1.What is social psychology?

Social thought and behaviour form the essence of the branch of psychology known as social psychology

2.What are social thoughts?

Social thoughts basically indicate all those cognitions or thoughts formed, while interacting with other people

3.What is social behavior?

Social behaviour indicates a person’s behavioural pattern in the presence of others.

4.What is social perception?

Social perception is a process by which individuals seek to know and understand other persons.

5.What is attribution?

Attribution is the process through which the person seeks to identify and understand the causal factors of others’ behaviours and one’s own behaviour as well.  For ex, a happy person acts sad one day, we would want to know why are they sad. However, if a sad person is sad they we would assume that he/she is just miserable.

6.Explain Kelley’s theory of attribution.

Harold Kelley proposed the theory of Attribution. Attribution or finding the causes bearing others’ behaviour is very important to make sense of the social world. There can be several causes of others’ behaviour such as:

1. Internal causes – when the causes of the behaviour of a person is assigned to his own personal qualities, such as personality traits and characteristics, intentions, motives, emotions, etc. they are called internal causes. For example, a student ascribes his lack of proper preparation that resulted in poor marks.

2. External causes – when the causes of a person’s behaviour are assigned to various external factors such as social pressures, family problems, calamities, etc. they are called external causes. For example, the student ascribes that his teacher is unfair and is responsible for giving him poor marks.

He identified three basic types of information that are used to determine whether one’s behaviour is governed by internal or external causes:

1. Consistency – this refers to the extent to which a person behaves in a similar way to a particular stimulus across time and occasions. For ex, a happy person acts sad one day, we would want to know why are they sad. However, if a sad person is sad they we would assume that he/she is just miserable.

2. Consensus – this refers to the extent to which other people agree to the cause of the individual’s behaviour in response to the same stimulus, i.e., other people behave in the same way to the individual. For example, someone laughing at an animal cruelty video

3. Distinctiveness – this refers to the extent it which the person behaves in the same manner to different stimuli or situations. For ex, if a girl is rude just one person then we say that the person is bad. However, if she is rude to everyone then we think that she is bad.

If the person shows high consensus, distinctiveness and consistency then it is due to external causes. If the person shows low consensus and distinctiveness but high consistency then it is due to internal causes. If the person shows low consensus but high consistency and distinctiveness then it is due to both internal and external causes.

7.Explain the various biases in Attribution.

Biases are the errors committed while ascribing the reasons behind others and own behaviours.

1. False consensus bias – a person’s tendency to overestimate the extent to which other people will agree to his opinions, beliefs and behaviours. This bias leads to the person to misinterpret that more people agree or share same opinions than the actual number of people who agree or share in reality. For example, after viewing a movie, the person believes the movie is really good and thinks that majority of the people will like it but the movie turns out to be a disaster at the box office.

2. Self-serving bias – this bias involves ascribing all success to internal or dispositional causes and ascribes all failures to external causes. People tend to perceive failures of their life as justified and excusable while identical events in others life’s as irrational and inexcusable. This bias occurs mainly because we expect to succeed in life and our need to protect and enhance our self- esteem. For example, a person getting a promotion ascribes it to his hard work but when he is refused promotion may ascribe it to unfair boss, flaws in the management. This bias may lead to interpersonal friction. They feel that they have contributed the most in a project as compared to others. Their success is well deserved whereas of others are due to external factors.

3. Counterfactual thinking – it includes thoughts that is counter to the facts, different from reality. The think about the difference in their current situation if the things in the last had occurred differently. It is called the ‘what might have been if…’ thought process. Both positive and negative feeling are generated. When a person imagines better outcomes than what has actually occurred, he experiences negative feeling – upward counterfactual thinking. When the person imagines worse outcomes than what has occurred, he experiences positive feelings – downward counterfactual thinking. This bias helps to understand reasons for worse outcomes and helps to adopt new strategies for better performance in future.

4. Motivated skepticism – the tendency of a person to become doubtful and deny accepting unfavourable information neglecting his beliefs or ideas is known as motivated skepticism. It occurs when a person is presented with opposite information which is prof against his ideas. For example, a teacher becomes skeptical and starts reviewing the examination sheet of a weak student if he/she gets very high marks.

