Unit 14: Social

Psychology
1

Focuses in Social Psychology

We cannot live for ourselves alone.
Herman Melville

Social psychology scientifically studies how

we think about, influence, and relate to one
another.
Examples of topics studied include:
Prejudice, Violence, Attraction, Attitudes,
and Persuasion.Interesting stuff!!!
2

What would you think of these

people in these situations?

A homeless person asks you for money outside of a

Bulls game. They have nice Adidas shoes on, but
the rest of them looks dirty and grimy.
A female friend tells you that she was pulled over by
a cop for failure to yield in an intersection. She was
not given a ticket.
A student was sent to school with pink-eye. You
have pink-eye the next day.
You are driving and are cut off on Route 120 where
it merges from 2 into 1 lane. You have to slam on
the brakes to not hit the other car.
You see 2 students making out-open mouths!- in the
hall between periods.
3

Social Thinking
Your work colleague is absent: Does his
absenteeism signify illness, laziness, or a stressful
work atmosphere?

Social thinking involves thinking about

others, especially when they engage in
doing things that are unexpected. How we
explain their absence to ourselves affect
how we treat them!!!!!

Attributing Behavior to
Persons or to Situations

http://www.stedwards.edu

Attribution Theory: Fritz

Heider (1958) suggested that
we have a tendency to give
causal explanations for
someones behavior, often by
crediting either the situation
or the persons disposition.

Fritz Heider
5

Attributing Behavior to
Persons or to Situations
A teacher may wonder whether a childs hostility
reflects an aggressive personality (dispositional
attribution) or is a reaction to stress or abuse (a
situational attribution).

http://www.bootsnall.org

Dispositions are enduring

personality traits. So, if Joe
is a quiet, shy, and
introverted child, he is
likely to be like that in a
number of situations.

Did you make a situational or

dispositional attribution?

A homeless person asks you for money outside of a

Bulls game. They have nice Adidas shoes on, but
the rest of them looks dirty and grimy.
A female friend tells you that she was pulled over by
a cop for failure to yield in an intersection. She was
not given a ticket.
A student was sent to school with pink-eye. You
have pink-eye the next day.
You are driving and are cut off on Route 120 where
it merges from 2 into 1 lane. You have to slam on
the brakes to not hit the other car.
You see 2 students making out-open mouths!- in the
hall between periods.
7

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the impact of personal
disposition and underestimate the impact of the
situations in analyzing the behaviors of others leads to
the fundamental attribution error (FAE).
Did you make the FAE when you filled out the 2 sided
sheet?

We see Joe as quiet, shy, and introverted most of

the time, but with friends he is very talkative,
loud, and extroverted.
8

Effects of Attribution
How we explain someones behavior affects how we
react to it.

Attitudes & Actions

A belief and feeling that predisposes a person to
respond in a particular way to objects, other people, and
events.

If we believe a person is mean, we may feel

dislike for the person and act in an unfriendly
manner.

10

Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations

The Effects of Attribution

Personal relationships
Political relationships
Job
relationships

Attitudes Can Affect Actions

Our attitudes predict our behaviors imperfectly because
other factors, including the external situation, also
influence behavior.

Democratic leaders supported Bushs attack on

Iraq under public pressure. However, they had
their private reservations.

12

Actions Can Affect Attitudes

Not only do people stand for what they believe in
(attitude), they start believing in what they stand for.

D. MacDonald/ PhotoEdit

Cooperative actions can lead to mutual liking (beliefs).

13

Small Request Large Request

In the Korean War, Chinese communists solicited
cooperation from US army prisoners by asking them to
carry out small errands. By complying to small errands
they were likely to comply to larger ones.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon: The tendency

for people who have first agreed to a small
request to comply later with a larger request.
14

TACTIC

Foot-inthe-Door
Low-Ball

Bait and
Switch
Labeling

FIRST STEP

SECOND STEP

TACTIC

Foot-inthe-Door
Low-Ball

Bait and
Switch
Labeling

FIRST STEP

Gain Targets
Compliance
With a Small
Request

example:

Would you
sign a petition
to help feed
starving exCEOs?

