Social Psychology Part 2 PDF

Social Psychology Part 2 Learning Outcomes Compare social norms and social roles Define stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination Explain what in-groups and out-groups are and how quickly we can fall into that line of thinking Discuss the fundamental attribution...

Social Psychology Part 2 Learning Outcomes Compare social norms and social roles Define stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination Explain what in-groups and out-groups are and how quickly we can fall into that line of thinking Discuss the fundamental attribution error and cognitive dissonance Outline and critique the Stanford Prison Experiment Social Norms “We are all fragile creatures entwined in a cobweb of social constraints.” - Milgram Social norms: Rules about how we are supposed to act  Enforced by punishment and reward  Accepted vs ostracized Social Norms Explicit social norms  It is polite to say “please” and “thank you”  You shouldn’t ask a woman her age or weight Implicit social norms  You don’t face backwards in an elevator  You shouldn’t start massaging your feet on an airplane Social Roles Social roles: A given social position that is governed by a set of rules for appropriate behavior  Parent ; doctor ; citizen ; leader ; gender roles  Can vary based on culture  Your role can fluctuate  Student role vs. Friend role Social Identity Social Identity: The part of a person’s self concept that is based on groups we belong to  National, religious, cultural, ethnic, or other social affiliation  Identify with the group, feel emotionally attached to the group, and are influenced by the group’s norms, values, and roles  We can have multiple social identities In-Groups and Out-Groups Every social identity inherently creates and “in-group” and an “out-group”  In-groupfavoritism: tendency to be more generous with people in your own group Takecredit for successes of others in your group Remember more positive information than negative about others in your group Be less critical of members in your own group Robbers Cave Experiment Two groups were created at a boyscout camp called “Robbers Cove”  Each group worked together on projects for team building  Then the two groups competed against each other  Very competitive in the games, and began to fight at other times Robbers Cave Experiment Then the two groups began to do cooperative exercises and work together towards a common goal  pulling a staff truck up a hill or picking a movie to watch Robbers Cave Experiment Cooperation can cause people to begin to think of themselves as one big group rather than two distinct groups Can help reduce the “us vs them” mentality  Social Identity Theory  Even show biases with completely meaningless groups  Assigned by random flip of the coin  Blue team vs red team  Team members rate own team positively, other team negatively  Minimal groups effect- automatic preference for ingroup even when group boundaries are random and meaningless Defining Terms Definition Example Stereotype Prejudice Discrimination Defining Terms Definition Example New Stereotype Yorkers Generalize d belief are rude about and Prejudice members always of a group in a hurry Discrimination Stereotypes  Can technically be negative or positive, and can be used to predict what someone will be like  They are usually negative though  Can distort reality by …  Exaggerating differences between groups  “they’re not like ‘us’”  Promote confirmation bias  See evidence that supports and ignore what doesn’t  Underestimate differences within that group  “they’re all the same” Defining Terms Definition Example Stereotype Generalize d attitude Dislike Prejudice toward for New members of a group Yorkers Discrimination Prejudice exists because of psychological, social, economical, and cultural reasons Psychologically Boosts self-esteem Views other groups as scapegoats for issues Social Pressure to conform Prejudices can be passed through generations Economic Prejudice rises and falls with changes in economy Can justify/keep majority group’s position Cultural and National Bonding people If you don’t like ‘them’, you’ll feel closer to ‘us’ War leads to prejudice Defining Terms Definition Example Stereotype Denyin Behaviors Prejudice directed g toward someon people on e a job the basis Discrimination of their based group on their membersh ip race or gender  Discrimination  Many different groups have been and still are persecuted because of group membership  Traditional discrimination- discrimination that is institutionalized  E.g., school segregation, voting rights, Jim Crow laws  Modern discrimination- more covert, subtle Prejudice Reduction  Contacthypothesis- positive contact with outgroup members can reduce prejudice  Helps to reduce stereotyping  Increase perception of outgroup diversity  Friendships lead to empathy and perspective taking Stanford Prison Experiment Philip Zimbardo created a ‘prison’ in the basement of Stanford University and assigned 24 college students to groups  12 were “prisoners”, and 12 were “guards”  Prisoners had a cell and numbered prison uniforms  Guards had guard