5. Automatic vigilance bias- it is the tendency of person to automatically pay attention to negative component of a stimulus so much that it interferes with attending to other non-threatening components of the stimulus. The person does not find any positive component in a situation that is similar to a past situation which he/she had viewed as negative. This bias explains why it is important to have a good first impression as people are highly sensitive to negative information which has a lasting impression.

8.What is social cognition?

It is the process through which we observe, store, remember and use the social information.

9.What is a group? List its characteristics.

A group is defined as two or more interdependent individuals influencing each other though social interaction that includes certain social norms and rules, resulting in certain amount of cohesiveness and common goals.

Characteristics of group

• 1. The members have a common goal
• 2. The members are interdependent on each other
• 3. They have a common need that is satisfied by working together
• 4. They interact by following rules and norms that are followed by all
• 5. They perceive themselves together and distinguishable from other groups

10.Explain the different types of groups. 

Primary and secondary groups – primary groups are the groups an individual is born in. The individual does not choose to be a part of this group but has an immense influence on the individual. The members have a close physical proximity and share close emotional bonds. It influences the individual’s values, ideals and attitudes. For example, family, caste, religious groups. The secondary group is one which an individual chooses to join and may even leave by choice. The relationship and interaction are indirect, impersonal and infrequent. For example, membership to a political party.

Formal and informal groups – groups can be divided based on their functions and execution. Formal group’s member’s function is clearly specified based on the rules of the group. For example, designated position and role like supervisor of senior school. Informal groups do not have any rules or norms to adherer to. For example, group of friends.

Ingroup and outgroup – Individuals of one group who have to compete with the other groups for resources consider themselves as ingroup while the other groups are considered to be outgroup. The members of the ingroup view themselves favourably and consider themselves to be similar to each other. They consider the members of the outgroup as different and viewed them unfavourably. This gives rise to feeling of us vs them. When the resources need to be pooled in for survival, it is possible that all the groups work together, in which case a recategorization takes place, blurring the lines between the ingroup and outgroup.

11.Explain the various conditions required for the formation of groups.  

Groups are formed by the interaction between the members of the group. This interaction can take place through physical contact, online platforms, etc. There are certain conditions however,

Physical proximity – being physically near to someone or some group facilitates the formation of group. Repeated exposure and interaction results in forming the group. Similar background, interest, attitude are also important determinants of the cohesiveness of the group.

Similarity – when an individual meet someone who share similar views or interest with them, the individual has a feeling of consistency. If the individual’s beliefs, opinions and attitudes are validated, it results in the formation of group. These groups are very cohesive and unanimous as they agree to each other. For example, students interested in football often form a group.

Motive and goal – people who want to do the same things achieve the same goal often come together to form a group for the purpose. Similar ideology, interest, attitude play an important role in bringing the group together and maintaining it. These people can also part ways due to clash of interest. For example, people who want to help others during a natural calamity.

12.Explain the influence of groups on individuals.

Groups can affect individuals in various types of ways like the following:

Social facilitation– The presence of other people induces an arousal in the individual which makes him try harder to perform in a way that would be praised. This is known as social facilitation.

In a study conducted by Norman Triplett it was seen that a cyclist performed better when ur competed with others than when he cycled alone. This proved that presence of others effects the performance of a task by the individual.

This happens as the individual assumes that his/her actions will be judged by others and a good performance would be praised while a bad one would be criticized. This assumption is called the evaluation apprehension by Cottrel.

If the individual is proficient then he/she would perform better in front of others as compared to when alone but if he/she is not then he/she would under perform as they would be nervous as compared to when he/she is alone.

If others present also perform the same task then the situation turns competitive which is called co-action. Even here, the person good at a task would perform better than when he is alone and a person not good at a task would perform worse than when he is alone.

Social loafing – When an individual act as a part of a group, where his individual performance will not be distinguished, it is seen that an indicate tends out in less effort than he would if he was performing individually. This is called social loafing.

This was found in study wherein students were asked to clap and cheer loudly to study the volume of noise made in a social setting, students clapped louder when they were alone than when there were in a group as in a group how loudly he clapped would not be distinguishable.

This happens because a person feels less responsible individually and the whole task becomes a collective responsibility. This decreases the motivation of individual as their efforts will not be recognized.

