Social Psychology: Attitudes and Actions
Attitude: Operational Definition
Attitude = A belief or feeling that predisposes (causes) one to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events.
Attitude: Structure
Attitudes are structures made up of 3 major components This structure is often referred to as the ABC model of attitudes
Attitude: Structure
The ABC model of attitudes
Attitude: Structure
The ABC model of attitudes
Attitude: Structure
The ABC model of attitudes
Can attitudes predict behavior? �Yes but only if…
1) Outside/external influences are minimal.
Example: Rita has an anti-drinking (alcohol) attitude. She chooses to avoid people who drink and situations where alcohol is present. Because she has eliminated any outside influences that could change her attitude about drinking, her anti-drinking attitude is a strong predictor of her behavior.
Can attitudes predict behavior? �Yes but only if…
2) We are keenly aware of our attitudes.
Example: When a person is aware and confident in what they believe, their attitudes are more likely to influence their behaviors and LESS likely to be changed or altered by external factors. Rita has a close family member with a drinking problem that really has destroyed their life and the lives of those around them. This creates a powerful anti-drinking attitude in Rita causing her to vow NOT to be like that family member.
Can attitudes predict behavior? �Yes but only if…
3) The attitudes are relevant to the behavior.
Example: If you know excessive drinking destroys your body and negatively impacts your relationships with others because you have witnessed or experienced it 1st hand, your anti-drinking attitude is more relevant and thus more likely to guide your behavior.
Effects of Actions on Attitudes
Example:
Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon Example
Effects of Actions on Attitudes
Examples:
Heath Ledger in
the Dark Knight
Joaquin Phoenix in
Walk the Line
Effects of Actions on Attitudes
Attitudes and Actions Review
Attitudes and Actions Review
1) Outside/external influences are minimal.
2) The person is keenly aware of their attitudes.
3) The attitudes are relevant to the behavior.
Stanford Prison Experiment - 1971
What was the experiment trying to figure out?
Stanford Prison Experiment - 1971
Stanford Prison Experiment - 1971
What did the results of the experiment reveal?
Stanford Prison Experiment
Social Psychology:
Conformity and Obedience
Conformity and Obedience
Conformity = Adjusting behavior or thinking to align with a group standard.
Solomon Asch Conformity Experiment:
Wanted to figure out how social pressures and group influences impact our thinking and behavior
Experiment design:
Let’s see what happened!
Solomon Asch Conformity Experiment
social situations that increase conformity:
Conformity and Obedience
Obedience - Tendency to comply with orders, implied or real, from someone perceived as an authority figure.
Milgram's Experiment on Obedience to Authority
Social Psychologist Stanley Milgram was the son of Jewish immigrants who fled Eastern Europe during WWII
Milgram's Experiment on Obedience to Authority
Milgram’s Results…..Shocking!
Percentage of subjects who obeyed experimenter:
100% - Slight (15-60 volt)
96% - Moderate (75-120)
80% - Strong (135-180)
80% - Very Strong (195-240)
72% - Intense (255-300)
70% - Extreme Intense (315-360)
68% - Danger: Severe (375-420)
65% - XXX (435-450)
What does this mean about US?
Situational/social factors have a much greater impact on our behavior than most of us realize
Ordinary people can be corrupted by an evil situation.
Ordinary people can be heroes if they understand how situational/social forces work and use them to combat evil.
Social Psychology:
Group Influence
Group Influence
Social Facilitation - the tendency perform tasks they have mastered in the presence of others.
Group Influence and Home-Field Advantage
Sport___ Games Studied____Home-team Winning
From Courneya & Carrron
Baseball 23,034 53.5%
Football 2,592 57.3%
Ice Hockey 4,322 61.1%
Basketball 13,596 64.4%
Soccer 37,202 69.0%
Group Influence and Home-Field Advantage
Group Influence
Social Loafing - individuals working on a task in a group (3 or more people) tend to exert less effort than they do when working on the same task individually.
Group Influence
Deindividuation = Loss of self-awareness + self-restraint in large group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
Examples:
Deindividuation Examples
Pep Assemblies
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOOL “SPIRIT”
Identify at least 3 things our school does during Spirit Weeks /Pep Assemblies that contribute to an increase in deindividuation and other aggressive/hostile behaviors (rather than school unity and spirit).
Group Interaction
Group Polarization -
when an individual’s pre-existing attitudes are reinforced and/or radicalized by other members of their social group that hold the same attitudes.
Examples:
political parties, terrorist groups, social media...
Extremists tend to get more extreme
as group polarization takes hold!
Group Polarization
Group Polarization
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
In 2014, there were 784 active hate groups in the U.S.
In 2018, there were 1,020… the highest total ever recorded in the U.S.
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
The El Paso terrorist said he was afraid of an “invasion,” a central theme of the Trump presidency.
Alex Brandon / AP Aug. 5, 2019, 1:07 PM CDT
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
Immigrants, Muslims and people of color who spoke to NBC News say they’ve watched with growing alarm as racist rhetoric has become more commonplace, both on the internet and in their communities, leading to a rise in hate crimes three years in a row and a drop in their sense of security.