SECOND STEP

TACTIC

Foot-inthe-Door
Low-Ball

Bait and
Switch
Labeling

FIRST STEP

SECOND STEP

Gain Targets
Compliance
With a Small
Request

Make A
Related,
Larger
Request

Would you sign

a petition to
help feed
starving exCEOs?

Would you
work for 2
weeks in the
CEO soup
kitchen?

Changing AttitudesOption 2: Door in the Face

Start with a huge request (Will you donate
$100 to the Me to College Fund knowing
that you will be rejected and having the
door slammed in your face.
Then ask for something a lot smaller (Would
you let me shovel your driveway or mow
your lawn for $10?)
Both Foot in the Door and Door in the Face
are classic sales techniques that work!!!
18

Who feels out of place

here? Why?

19

Two Routes to
Persuasion
Central Route
o Person thinks carefully about a message
o Influenced by the strength and quality of the message
o Use facts, details, evidence to convince or persuade

Peripheral Route
o Person does not think critically about the contents of a
message
o Influenced by superficial cues
o Use Emotion-positive or negative-to convince or persuade.
Fear, anger, jealousy, joy, happiness,

How do the
Routes link
with advertising?
Think of the last
commercial you
watchedcentral or
peripheral route?
Examples, please!
Write an example of
each down!
21

Role Playing Affects Attitudes

Zimbardo (1972) assigned the roles of guards and
prisoners to random students and found that guards
and prisoners developed role- appropriate attitudes.

Originally published in the New Yorker

Phillip G. Zimbardo, Inc.

23

Stanford Prison Experiment

Thirty years ago, a
group of young
men were rounded
up by Palo Alto
police and
dropped off at a
new jail -- in the
Stanford
Psychology
Department

These were just like real arrests

On a quiet Sunday
morning... each was
arrested for violation of
Penal Codes 211, Armed
Robbery or Burglary, a
459 PC
Some arrested still vividly
remember the shock of
having neighbors come
out to watch the
commotion as TV
cameras recorded the
hand-cuffing for the
nightly news

Treated poorly from the start

Strip searched,
sprayed for lice
and locked up with
chains around their
ankles, the
"prisoners" were
part of an
experiment to test
people's reactions
to power dynamics
in social situations

Dont mess with us

Other college student
volunteers -- the
"guards" -- were given
authority to dictate 24hour-a-day rules

Soon, they were humiliating the prisoners

And it got worse and worse

It didnt take long

Less than 36 hours
into the experiment,
Prisoner #8612
began suffering from
acute emotional
disturbance,
disorganized
thinking,
uncontrollable
crying, and
ragehe was
released

You want us to do what???

Upon hearing of a rumored break-out Zimbardo
panicked
o Instead of sitting back and observing what was to occur next, like the good
experimental psychologist that he was

He went back to the Palo Alto Police

Department and asked the sergeant if
we could have our prisoners transferred
to your jail for at least one night
Zimbardo had also fallen totally into his role

Parole Board
During the parole hearings they also
witnessed an unexpected metamorphosis of
the prison consultant as he adopted the role
of head of the Parole Board
He literally became the most hated
authoritarian official imaginable, so much so
that when the experiment was over he felt
sick at who he had become
o He acted no different than his own tormentor who had previously rejected
his annual parole requests for 16 years when he was a prisoner

I think it is terrible what you are

doing to those boys
Christina Maslach was a recent PhD graduate at
Stanford and in a romantic relationship with
Zimbardo
She almost got physically ill when seeing the cruelty

Her reactions convinced Zimbardo

it was time to call it off
Maslach realized that the experiment was
becoming very uglyshe couldnt believe some of
the transformations
o Upon her arrival, she had a pleasant conversation with a "charming,
funny, smart" young man waiting to start his guard shift
o Other researchers had told her there was a particularly sadistic guard,
whom both prisoners and other guards had nicknamed John Wayne

Full debriefing
Zimbardo: On the last
day, we held a series of
encounter sessions, first
with all the guards, then
with all the prisoners
(including those who
had been released
earlier), and finally with
the guards, prisoners,
and staff together. We
did this in order to get
everyone's feelings out in
the open

A final question
No guards left the experiment most seemed to
enjoy it
The prisoners were abused some sobbed their way
out
What would you have done differently had you
been a guard? A prisoner?