This occurs as there is no one to coordinate among the nerves which results in some kind of confusion.

It can be minimized by recognizing the individual efforts and by making them feel that their bit of the work is important. It is not evident in highly motivated cohesive groups.

Group polarization – When groups of like- minded people take a decision on an issue, they tend to take an extreme position regarding the issue. This is called group polarization. For example, if a group who believes in racial supremacy is asked to decide on a punishment for someone of another race then they will decide some extreme punishment even if the violation is not severe.

This take place as like-minded individuals get to hear newer arguments that favour their viewpoint.

They perceive themselves as ingroup and conforming to each other thereby giving rise to an extreme stand on a viewpoint.

13.What is social influence?

Social influence implies the efforts by one or more persons to change the attitudes, beliefs or behaviours of others. It’s two important types are conformity and obedience.

14.What is symbolic social influence?

It is the social influence that results due to implied or imagined presence of others, i.e., just thinking about the person or our relationship with the person.

15.Who are called unsocial?

Anyone who does not obey or follow the social norms is called unsocial.

16.Who are called anti-social?

The person who violates or defies the social norms is called anti-social.

17.What are social norms?

Social norms refer to the rules of behaviour that are considered acceptable in a group or society.

18.Explain Conformity.

Conformity is the type of social influence in which individuals change their attitudes or behaviours in order to adhere to existing social norms. Conformity is also termed as majority influence.

When a person becomes a part of a group his/her behaviour is automatically guided by roles and norms which leads to conformity. Roles means the set of behaviours that individuals occupying specific positions within a group are supposed to follow. Norms means the rules specifying how its members should behave in a group.

Why do people conform?

• Normative influence – people conform due to their desire to be liked and accepted by others, this is called normative influence. They realise that non-conformity may lead to criticism and rejection by others.
• Informational influence – people conform due to their desire to be correct, this is called informational influence. They conform as they are unsure of what is correct and think that the group behaviour is accurate.
• Habitual act – conformity becomes a habitual act as every socialization process involves learning different social norms, customs, etc.
• ‘we-feeling’ – conformity develops a ‘we-feeling’ in people as it builds a sense of belongingness to a group.
• Conflict free environment – conformity leads to a conflict free environment as behaviour becomes more systematic and orderly.
• Acceptance and liking – Conformity results in acceptance and liking by others which assures the person of his safety and cooperation of others in crisis.

Factors affecting conformity:

• Size of group – as size of group increases, pressure on group members increases and thereby conformity increases.
• Group cohesiveness – high group cohesiveness which indicates liking and admiration among group members leads to higher conformity as opposed to low group cohesiveness.
• Group status – a person who enjoys higher status in a group shows greater conformity because he/she is considered as a role model or ideal and it is expected that he/she conforms to the norms.
• Open environment – in an open environment wherein people share their views openly, conformity is greater as opposed to the environment in which people share their views secretively.
• Acculturation – a person conforms to norms in order to get assimilated into a group, this is known as acculturation. This occurs when a person tries to become a member of a new group. For example, an immigrant conforms to the norms of the country.
• Collectivist culture shows great conformity.
• Women and older people conform more than man and younger people.

ASCH’S STUDY ON CONFORMITY

Solomon Asch conducted this experiment.

Aim: it was to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group influences a person to conform.

Experiment:

he used a line judgement task with 50 participants. Each participant was put with seven confederates or actors.

In the study the participant was shown two sets of cards. On the left side of a board there was a white card with a single line (standard card). On the right side, there was another white card (comparison card) with three lines differing in lengths. One of the lines was equal to the length of the line of the standard card. The simple task was to match lines of equal length between the standard and comparison cards.

 The confederates were instructed secretly to deliberately give wrong responses. The real participant was not aware of this.

Real participant sat at the end of the row and was the last to respond after hearing the confederate’s answers.

The confederates gave the wrong answer, i.e., match the wrong line to the standard line. This created pressure on the participant to conform to the majority views of the other people.

There was also a control group wherein no confederates were present along with the real participant.

Result: 75% of the participants went along and conformed with the majority view which was totally incorrect, i.e., they choose the incorrect line. 25% participants never conformed. In controlled condition with no pressure to conform to confederates less than 1% of the participants gave the wrong answer.

