Social Psychology

Influence of Groups on our Behaviors

Attribution Theory: How we explain the behavior of others

Why did the Nazi’s during WWII commit atrocities against fellow human beings?

Why are people homeless?

Why are some people in prison?

What are the major reasons why people become substance abusers?

Dispositional vs. Situational

Dispositional Attribution: Believe that people’s personality and personal choices can explain why they behave as they do.

Situational Attribution: Look at the various factors and pressures in a person’s situation to help explain why they behave as they do.

Explanations for Your Behaviors

Why did you cheat on a test?

Why do you sometimes lie?

Why have you teased or bullied someone?

Make the Attribution Error for the behavior of others but for our own

When we are explaining other people’s behaviors, we overplay their disposition or personality and ignore the significant impact of situational variables.

However, when explaining our own misdeeds, we are more than willing to address the pressures of the situation!

Conformity to Norms of Groups

Asch Experiment: Which line matches one on left?

Asch Study is a classic in demonstrating conformity

Groups have norms or standards of behavior

We tend to conform to the norms of a group even if we don’t agree. Why?

One-third of the time, subjects conformed to the wrong answer in the line experiment if 4 or more others first gave the wrong answer.

Group Think

Groups members work more toward harmony and avoidance of discord than toward critical thinking

Groupthink is more likely to occur when strong members speak early, frequently and strongly about their opinions

NASA: Challenger Shuttle Tragedy

Engineers under pressure from Directors of the Mission

Engineers knew that the weather was way too cold for the O ring to function properly to maintain the integrity of the shuttle

Spent time making their case but in the end they caved, resulting in the inevitable explosion of the Challenger after take-off

Columbia Shuttle Crew

Left Wing Harmed Upon Take-off

Classic Group Think

Engineers concerned about foam hitting the wing of Columbia

Two directors of Columbia mission immediately dismiss their concerns and fairly quickly reduced dissent

Why difficult to dissent at that point?

Columbia Disintegrating upon Reentry

Juries: 12 Angry Men

Plot of “12 Angry Men”

Start with judge sending jury to room for deliberation Room is very hot and most want to get home as

quickly as possible Take a close ballot and only one dissents from a

vote of guilty Henry Fonda asks them simply to re-examine the

evidence Much anger and bitterness develops See how jury moves from 11-1 for guilty to 12-0, not

guilty—very absorbing drama.

Bystander Apathy: Kitty Genovese

This was the incident that started the research on bystander apathy

Over 38 people stated to the police that they had heard Kitty yell for help

Many of them also had seen her being assaulted

None came to her assistance or even called the police. Why?

What reasons did the witnesses give for not taking action?

Karl Ross called police at 3:50 but not before call friend to ask what he should do.

Middle-class neighborhood but large apartment complex—therein lies the problem—diffusions of responsibility

Rationales given to police by residents:

Sounded like a “lovers’ quarrel.”Didn’t want to get involvedFrankly, we were afraid.Were too tired.

Studies of Bystander Apathy

Number of witnesses to crises crucial to if someone will come forward to assist

Ideal number is one or two

Four or more and likely to ignore or observe without assisting

Famous Studies by Latane & Darley

Experiment where subjects sit in a room completing a questionnaire when smoke begins to enter the room.

If subject is the only person in room, 75% leave room to report possible emergency

If three subjects in room, only 38% of the time will one of them report the smoke

If two passive confederates are in room with subject, subject reports only 10% of the time.

Explanation Give for Behavior

If report that smoke flowing into the room, state do so because it could be fire

If not report the smoke but, instead stay seated, state not believe it was a dangerous situation

No one ever mentions that presence of others doing nothing about the fire inhibited them from reporting smoke

Lady in Distress Experiment

Situation: Sitting in Room when hear woman fall and appear to have been hurt

Sitting alone: 70% assist Sitting with stranger: 40% help Sitting with one passive confederate: 7% What are reasons give?

Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment

Male Stanford College Students Volunteer &randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards.

Guards tended to conform to abuse of prisoners or did nothing to protest treatment—and abuse became worsened with each passing day.

Prisoners initially work together & protested treatment but guards use abusive tactics to quell

the protest and prevent united prisoner protests.

Horrific Treatment by American Soldiers of the Iraqi Detainees in Abu Ghraib

No training and no oversight

For those who wish to view the entire film on the Zimbardo Prison Experiment, go to the following site: http://www.prisonexp.org/

Those in power will usually abuse their power without adequate oversight.

Obedience Experiment by Milgram

The teacher is the actual Subject who is being asked to give electric shocks to the pretend student sitting in the next room. The experimenter is the authority-figure telling the subject to keep giving the shocks in order to complete the experiment!

Programmed Responses

Degree of Obedience Depend on Situational Variables

Methods used by Cults

Initially very affectionate and friendly to people who are a bit lonely and depressed

Isolate from non-cult members to increase commitment and decrease critical thinking

Ask small favors at first, like attending a meeting

Slowly increase time, effort and $$ contributions

Gain Total Control Over Members

Sign over bank accounts Give control over children and women Leaders are portrayed as having total control Cult presents positive image to community Fundamentalist groups of all religions seem

to be inclined toward forming cult-like societies

Jim Jones Cult Members Commit Suicide