Actions Can Affect Attitudes

Why do actions affect attitudes? One explanation is that
when our attitudes and actions are opposed, we
experience tension. This is called cognitive dissonance.

To relieve ourselves of this tension we bring our

attitudes closer to our actions (Festinger, 1957).

37

Cognitive Dissonance

38

Figure 16.8 The possible components of attitudes

Social Influence
The greatest contribution of social psychology is its
study of attitudes, beliefs, decisions, and actions and the
way they are molded by social influence.

NON SEQUITER 2000 Wiley. Dist. by Universal

Press Syndicate Reprinted with Permission

40

Conformity & Obedience

Behavior is contagious, modeled by one followed by
another. We follow behavior of others to conform.
Other behaviors may be an expression of compliance
(obedience) toward authority.

Conformity

Obedience
41

The Chameleon Effect

Conformity: Adjusting ones behavior or thinking to
coincide with a group standard (Chartrand & Bargh,
1999).

42

Group Pressure & Conformity

Suggestibility is a subtle type of conformity,
adjusting our behavior or thinking toward
some group standard.

43

Group Pressure & Conformity

An influence resulting from ones willingness to accept
others opinions about reality.

William Vandivert/ Scientific American

44

Conditions that Strengthen

Conformity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

One is made to feel incompetent or insecure.

The group has at least three people.
The group is unanimous.
One admires the groups status and
attractiveness.
One has no prior commitment to a response.
The group observes ones behavior.
Ones culture strongly encourages respect for a
social standard.
45

Reasons for Conforming

Normative Social Influence: Influence resulting from a
persons desire to gain approval or avoid rejection. A
person may respect normative behavior because there
may be a severe price to pay if not respected.

Informational Social Influence: The group may

provide valuable information, but stubborn
people will never listen to others.

46

Obedience

Stanley Milgram
designed a study that
investigates the effects of
authority on obedience.

Courtesy of CUNY Graduate School and University Center

People comply to social

pressures. How would
they respond to outright
command?

Stanley Milgram
(1933-1984)
47

Both Photos: 1965 By Stanley Miligram, from the

film Obedience, dist. by Penn State, Media Sales

Milgrams Study

48

Conformity and Obedience

Obedience
Obedience
oMilgrams studies
on obedience
Procedure
Results
Ethics
Follow up studies

Milgrams Study: Results

52

Individual Resistance
A third of the individuals in Milgrams study resisted
social coercion.

AP/ Wide World Photos

An unarmed individual single-handedly

challenged a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square.

53

Conformity and Obedience

Studies
In both Asch's and Milgram's studies,
participants were pressured to choose between
following their standards and being responsive
to others.

In Milgrams study, participants were torn

between hearing the victims pleas and the
experimenters orders.
54

Group Influence
How do groups affect our behavior? Social
psychologists study various groups:

1.
2.
3.
4.

One person affecting another

Families
Teams
Committees
55

Individual Behavior in the

Presence of Others

HOME GAMES for Sports!

Michelle Agnis/ NYT Pictures

Social facilitation: Refers to

improved performance on
tasks in the presence of
others. Triplett (1898)
noticed cyclists race times
were faster when they
competed against others
than when they just raced
against the clock.

56

Social Loafing
The tendency of an individual in a
group to exert less effort toward
attaining a common goal than when
tested individually (Latan, 1981).

