Unit XIV Social Psychology PD Unit Overview The poet John Donne famously wrote, “No man is an island unto him- • Appreciate the importance of Milgram’s obedience experiments. self.” This unit explores the benefits and consequences of that thought. • Analyze how behavior is aff ected by the presence of others. People are by nature social animals. We seek out others for engage- • Understand how group polarization and groupthink work. ment, comfort, love, and even the kind of conflict that can lead to war. • Evaluate the power of the individual. Many times in social situations, people are self-seeking. Our own expec- • Explain the infl uence of cultural norms on behavior. tations, stereotypes, and interests distract us. Other times, people are • Understand prejudice and its social, cognitive, and emotional roots. more considerate of others around them. We help, we love, we share. • Diff erentiate between the psychological concept of aggression This unit discusses some of the most famous psychological studies and the popular understanding of it. investigating social situations. These studies teach us not only about • Identify biological factors that contribute to aggressive behavior. how we behave—and misbehave—in response to social context, but • also why ethics are important in research. The research explored here is Delineate the psychological and social-cultural triggers of aggression. • clear—we are both heroes within and victims of our social context. And Appreciate the factors that lead to friendship or love relationships our awareness can determine which role we play at any given moment. with some people and not others. After reading this unit, students will be able to: • Trace the evolution of romantic love over time. • Identify the topics included in the fi eld of social psychology. • Understand the factors that lead people to help others. • Understand how we explain others’ behavior and our own. • Explain social exchange theory and social norms in the context of • Determine how actions and attitudes interact. helping behavior. • • Describe automatic mimicry. Explain social traps and mirror-image perceptions. • • Analyze how conformity reveals the power of social infl uence. Evaluate how feelings of prejudice, aggression, and confl ict can be transformed into peaceful attitudes. Alignment to AP® Course Description Topic 14: Social Psychology (8–10% of AP® Examination) Module Topic Essential Questions Module 74 The Fundamental Attribution Error • How do we explain people’s behavior? • How do we explain our own behavior? Attitudes and Actions • How do attitudes and actions work together? Module 75 Conformity: Complying With Social • Why do we conform? Pressures • What is the effect of conformity on our behavior? Obedience: Following Orders • Why do we obey? • What is the effect of obedience on our behavior? Module 76 Social Facilitation • Do others help our performance? Social Loafi ng • Do others hurt our performance? Deindividuation • Are we individually responsible for our behavior regardless of context? Group Polarization • Why do we become polarized in a group? Groupthink • How can we avoid groupthink? The Power of Individuals • Can one person make a difference? Cultural Infl uences • How much influence does our culture have on our behavior? Social Psychology Unit XIV 753a MyersPsyAP_TE_2e_U14.indd 1 3/5/14 12:43 PM Module Topic Essential Questions Module 77 Prejudice • What impact does prejudice have on people? Module 78 The Biology of Aggression • What is aggression? Psychological and Social-Cultural • Why do people become aggressive? Factors in Aggression Module 79 The Psychology of Attraction • What makes one person attractive to another? Romantic Love • What does it mean to be “in love”? Module 80 Altruism • What does it mean to act selflessly? Confl ict and Peacemaking • How can we get along with others? Unit Resources Module 77 Module 74 STUDENT ACTIVITIES • Fact or Falsehood? TEACHER DEMONSTRATION • Measuring Stereotypes • Social Infl uence • Implicit Association Test STUDENT ACTIVITIES • Positions of Privilege and Institutional Racism • Fact or Falsehood? • Institutional Discrimination • Social Psychology on the Web • Belief in a Just World • The Fundamental Attribution Error FLIP IT VIDEO • Students’ Perceptions of You • Ingroup and Outgroup Bias • Introducing Cognitive Dissonance Theory FLIP IT VIDEO Module 78 • Cognitive Dissonance Theory STUDENT ACTIVITIES • Module 75 Fact or Falsehood? • Defi ning Aggression STUDENT ACTIVITIES • Road Rage • Fact or Falsehood? • Violating a Social Norm Module 79 • Would You Obey? STUDENT ACTIVITIES FLIP IT VIDEO • Fact or Falsehood? • Normative Social Infl uence • Love Styles Module 76 Module 80 STUDENT ACTIVITIES TEACHER DEMONSTRATION • Fact or Falsehood? • Social Traps • Group Polarization STUDENT ACTIVITIES MyersAP_SE_2e_Mod74_B.indd 753 1/21/14 10:30 AM FLIP IT VIDEO • Fact or Falsehood? • Social Facilitation and Social Loafi ng • Why Do People Volunteer? • Pleasurable Versus Philanthropic Activities—Which Brings More Happiness? • A Matter of Context • Intercultural Learning Activities 753b