Chapter 15 – Social Psychology

Social Psychology
What if I told you that the guy who cut you off doing 90mph was racing to the hospital because his wife was in labor with their first child?? Did anyone even wonder if he might have had a good reason for going so fast? Is he still an &*(%#!?
Chapter 15 – Social Psychology
Stanley Milgram performed a series of studies on the Obedience to Authority to answer this exact question. Milgram's experiments on which his initial research was based were conducted at Yale from 1961-1962.
Chapter 15 – Social
Apply your learning. If your car breaks down, where do you think you would be more likely to get help? 1. on the LIE during rush - or 2. on route 12 in NY where you might not see another car for several hours at a time. The bystander effect illustrates why common sense and psychology do not often go hand in hand.
Chapter 15 – Social Psychology
The Milgram Studies: Obedience to Authority. During the Nuremberg trials after WWII, Herman Eichmann, a high ranking official of the Nazi Party, was on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The questions is, "Could it be that Eichmann, was just following orders?" Are individuals responsible for their actions during a time of war if they were following orders? Thoughts??
Chapter 15 – Social Psychology
The Bystander Effect.
The Case of Kitty Genovese At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, twentyeight-year-old Kitty Genovese was returning to her home in a nice middle-class area of Queens, NY, from her job as a bar manager. She parked her red Fiat in a nearby parking lot, turned-off the lights and started the walk to her second floor apartment on Austin St. some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. She yelled, “Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me!” Windows opened in the apartment building and a man’s voice shouted, “Let that girl alone.” The attacker looked up, shrugged and walked-off down the street. Ms Genovese struggled to get to her feet.
Chapter 15 – Social
How We Think About Others. Attributions: our explanations for “Why?” another person behaves or acts a certain way
Two types of attributions: 1. Internal: it was something about the person. Part of their personality, something within them. 2. External: it was something about the situation or context. Not due to the individual’s personality! Something outside the person.
Most of us automatically think like a personality psychologist and make internal attributions for other people’s behavior.
For example: If a brand new red Corvette cuts you off on the LIE and zips way ahead of you at about 90mph even though you are keeping up with traffic [in the middle lane], what do you automatically think about that person? Why did they do that? Would it make a difference if the car was a 1985 Chevy Chevette? [OK, think hypothetically here!]
Hale Waihona Puke ocialFundamental Attribution Error: the tendency to automatically make an internal attribution for another person’s behavior, and not adjust our thinking enough to account for external factors.
Chapter 15 – Social Psychology
Lights went back off in the apartments. The attacker came back and stabbed her again. She again cried out, “I’m dying! I’m dying!” And again the lights came on and windows opened in many of the nearby apartments. The assailant again left and got into his car and drove away. Ms Genovese staggered to her feet as a city bus drove by. It was now 3:35 a.m. The attacker returned once again. He found her in a doorway at the foot of the stairs and he stabbed her a third time--this time with a fatal consequence. It was 3:50 when the police received the first call. They responded quickly and within two minutes were at the scene. Ms Genovese was already dead. The only person to call, a neighbor of Ms Genovese, revealed that he had phoned only after much thought and an earlier phone call to a friend. He said, “I didn’t want to get involved.”
Chapter 15 – Social Psychology
38 people witnessed the attack against Kitty The attack lasted for almost 45 minutes Why didn’t anyone call the police or try to help her? The bystander effect: the more people that are present during an emergency or crisis situation, the less likely it is that someone will help due to diffusion of responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility: this phenomenon occurs when an individual knows that others are present in a crisis situation, and therefore they do not feel solely responsible for intervening. They make the assumption that someone else must be taking care of the crisis. In the case of Kitty Genovese witnesses reported thinking “surely someone must have done something by now”.