outfits, sunglasses, batons  Zimbardo was superintendent and research assistant was Warden  The study was set to run for 2 weeks, but was ended after only 6 days Stanford Prison Experiment Some guards were nice, others “tough but fair”, and others extremely harsh  “John Wayne” in particular was unusually sadistic  They became increasingly cruel as the days went on  Zimbardo implied they had no real instructions on how to act Prisoners became helpless and distressed with physical and mental ailments ‘Conclusions’  Zimbardo claimed this demonstrated how social roles influence behavior  Guard’s aggression was result of having power and authority over others  Others claimed this moreso shows how obedience can influence behavior  Similar to Milgram’s experiment Orientation for the Guards “You can create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the system, you, me, and they’ll have no privacy… We’re going to take away their individuality in various ways. In general, what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That is, in this situation we’ll have all the power and they’ll have none.” Orientation for Guards  Told to not physically harm prisoners or withhold food or water  Instructed to disrespect prisoners and make them feel helpless, like calling them by number instead of name Attempted replications without suggestible instructions did not produce the same pathological behavior (Bartels, 2015; Reicher & Haslam, 2006). Criticisms  Not ethical  Wasn’t truly voluntary, and was abusive  Selection bias  Who would sign up for a prison simulation study?  Carnahan and McFarland (2017) found people who signed up for a similar ad over a generic psych study ad score higher in aggressiveness and authoritarian tests and lower in empathy tests  Demand characteristics  Participants role-playing based on what experimenter wants  The experimenters were literally taking part in the experiment…  Erich Fromm argued because only ~1/3 of guards were sadistic the experiment moreso shows how a situation/role cannot influence behavior Attributions  We often try to explain the behavior of ourselves and others  Our explanations can fall into two categories  Situational attribution: Identify the cause of behavior as something with the situation or environment  Dispositional attribution: Identify the cause of behavior as something about the person themselves  Someone is rude to you. Situational Attribution: Dispositional Attribution: They had a bad day, and They’re a are under mean pressure at person. work. Fundamental Attribution Error  We tend to use situational attributions for ourselves, and dispositional attributions for others.  Overestimate dispositional attributions for others, and underestimate situational attributions for others… even though everyone is influenced by both  Why?  Can use our thoughts to judge our behaviors, but can’t use others to judge theirs  Self-serving bias: we choose thought processes that make us feel good about ourselves  Select a forgiving attribution for yourself to protect your self esteem  YOU fail a test. Situational Dispositional Attribution: Attribution: I didn’t sleep I’m not well the smart. night before.  SOMEONE ELSE fails a test. Situational Dispositional Attribution: Attribution: They didn’t They’re not sleep well as smart as last night. I am. Self serving biases  These biases are good to protect our emotions, but bad for interpersonal communication Good idea = obviously it was Michael’s idea Bad idea = obviously it was NOT Michael’s idea  I am an animal lover, and don’t These want animals to be beliefs I love eating meat. don’t work killed. together. Cognitive Dissonance  Cognitive dissonance occurs when two attitudes/beliefs/behaviors contradict each other.  This leads to feelings of uncomfortableness, causing most people to change their attitudes/beliefs/behaviors, or rationalize them. I’m a smoker. These I care about my beliefs don’t work health. together.  So, Cigarettes aren’t I’m a smoker. something that bad for my must change health. I’ll quit smoking. So, I care about my something must health. change Cognitive Dissonance  Cognitive dissonance occurs when two attitudes/beliefs/behaviors contradict each other.  How we reduce the dissonance can have negative consequences.  “My partner loves me!”  My partner is abusive.  “They’re not always like that.” Cognitive Dissonance  Cognitive dissonance occurs when two attitudes/beliefs/behaviors contradict each other.  Unfortunately, people often reduce the dissonance without critical thinking, and dismiss evidence that goes against their belief/attitude/behavior.  Confirmation bias!  Harold Camping  “The rapture will occur on May 21,2011”  Rapture does not occur on May 21,2011  “May 21 was a spiritual judgement day, the rapture is going to occur on October 21,2011” Learning Outcomes Compare social norms and social roles Define stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination Explain what in-groups and out-groups are and how quickly we can fall into that line of thinking Discuss the fundamental attribution error and cognitive dissonance Outline and critique the Stanford Prison Experiment