South Park Clip

Group Work at School
Ever happen at work?
Sports Examples?
Band/Choir Examples?
57

Why does loafing happen

?
Diffusion of responsibility:
o In a group we feel able to share responsibility and this
may lead to a reduction of effort
Free-rider effect:
o If we feel like our contribution is not essentialstill
benefit from the group and give little in return (low
input, high output)
Sucker effect:
o Willing to do your share but not more than that (esp. if
others are free-riding)
o Since everyone is benefiting and getting credit, you
dont want to be the sucker who does all the work (and
no recognition), therefore do the minimum requirement

We loaf less when

If personal efforts are identifiable
If a task is challenging, appealing, or involving

If the task is meaningful and important

If we think our contribution is essential

If we are working with friends vs. strangers

If the group expects to be punished for poor
performance
If the group is small
If the group is cohesive

What would you do if

You could do ANYTHING to
ANYONE or ANYTHING and no
one would ever know?

Think about this for 30 sec.,

then write down answer.
60

Deindividuation
The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group
situations that foster arousal and anonymity.
HAVE YOU EVER POSTED ANYTHING ONLINE
YOU WOULDNT WANT POSTED HERE??

Mob behavior

61

Effects of Group Interaction

Group Polarization
enhances a groups
prevailing attitudes
through a discussion. If a
group is like-minded,
discussion strengthens its
prevailing opinions and
attitudes.
Think: Political
Conventions! Cubs games!

62

Groupthink
A mode of thinking that occurs when the
desire for harmony in a decision-making
group overrides the realistic appraisal of
alternatives. Everyone wants to get along!
Groupthink Famous Examples:
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Watergate Cover-up
Chernobyl Reactor Accident
63

Power of Individuals
Margaret Bourke-White/ Life Magazine. 1946 Time Warner, Inc.

The power of social

influence is enormous, but
so is the power of the
individual.
Non-violent fasts and
appeals by Gandhi led to the
independence of India from
the British. MLK?
What can an individual do
to sway a majority??? HOLD
FIRM AND NEVER
WAFFLE ON YOUR
POSITION!

Gandhi

64

Social Relations
Social psychology teaches us how we relate to one
another through prejudice, aggression, and conflict to
attraction, and altruism and peacemaking.

65

What exactly are

STEREOTYPES?
STEREOTYPES:

Stereotypes about racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation groups are

schemas.
o Generalized belief about members of a group
o May or may not be accurate

o Most researchers believe it is even possible to have a

schema that you don't personally believe (OTHER PEOPLE
think that Group x has qualities y... but I don't)

Lets try this:

o What are the characteristics of:

A typical New Yorker?
A typical Californian?
A typical white male?
A typical career woman
A typical stay-at-home mom

66

Prejudice
Simply called prejudgment, a prejudice is an
unjustifiable (usually negative) attitude toward a group
and its members. Prejudice is often directed towards
different cultural, ethnic, or gender groups.

Components of Prejudice
1. Beliefs (stereotypes)
2. Emotions (hostility, envy, fear)
3. Predisposition to act (to discriminate)
67

Reign of Prejudice
Prejudice works at the conscious and [more at] the
unconscious level. Therefore, prejudice is more like a
knee-jerk response than a conscious decision.

68

How Prejudiced are People?

Over the duration of time many prejudices against
interracial marriage, gender, homosexuality, and
minorities have decreased.

69

Racial & Gender Prejudice

Americans today express much less racial and gender
prejudice, but prejudices still exist.

70

Race
Nine out of ten white respondents were slow when
responding to words like peace or paradise when
they saw a black individuals photo compared to a
white individuals photo (Hugenberg & Bodenhausen,
2003).

71

Gender
Most women still live in more poverty than men. About
100,000,000 women are missing in the world. There is a
preference for male children in China and India, even
with sex-selected abortion outlawed.

72

Gender
Although prejudice prevails against women, more people
feel positively toward women than men. Women rated
picture b [feminized] higher (66%) for a matrimonial ad
(Perrett & others, 1998).
Professor Dave Perrett, St. Andrews University

73

Social Roots of Prejudice

Why does prejudice arise?

1. Social Inequalities
2. Social Divisions
3. Emotional Scapegoating

74

Social Inequality
Prejudice develops when people have money, power, and
prestige, and others do not. Social inequality increases
prejudice. In the US:

75

Us and Them
Ingroup: People with whom one shares a common
identity. Outgroup: Those perceived as different from
ones ingroup. Ingroup Bias: The tendency to favor ones
own group.

