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Social Psychology, Twelfth Edition

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Social Psychology: The Science of the Social Side of Life

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Social Psychology, Twelfth Edition

by Robert A. Baron; Nyla R. Branscombe; Donn Byrne

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Copyright Year: 2009

Publishing Date: 2008/01/04

eText ISBN-10: 0-205-61533-3

eText ISBN-13: 978-0-205-61533-9

Print ISBN-10: 0-205-58149-8

Print ISBN-13: 978-0-205-58149-8

Course: Social Psychology

Pages: 576

eTextbook $69.95

(180 day subscription)

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Table of Contents | Description

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ABOUT THIS TITLE - TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Features, xxi

Acknowledgments, xxx

About the Authors, xxxi

Foreword, xxxiii

1. Social Psychology: The Science of the Social Side of Life, 2

Social Psychology: What It Is and What It Does, 5

Social Psychology Is Scientific in Nature, 6

Social Psychology Focuses on the Behavior of Individuals, 8

Social Psychology Seeks to Understand the Causes of Social Behavior and Thought, 8

Social Psychology: Summing Up, 13

Social Psychology: Its Cutting Edge, 14

Cognition and Behavior: Two Sides of the Same Social Coin, 14

Social Neuroscience: Where Social Psychology and Brain Research Meet, 14

The Role of Implicit (Nonconscious) Processes, 16

Taking Full Account of Social Diversity, 18

A Brief Look at History: The Origins and Early Development of Social Psychology, 19

The Early Years: Social Psychology Emerges, 19

Social Psychology’s Youth: The 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, 19

The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s: A Maturing Field, 20

How Social Psychologists Answer the Fascinating Questions They Raise: Research as the Route to Increased Knowledge, 21

Systematic Observation: Describing the World around Us, 21

Correlation: The Search for Relationships, 23

The Experimental Method: Knowledge through Systematic Intervention, 25

Further Thoughts on Causality: The Role of Mediating Variables, 27

The Role of Theory in Social Psychology, 28

The Quest for Knowledge and Rights of Individuals: Seeking an Appropriate Balance, 31

Getting the Most Out of This Book: A User’s Guide, 32

Summary and Review, 34

2. Social Cognition: How We Think about the Social World, 36

Schemas: Mental Frameworks for Organizing—and Using—Social Information, 39

The Impact of Schemas on Social Cognition: Attention, Encoding, and Retrieval, 40

Priming: Which Schemas Guide Our Thought?, 41

Schema Persistence: Why Even Discredited Schemas Can Sometimes Influence Our Thought and Behavior, 42

Heuristics: How We Reduce Our Effort in Social Cognition, 43

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology The Self-Confirming Nature of Schemas: When—and Why—Beliefs Shape Reality, 44

Representativeness: Judging by Resemblance, 46

Availability: “If I Can Think of It, It Must Be Important”, 46

Anchoring and Adjustment: Where You Begin Makes a Difference, 47

Automatic and Controlled Processing: Two Basic Modes of Social Thought, 49

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior, 49

The Benefits of Automatic Processing: Beyond Mere Efficiency, 51

Potential Sources of Error in Social Cognition: Why Total Rationality Is Rarer Than You Think, 54

Basic “Tilts” in Social Thought: The Negativity Bias and Our Powerful Tendency to Be Overly Optimistic, 54

Situation-Specific Sources of Error in Social Cognition: Counterfactual Thinking, Thought Suppression, and Magical Thinking, 57

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The War in Iraq: Did the Optimistic Bias Play a Role?, 58

Social Cognition: Some Optimistic Conclusions, 62

Affect and Cognition: How Feelings Shape Thought and Thought Shapes Feelings, 63

The Influence of Affect on Cognition, 64

The Influence of Cognition on Affect, 65

Affect and Cognition: Social Neuroscience Evidence for Two Separate Systems, 67

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Is Being in a Good Mood Always Beneficial? The Potential Downside of Being Up, 68

Summary and Review, 69

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 71

3. Social Perception: Perceiving and Understanding Others, 72

Nonverbal Communication: The Unspoken Language of Expressions, Gazes, and Gestures, 75

Nonverbal Communication: The Basic Channels, 76

Deception: Recognizing It through Nonverbal Cues and Its Effects on Social Relations, 80

