Unit 5 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY How individuals affect others

Unit 5 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY How individuals affect others and others affect them

Prison • Write down 5 words that you associate with prison, prisoners and the justice system

Stanford Prison Experiment • Philip Zimbardo • 1971 • Simulated prison environment • Random assignment of guard or prisoner role • Insight into human nature – how people will easily be cruel to others they see as inferior to themselves

After the documentary • Move to different tables for discussion questions • 5 min table talk per station • Share out- discuss • Link: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=L_LKz. Eql Pto

1 -3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Nia, Madison, Andrea, Breanna, Josh Jennifer, Andrew, Erich, Alonso, Maya Yulissa, Rigo, Christian, Isabel Silva Priscilla, Desiree, Jose, Vanessa, Jenae Hannah, Alyssa, Mario, Daniella, Travis Jonathan, Brandon, Isabel Lopez, Diego

6 -8 1. Alejandro, Paulina, Faith, Talia 2. Luisa, Leen, Aidan, Amairany, 3. Cora, Jissell, Cymone, Ricky, 4. Oscar, Makenna, Amanda, Paice 5. Joe, Mariaun, Tristan, Cameron 6. Taylor, Yasmeen, Susan, La. Rell

10 -12 1. Dayo, Jannet, Andy, Joseph, Morgan 2. Layla, Lanz, Jocelyne, Tatiana, Minna, Vanessa 3. Alex, Daniel E. , Giselle, Michael, Anthony 4. Daniel C. , Diego, Jasmine, Leslie, Rebecca 5. Arianna, Ricardo, Daniel M, Nelson, Chelsea 6. Julia, Daniel F. , Maddie, Judah, Hannah, Milo

Protocol • Join your group at one of the 6 sections in the class. • Together, read the 2 prompt questions. • Discuss your answers. – Take turns. – Allow everyone an opportunity to speak. – It is ok to politely agree to disagree.

Reflection • Think back on the documentary and the discussions. • Write a reflection about what you have learned today. – Perhaps you want to write down your response one of the prompt questions!

What is Social Psychology? • Social psychology studies individuals in the social context. • It is the study of how and why people think, feel, and do the things they do depending upon the situation they are in and who else is involved.

Sociology vs Social Psychology • Sociology focuses on group factors such as race and socioeconomic class • Whereas social psych focuses on the individual (within those groups)

Group role plays- Social Psych Key Concepts • In your groups, look up your assigned research or phenomenon – Act it out – Then, clearly define the concept – Thoroughly cover any key aspects of this phenomenon • 6 groups – – Conformity – Obedience – Bystander effect – Deindividualization – Persuasion – 2 groups

Protocol • Get into 6 different groups • Review assigned social psych phenomenon • Research the key terms, famous examples, and definitions – Write these down (will be turned in) • Create a skit that acts out the phenomenon & plan to explain/teach the terms after • Presentations include: – Skit (act it out!) – Teach keywords and definitions related to your topic

Fundamental Attribution Error The tendency to overestimate the impact of personal disposition and underestimate the impact of the situation in analyzing the behaviors of others leads to the fundamental attribution error. We tend to see ourselves as affected by the situation and other people by their personalities. This is a very strong tendency in our culture – watch out for it! 14

Effects of Attribution How we explain someone’s behavior affects how we react to it. 15

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Routes to Persuasion • Central route to persuasion: people focus on the validity of the arguments. • Peripheral route to persuasion: people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness.

Small Request – Large Request Not only do people stand for what they believe in, they start believing in what they stand for. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request. 18

Small Request – Large Request In the Korean War, Chinese communists solicited cooperation from US army prisoners by asking them to carry out small errands. By complying to small errands they were likely to comply to larger ones. Ultimately, they often adjusted their beliefs to be consistent with their actions (cognitive dissonance). 19

Cognitive Dissonance Why do actions affect attitudes? One explanation is that when our attitudes and actions are opposed, we experience tension. Leon Festinger called this cognitive dissonance. We act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognition) are inconsistent. To relieve ourselves of this tension we change our attitudes to bring them closer to our actions. If I chose to do it, I must believe it. 20

Role Playing Affects Attitudes Zimbardo (1972) assigned the roles of guards and prisoners to random students and found that guards and prisoners developed role- appropriate attitudes. The experiment had to be stopped to ensure the physical and psychological health of the participants who had taken their roles to an extreme. 22

Social Influence The greatest contribution of social psychology is its study of attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and actions and the way they are molded by social influence. NON SEQUITER © 2000 Wiley. Dist. by Universal Press Syndicate Reprinted with Permission 23

Conformity & Obedience Behavior is contagious. We follow behavior of others to conform. Other behaviors may be an expression of compliance (obedience) toward authority. Conformity § adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard 25

Group Pressure & Suggestibility is a subtle type of conformity, adjusting our behavior or thinking toward some group standard. Conformity experiments – Asch (1955). 26

Group Pressure & Conformity An influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. It is more likely to occur when: • • you feel incompetent or insecure, the group has at least 3 people, the group is unanimous, you admire the group, you have not committed yourself to another answer, everyone is watching you, your culture respects social standards. 27

Reasons for Conformity Normative Social Influence: Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid rejection. Ignoring the group may have unpleasant consequences. Informative Social Influence: Influence resulting from a person's willingness to accept the group's view of reality. The group may provide valuable information. 28

Obedience Stanley Milgram designed a study that investigates the effects of authority on obedience. Courtesy of CUNY Graduate School and University Center People comply to social pressures. How would they respond to outright command? Stanley Milgram (1933 -1984) 29

Both Photos: © 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales Milgram’s Study Milgram basically conducted an electric shock experiment with a “teacher” and a “learner”. 30

Milgram’s Study: Results 31

Individual Resistance A third of the individuals in Milgram’s study resisted social coercion. An unarmed individual single-handedly challenged a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square. Think also of Gandhi, Rosa Parks, industrial whistle-blowers… 32

Group Influence How do groups affect our behavior? Social psychologists study various groups: 1. 2. 3. 4. One person affecting another Families Teams Committees 33

Social Loafing The tendency of an individual in a group to exert less effort toward attaining a common goal than when tested individually (Latané, 1981). 34

Deindividuation The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. Mob behavior Ku Klux Klan 35

The Bystander Effect Tendency of any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present. 36

Friday – watch Mean Girls! • Watch the first 40 minutes of this awesome movie to see social psych concepts in action! • Stanford University has a summer class that analyzes this movie for it’s social psychology – Groups – Conformity – Persuasion/influence – Obedience – Norms • Answer Q’s on worksheet provided