Notes

2. Chapter 17 Preview
 Module 52: Attitude, Conformity and
Social Cognition
 Module 53: Prejudice and Discrimination
 Module 54: Sex and Gender
 Module 55: Understanding Human
Sexuality
 Module 56: Positive and Negative
Social Behavior

3.  Module 52
Attitude, Conformity and
Social Cognition
 Learning Objectives
 Attitude
 Conformity
 Social Cognition

4. Attitude
 Attitude
 An enduring system of positive or negative beliefs
(the cognitive component), affective feelings and
emotions, and action tendencies toward an object,
a person or a group of persons.
 Persuasion: changing attitudes
Persuasion is the process of changing attitudes.
 Factors by which attitudes can be changed
 Message source
 Characteristics of the person who delivers the
message, known as the attitude communicator
(e.g., attractiveness, experience, trustworthiness)

5.  Characteristics of the target (e.g., gender,
intelligence)-- intelligent people are more resistant
to persuasion than those who are less intelligent.
women are somewhat more easily persuaded than
men, particularly when they have less knowledge
about the message’s topic.
 Characteristics of the message– two-sided
messages (communicator’s position and the
target’s position) and fear-producing messages (“If
you don’t practice safer sex, you’ll get AIDS”) are
more effective
Attitude

6. Targets who are highly involved, motivated, and attentive use central route processing when
they consider a persuasive message, which leads to a more lasting attitude change. In
contrast, uninvolved, unmotivated, and inattentive targets are more likely to use peripheral
route processing, and attitude change is likely to be less enduring.
 Routes to persuasion
 Central route processing- Message interpretation
characterized by thoughtful consideration of the issues
and arguments used to persuade.
 Peripheral route processing- Message interpretation
characterized by consideration of the source and
related general information rather than of the message
itself.
Attitude

7.  Link between attitudes and behavior
Cognitive dissonance
The conflict that occurs when a
person holds two contradictory
attitudes or thoughts (referred to as
cognitions).
Attitude

8. Methods of Reducing cognitive dissonance
The simultaneous presence of two contradictory cognitions (“I smoke” and “Smoking
leads to cancer”) produces dissonance, which can be reduced through 4 methods.
Attitude

9. Conformity
 Conformity: Following What Others Do
A change in behavior or attitudes brought
about by a desire to follow the beliefs or
standards of other people
 Factors that affect conformity
Characteristics of the group
 The more attractive a group appears to its members, the greater
its ability to produce conformity

10. Conformity
Situation in which the individual is
responding
 Conformity is considerably higher when people must
respond publicly than it is when they can do so
privately.
Kind of task
 People working on ambiguous tasks and questions
(those with no clear answer) are more susceptible to
social pressure.
Unanimity (agreed by all people) of the group
 Groups that unanimously support a position show the
most pronounced conformity pressures.
 Social supporter
 A group member whose dissenting (disagreeing)
views make nonconformity to the group easier.

11. Social Cognition
 Social cognition: Understanding Others
 The cognitive processes by which people
understand and make sense of others and
themselves.
 Schemas
 Sets of cognitions or mental image about
people and social experiences
 Impression formation-- The process by which an
individual organizes information about another
person to form an overall impression of that person.
 Central traits-- The major traits considered in forming
impressions of others (e.g., warm, cold).

12. Attribution Processes: Understanding
the Causes of Behavior
 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.

13. Attribution Processes: Understanding
the Causes of Behavior (Cont.)
 Situational causes
 Perceived causes of behavior that are based on
environmental factors.
 Dispositional causes
 Perceived causes of behavior that are based on
internal traits or personality factors.

14. Biases in Attribution
 Halo effect
 A phenomenon in which an initial understanding that
a person has positive traits is used to infer other
uniformly positive characteristics.
 Assumed-similarity bias
 The tendency to think of people as being similar to
oneself, even when meeting them for the first time.
 Self-serving bias
 The tendency to attribute personal success to
personal factors (skill, ability, or effort) and to attribute
failure to factors outside oneself.
 Fundamental attribution error
 A tendency to over-attribute others’ behavior to
dispositional causes, and the corresponding failure to
recognize the importance of situational causes

15.  Module 53
Prejudice and Discrimination
 Learning Objectives
 Prejudice and Discrimination
 The Foundations of Prejudice
 Reducing the Consequences of
Prejudice and Discrimination

16. Stereotype, Prejudice & Discrimination
 Stereotypes
 A set of generalized beliefs and expectations (negative or
positive) about a particular group and its members
 Prejudice
 An evaluation of a person (negative or positive) based on
his/her membership in a particular group.
 Prejudice is a feeling about a person based on his/her
membership in a group.
 Common stereotypes and forms of prejudice involve race,
religion, ethnicity, and gender. Over the years, various
groups have been called “lazy” or “shrewd” or “cruel” with
varying degrees of regularity by those who are not members
of that group.
 Discrimination
 Negative behavior directed toward individuals on the basis
of their membership in a particular group.

