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Social Psychology

How others influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Social Influence

Humans are deeply social creatures. Our behavior is constantly shaped by the presence and actions of others, often without us realizing it.

Conformity

What it is: The tendency to change our behavior or beliefs to match those of a group.

In ambiguous situations, people look to others for guidance on how to behave[1]-this is called informational social influence.

Even when the correct answer is obvious, people sometimes conform to avoid standing out[2]-this is normative social influence.

Obedience to Authority

People follow orders from authority figures even when those orders conflict with their conscience[3].

Warning: Key takeaway: Situations matter more than personality. Ordinary people can do harmful things under the right (wrong) circumstances.

Bystander Effect

What it is: The more people present in an emergency, the less likely any individual is to help.

The presence of others creates a "diffusion of responsibility"[4]-each person assumes someone else will act.

Ambiguity also plays a role[5]-we look to others to decide if intervention is needed, and if no one reacts, we assume everything is fine.

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Social Perception

How we form impressions of others-and how those impressions affect our behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

What it is: We tend to explain others' behavior in terms of their personality while explaining our own behavior in terms of the situation.

Someone cuts you off in traffic? They are a jerk. You cut someone off? You were running late[6]-same behavior, different explanations.

Halo Effect

If we like one thing about a person, we tend to view everything about them positively[7].

Attractive people are rated as more intelligent, competent, and trustworthy[8]-even when there is no evidence for this.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Our expectations about others can cause them to behave in ways that confirm those expectations[9].

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Group Dynamics

How being in a group changes our behavior.

Social Facilitation

The presence of others improves performance on simple tasks but worsens performance on complex tasks[10].

This is why you might run faster with a partner but struggle to solve difficult problems in a crowded room[11].

Social Loafing

What it is: People exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

This happens because individual contributions are harder to identify in groups[12].

Groupthink

What it is: The tendency for cohesive groups to make poor decisions because members prioritize agreement over critical thinking.

Warning signs:

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Attitudes and Persuasion

Cognitive Dissonance

What it is: The discomfort we feel when our actions contradict our beliefs.

To reduce this discomfort, we often change our beliefs to match our actions[13]-not the other way around.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Two routes to persuasion:

1. Central route: Careful consideration of arguments. Used when motivated and able to think deeply. Leads to lasting attitude change.

2. Peripheral route: Reliance on superficial cues (attractiveness, celebrity endorsement). Used when distracted or unmotivated. Leads to temporary attitude change.

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Prejudice and Discrimination

In-Group Bias

We favor members of our own group over outsiders, even when groups are formed randomly[14].

Stereotype Threat

Awareness of a negative stereotype about your group can impair performance on related tasks, though effect sizes vary[15].

Test framing can trigger stereotype threat in affected groups[16].

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Prosocial Behavior

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Feeling empathy for someone motivates genuine altruistic helping, not just helping to reduce our own distress[17].

Reciprocity Norm

We feel obligated to return favors, even unsolicited ones[18].

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See also: [Psychology](/psychology) for cognitive biases, [Relationships](/relationships) for interpersonal dynamics

References

  1. Albert B. Kao et al. (2021). Crowd control: Reducing individual estimation bias by sharing biased social information. PLOS Computational Biology. [DOI]
  2. Rod Bond (2005). Group Size and Conformity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. [DOI]
  3. Mel Slater et al. (2018). Participant concerns for the Learner in a Virtual Reality replication of the Milgram obedience study. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  4. Maria Plötner, Harriet Over, Malinda Carpenter, Michael Tomasello (2015). Young Children Show the Bystander Effect in Helping Situations. Psychological Science. [DOI]
  5. Panagiotis E. Christias et al. (2015). Virtual Bystanders in a Language Lesson: Social Evaluation, Vicarious Experience and Virtual Reality. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  6. Diana I. Tamir, Susan T. Fiske (2014). Spontaneous Mentalizing Predicts the Fundamental Attribution Error. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. [DOI]
  7. Leslie A. Zebrowitz, Benjamin White, Kristin Wieneke (2014). The Attractiveness Halo Effect and the Babyface Stereotype in Older and Younger Adults. Experimental Aging Research. [DOI]
  8. Leslie A. Zebrowitz, Benjamin White, Kristin Wieneke (2014). The Attractiveness Halo Effect and the Babyface Stereotype in Older and Younger Adults. Experimental Aging Research. [DOI]
  9. Gordon Ingram, Marufa Rahim, Shihui Han (2018). Initial prejudices create cross-generational intergroup mistrust. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  10. Lucia Raele et al. (2016). Faster but Less Careful Prehension in Presence of High, Rather than Low, Social Status Attendees. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  11. Lucia Raele et al. (2016). Faster but Less Careful Prehension in Presence of High, Rather than Low, Social Status Attendees. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  12. Karthik Panchanathan, Willem E. Frankenhuis (2015). Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  13. Eddie Harmon-Jones, Cindy Harmon-Jones, Nicholas Levy (2018). Dissonance reduction as emotion regulation: Attitude change is related to positive emotions. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  14. Bastian Jaeger, Willem E. Sleegers, Anthony M. Evans, Ilja van Beest (2016). Investigating the Evolution of Ingroup Favoritism Using a Minimal Group Interaction Paradigm. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  15. Hannah-Hanh D. Nguyen, Ann Marie Ryan (2016). Twenty Years of Stereotype Threat Research: A Review of Psychological Mediators. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  16. Hannah-Hanh D. Nguyen, Ann Marie Ryan (2016). Twenty Years of Stereotype Threat Research: A Review of Psychological Mediators. PLOS ONE. [DOI]
  17. Ariel Knafo, Salomon Israel, Reut Avinun (2013). The role of D4 receptor gene exon III polymorphisms in shaping human altruism and prosocial behavior. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. [DOI]
  18. Kurt Gray, Adrian F. Ward, Michael I. Norton (2016). Indirect Reciprocity: A Field Experiment. PLOS ONE. [DOI]