Mike Hewitt/ Getty Images

Scotlands famed Tartan Army fans.

76

Emotional Roots of Prejudice

Prejudice provides an outlet for anger [emotion] by
providing someone to blame. After 9/11 many people
lashed out against innocent Arab-Americans.

77

Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

One way we simplify our world is to categorize. We
categorize people into groups by stereotyping them.

Michael S. Yamashita/ Woodfin Camp Associates

Foreign sunbathers may think Balinese look alike.

78

Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

In vivid cases such as the 9/11 attacks, terrorists
can feed stereotypes or prejudices (terrorism).
Most terrorists are non-Muslims.

79

Cognitive Roots of Prejudice

The tendency of people to believe the world is just, and
people get what they deserve and deserve what they
get (the just-world phenomenon).
The New Yorker Collection, 1981, Robert Mankoff from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved.

80

Hindsight Bias
After learning an outcome, the tendency to believe that
we could have predicted it beforehand may contribute
to blaming the victim and forming a prejudice against
them.

81

Can prejudice be
automatic?
Implicit racial
associations
Unconscious
patronization
Race-influenced
perceptions
Seeing black
Reflexive bodily
responses
(see page 666 in text)

Could automatic
prejudice have affected
the perceptions of these
individuals?

82

Aggression
Aggression can be any physical or verbal
behavior intended to hurt or destroy.
It may be done reactively out of hostility or
proactively as a calculated means to an end.

Research shows that aggressive behavior emerges

from the interaction of biology and experience.

83

The Biology of Aggression

Three biological influences on aggressive
behavior are:
1. Genetic Influences
2. Neural Influences
3. Biochemical Influences

84

Influences
Genetic Influences: Animals have been bred for
aggressiveness for sport and at times for research.
Twin studies show aggression may be genetic. In
men, aggression is possibly linked to the Y
chromosome.
Neural Influences: Some centers in the brain,
especially the limbic system (amygdala) and the
frontal lobe, are intimately involved with
aggression.
85

Influences
Biochemical Influences: Animals with diminished
amounts of testosterone (castration) become docile,
and if injected with testosterone aggression
increases. Prenatal exposure to testosterone also
increases aggression in female hyenas.

86

The Psychology of Aggression

Four psychological factors that influence
aggressive behavior are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

dealing with aversive events;

learning aggression is rewarding;
observing models of aggression; and
acquiring social scripts.

87

Aversive Events
Studies in which animals and humans experience
unpleasant events reveal that those made
miserable often make others miserable.

Jeff Kowalsky/ EPA/ Landov

Ron Artest (Pacers) attack on Detroit Pistons fans.

88

Environment
Even environmental temperature can lead to
aggressive acts. Murders and rapes increased
with the temperature in Houston.

89

Physical Discomfort &

Aggression

Heat
Humidity
Pain
Noxious fumes
Poverty
Crowding

Frustration-Aggression
Principle
A principle in which frustration (caused by the
blocking of an attempt to achieve a desired goal)
creates anger, which can generate aggression.

91

Learning that Aggression is

Rewarding
When aggression leads to desired outcomes, one
learns to be aggressive. This is shown in both
animals and humans.

Cultures that favor violence breed violence.

Scotch-Irish settlers in the South had more violent
tendencies than their Puritan, Quaker, & Dutch
counterparts in the Northeast of the US.

92

Observing Models of
Aggression
Sexually coercive men are
promiscuous and hostile in
their relationships with
women. This coerciveness
has increased due to
television viewing of R- and
X-rated movies.

93

Acquiring Social Scripts

The media portrays social scripts and generates mental
tapes in the minds of the viewers. When confronted with
new situations individuals may rely on such social scripts.
If social scripts are violent in nature, people may act them
out.

94

Do Video Games Teach

or Release Violence?
The general consensus on violent video games is that,
to some extent, they breed violence. Adolescents view
the world as hostile when they get into arguments and
receive bad grades after playing such games.

