PSYCHOLOGY – SSC 210

Lahore School of Economics

Hirra Rana
 Social Behavior
Theories of Social Self
Social psychology: is the scientific study of how
individuals behave, think, and feel in social
situations (that is, in the presence, actual or
implied, of others) (Matsumoto&Juang,2013).
The broad scope of social psychology is
conveyed by the kinds of questions social
psychologists ask, such as:

• How can we convince people to change their

attitudes or adopt new ideas and values?

• In what ways do we come to understand what

others are like?

• How are we influenced by what others do and

think?
Cognitive dissonance :
The conflict that occurs when a person holds two
contradictory attitudes or thoughts (referred to
as cognitions).
Social cognition
The cognitive processes by which people
understand and make sense of others and
themselves.

Schemas :
Sets of cognitions about people and social
experiences
Attribution theory
The theory of personality that seeks to explain
how we decide, on the basis of samples of an
individual’s behavior, what the specific causes of
that person’s behavior are (Malle,2004;Brown,
2006).
Situational causes (of behavior)
Perceived causes of behavior that are based on
environmental factors.

Dispositional causes (of behavior)

Perceived causes of behavior that are based
on internal traits or personality factors
Social Behavior (contd.)
Types of Social Behavior
Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology:
The branch of psychology focusing on work- and
job-related issues, including worker motivation,
satisfaction, safety, and productivity.
Social neuroscience :
The subfield of social psychology that seeks to
identify the neural basis of social behavior.

Catharsis:
The process of discharging built-up aggressive
energy.
Pro-social behavior Helping behavior.

Diffusion of responsibility :
The tendency for people to feel that responsibility
for acting is shared, or diffused, among those
present.
Why would people be less willing to help when
others are present? Basically we are likely to
assume someone else will help?
(The unwillingness of bystanders to offer help
during emergencies; this is also referred to as
the Bystander effect) (Fischer et al.,2011;
Miller,2006;Zoccolaet al., 2011).

Bystander Intervention:
Social Learning

One of the most widely accepted explanations of

aggression is also the simplest.

• Social learning theory: holds that we learn to

be aggressive by observing aggression in others
(Bandura,2001;Lefrançois,2012).
Ethnocentrism:
refers to placing one’s own group “at the center,”
usually by rejecting all other groups. In fact,
authoritarians have a general social dominance
orientation, thinking they are superior to
everyone (Altemeyer,2004;Duckitt& Sibley,
2010;Whitley,1999).
Rigid and intolerant:

Dogmatism: an unwarranted certainty in

matters of belief or opinion. Dogmatic persons
find it difficult to change their beliefs, even when
the evidence contradicts them
(Butler,2000;White-Ajmani & Bursik, 2011).
How do psychologists explain human
aggression?

• Aggression is sometimes attributed to inherited

instincts.

• Biological explanations emphasize brain mechanisms

and physical factors related to thresholds for aggression.

• According to the frustration-aggression

hypothesis, Frustration is only one of many aversive
stimuli that can arouse a person and make aggression
more likely.

• Aggression is especially likely to occur when aggression

cues are present.
 Social Roles and Social Norms
• Social Roles: Culturally determined guidelines that tell
people what behavior is expected of them
• Social Norms: guidelines provided by every culture for
judging acceptable or unacceptable behavior
• Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment
- Half subjects assigned the role of prisoners & half guards
- Put in a simulated prison to observe the impact of social roles
- Guards began to treat prisoners like animals…
- Had to release 3 prisoners and end experiment early
- It became difficult to determine where reality ended and where roles
began…