Unit XIV Social Psychology MyersPsyAP_TE_2e_U14.indd 2 3/5/14 12:43 PM Unit XIV Social Psychology Modules 74 Attribution, Attitudes, and Actions 75 Conformity and Obedience 76 Group Behavior 77 Prejudice and Discrimination 78 Aggression 79 Attraction 80 Altruism, Confl ict, and Peacemaking irk Willems faced a moment of decision in 1569. Threatened with torture and Ddeath as a member of a persecuted religious minority, he escaped from his As- peren, Holland, prison and fl ed across an ice-covered pond. His stronger and heavier jailer pursued him but fell through the ice and, unable to climb out, pled for help. With his freedom in front of him, Willems acted with ultimate selfl essness. He turned back and rescued his pursuer, who, under orders, took him back to captivity. A few weeks later Willems was condemned to be “executed with fi re, until death ensues.” For his martyrdom, present-day Asperen has named a street in honor of its folk hero (Toews, 2004). What drives people to feel contempt for religious minorities such as Dirk Wil- lems, and to act so spitefully? And what motivated the selfl essness of Willems’ re- sponse, and of so many who have died trying to save others? Indeed, what moti- vates any of us when we volunteer kindness and generosity toward others? As such examples demonstrate, we are social animals. We may assume the best or the worst in others. We may approach them with closed fi sts or open arms. But as the novelist Herman Melville remarked, “We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads.” Social psychologists explore these connec- tions by scientifi cally studying how we think about, infl uence, and relate to one another. 753 Pacing Guide MyersAP_SE_2e_Mod74_B.indd 753Module Topic Standard Schedule1/21/14 10:30Days AM Block Schedule Days Module 74 The Fundamental Attribution Error Attitudes and Actions 1 Module 75 Conformity: Complying With Social Pressures Obedience: Following Orders Module 76 Social Facilitation 1 Social Loafi ng Deindividuation Group Polarization 1 Groupthink The Power of Individuals Cultural Infl uences Module 77 Prejudice Module 78 The Biology of Aggression 1 Psychological and Social-Cultural Factors in Aggression Module 79 The Psychology of Attraction 1 Romantic Love 1 Module 80 Altruism Confl ict and Peacemaking Social Psychology Unit XIV 753 MyersPsyAP_TE_2e_U14.indd 753 3/5/14 3:01 PM 754 Unit XIV Social Psychology TEACH TRMTRM Discussion Starter Module 74 Use the Module 74 Fact or Falsehood? activity from the TRM to introduce the Attribution, Attitudes, and Actions concepts from this module. TEACH Module Learning Objectives TRMTRM Identify what social psychologists study, and discuss how we Common Pitfalls 74-174-1 Frances Roberts/Alamy tend to explain others’ behavior and our own. Social psychology is diff erent from sociology. Social psychology consid- 74-274-2 Explain whether what we think affects what we do, and whether ers how individuals interact with each what we do affects what we think. other and society at large. Sociologists explore the behavior of groups and cultures as they interact internally and 74-174-1 What do social psychologists study? How do we tend to explain externally. others’ behavior and our own? Use Student Activity: Social Psy- Personality psychologists (Unit X) focus on the person. They study the personal traits and chology on the Web from the TRM to dynamics that explain why different people may act differently in a given situation, such as the one Willems faced. (Would you have helped the jailer out of the icy water?) Social social psychology the scientifi c help students explore this interesting psychologists focus on the situation. They study the social infl uences that explain why the study of how we think about, fi eld of psychology. infl uence, and relate to one another. same person will act differently in different situations. Might the jailer have acted differently— opting not to march Willems back to jail—under differing circumstances? attribution theory the theory that TEACH we explain someone’s behavior by crediting either the situation or the The Fundamental Attribution Error Concept Connections person’s disposition. fundamental attribution error Our social behavior arises from our social cognition. Especially when the unexpected occurs, Link the discussion of attribution to the tendency for observers, when we want to understand and explain why people act as they do. After studying how people analyzing others’ behavior, to explain others’ behavior, Fritz Heider (1958) proposed an attribution theory: We can at- explanatory style in positive psy- underestimate the impact of the tribute the behavior to the person’s stable, enduring traits (a dispositional attribution). Or we chology (Unit XII). We make certain situation and to overestimate the can attribute it to the situation (a situational attribution). impact of personal disposition. attributions (or explanations) about For example, in class, we notice that Juliette seldom talks. At the game, Jack talks nonstop. That must be the sort of people they are, we decide. Juliette must be shy and Jack outgoing.