95

Media Violence

More TV sets in United States than toilets

o Media consumption is #1 pass-time among Americans, particularly youth

60%-70% of all TV programs contain violence

o 70%-80% show no remorse, criticism, or penalty for the violence

By the time the average American child graduates

from elementary school:
o More than 8,000 murders
o More than 100,000 other acts of violence (e.g., assaults, rape)

Media Violence
Since at least 1970, researchers have known of a link
between violent media and aggression
o
o
o
o
o

Weakened inhibitions against violent behavior

Imitation of specific violent acts
Aggression primed as a response to anger
Desensitization to violence
Overestimation of prevalence of violence in real life

Common Responses

1. Thats all boloney. I play those games and Ive never

killed anyone.
2. Maybe there is an effect, but its really small and
meaningless.
3. Actually, my friends and I feel better after blowing
off steam playing video games.

Common Responses

1. Not all who play violent games/watch violent media

become killers.
o True. Not all smokers die of lung cancer, either.

The point is NOT whether exposure leads inevitably

to criminal mayhem, but that the likelihood of
aggression is increased

Effects of VVGs
(Bushman & Anderson, 2001)
Findings from a meta-analysis

Correlation with
VVG Exposure

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
-0.1

-0.2
-0.3

Aggression Helping

Hostile
Thoughts

Hostile
Affect

Arousal

Common Responses
2. Effects are trivially small
o

False. Effects are larger than many that we take for granted

Common Responses
3. Playing violent games/watching violence allows people
to vent feelings of anger
o

False. Watching violence or engaging in virtual violence increases

Catharsis doesnt work!

aggression

Media Industry
Response

1. The media is simply holding a mirror to society.

o False. Real world is far less violent than the TV/Movie world.

o 0.2% of crimes are murders; 50% of crimes on TV are murders

o Average of 7 characters are killed on TV each night

If applied in reality, this proportion of murder would wipe

out U.S. population in 50 days

Media Industry
Response

2. Were simply giving the public what they want.

o Maybe. But viewer interest is only one factor driving programming decisions
o Societal violence can be considered a hazardous by-product
o Also, most popular shows (Friends, Seinfeld, Bachelor) are not violent

Media Industry
Response
3. Violence sells!

o False. TV violence significantly decreases memory for commercial messages

o Bushman, 1998
19% of viewers will be less likely to remember an ad if it is embedded in
a violent or sexually explicit show

Biopsychosocial Understanding of
Aggression

Biopsychosocial Understanding of
Aggression

Biopsychosocial Understanding of
Aggression

The Psychology of Attraction

1. Proximity: Geographic nearness is a powerful
predictor of friendship. Repeated exposure to novel
stimuli increases their attraction (mere exposure
effect).

Rex USA

A rare white penguin born

in a zoo was accepted after
3 weeks by other penguins
just due to proximity.

110

Psychology of Attraction
2.

Physical Attractiveness: Once proximity affords

contact, the next most important thing in attraction is
physical appearance.

111

Psychology of Attraction
3. Similarity: Similar views among individuals causes the
bond of attraction to strengthen. SIMILARITY BREEDS
CONTENT! (not Familiarity breeds Contempt!)

Other Factors that affect attraction: Symmetry of features,

how attractive you are, goals and interests, more!

112

How far will people go to be

attractive? Surgery for Michael
Jackson:

113

Romantic Love
Passionate Love: An aroused state of intense positive
absorption in another, usually present at the beginning of
a love relationship.

Two-factor theory of emotion

1. Physical arousal plus cognitive appraisal
2. Arousal from any source can enhance one
emotion depending upon what we interpret or
label the arousal
114

Romantic Love
Companionate Love: A deep, affectionate attachment we
feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined.
Matching Hypothesis: We tend to look for people who are
ABOUT AS ATTRACTIVE AS WE THINK WE ARE!!!
Courtship and Matrimony (from the collection of Werner Nekes)

115

How do we keep those

relationships strong?
Factors confirming and strengthening Romantic Love:

Equity: A condition in which people

receive from a relationship in proportion
to what they give.
Self-Disclosure: Revealing intimate
aspects of oneself to others.
Do you have any friends that take more
than they give or vice versa?

