Social PsychologyChapters 20 & 21
Social CognitionHow we think and act in social situations
Attitudes
Our beliefs and feelings About objects, people, and events Shape our behavior in certain situations
Developing Attitudes
Conditioning: we’re trained (sharing toys with our friends is a good thing to do)
Observational Learning: through watching others (a good work ethic pays off)
Cognitive Evaluation: draw conclusions from our experiences and multiple sources (we decide buckling up is the best choice)
Cognitive Anchors: our conclusions are based on what we learned as children (homosexuality is wrong)
Persuasion
An attempt to change someone’s current attitudes Central Route: uses evidence and logic Peripheral Route: appeals to feelings
In sending your message, you have options: One-Sided Argument: shares your evidence or
emotional appeal Two-Sided Argument: explains your view, but also
explains why the opposition is wrong
Find an advertisement and identify the following: The Messenger: where is the argument coming from
and who is addressing it? The Situation: what setting has the advertisement
established? The Audience: who is the message for?
Do you think this ad is effective? Explain your view!
Prejudices: generalized attitude towards a specific group Stereotypes:
unchanging, oversimplified, and distorted beliefs
Discrimination: negative behaviors; unfair treatment of a person because he/she belongs to a certain group
Causes Exaggerating Differences: instead of
how alike people are to us Justifying Economic Status: when
they’re in a different class from us Social Learning: copy our parents
and role models Victimization: as a defense for
personal prejudices Scapegoating: someone has to be
blamed
Social InteractionHow we behave around other people
Conformity
Changing our attitudes and behaviorsto match someone else’s To fit in with a group To match society’s expectations (norms) Because that’s what our culture demands
Remember Solomon Asch’s conformity study? People picked the wrong line simply because everyone else did
Obedience
Following the directive of authority figures Stanley Milgram’s experiment shocked people
because it found most were willing to harm others because they were told to
Why do we blindly obey? To fit in Fight larger battles No strong personal beliefs If we aren’t aware of the negative consequences
Social Perception
We judge based on first impressions (primacy effect) and most recent interaction (recency effect)
We judge based on what we are like or what we would have done
We judge based on the current situation and what we can tell from our experience
We judge to make ourselves look better (self-serving bias), whether we deserve credit or should take the blame
Interpersonal Relationships: why do we like certain people? Physical Appearance: duh…we are drawn to “pretty”
people Similarity: if they’re like us in appearance, beliefs,
opinions, or attitudes Reciprocity: do they like us too?
Aggression: words or actions meant to hurt other people Where does aggression come from?
Instinct: we’re born with this defense mechanism Freud: it’s an unavoidable result of living (and when we
have this release of aggression, it’s called catharsis) Choice: we choose to respond to our thoughts and
feelings based on past experiences Learning: threating has been reinforced as the way to
go Cultural: some groups are more aggressive than others
Body Language
Why is this important?
Up to 93% of our communication is non-verbal (gestures, facial expressions, eye movement)
It’s often more honest—people are unaware of the cues they’re giving
It’s Our Universal Language
There are six universal facial expressions Happiness Sadness Fear Disgust Surprise Anger
The Eyes
Communicate more than anyother body part Winning staring contests shows dominance Long eye contact shows sincerity Too much blinking can mean deception
We look to the left when remembering (being honest) and to the right when creating (lying)
The Mouth
There are 50+ human smiles due tothe more than 80 facial muscles
To tell if a smile is true, look for a crinkle in the middle, outside corner of the eye
Lips tell a lot too Biting: anxiousness Pouty lower lip: sadness
Grinding teeth is a sign of hiding real feelings
Body Language Depends On…
Context: where are you?
Culture: where are you from?
Age: are you young or old?
Gender: male or female?