Applied Social Psychology PSE-220: Class Intro

• The course is PSE-220 Applied Social Psychology
• The instructor is Licda Zabrina Perdomo

Class Administration

• Attendance will be taken 15 minutes after the start of class.
• Assignment, test, and exam dates will be announced in class and through official channels.
• Assignments for platform submission have a one-week calendar deadline; submissions in the comments section will not be graded.
• Cameras and microphones must be in optimal condition during sessions.

Class Objectives

• Identify and explain the concept of cognitive dissonance and its impact on the formation and change of attitudes.
• Examine how cultural differences between collectivist and individualist societies affect the experience and handling of cognitive dissonance.
• Develop strategies to use cognitive dissonance as a tool to promote positive behavior changes in different social contexts.

Attitudes

• Attitudes mainly develop through social learning, where people observe and adopt the attitudes of others.
• Genetic factors can influence attitude formation.
• Attitudes help individuals adapt and respond to their environment.

Attitude Formation

• Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond favorably or unfavorably to objects, people, ideas, or situations.
• Attitude formation occurs throughout life, influenced by personal experiences, social influences, and cultural factors.
• Attitudes can be positive, negative, or neutral and have affective (emotions), cognitive (beliefs), and behavioral (actions) components.

Attitude Formation and Societal Imapct

• Attitudes facilitate decision-making, help predict behaviors, and integrate social values.
• Attitudes can lead to prejudices, stereotypes, or mental rigidity.
• Attitudes can form based on environmental factors, for example a student in an environment where sports are valued can develop a positive attitude towards exercising, which influences their healthy lifestyle.

Social Learning and attitudes

• Social learning involves acquiring attitudes from others based on observing and imitating behavior, values, and attitudes of people in the environment, such as family, friends, and authority figures.
• It is based on Albert Bandura's social learning theory.
• This includes modeling, positive/negative reinforcement, and social sanctions.
• Attitudes learned through imitation can be conscious or unconscious.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Learning

• Advantages: Facilitates social adaptation; allows learning without direct experience.
• Disadvantages: Can promote negative attitudes if the observed model has inappropriate behaviors.
• An example of this is a child who sees their parents recycle may develop a positive attitude toward caring for the environment.

Genetic Factors

• Studies have demonstrated that attitudes can have a genetic component, finding a significant correlation in attitudes between identical twins.
• There are biological predispositions that affect the formation of attitudes, in addition to social influence.
• Twin studies show a strong correlation in attitudes even when raised in separate environments.
• Genetic influence does not completely determine attitudes but provides a foundation on which environmental factors can act.
• Advantages: Explains individual differences in attitudes hard to attribute solely to the environment.
• Disadvantages: May lead to the misconception that attitudes cannot be changed.
• An example of this is two identical twin brothers have grown up in different homes, yet share an attitude toward adventure and extreme sports.

Function of Attitudes

• Attitudes help people organize and filter social information, enabling quick and adaptive responses to various situations.
• They fulfill functions of personal expression and identity reinforcement, helping maintain self-esteem and establish connections with others.
• Initial attitude formation can be crucial as it can influence decisions and behaviors over time.
• Katz defines four main functions of attitudes to help individuals manage their social and psychological environment:
  • Adjustment function: Facilitates obtaining rewards and avoiding punishments.
  • Ego-defense function: Protects self-esteem from threats.
  • Value-expressive function: Allows expressing central beliefs and personal values.
  • Knowledge function: Organizes and simplifies information about the environment.

Applied Social Psychology and Attitudes

• The connection between attitude formation and applied social psychology lies in how attitudes influence human behavior in social contexts.
• Applied social psychology uses this understanding to tackle social problems and improve quality of life, considering how attitudes affect interactions and group dynamics.

Influencing Human Behavior

• Applied social psychology focuses on how attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices affect behavior in different contexts, such as work, education, and community.
• Interventions are designed to modify negative attitudes, and to promote a more inclusive and respectful environment.
• These interventions can include programs for diversity and inclusion in the workplace for example

Interventions in Educational Settings

• Applied social psychology is used in education to reduce bullying and promote a sense of belonging among students.
• Teaching techniques foster cooperation and respect, contributing to a positive learning environment.
• Peer mediation programs in secondary schools can address bullying
• Students receive training on how to resolve conflicts and support their peers.

