Lecture for Chapter Eighteen
Humans are social animals: We enjoy people, need people, and are profoundly influenced by people. Social psychology is the branch of psychology that studies individuals as they interact with others. Taking this social view of human behavior is essential because the process of interacting with others changes us. We have a strong tendency to behave like other members in a group even when we are not asked to conform. Moreover, people can influence us more overtly through the process of persuasion. Interestingly, even frighteningly, the facts and logic of the persuasive argument can be less important than the psychological aspects of persuasion. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the power of one person to influence another, however, is our tendency to obey even inappropriate requests from authority figures. Cognitive Dissonance can also be disturbing when our attitudes conflict with our behavior.
Attitudes are believed to play a key role in social interactions. Other people influence our attitudes, and our attitudes are thought to influence our behavior toward others to some extent. Many of our attitudes are learned from others in the first place and are often changed through the process of persuasion. I experienced this myself during my years as a drug and alcohol addict. It’s a phenomenon that most men don’t admit to--that their thinking and behavior are being influenced by their peers; that they are not really as independent-minded as they think they are. But social influence is not the only cause of attitude change. When circumstances cause our behavior to change so that it’s inconsistent with our attitudes, our attitudes will change under some conditions to make them consistent again with our behavior.
For most of us, our most important interactions are with the people we like and love (there are different kinds of love). The perceptions we form of others are complex combinations of the positive and negative qualities that we see in them. This process is made more complex because our first impressions of a person are often more influential than later impressions, negative information is more important than positive information, different people evaluate the same information in different ways, and we tend to underestimate the role played by situations in influencing the behavior of others. But, other things equal, we are attracted to people who are similar to us (or whose opposite characteristics fit well with our own), who are reasonably competent (but not perfect), who are physically attractive, and who like us. Once mutual attraction leads to a relationship, our likelihood of staying in that relationship is determined (1) by how well our expectations of what the person is like continues to be met, and (2) by how fairly balanced the relationship is in terms of how much each person perceives that he or she puts into and receives from the relationship.
If you’ve followed and understood everything so far, then you will might not agree with some of what you’ve read, especially the sentences that I’ve italicized, because most of us do not like to think of ourselves as not being in control. To suggest that we can be influenced to do things that we are ethically or morally against, is antithetical to our self image. Of course, it isn’t as difficult to understand how others can be negatively influenced, and we will often find causes for their behavior.
Conformity occurs when people change behaviors or attitudes due to pressure, such as what happened in Phil Zimbardo’s prison experiment in conformity. Unfortunately, our text book doesn’t have Zimbardo’s experiment. There has been much written on this subject and we all, like it or not, are more susceptible to influence than we would like to admit. Zimbardo’s experiment, as was Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience, were influenced by an argument contending that any ethnic group would have behaved in the same way the German’s did during the holocaust if they were there instead of the Germans.
Our text pays scant attention to culture and minority groups. Therefore, get acquainted with terms such as majority group, assimilation, informational pressure, and ethnocentrism. I’ll now distinguish the difference between Racism, Prejudice, and Xenophobia, which are often used interchangeably. A racist believes his race is superior to others, or that other races are inferior to his or hers. Prejudice, broken down, is to pre-judge: all Jews are tight with money; all Blacks are lazy; all orientals are sneaky--all that, of course, is bullshit. Xenophobia is what many people are talking about when they use the words prejudice and racism. Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of a group outside of your own.
This chapter includes a section that describes different types of love, such as compassionate and companionate. Within this chapter, you’ll also read about altruism, loneliness, and infatuation. Whereas you will not be expected to define these and other terms and concepts from the book in your final, you are going to be expected to choose the right answer (multiple choice). So, as I suggested in the first lecture, use these lectures as an aide for studying. In the final you will be tested on material that is in bold in lectures and where I have posted, which is almost every week.
Assignment for Chapter Eighteen
Discussion Assignments - These are critical thinking exercises. Grading will be determined by your ability in problem solving and decision making--just reiterating facts from books, Internet sites, or any other type of literature, without a critical analysis, will be considered lacking. A general definition of critical thinking is "the ability to properly construct and evaluate arguments." However, here are some alternative definitions to choose from before you start to write: The ability to judge the plausibility of specific assertions, to weigh evidence, to assess the logical soundness of inferences, to construct counter arguments and alternative hypotheses. Any material quoted from published material must credit the author in APA format. Here is an example: According to Halonen & Santrock (1999) "psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (p. 5). Late discussion assignments will not be accepted. Remember that you must first respond to the questions and then post a reply to another student’s posting. (150 pts. at 10 pts per assignment)
1. In your own words describe Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience. You can draw from the text--I just don’t want you typing what’s in the text verbatim or what other students write. Read about the experiment, then paraphrase (using your own words). Minimum of 100 words.
2. Research and explain in your own words Phil Zimbardo’s prison experiment. This is not in the text, so cite your source of information (URL [internet address] or book. Minimum of 100 words.
3. Respond to another student’s posting as soon as you’re finished. (minimum of 100 words)
Heroic Myth Index -- Extra Credit
ARCHETYPICAL DEVELOPMENT AND RELEVANCE TO YOUR OWN DEVELOPMENT
At the base of all existence, "below" our conscious and unconscious levels of awareness, Carl Jung identified an unconsciousness called the collective unconscious. This area of our psyches contains all kinds of patterns, probably innate patterns. We see the archetypes play themselves out, mostly automatically in our lives and sometimes we can even be aware when an archetype is controlling or directing our behavior. Examples of archetypes could be the Orphan, the Martyr, the Warrior, the Magician, the Wise Old Man or Wise Old Woman, or the Wise Child. Sometimes modern psychology identifies other archetypes such as the Rescuer, the Victim and the Persecutor. We experience archetypes in movies and novels (such as the Wizard of Oz). Carol Pearson’s books on archetypes are interesting and develop further this concept. Archetypes are relevant to our discussion because different archetypes are often called into action at different stages of our lives.