Chapter 20: Social Cognition

Social Psychology

• The study of the manner in which personality, attitudes, motivations, and behavior of the individual influence and are influenced by social groups

• So in the study of social psych we must look at:– The individual – Relation between individual and others– Group behavior

The Individual

• We think that we are awesome!

• We think everybody notices us

• We think that our beliefs and actions make sense

I’m Awesome

• We systematically rate ourselves as better than average at things like:– Student– Friend– Lover – Driver

• We aren’t sure why– Nature of Feedback?– Differing criteria for goodness?– Need to feel good about self

Everyone Notices Me

• Spotlight effect – we tend to believe that the spotlight shined brighter on us than it really does.

• The Ugly Shirt experiment

Transparency Effect

• We think we are more transparent than we really are.

1. Have you been to London?Yes, I have been to LondonNo, I have not been to London

2. Do you have a younger sibling?Yes, I have a younger sibling.No, I do not have a younger sibling

3. Do you like sushi?Yes, I like sushiNo, I do not like sushi

We believe what we do makes sense.

• We believe that our attitudes are reasonable and that our behaviors are in keeping with our beliefs

Social Cognition

• The study of how information about people is processed and stored

• Our thoughts, perceptions, and beliefs about people are influenced by the social context in which we interact with them

20.1 Attitudes

• Beliefs or feelings about objects, people, and events

• Attitudes can affect behavior

• Generally stable but can be changed

Attitude Development - Conditioning

• Authority figures positively reinforce behaviors and beliefs that align with their own

Attitude Development – Observational Learning

• We acquire attitudes by observing others

Attitude Development – Cognitive Evaluation

• We evaluate information or evidence before forming our beliefs

• We are especially likely to do this if we think we will have to justify our beliefs

Attitude Development – Cognitive Anchors

• We form some of our beliefs early in childhood

• These beliefs stay with us throughout our lives

• Contrary attitudes may be rejected

Attitudes and Behavior

• Sometimes align other times do not

When Behavior Follows Attitude

• Behavior more likely to align with attitudes when the behavior is specifically tied to that attitude

• Stronger attitudes = behavior more likely

• More likely to act according to beliefs if there is a vested interest

• More likely to act according to attitudes that you are aware of

When Attitudes Follow Behavior

• Likely occurs when we behave contrary to our beliefs

• Cognitive dissonance may cause a shift in beliefs

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Leon Festinger

• Internal inconsistency causes dissonance

• We work to reduce dissonance– We avoid inconsistent info– We change attitudes to mesh with decisions

Cognitive Dissonance• Subjects did a boring task.• Subjects were then paid

either $1 or $20 to tell the next subject that the task was enjoyable.

• Subjects receiving $1 rated the task as more enjoyable than those receiving $20.

• Why? They were less able to justify their action (lying to the next subject) than those receiving $20, so they had to change their attitude about the task.

20.2 Persuasion

• A direct attempt to influence other people’s attitudes

Methods of Persuasion

• Central route– Uses evidence and logic– The message is most important factor

• Peripheral route– Indirect approach– Associates objects, people, or events with

positive or negative cues– Many factors are important

The Message

• Repeated exposure leads to more favorable views

• The way the message is presented is also important

The Message - Two Sided Arguments

• Both sides of the argument are presented

• The opposing views are discredited

• More effective than one sided arguments

The Message – Emotional Appeals

• Utilizes feelings of desire, loyalty, and fear to persuade

The Messenger

• Employs people who are more persuasive:– Experts– The Trustworthy– Attractive People– People with similar qualities to the target

audience– People without a vested interest

The Situation

• Putting people in a good mood makes them more easily persuaded

The Audience

• Different approaches work better with different audiences– Emotion works on kids– Logic on adults

Saying No

• Sales resistance – some people have no trouble saying no others fall for any pitch– High resistance correlates with high self-

esteem and low social anxiety– Low resistance correlates with low self-

esteem and high social anxiety (they are also more likely to be persuaded to engage in behaviors that go against beliefs)

The Pitch

Your group is responsible for creating an advertising campaign for one of the three products provided. During your pitch you will present the following:

1. A tag line – Think about all the big brands and companies; each has an advertising phrase you remember. Come up with a great one sentence line to help the audience relate the product to something appealing.

2. A print ad – Using white butcher or poster paper, design a magazine ad.

3. A radio or television ad – Create a written pitch for a media ad that includes a description of the set up and action as well as any important dialogue. Casting descriptions are also useful.

20.3 Prejudice

• Generalized attitude towards a specific group of people

First Impressions

• We form first impressions quickly

• They are important (confirmation bias)

• They can actually have an effect on other– Self Fulfilling Prophecy– Pygmalion Effect

Stereotypes

• Unchanging, oversimplified, usually distorted beliefs about a group of people– Developed to help us organize social

information – We assume those different from us are similar

to each other– Harmful because people aren’t judged as

individuals– Can lead to incorrect interpretations of

behavior

Discrimination

• Unfair treatment of individuals because the are members of a specific group

Causes of Prejudice

• Exaggerating Differences

• Justifying Economic Status – successful believe that those less well to do are inferior

• Social Learning – we acquire prejudicial ideas from parents and others

Causes of Prejudice

• Victimization – some who are victims of prejudice try to regain a sense of power by belittling others

• Scapegoating – Scapegoat – individual or group that is

blamed for the problems of others– Usually too weak to defend themselves or do

n’t fight back

Overcoming Prejudice

• Difficult

• Increased contact

• Speaking up

• Being an example

• Avoiding discrimination

20.4 Social Perception

• The ways we see other people

Primacy and Recency

• We form opinions about people based on our first impressions (often influenced by looks)

• These tend to have lasting effects

• Recency effect occurs when we change our opinion about others

Attribution Theory

• We explain the behavior of others differently than our own behavior

• We can attribute behavior to:– Dispositional (personality) factors– Situational (external) factors

Fritz Heider

Actor-Observer Bias

• We tend to attribute others behavior to dispositional factors (they did it because they’re not nice)

• We attribute our own behavior to situational factors (I am usually nice, the situation is to blame for my behavior)

Fundamental Attribution Error

• Our tendency to overestimate dispositional causes for another’s behavior and to underestimate the situational causes

Self-Serving Bias

• We attribute our own successes to dispositional factors (I won cause I’m the best!)

• We attribute our failures to situational factors (I lost cause he cheated)

Nonverbal Communication

• We are influenced by forms of unspoken communication like:– Facial expression– Gestures– Posture and distance

• We are not always aware of using it

Physical Contact

• Degree to which it is used varies between sexes and cultures

• Can be effective and persuasive

Eye Contact

• Can be revealing

• Can be indication of truthfulness

• Gazing – a steady intent look conveys liking

• Staring – perceived as anger, makes people uncomfortable

20.5 Interpersonal Attraction

What Contributes to Attraction

So how do we find the person that we will love forever?

Several factors contribute to attraction

Physical Appearance

• Attractiveness varies from person to person, but there are some universals

Universals of Beauty

• We tend to like large eyes, high cheekbones, and narrow jaws

• Notions of beauty seem to be ingrained – babies show preference for looking at more attractive faces.

Differences in Body Shape Preferences

• Body shape preferences vary widely

• Fallon and Rozin study – men tend to think their body shape is close to the ideal, women tend to think they are heavier than the ideal

• Men like women shorter than themselves women like taller men

Similarity in Physical Attractiveness

• Matching Hypothesis – people tend to choose partners who are the same level of attractiveness as themselves

Other Similarities

• We tend to pick people with the same demographics (race, age, education, religion, etc.)

WHY?– We tend to live amongst people like

ourselves– People with similar characteristics have

similar attitudes which is appealing

Proximity

• We tend to fall for people who live close by

• Ohio study

Competence

We like people who are competent But not so competent that they make us feel

bad about ourselves The pratfall effect

Reciprocity

• Is the mutual exchange of feelings or attitudes

• We respond to people who seem to like us

Misattribution of Arousal

• Situations occur that cause arousal

• The source is unclear

• You attribute the feelings to attraction– Famous Studies

• Rickety Bridge• Painful Shock• Playboy Centerfolds

Gain Loss Effect

• Gain (romance novel effect)– We are more attracted to people who have

increasingly high regard for us– We prefer them over a person who has always

held us in high regard

• Loss– If someone is always mean they loose the power

to hurt you– Someone who had always been good to you

really has the power to hurt you

Friendship

• People with whom we share affection, respect and trust

• We choose based on proximity, attraction, reciprocity, and similarity

Love

• The word love has a wide variety of definitions. To describe these, Robert Sternberg created the Triangular model of love.

Love

• Intimacy - Closeness, sharing, and caring

• Passion - Feelings of romantic and sexual attraction

• Commitment – in it for the long haul

• Love changes and deepens over time