116

Altruism: When will you help?

An unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

When someone else is in danger?

When you are in danger?
Are there other people around?
When are we most-and least-likely to
help someone else?

117

Bystander Effect
Tendency of any
given bystander to
be less likely to
give aid if other
bystanders are
present.

124

Relevant Altruism Case

Study: Kitty Genovese
38 Saw Murder:
http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Fa
culty/scraig/gansberg.html
Why would so many New Yorkers ignore Kittys
plight?
What would you have done?

What factors mitigate ones responsibility?

125

Altruism

An example of..????

127

Conflict
Conflict is perceived as an incompatibility of actions,
goals, or ideas.
The elements of conflict are the same at all levels. People
become deeply involved in potentially destructive social
processes that have undesirable effects.

128

The Prisoners Dilemma

There are TYPES of

conflict?
Approach-Approach: two appealing destinations for your
vacation, for example, Mexico vs. the Caribbean
Approach-Avoidance: Tanya has been with Company X
for 12 years. She is offered a job promotion as VP. Would
pay much more than current salary (approach). Would
have to move far away(avoidance) w/ colder
weather(avoidance).
Avoidance-Avoidance: decide between doing
unwanted homework (avoidance) or doing unwanted
house chores (avoidance)
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When am I stuck:
SOCIAL TRAP
The social trap occurs when too many people aim for
individual goals and not goals of the community
Examples:
overfishing, energy "brownout" and
"blackout" power outages during periods of
extreme temperatures, overgrazing of cattle
causing a Desert to form, and the destruction of
the rainforest by logging interests
Ever heard of the expression tragedy of the
commons? Refers to a social trap!
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Enemy Perceptions
People in conflict form diabolical images (MIRRORIMAGE PERCEPTIONS) of one another.

http://www.aftonbladet.se

http://www.cnn.com

Saddam Hussein
Wicked Pharaoh

George Bush
Evil
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Cooperation
Superordinate Goals are shared goals that override
differences among people and require their
cooperation. (MUZAFER SHERIF EXPT)
Syracuse Newspapers/ The Image Works

Communication and understanding developed

through talking to one another. Sometimes it is
mediated by a third party.

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A Solution for Conflict: Superordinate Goals

Sherif (1961):
The Robbers Cave Experiment
o Two groups of eleven year-old boys were sent to
a remote summer camp in Robbers Cave State
Park (Oklahoma)
o Initially unaware of their fragile co-existence, they
formed tribalistic bonds, and having a great
timeand then
o These middle class boys placed into competing areas in a
summer camp:
They competed for medals and attention

Competed in a variety of
contests

Soon the rivalry became violent

Raided one anothers cabins
Stole and burned one anothers flags
Came to view one another as stinkers smartalecks and sneaks
Verbal prejudice became apparent, spiraling
downward towards aggressive territorial violence
The groups eventually had to be separated

So how did experimenters try to reduce the

prejudice they had created???
Propaganda: No

o Positive propaganda about one

group directed to the other by
the experimenters did not help

Contact: No

o Doing non-competitive activities

together (e.g., watching movies)
did not help

Cooperative action: Yes

o Experimenters arranged for

camp truck to break down
o Both groups needed to pull it
uphill
o Intergroup friendships began to
develop

Communication
Graduated & Reciprocated Initiatives in TensionReduction (GRIT): This is a strategy designed to
decrease international tensions. One side recognizes
mutual interests and initiates a small conciliatory act
that opens the door for reciprocation by the other party.

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a thought or expectation
that becomes real in a persons life because it has
been thought.
Example: a teacher assumes that a certain student is
not intelligent, the teacher might give that student
less positive attention and more negative attention,
resulting in poorer performance by the student
Example: a student interviewing for college might
believe she will do poorly during the admission
interview. Her anxiety over doing poorly might then
cause her to do poorly at the interview, validating her
negative self-assessment

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