17. The Foundations of Prejudice
 Social learning approaches
 People’s feelings about members of various groups
are shaped by the behavior of parents, other adults,
and peers
 Through observations and imitation
 Social identity theory
 We use group membership as a source of pride and
self-worth

18. Reducing the Consequences of
Prejudice and Discrimination
 Increasing contact between the target of
stereotyping and the holder of the stereotype
 Making values and norms against prejudice
more conspicuous (visible or attracting attention)
 Providing information about the objects of
stereotyping

19. Module 54
Sex and Gender
 Sex and Gender
 Dimensions of Gender
 Gender Role Development
 Gender Differences
 Sources of Gender Differences

20. Sex and Gender
 Sex:
biological maleness or femaleness including
intersex (reproductive differences based on
genitalia, chromosomes, hormones); also, sexual
behaviors of intercourse/masturbation
 Gender:
psychological and sociocultural meanings added to
biological sex
the sense of maleness or femaleness related to our
membership in a given society
gender underlies assumptions regarding
‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ behavior

21.  Gender Identity:
Gender identity is self-defined.
Self-identification as either a
man or a woman
 Gender Role:
Gender role is socially-defined.
The set of expectations, defined
by a particular society, that
indicate what is appropriate
behavior for men and women.
Dimensions of Gender

22. Dimensions of Gender (Cont.)
Gender Dimensions Male Female
1. Gender identity Perceives self Perceives self
as male as female
2. Gender role Masculine Feminine

23. In spite of numerous
differences among
cultures, research has
found strong
similarities in the
content of gender
stereotypes. (Source:
Williams &
Best, 1990)
 Gender Role:
Dimensions of Gender (Cont.)

24. Gender Role Development
 Social-learning theory suggests
gender roles develop as children:
 receive rewards/ punishments
for gender role behaviors and
attitudes.
 watch and imitate the
behaviors and attitudes of
others.

25. Gender Role Development
(Cont.)
 Cognitive-developmental theory suggests
children form gender schemas (mental images or
frameworks) of correct behaviors for boys versus
girls.

26. Gender Differences
 Personality: Aggression
Men exhibit greater physical aggressiveness.
Women are higher on relational aggression (in
which harm is caused by damaging someone's
relationships or social status).
 Cognitive abilities
Women score higher on verbal skills.
Men score higher on math and visuospatial skills.

27. Gender Differences (Cont.)
Boys from age 2 tend to be more aggressive than girls, a pattern
that continues throughout the life span.

28. Gender Differences (Cont.)
Male first-year college students are much more likely than female first-
year college students to rate themselves as above average in academic
ability, mathematical ability, and emotional health. (Source: From Astin,
A. W., Korn, W. S., & Berz, E. R. (2004).

29.  Spatial Cognition
o There are sex differences in spatial cognition
that may have been selected for through the
course of evolution.
o Males needed to develop spatial abilities in
order to navigate (Geary, 2007).
o Sex differences in map reading and mental
rotation have been found in preschool years.
o Mental rotation differences may exist in
infancy.
Gender Differences

30.  Spatial Cognition
o According to meta-analyses, the magnitude of
sex differences is very small.
o Only 1 to 5% of the difference is due to
gender.
o Mental rotation is especially prominent.
o Females show better performance in object
and location memory.
o May be due to evolution…role as gatherers.
o Must be able to perceive small stimulus
differences.
Gender Differences

31.  Spatial Cognition
o Differential experiences may also play a role.
o Newcombe et al. (1983) asked college
students to classify activities as masculine,
feminine, or neutral.
o Tasks with high spatial content were
considered masculine.
o They found a gender difference on a test with
strong spatial components.
o The more spatial activities one engages in,
the greater one’s spatial ability.
Gender Differences

32. Sources/Causes of Gender
Differences:
 Biological Factors
 Women perform better on tasks involving verbal skill
and muscular coordination during periods when their
production of estrogen, the female sex hormone, is
relatively high compared with periods when it is low.
 Women perform better on tasks involving spatial
relationships when the estrogen level is relatively low
(Kimura, 1999; Rosenberg & Park, 2002).
 Men tend to be more aggressive, competitive, and prone
to taking risks than women are.

33.  Biological Factors
 Testosterone, an endogenous hormone, which is higher in
males than females, regulates sex drive and appears to
germinate seeds of personality; a higher level of
testosterone makes the person more dominant, sexually
more active and aggressive.
 A significant male bias in the initiation of kissing and a
significant bias in head-turning to the right in both kiss
initiators and kiss recipients, with a tendency among kiss
recipients to match their partners’ head-turning direction
(Karim et al. 2017: The right way to kiss: directionality
bias in head-turning during kissing).
Sources/Causes of Gender
Differences (Cont.)

34.  The Social Environment
 From the moment of birth, boys receive an environment
different from girls.
 For example, boys and girls are given different kinds of
toys.
 Parents interact with their children differently,
depending on their sex.
 Fathers play more roughly with their infant sons than
with their infant daughters.
 Such differences in behavior produce different
socialization experiences for men and women.
Sources/Causes of Gender
Differences (Cont.)

