Social Psychology An introduction to social thinking SOCIAL

Social Psychology An introduction to social thinking.

SOCIAL THINKING §scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations You may wonder whether a person’s hostility reflects an aggressive personality or is a reaction to stress or abuse. Dispositions are enduring personality traits. So, if Matt is a quiet, shy, and introverted child, he is likely to be like that in a number of situations. Attribution Theory or correspondence bias § tendency to give a causal explanation for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition

The Lunch Date The program powerfully illustrates principles of perception illustrated earlier in the course, including top-down processing and the effect of expectations. What judgments were they making about the primary characters who appear in the story? Do you attribute the lady’s reaction to dispositional traits or situational circumstances?

Social Thinking § Fundamental Attribution Error or correspondence bias § tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition (18 -2) People often attribute other’s behavior to their dispositions while giving situational reasons for their own behavior.

Effects of Attribution How we explain someone’s behavior affects how we react to it.

Social Thinking – Alcoholism & Poverty In everyday life, we struggle to explain people’s actions. Who is responsible for the problem? Who is responsible for the solution? 1. Traditional view: You got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out. 2. Compensatory: people are not seen as responsible for problems, but are responsible for solutions. You are not responsible for being down, but you are responsible for getting up” 3. Medical Model: people are seen as responsible for neither the problem or solution “You are ill and I will help you” 4. Enlightenment Model: Responsible for problems but unable or unwilling to provide solutions. Viewed as needing discipline. AA

Fundamental Attribution Error In our individualistic culture (giving priorities to one’s own goals over group goals – defining themselves in terms of personal attributes rather than group identification) we think that dispositions matter more than situations. We overemphasize personality in explaining any behavior while concurrently underemphasizing situational influences. • Power of roles – many times we are in positions where we have to act in certain ways based on situational factors.

Attribution Theory - REVIEW Dispositional • Inherent personal qualities (genetic make-up, personality traits, character, free will. . ) • Given violent behavior, one searches for sadistic personality traits. Given heroic deeds, the search is on for genes that predispose toward altruism. • Most of medicine and our gut reactions come from this view. The quest for understanding starts with: Who is responsible, who caused it, who gets blamed/credit.

What is Social Psychology? Social psychology tries to avoid those rushes to judgment. Focus on “What questions”: what conditions could be contributing to certain reaction? What circumstances might be involved in generating behavior? What was the situation like from the perspective of the participants? Social Psychologists ask: to what extent can an individual’s actions be traced to factors outside the actor, to situational variables and environmental processes unique to a given setting?

Homework • Go to http: //www. prisonexp. org/ Read the slideshow and be prepared to discuss.