COURSE NOTES: Introductory Psychology

Notes for Psychology 101: based on Myers's text, Exploring Psychology, with supplements and modifications by the instructor, Prof. Cloninger.

denotes a term that you should know how to define, and to recognize and give examples. denotes an important person. You should remember this person's name and what (s)he has done. denotes an important research finding. denotes an issue that you should be able to discuss or explain.

SOCIAL THINKING

What we think is learned socially and affects social behavior

ATTRIBUTION: the answer to the question "why"?

• examples: "Why did you stay home instead of going out?" "Why did you fail the test?"
  The answers to questions like these are attributions.

Examples of attributions:

personal attributions ("I'm shy." "I'm reliable.")
situational attributions ("It was a hard test.")
attitudes ("I like a challenge.")

ATTRIBUTING BEHAVIOR TO PERSONS OR SITUATIONS

Why did the student oversleep and miss class?

Because he is lazy?

a dispositional attribution

Or because he is working 30 hours a week, as well as taking a full load of classes?

a situational attribution

• the tendency for observers to underestimate situational influences and overestimate dispositional influences upon others' behavior

examples: He overslept, because he's lazy.
She's late, because she's disorganized.

The Effects of Attribution

Everyday judgments about people
Social conditions such as poverty, unemployment
At work, evaluating employees

ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS

ATTITUDE: a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone exhibited in one's beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior

• examples: political attitudes; attitudes about smoking, jogging, and other activities

Attitudes (internal influences) and situations (external influences) both affect behavior.

• Myers, 2005, p. 541, Figure 15.1
• Influence goes both ways.

The foot-in-the-door phenomenon (first agree with small request; then with larger one)

Role playing affects attitudes (role: social position leading to expected behaviors; for example, Zimbardo's prisoners and guards)

Why do our actions affect our attitudes?

Cognitive dissonance theory

• We are most comfortable when all our thoughts and actions are consistent (not "dissonant").
• Cognitive dissonance occurs if our behavior is inconsistent with what we know--like smoking, while knowing it is unhealthy.
• We can reduce dissonance by changing the behavior, or by changing what we believe.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

conformity (going along with others' behavior)
obedience (doing what an authority figure tells you)
group influence (group responsibility instead of me)
cultural influences (norms to be thin; role of a woman)

CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE

Group Pressure and Conformity

Asch's classic study on line length judgment and conformity

Results of Asch's study:

Controls were correct 99% of the time.
Experimental Ss conformed on 37% of responses.

30% of Ss always yielded.
25% of Ss were always independent.

Conditions that strengthen conformity:

Feeling incompetent or insecure
Group of 3 or more people
Group is unanimous
We admire group's status and attractiveness
We have made no prior commitment to any response
Others in the group observe our behavior
Our culture strongly encourages respect for social standards

Reasons for conforming:

Normative social influence (norms)

"...so they will like me."

Informational social influence

"...because they know something I don't."

Obedience

Milgram's classic study on obedience (to authority) by shocking "learner" when experimenter says to do so

63% obeyed fully

no shocks were actually delivered

ethics debate

variations of the study showed factors that increased obedience:

legitimate authority
authority was near the subject
institution was prestigious
victim was distant (depersonalized)
no role models for disobedience

Lessons from the Conformity and Obedience Studies

Social influence can be stronger than our own standards

GROUP INFLUENCE

Individual Behavior in the Presence of Others

 Social Facilitation

Triplett (1898): we do tasks (such winding a fishing reel) more quickly when others are present

The presence of others increases arousal, which helps easy tasks but harms difficult tasks.

Social Loafing

We work less hard when part of a group. ("free-ride")

Why? Less accountable as individuals, and feel dispensable

Deindividuation

Decreased self-consciousness and decreased responsibility

Example: impact of uniforms, such as Ku Klux Klan-style hoods, leading to increased "aggression" (laboratory shock)

Effects of Group Interaction

Group Polarization

Discussion changes opinions toward the group's prevailing tendencies

Liberals talking to other liberals become even more liberal.

Conservatives talking to other conservatives become even more conservative.

Groupthink (Janis)

making unrealistic group decisions because members don't express dissent, wanting to keep group harmony

Historical examples: U S invasion of Cuba; Watergate; Challenger explosion

The Power of Individuals

Although situations can be powerful (social control), we can also have an impact as individuals (personal control). What we expect can become a "self-fulfilling prophecy."

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

• What we expect can become a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Minority Influence

One or two individuals can change group opinion if they are consistent.

