5,000 foot review
What are the course objectives?
1. To increase students’ SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE and
UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENCES in how individuals and groups think, feel, and act within the context of a social world
2. To promote CRITICAL THINKING that can be applied to social and cultural contexts
3. To develop WRITING AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS 4. To foster REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS to societal
issues, interpersonal contexts, and professional goals
Review
Shauna really wants to be in the math club. As a requirement for joining the math club, all new
recruits have to run across the oval naked. After her naked run, Shauna feels embarrassed, but even
more committed to the math club. What can account for this?
effort justification (cognitive dissonance)
• after we spend a lot of effort on something, we expect this effort to be worthwhile.
• when the effort was not worthwhile, we often change our attitudes to reduce this dissonance.
Review
What does it mean to spread your alternatives?
• After making a decision between two equally valued choices, people rate the thing they
chose more favorably than the thing they didn’t choose
Business
• Paper 1 Revision – Due Thurs!
– Remember – need to get it down to 2 pages – Follow all directions
– Let me know if you have questions or if you are missing something
• 2367 folks want your feedback on the course – will give you 2pts extra credit for filling out the survey by March 9th
Alicia and Alex
lecture outline
• What is cognitive dissonance?
• How do we resolve cognitive dissonance?
• When do people experience cognitive dissonance?
1. insufficient justification 2. effort justification
3. spreading of alternatives
• Is dissonance real?
• What does dissonance have to do with social change?
Alternative Theories
• Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1967)
• People infer attitudes from their behavior
• Attitude changes without feeling of arousal
• Especially true with new or unknown attitudes Thought #1: I said the tasks were fun.
Thought #2: I must have enjoyed them.
Alternative Theories
• Zanna & Cooper (1974)
• Participants wrote a counter-attitudinal essay
• IV: Pill
• Discomfort Condition: “pill will cause anxiety”
• Neutral Condition: “pill will have no effect”
• DV: Attitude change
Zanna & Cooper (1974)
Thought #1: I don’t agree with tuition increase.
Thought #2: I wrote an essay in favor of tuition increase.
*Will these inconsistent thoughts make people uncomfortable?
Zanna & Cooper (1974)
No Effect Pill Discomfort Pill
Attitude Toward Tuition Increase
No chance to misattribute arousal → changing attitudes to reduce dissonance
Alternative Theories
• Fazio, Zanna, & Cooper (1977)
• Self-Perception: accounts for slight attitude change
• Dissonance: accounts for extreme attitude change
lecture outline
• What is cognitive dissonance?
• How do we resolve cognitive dissonance?
• When do people experience cognitive dissonance?
1. insufficient justification 2. effort justification
3. spreading of alternatives
• Is dissonance real?
• What does dissonance have to do with social change?
Dissonance Applied –
System Justification Theory
People tend to have positive attitudes toward their social systems
In the face of negative information about their social systems, people become more positive toward their social systems.
System Justification Theory
thought #1: The “system” is bad
thought #2: I am dependent on the system.
dissonance reduction
“the system isn’t that bad”
(change thought #1)
P.S. Remember “belief in a just world” from when we talked about Fundamental Attribution Error. This is basically the same thing.
System Justification Theory Example
thought #1: The government didn’t effectively deal with Hurricane Katrina
thought #2: If a natural disaster affected me, I would be dependent on the government for help
dissonance reduction
“Victim blaming: people shouldn’t have chosen to live below sea level & they should have evacuated”
(add a cognition)
Response to Hurricane Katrina
System Justification Theory Example
thought #1: I do the same amount and quality of work as men
thought #2: I get paid less than men for the same job
dissonance reduction
“I don’t deserve equal pay”
(Change cognition #1)
Depressed Entitlement:
System Justification Theory
Predicts that those who are most disadvantaged by the system are most likely to system justify.
Cognitive Dissonance Review
What is dissonance?
Conflict between cognitions or behaviors What are the conditions for dissonance?
Free choice & aversive consequences
When does dissonance occur?
Insufficient justification, effort justification, post-choice
Alternative explanation of dissonance findings
– Self-perception theory explains slight attitude change – Dissonance explains extreme attitude change
System justification theory
Essentially system level dissonance
Passive Voice Quiz
*not graded
S OCIAL I NFLUENCE
is so fetch
Laura Wallace:: PSYCH 2367
Social Influence – what is it?