Prosocial behavior

• Programs are developed at the community level to encourage solidarity and citizen participation.
• These initiatives aim to reduce violence and promote respect for diversity.
• Social psychology is used to create a positive impact in the community.
• A community organization can launch a campaign to promote volunteering in the community in order to motivate more people to get involved

Prejudice and Stereotyping

• Applied social psychology focuses on reducing prejudice and stereotypes through education and positive experiences.
• This is essential for improving interpersonal relationships and promoting empathy in various social contexts.
• A cultural exchange program between schools from different communities can help reduce prejudices; by promoting deeper understanding and challenging stereotypes, this can lead to more positive attitudes toward diversity.

Impact on Identity and Belonging

• Social identity theory, applied to social psychology, explains how people identify with groups and how this influences their behavior.
• Group membership can affect self-esteem and attitudes toward other groups, this proves crucial to understanding social dynamics and conflicts.
• Some examples include university affinity groups for different cultures.

Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, or when their behavior is not aligned with their beliefs. This conflict causes discomfort. The person then searches for ways to reduce the dissonance.
• For example, someone who considers themself an environmental advocate buys a car that consumes a lot of gasoline, this dissonance arises between their behavior (buying a polluting car) and their attitude (being ecologically responsible). To reduce this dissonance, they might justify their purchase by saying the car is safer or that they want to use it for special occasions only.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Dissonance

• Advantages:
  • Promotes self-assessment and behavior change.
  • Can lead to greater consistency between beliefs and actions.
• Disadvantages:
  • Can cause stress and anxiety.
  • Can lead to rationalization of negative behaviors.
• The intensity of dissonance depends on the importance of the beliefs involved.
• Facilitates adaptation to new situations, promotes personal growth and reflection
• Some disadvantages include leading to to a denial of reality and perpetuate harmful behavior.

Influence of Societal Norms

• In more collectivist societies like many in Asia, cognitive dissonance may be less apparent because social norms and group pressure can cause people to conform more easily.
• In more individualistic societies, such as the United States, people may experience dissonance more frequently due to greater freedom of choice and the diversity of beliefs.

Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort someone feels when their beliefs and behaviors are inconsistent.
• Ways to reduce dissonance include changing their beliefs, changing their behavior, or adding new beliefs that justify their behavior:
  • Behavior Change: Modifying the action that causes the dissonance (e.g., quitting smoking to align with the belief that smoking is harmful to health).
  • Belief Change: Altering beliefs to be consistent with the behavior (e.g., convincing oneself that smoking is not as harmful as thought).
  • Adding New Cognitions: Introducing new beliefs that justify the behavior (e.g., saying that smoking helps reduce stress, which can be beneficial).
• In Honduras the culture can be more community oriented, people seek social approval to reduce dissonance. More individualistic societies, people opt to change beliefs more easily.

Dissonance and attitude change: Condescension

• Induced compliance refers to a phenomenon where people change their attitudes to justify behavior they initially did not support, often due to social pressure or an incentive.
• A student who does not believe in the importance of education might participate in a tutoring program and begin to value education more over time.
• In societies where education is highly valued (many Western countries), induced compliance can be more effective. In contrast, induced compliance may not have the same impact in Honduras, where challenges in accessing education occur more frequently.

Hypocrisy to create positive change

• Hypocrisy in the context of cognitive dissonance refers to the discrepancy between what a person professes andwhat they actually do.
• This discrepancy can generate cognitive dissonance, which motivates the person to change their behavior to align it with their beliefs.
• An activist who promotes healthy living but often consumes fast food may experience dissonance; If presented with an opportunity to reflect on their behavior, they may decide to adopt healthier habits.
• This can power change, be social, and promote self-assessment and personal responsibility.

Conclusions

• Interconnection of Attitudes and Behaviors: Cognitive dissonance shows the dynamic relationship between attitudes and behaviors, revealing how one can influence the other.
• Cultural Impact on Dissonance: Social norms and group pressure can mitigate cognitive dissonance in collectivist societies, whereas freedomof choice can intensify it in individualistic societies.
• Potential for Positive Change: Cognitive dissonance can be used strategically to encourage positive behavior changes, especially when addressed in specific cultural contexts.