The individual and the group (terminology)
Social psychology - how other people and social environment influence individual and how we
process social information
Сonformity- Tendency to adjust thoughts, feelings or behavior in ways that are in agreement with
those of a particular individual or a group or with accepted standards/social norms
Socialization is the process of providing the individual with the skills, habits and norms necessary for
participating within their own society.
Norm - A set of rules based on socially or culturally shared beliefs of how an individual ought to
behave. It regulates behavior within a group
Social cognitive theory
Social cognitive theory - Learning takes place within a social/cultural context and can occur through
observation (modeling) or direct instruction. Individuals gradually internalize social and cultural norms
and values to guide them in the interaction with other people.
Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms and values established by influential
people or groups.
Bandura:
- if children are passive witnesses to an aggressive display by an adult, they will imitate this
aggressive behavior when given the opportunity
- 3 major conditions: a control group, a group exposed to an aggressive model, and a group
exposed to a passive model. The children who were exposed to the adult models were further
subdivided by their gender and by the gender of the model that they were exposed to
- stage 1 - they were taken to the experimental room which was set out for play. One corner was
arranged as the child’s play area, adult model was escorted to the opposite corner where there
was a small table, chair, blocks, mallet, and Bobo
- non-aggressive condition - the model quietly played with the blocks, ignoring Bobo. In the
aggressive condition, after one minute model became aggressive to bobo in physical and verbal
way
- stage 2 - the child was subjected to “mild aggression arousal” - taken to a room with attractive
toys, but after starting to play with them, the child was told that these were the experimenter’s
very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children
- Stage 3 - taken to room with aggressive and non aggressive toys, let them play
- the children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than the children who
saw the non-aggressive model
- boys made more aggressive acts than girls
- the boys in the aggressive conditions showed more aggression if the model was male than if
the model was female
- the girls in the aggressive conditions also showed more physical aggression if the model was
male but more verbal aggression if the model was female
- Small sample size, Ethically problematic, lack ecological validity
Charlton
- impact of television on children's aggressive behavior
- Observed in St. Helena’s where tv was freshly introduced
- Cameras set up, behavior observed before and after tv
, - Good behavior maintained, no signs of antisocial behavior or aggression
- No violence in st. helena’s - no imitation of violence
- Natural experiment - ecological validity high, internal validity low. Not replicable - not very
reliable . Pre test/post test system - allow to observe changes over time
Social identity theory
SIT - Step 1 is social categorization, which is identifying with a group based on characteristics.
Through social categorization, we identify with an "in-group" and recognize others as part of an
out-group. Step 2 is social comparison where we compare the characteristics of our group to
out-groups to justify our belonging to the group. We also tend to adopt the traits of the groups.
Finally, we develop a sense of self-esteem that is connected to the group. This leads to in-group bias
SIT vs Realistic conflict theory
Alternative theory to SIT : The realistic conflict theory says that when there are groups trying to get
the same finite resources, there will be conflict. The realistic conflict theory states that when two or
more groups are fighting for scarce resources, they become prejudiced against and discriminatory
towards the other group.Social identity theory says prejudice happens when we choose to view other
groups unfavorably to ascertain that our group remains better. Social identity theory’s main difference
from realistic conflict theory is that it states that intergroup conflict can still happen even when there’s
no competition for limited resources.
Bagby and rector:
- see if one's social identity would influence objectivity in determining the guilt of a defendant
accused of rape.
- The participants were asked to read a transcript of a rape trial that varied the ethnicity of the
defendant and the victim – between Anglophone (English-speaking) and Francophone
(French-speaking) Québécois.
- The participants were randomly allocated to four conditions as jurors: French defendant/French
victim; French defendant/English victim; English defendant/English victim; English
defendant/French victim.
- the participants were asked to read a transcript of a rape trial. The only difference was the
social identity of the defendant and victim. They were asked to complete a questionnaire. The
first section of the questionnaire asked them to rate the personality traits of the defendant.
Then they were asked to determine the guilt
- French Canadians rated the out-group (English) defendant more guilty when the victim was
from their in-group (French).
- Artificial, Sampling bias, To what extent did nature of crime affect results, as rape is an
emotional topic
Sherif
- Realistic conflict theory
- Observe spontaneous development of norms and prejudices
- Young boys that didnt know each other divided into 2 groups
- Boys Named their groups - gave it an identity
- Researchers created conflicts by playing games where one group would benefit at the expense
of the other
- boys became hostile towards other group - in group favoritism
- After a while, conflict made to be resolved by having them perform tasks requiring collaboration
- Psychological and potential physical harm, manipulation, forced changes in personality. There
was anxiety, bedwetting, running away and homesickness in boys
Evaluation of SIT
The theory has high heuristic validity - that is, it can be used to explain a variety of human behaviors,
ranging from how we evacuate in an emergency situation to origins of sexuality to origins of
Social psychology - how other people and social environment influence individual and how we
process social information
Сonformity- Tendency to adjust thoughts, feelings or behavior in ways that are in agreement with
those of a particular individual or a group or with accepted standards/social norms
Socialization is the process of providing the individual with the skills, habits and norms necessary for
participating within their own society.
