Three
factors influence interpersonal attraction—physical attractiveness,
proximity, and similarity. Physical attractiveness is very important to
initial attraction. Physically attractive people are often perceived as
more poised, interesting, cooperative, achieving, sociable, independent,
intelligent, healthy, and sexually warm than less attractive people.
Standards for attractiveness are consistent across cultures, while what is
considered beautiful varies across cultures. People tend to select
partners with physical attractiveness levels similar to their own.
Proximity is also very important to initial attraction. People who are in
the same place at the same time are more likely to become friends just
due to mere exposure. Similarity is the most important factor in holding
together long-term relationships over time. There are two ways in
which this factor acts. One is need compatibility; we need others who
are like us to share interests, attitudes, and so on. Another is by need
complementarily; we also need others who have very different
qualities, and so each provides important resources for the other.
Loving others is more of a mystery. Sternberg’s triarchic theory of love
suggests that intimacy, passion, and commitment make up consummate
love, the fullest form of love. Romantic love has intrigued people
throughout history and has been found in many societies throughout
the world. Companionate love relies on mutual trust, respect, and
friendship and seems to grow stronger with time.
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