Revealed: the experiment revealed that people would conform to majority opinion due to their fear of being ridiculed and isolated even if they know that their judgment was wrong. it showed the importance of social pressure and its influence on individual’s behavior.

19.Explain Obedience.

Obedience is a type of social influence in which one person or more persons behave in a particular way in response to orders from someone in authority. It is a human value and a quality required for maintain social order.  

Obedience to the authority figure leads to acceptance of the person in the society while disobedience leads to punitive consequences.

Factors affecting obedience: several factors are responsible to make a person obedient

• Socialization process – the tendency to obey others gets internalized as a result of socialization process as we are taught from childhood to obey orders given by an authority figure. As obedience leads to rewards and disobedience leads to punishment of negative consequences. For example, obedience in workplace leads to promotion.
• Proximity – More proximity, physical closeness of a person to an authority figure, more likely is the obedience. Less proximity, the more the distance between the person and authority figure, less likely is the obedience.
• Fear of punishment – People often obey others due to the fear of punishment.
• Lack of responsibility – People often feel less responsible for their action when obeying an order. They use the defence ‘I am following the order’ when obeying an order to do some violent actions.
• Power of social position – people often obey an authority figure by virtue of their dignity, status, power or influence. The process of obedience to an esteemed authority figure is imbibed in childhood. For example, a child obeys his/her parents but disobeys or disrespects a servant.
• Signs of position – Authority figures usually have signs of their positions like uniforms, special titles or roles which make people obey them and adhere to the common social norm ‘obey the seniors’.
• Fast pacing orders – People often obey fast pacing orders as they give them little time to think and judge, actions like murders, riots, etc.
• Escalation of the level of orders – Authority figures start with initial commands of mild actions and later on escalate the level of their orders. People who obey the initial commands find it hard to disobey the other orders.

MILGRAM’S EXPERIMENT OF OBEDIENCE

Stanley Milgram conducted this experiment.

Aim: it was to find how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved causing harm to another person. It also aimed to find out how easily ordinary people could be influenced into committing acts of violence. For example, Nazis setting up concentration camps in Germany to remove Jews during World War II.

Experiment:

This lab experiment was conducted on 40 males. Confederates were also used.

The participants were told that they are participating in an experiment to find out the effects of punishment in learning.

The arrangement of the experiment involved either assuming the role of teacher or student, although it was already fixed. The confederate would be the learner (student) and the participant would be the teacher. The role of an experimenter was also played by an actor.

Two rooms were used – one for student(L) with an electric chair and another for teacher(T) and experimenter (E) with an electric shock generator.

The student was strapped to the electric chair and was asked to learn a list of pairs of words given. The teacher tested the student by naming a work and asking the student to recall its pair from four possible choices. The experimenter told the teacher to administer an electric shock (it was not an electric shock) every time the student makes a mistake and increase the level of shock each time.

There were 30 level/switches on the shock generator ranging from 15 volt(slight) to 450 volt(severe).

The students gave mostly wrong answers. The teacher gave an electric shock but when he was unwilling then the experimenter gave 4 orders. ‘Please continue’, ‘the experiment requires you to continue’, ‘ it is absolutely essential that you continue’, you have no other choice but to continue’, in this order.

Results: 65% of the participants (teachers) continued to the highest level of 450 volt, whereas all the participants administered up to 300 volts.

Observation: it is observed that the effect of gradual augmentation of command makes obedience effective. It suggests that common people may go to an extent of harming an innocent person although unwilling if ordered by an authority figure.

20.List the differences between conformity and obedience.

	Conformity	Obedience
Why does it occur	Due to subtle group pressure	Due to submission to the authority figure
What is it	It is the action of following norms of certain group of people and adopting to their beliefs and lifestyle.	It is an act or behaviour to follow some direct orders from an authority.
What type of act	Voluntary	Compulsory
Not complying to it results in	Rejection and isolation	Punishment or other negative consequences.
Who is pressure created by	Total group or community	Authority figure
What change occurs in the person	Changes his beliefs, attitudes and opinions	Does not change
Chances of causing harm to society	Very less	Following unlawful or unethical orders may causes harm.