SOCIAL RELATIONS

prejudice
aggression
conflict
attraction
altruism
peacemaking

PREJUDICE

Stereotypes

overgeneralized beliefs about a group

Emotions: hostility, envy, fear
Discrimination: action

• Prejudice based on race, gender
• Changes in prejudice and its expression over time

Social Roots of Prejudice

Social Inequalities

Us and Them: Ingroup and Outgroup

Ingroup bias

Scapegoating

Scapegoat theory of prejudice

Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

Categorization
Vivid Cases
The Just-World Phenomenon ("blame the victim")

AGGRESSION

Definition of aggression: "any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy, whether done out of hostility or as a calculated means to an end"

The Biology of Aggression

"death instinct" (Freud's view)

Genetic Influences

Twin studies show impact of genetics

Neural Influences

Animal and human studies of implanted electrodes in brain (limbic system)Head injury is more common among violent criminals

Biochemical Influences

Hormones, especially testosterone

Alcohol, which has both biological and psychological effects

The Psychology of Aggression

Aversive Events

Frustration-aggression principle

Frustration --> Anger --> Aggression

Learning to Express and Inhibit Aggression

Imitation
Rewards
Cultural models
Minimal father care
Individual differences
Interventions, such as parent-training programs

Television Watching and Aggression

Violent models are numerous on TV (e.g., child sees, on average 8000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on TV during elementary school)

Effects of TV watching

Research supports a correlation between viewing TV violence and committing aggressive acts.

Further research, using experiments, shows that the relationship is a cause-effect relationship.

Sexual Aggression and the Media

Rape

Acquaintance rape (date rape)
Sexual myths, such as refusal changing to enjoyment
Viewing sexually explicit films (violent ones) makes viewers more accepting of sexual aggression

TV Violence, Pornography, and Society

• Social scripts (e.g., "act like a man")

CONFLICT

Conflict: "a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas" (Myers, 2005, p. 566)

Social Traps

Situations in which pursuing our own ends produces mutually harmful behavior
Game matrix [often called "Prisoner's Dilemma"]

Environmental social traps

Solutions:

Regulation
Communication
Awareness

Enemy Perceptions

Mirror-image perceptions

ATTRACTION

The Psychology of Attraction

proximity
physical attractiveness
similarity

Proximity

Mere exposure effect

Physical Attractiveness

Blind date studies: physical attractiveness influenced satisfaction

Impact of physical attractiveness on dating, popularity, and impression of personality

Physically attractive people are judged happier, more sensitive, more successful, more socially skilled (but not more honest or compassionate).

Despite that, physical attractiveness is not related to self-esteem and happiness.

What is considered attractive?

Youthful appearance is judged attractive in women.
In men, what matters is maturity, dominance, and affluence.

Evolutionary interpretation of these findings (for reproduction)

Similarity

Romantic Love

begins with passionate love, but doesn't stay there

Passionate Love

Companionate Love

Equity and self-disclosure contribute to relationships

ALTRUISM

"an unselfish regard for the welfare of others" (Myers, 2005, p. 573)

What motivated those who rescued Jews in Nazi Europe?

social norms (52%)
helping was seen as obligatory by friends, family, or church

empathy (37%)
moved by the suffering of those whose lives were in danger

commitment to the justice principle (11%)
strong beliefs about how others ought to be treated

Bystander Intervention

The bystander effect (Myers, 2005, p. 575)

Helping only occurs if we notice the incident, interpret it as an emergency, and assume responsibility for helping

Experiments show we help more if there are few other people around.

Other factors also increase helping: observing helpful others, not being in a hurry, being in a good mood, and so on.

the case of Kitty Genovese

For more than half an hour, 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens, NY watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in 3 separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault. One witness called the police after the woman was dead. (March, 1964)

The Good Samaritan Road Map

Darley & Latane's seizure study [cf. Myers, 2005, p. 574]

diffusion of responsibility

alone: 100% helped, in less than 1 minute average
2 in group: 85% helped
3 in group: 60% helped
6 in group: 30% helped, averaging more than 3 minutes

The Psychology of Helping

Social exchange theory

Rewards of helping
Costs of helping

Reciprocity norm

Social responsibility norm

PEACEMAKING

Cooperation

Superordinate goals (Sherif's study of boys at camp)

Communication

Mediator may help find a win-win solution.

Conciliation

GRIT strategy: Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension reduction

announce a conciliatory intent
carry out verifiable conciliatory acts
maintain retaliatory capability

Social psychologists are activists to improve our social world.

Students: You can also use resources for this text supplied by the publisher. These include a chapter overview, self-tests, and other resources.

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