35.  The Social Environment
 Socialization is the process by which an individual
learns the rules and norms of appropriate behavior for
men and women.
 According to the processes of social learning theory,
boys and girls are taught and rewarded for performing
the socially perceived appropriate behaviors for men
and for women, respectively (Archer & Lloyd, 2002;
Liben & Bigler, 2002; Leaper & Friedman, 2007).
Sources of Gender
Differences (Cont.)

36.  The Social Environment
 Boys receive significantly more praise, criticism, and
remedial help than girls do, whereas girls are more apt
(suitable) to be commended for their neatness.
 Society as a whole (including schools, colleges, and
medias such as television) communicates clear messages
to children as they are growing up.
 Socialization produces a gender schema, a mental
framework that organizes and guides a child’s
understanding of information relevant to gender.
Sources of Gender
Differences (Cont.)

37.  Module 56
Positive and Negative Social
Behavior
 Learning Objectives
 Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
 Love: How do I love thee?
 Aggression and Prosocial Behavior
 Helping Others: The Brighter Side of
Human Nature

38. Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
 Interpersonal attraction
Positive feelings for others; liking and loving
 Liking: How do I like thee?
Proximity-- If you live in a dormitory or an
apartment, consider the friends you made when
you first moved in. Chances are that you became
friendliest with those who lived geographically
closest to you.

39. Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
(Cont.)
Mere exposure-- Repeated exposure to a person is
often sufficient to produce attraction. Interestingly,
repeated exposure to any stimulus—a person,
picture, compact disc, or virtually anything—
usually makes us like the stimulus more.
Becoming familiar with a person can evoke
positive feelings; we then transfer the positive
feelings stemming from familiarity to the person
him- or herself.

40. Similarity
 Reciprocity-of-liking effect
 We tend to like those who are similar to us.
Discovering that others have similar attitudes,
values, or traits promotes our liking for them.
One reason similarity increases the likelihood of
interpersonal attraction is that we assume people
with similar attitudes will evaluate us positively.
Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
(Cont.)

41. Physical attractiveness
 For most people, the equation beautiful = good
is quite true. As a result, physically attractive
people are more popular than physically
unattractive ones, if all other factors are equal.
Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
(Cont.)

42. Interpersonal Attraction and the
Development of Relationships
(Cont.)

43.  What is love?
Love encompasses a variety of strong and
positive emotional and mental states, ranging
from the most sublime (great) virtue or good
habit, the deepest interpersonal affection and
to the simplest pleasure.
Love: How do I love thee?

44.  Components of Love
Psychologist Robert Sternberg proposes that love
consists of three components:
 Decision/commitment-- a component that involves
long-term feelings of commitment to maintain love.
 Intimacy-- feelings of closeness and connectedness
to another person.
 Passion-- intense motivational drives relating to
sex, physical closeness, and romance.
According to Sternberg, these three components
combine to produce the different types of love.
Love: How do I love thee? (Cont.)

45. According to Sternberg, love has three main components: intimacy, passion, and
decision/commitment. Different combinations of these components can create other types of
love. Nonlove contains none of the three components.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love
 Components of Love
Love: How do I love thee? (Cont.)

46.  Types of Love
Passionate (or romantic) love
 A state of intense absorption in someone
that includes intense physiological arousal,
psychological interest, and caring for the
needs of another
Companionate love
 The strong affection that we have for those
with whom our lives are deeply involved.
 The love we feel for our parents, other family
members, and even some close friends falls
into the category of companionate love
Love: How do I love thee? (Cont.)

47.  Types of Love
Fatuous love
 A form of love made up from only two of
three components, passion and commitment
(and excludes intimacy).
 Can be exemplified by a whirlwind courtship
and marriage—it has points of passion and
commitment but no intimacy.
 An example of this is "love at first sight.
Love: How do I love thee? (Cont.)

48. Aggression & Prosocial Behavior
 Aggression
Intentional injury or harm to another person
 Instinct approach/theory
 Freudian approach
 Aggression is primarily the outcome of innate—
or inborn—urges.
 Catharsis
 Process of releasing or discharging built up
aggressive energy
 Frustration-aggression approach/hypothesis
 Aggression as a reaction to frustration
 Frustration
 The thwarting or blocking of some ongoing,
goal-directed behavior

49. Aggression & Prosocial Behavior
(Cont.)
 Social learning approaches
Learning to hurt others
Observation
Modeling, Imitation
Rewards, reinforcement

50. Helping Others: The Brighter
Side of Human Nature
 Prosocial behavior
 Helping behavior
 Altruism
 Helping behavior that is beneficial to others but
clearly requires self-sacrifice
 Diffusion of responsibility
 The tendency for people to feel that responsibility
for acting is shared, or diffused, among those
present

51. Helping Others: The Brighter
Side of Human Nature (Cont.)
 The basic steps of helping

52. Chapter Summary

53. Questions?