El Paso, racism and rhetoric: The growing toll of bigotry in America
Aug. 15, 2019, 3:30 AM CDT By Janell Ross and Suzanne Gamboa
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
Group Interaction
Groupthink -
Mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of the alternatives.
Go along with a group’s decision to get along with the group - even though you know what you are doing is wrong.
The Power of ONE!
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies = When we believe or expect something will happen, we act in ways that help prove our beliefs/expectations are true.
Self-fulfilling prophecies can positively or negatively impact your actions and attitudes, it is up to you!
The Power of ONE!
Minority Influences
One person acting socio-centrically or defying an unjust social norm can make a big difference!
Every individual has the power to be a hero… including you!!!!!
END OF PRESENTATION
The Social Psychology of GOOD and Evil
The Social Psychology of GOOD and Evil
2) What is Dr. Zimbardo’s definition of evil?
3) How would each of the 3 theories below explain the transformation of human character from good to evil in situations like the one Zimbardo examined at Abu Ghraib?
4) Zimbardo talks about creating classes for young people using the “Psychology of Heroism” in order to develop a “Hero-in-Waiting” mindset. Zimbardo argues that to be a hero requires two certain skills which are listed below. Use information from the video and your notes to complete the two statements below about the social skills necessary for people to act heroically. Make sure you use specific social psychology terminology and/or evidence from historic social psych experiments like Milgram’s study of obedience to authority in your responses.
The Social Psychology of GOOD and Evil
The Social Psychology of GOOD and Evil
The Social Psychology of GOOD and Evil
What does Dr. Zimbardo mean when he says “Psychology is not Excuse-ology.”
1) Mindlessly taking the first small step (foot-in-the-door phenomenon!)
Once a person starts doing something they previously thought was wrong, they are more likely to keep going and increase the severity of the behavior.
The Social Causes of Evil
2) Dehumanizing others:
Believing another group of people is somehow less human because of their race, religion, political beliefs, ethnicity, ETC, makes people more likely to do or tolerate evil things being done to that group
The Social Causes of Evil
3) Deindividuation of self (anonymity)
People are more likely to do evil things if they believe their identity will be kept secret and no one will ever find out it was them
The Social Causes of Evil
4) Diffusion of personal responsibility
People are more likely to do evil things if they believe they will not be held responsible for their actions or that the authority figures giving orders are the ones really responsible.
The Social Causes of Evil
5) Blind obedience to authority
People are more likely to do evil things if they automatically do whatever they are told by authority figures without ever asking themselves if what they are doing is right or wrong
The Social Causes of Evil
6) Uncritical conformity to group norms
People are more likely to do evil things if they conform to the behavior of whatever group they are in without questioning whether or not what the group is doing is right or wrong.
The Social Causes of Evil
7) Passive tolerance of evil through inaction (indifference)
People are more likely to do evil things if they tolerate or do nothing about evil when they see other people doing it.
The Social Causes of Evil
The Social Skills People Need to Be Heroes:
The Social Skills People Need to Be Heroes:
2) Learning how to act socio-centrically rather than egocentrically.
Evidence/examples = revolutionary leaders who risked or sacrificed their lives by defying unjust social norms for the benefit of others. Some examples from history include: Enheduanna, Copernicus, Galileo, Qiu Jin, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Alice Paul, Nelson Mandela, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Malala, etc.
Illustrating the Social Causes of Evil
Directions:
______/30 points
Illustrating the Social Causes of Evil
Illustrating the Social Causes of Evil
7 Social Processes = mindlessly taking the first small step, dehumanizing others, anonymity, diffusion of personal responsibility, blind obedience to authority, uncritical conformity to group norms, passive tolerance of evil through inaction.
Directions + RUBRIC:
______/30 Points Possible
Illustrating the Social Causes of Good
Directions:
______/30 points
Illustrating the Social Psychology of Heroism
Illustrating the Social Causes of Good
Directions + RUBRIC:
____/30 Points Possible
EXTRAS
Social Psychology: Group Influence Comprehension Check
1) Mr Kosiba spills his energy drink on his shirt when he gets into his car to leave for school in the morning. When he notices the spill left a stain on his shirt thinks to himself “It looks like today is going to be a bad day.”
Social Psychology: Group Influence Comprehension Check
2) What is deindividuation?
3) Identify a specific social situation or environment in which deindividuation is likely to increase.
4) What is group polarization?
5) Identify a social situation or environment in which group polarization is likely to increase.
THE DANGERS of Group Polarization
“Molyneux has attracted more than 770,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, adding up to more than 230 million views of his videos. He relies largely on charisma, delivering ill-researched and scientifically unsound lectures with a degree of confidence that eases viewers into accepting his arguments.”
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOOL “SPIRIT”
Part 1 - Problem Identifying
Identify at least 3 things our school does during Spirit Weeks /Pep Assemblies that contribute to an increase in deindividuation and other aggressive/hostile behaviors (rather than school unity and spirit).
THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOOL “SPIRIT”
Part 2 - Problem SOlving
Develop a solution to 3 of the problems we identified in Part 1 using specific social psychology terms/concepts we have studied in class. Each of your solutions should answer the following questions: