Interpersonal & Group Perspectives

Your Milgram Q’s are due today!!

Attributions Continued

Just World Belief: – We tend to believe that the world is, on

the whole, fair, and that wrongs will be punished and rights rewarded.

– A number of studies have shown beliefs that people who suffer deserve it and have brought their ills upon themselves.

Why Do We Think Like This?

– Invulnerable Belief- We can avoid unpleasant situations

– Reduce anxiety caused by injustices

How Correlated are Actions and Attitudes?

Attitudes & Behaviors may not be as correlated as you think!

Read the description of the psychology experiment & answer the question.

When we feel less coerced & more responsible for troubling actions we feel greater cognitive dissonance.

Rationalization: protects our ego; If we choose to do/say it, we must believe it.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: When attitudes and behaviors do not match it creates stress. Especially when you feel responsible for your behavior!!

What causes changes in our attitudes?

– Persuasion– Credibility– Likability– Attractiveness

Obedience - Milgram

Prior to the study, most scholars thought only sadists would shock “learners” until the end.

Two-thirds of the subjects went all the way to the end of shocks Obedience increases with status/prestige.

Conformity-Asch

Factors increasing conformity– Group size, cohesiveness, social status, culture, avoid

rejection

Social Facilitation

The presence of others improves performance on easy tasks.

Opposite = Inhibition

Examples:– Cars rate of speed– Billiards accuracy– Sporting events– Laughing @ The Office

Cars travel 15% faster!

Social Loafing

Tendency to work LESS when in a group

Loafing increases with group size (accountability & dispensable)

Not observed in all cultures– Collective vs. Individualistic

societies

Examples:– Clapping at a concert– School projects – Football Game/Films Find the social loafer!!

Group Polarization

Group interaction intensifies the original opinion of group members.

In groups, people tend to be more extreme in their decisions.

Examples: – Inflexible juries tend to hand

down harsher sentences– Racial attitudes– Political attitudes

Groupthink

Occurs when a cohesive in-group makes decisions w/o considering alternative actions.– Illusions of invincibility – Illusions that all are

unanimous – Direct pressure to conform – Mindguards, alternative

solutions are kept from leader

– High Stress Examples: Bay of Pigs &

Challenger Disaster