• The ways we are influenced by other people around us
Social Influence
Can anybody think of a time when
someone else’s presence influenced the way you behaved?
Social Influence –
what will we talk about?• Conformity
• Compliance
• Obedience
Social Influence –
what will we talk about?• Conformity
• Compliance
• Obedience
Conformity–
What is it?tendency to behave or think in ways that are consistent with group norms.
Norms
Generally accepted ways of thinking or behaving that people in a group or society generally
accept as correct
Norms – lets do an example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF7wgo3vZ Ew
Sherif (1936) – Autokinetic effect
Autokinetic Effect
a small, stationary point of light in a dark environment appears to move.
(motion perception relies on relativity to references, without features, hard to tell stability or instability of distant items.)
Sherif (1936) – Autokinetic effect
• Rate how much dot is moving:
– Day 1: alone
– Days 2-4: in group – Day 5: alone
Sherif (1936) – Autokinetic effect
0 2 4 6 8 10
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
A B C D
Asch Line Study(1951)
• Asked to match the length of the line
• Confederates always say wrong line
Conformity: Asch Experiments
Asch’s Line Study
• Most people conformed at least once
– Only 25% never conformed
• Boundary Conditions:
– When answers were private, no conformity
– If one confederate gave correct answer, no conformity
Chat with a buddy
Can you think of a time when people might conform even if they think the behavior is wrong?
Conformity
• conform because you want to be correct
• assume others know more than you
• leads to “private acceptance”
(genuine belief)
• this explains the autokinetic effect
informational influence
feel a need to know what is the right behavior.
Conformity
• conform due to consequences of deviance
• conform to be accepted
• leads to “public acceptance”
(personal disbelief)
• this explains the asch line experiment
normative influence
feel a need to be socially accepted.
Conformity – when does it happen?
• Informational Influence
• Occurs in ambiguous situations
• Does not involve arousal or discomfort
• Results in private conformity
Conformity – when does it happen?
• Normative Influence
• Occurs in unambiguous situations
• Involves some arousal or discomfort
• Results in public conformity
Conformity activity
Find a buddy
Talk about a time you conformed.
Did you conform because of information influence or normative influence?
Compliance– what is it?
• a change in behavior due to a direct request from another person
Copy Machine Study
• Confederates walk up to people making copies…
Excuse me…
May I use the Xerox machine?
Excuse me…
May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?
Excuse me…
May I use the Xerox machine because I need to make some copies?
Copy Machine Study
0.6
0.94 0.93
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Basic Request "…because I'm in a rush" "…because I need to make copies"
Copy Machine Study
• Lesson from Xerox study:
– Just the word “because” leads to compliance
Can it be that simple to get people to do what you
want?
Compliance
Six Norms of Social Influence
1. Reciprocity 2. Social Proof 3. Consistency 4. Liking
5. Authority 6. Scarcity
Reciprocity
• Norm: if someone does you a favor, you pay them back
• Principle: we will even do things we don’t want just to reciprocate
Reciprocity Technique #1: Pre-Giving
• Giving someone a gift → greater likelihood of compliance with future request
Reciprocity
Example:
• Christmas card study
(Kunz & Woolcott, 1976)
• Sent Christmas cards to strangers
• Most strangers sent a Christmas card back!
Reciprocity
Example 2: Coca-Cola Gift Study (Regan, 1971)
• Two participants engage in “art appreciation”
study
– One is a confederate
• During a break, confederate leaves Condition A
Comes back; experiment proceeds
Condition B
Comes back with two bottles of Coke, one for the real
participant; experiment proceeds
Reciprocity
Example 2: Coca-Cola Gift Study (Regan, 1971)
• At the end, confederate asks participant for a favor
– “Would you buy some raffle tickets?”
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Coca Cola No Favor
# of Tickets Bought
Reciprocity
Reciprocity Technique #2: “That’s Not All”
• Offer something desirable and make a request
• “Sweeten the deal” before the offer is rejected
Reciprocity
Reciprocity Technique #2: “That’s Not All”
• Someone gives you a really good deal → you reciprocate by accepting the offer