Norm - A set of rules based on socially or culturally shared beliefs of how an individual ought to
behave. It regulates behavior within a group
Social cognitive theory
Social cognitive theory - Learning takes place within a social/cultural context and can occur through
observation (modeling) or direct instruction. Individuals gradually internalize social and cultural norms
and values to guide them in the interaction with other people.
Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms and values established by influential
people or groups.
Bandura:
- if children are passive witnesses to an aggressive display by an adult, they will imitate this
aggressive behavior when given the opportunity
- 3 major conditions: a control group, a group exposed to an aggressive model, and a group
exposed to a passive model. The children who were exposed to the adult models were further
subdivided by their gender and by the gender of the model that they were exposed to
- stage 1 - they were taken to the experimental room which was set out for play. One corner was
arranged as the child’s play area, adult model was escorted to the opposite corner where there
was a small table, chair, blocks, mallet, and Bobo
- non-aggressive condition - the model quietly played with the blocks, ignoring Bobo. In the
aggressive condition, after one minute model became aggressive to bobo in physical and verbal
way
- stage 2 - the child was subjected to “mild aggression arousal” - taken to a room with attractive
toys, but after starting to play with them, the child was told that these were the experimenter’s
very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children
- Stage 3 - taken to room with aggressive and non aggressive toys, let them play
- the children who saw the aggressive model made more aggressive acts than the children who
saw the non-aggressive model
- boys made more aggressive acts than girls
- the boys in the aggressive conditions showed more aggression if the model was male than if
the model was female
- the girls in the aggressive conditions also showed more physical aggression if the model was
male but more verbal aggression if the model was female
- Small sample size, Ethically problematic, lack ecological validity
Charlton
- impact of television on children's aggressive behavior
- Observed in St. Helena’s where tv was freshly introduced
- Cameras set up, behavior observed before and after tv
, - Good behavior maintained, no signs of antisocial behavior or aggression
- No violence in st. helena’s - no imitation of violence
- Natural experiment - ecological validity high, internal validity low. Not replicable - not very
reliable . Pre test/post test system - allow to observe changes over time
Social identity theory
SIT - Step 1 is social categorization, which is identifying with a group based on characteristics.
Through social categorization, we identify with an "in-group" and recognize others as part of an
out-group. Step 2 is social comparison where we compare the characteristics of our group to
out-groups to justify our belonging to the group. We also tend to adopt the traits of the groups.
Finally, we develop a sense of self-esteem that is connected to the group. This leads to in-group bias
SIT vs Realistic conflict theory
Alternative theory to SIT : The realistic conflict theory says that when there are groups trying to get
the same finite resources, there will be conflict. The realistic conflict theory states that when two or
more groups are fighting for scarce resources, they become prejudiced against and discriminatory
towards the other group.Social identity theory says prejudice happens when we choose to view other
groups unfavorably to ascertain that our group remains better. Social identity theory’s main difference
from realistic conflict theory is that it states that intergroup conflict can still happen even when there’s
no competition for limited resources.
Bagby and rector:
- see if one's social identity would influence objectivity in determining the guilt of a defendant
accused of rape.
- The participants were asked to read a transcript of a rape trial that varied the ethnicity of the
defendant and the victim – between Anglophone (English-speaking) and Francophone
(French-speaking) Québécois.
- The participants were randomly allocated to four conditions as jurors: French defendant/French
victim; French defendant/English victim; English defendant/English victim; English
defendant/French victim.
- the participants were asked to read a transcript of a rape trial. The only difference was the
social identity of the defendant and victim. They were asked to complete a questionnaire. The
first section of the questionnaire asked them to rate the personality traits of the defendant.
Then they were asked to determine the guilt
- French Canadians rated the out-group (English) defendant more guilty when the victim was
from their in-group (French).
- Artificial, Sampling bias, To what extent did nature of crime affect results, as rape is an
emotional topic
Sherif
- Realistic conflict theory
- Observe spontaneous development of norms and prejudices
- Young boys that didnt know each other divided into 2 groups
- Boys Named their groups - gave it an identity
- Researchers created conflicts by playing games where one group would benefit at the expense
of the other
- boys became hostile towards other group - in group favoritism
- After a while, conflict made to be resolved by having them perform tasks requiring collaboration
- Psychological and potential physical harm, manipulation, forced changes in personality. There
was anxiety, bedwetting, running away and homesickness in boys
Evaluation of SIT
The theory has high heuristic validity - that is, it can be used to explain a variety of human behaviors,
ranging from how we evacuate in an emergency situation to origins of sexuality to origins of