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Are Men Really “Clueless” When It Comes to Nonverbal Cues? Fiction—and Fact—about Gender Differences in Nonverbal Communication, 83

Attribution: Understanding the Causes of Others’ Behavior, 85

Theories of Attribution: Frameworks for Understanding How We Attempt to Make Sense of the Social World, 85

Attribution: Some Basic Sources of Error, 89

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology The Fundamental Attribution Error: Stronger Than You Might Guess, 91

Applications of Attribution Theory: Insights and Interventions, 96

Impression Formation and Impression Management: Combining Information about Others, 97

The Beginning of Research on First Impressions: Asch’s Research on Central and Peripheral Traits, 98

How Quickly Are Impressions Formed?, 99

Implicit Personality Theories: Schemas That Shape First Impressions, 100

Impression Formation: A Cognitive Perspective, 101

Is Accuracy Always Best in Social Perception? Evidence That Illusions, Too, Can Sometimes Be Helpful, 102

Impression Management: The Fine Art of Looking Good, 103

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . Speed Dating—Can We Really Choose the One We Might Love in a Few Minutes?, 107

Summary and Review, 108

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 109

4. The Self: Answering the Question “Who Am I?”, 110

Self-Presentation: Managing the Self in Different Social Contexts, 114

Self-Presentation Tactics, 114

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective The Internet: Presenting Your Online Identity, 115

Self-Knowledge: How Do We Know Who We Are?, 117

Introspection: Looking Inward to Discover the Causes of Our Own Behavior, 117

The Self from the Other’s Standpoint, 119

Thinking about the Self: Personal versus Social Identity, 120

Who I Am Depends on the Situation, 121

Who I Am Depends on Others’ Treatment, 123

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . How We Manage When There Is Conflict among Our Identities, 124

Possible Selves: The Self over Time, 126

Self-Control, 127

Self-Esteem: Attitudes toward Ourselves, 129

The Measurement of Self-Esteem, 129

Is High Self-Esteem Always Beneficial?, 131

Do Women and Men Differ in Their Level of Self-Esteem?, 131

Social Comparison: How We Evaluate Ourselves, 133

Self-Serving Biases, 136

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Is Being Unrealistic Good for You? Can That Be Realistic?, 137

The Self as Target of Prejudice, 138

Emotional Consequences: How Well-Being Can Suffer, 138

Cognitive Consequences: Performance Deficits, 139

Behavioral Consequences: Stereotype Threat, 140

Summary and Review, 143

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 145

5. Attitudes: Evaluating and Responding to the Social World, 146

Attitude Formation: How Attitudes Develop, 150

Classical Conditioning: Learning Based on Association, 150

Instrumental Conditioning: Rewards for the “Right” Views, 153

Observational Learning: Learning by Exposure to Others, 154

When and Why Do Attitudes Influence Behavior?, 156

Role of the Social Context in the Link between Attitudes and Behavior, 156

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Are Attitudes Consistently Related to Behavior?, 157

Situational Constraints That Affect Attitude Expression, 158

Strength of Attitudes, 158

Attitude Extremity: Role of Vested Interests, 159

Attitude Certainty: Importance of Clarity and Correctness, 160

Role of Personal Experience, 161

How Do Attitudes Guide Behavior?, 162

Attitudes Arrived at through Reasoned Thought, 162

Attitudes and Spontaneous Behavioral Reactions, 164

The Fine Art of Persuasion: How Attitudes Are Changed, 165

Persuasion: Communicators, Messages, and Audiences, 165

The Cognitive Processes Underlying Persuasion, 168

Resisting Persuasion Attempts, 170

Reactance: Protecting Our Personal Freedom, 170

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The Effects of Caffeine on Persuasion, 171

Forewarning: Prior Knowledge of Persuasive Intent, 172

Selective Avoidance of Persuasion Attempts, 173

Actively Defending Our Attitudes: Counterarguing Against the Competition, 173

Individual Differences in Resistance to Persuasion, 174

Ego Depletion Can Undermine Resistance, 175

Cognitive Dissonance: What It Is and How Do We Manage It?, 176

Dissonance and Attitude Change: The Effects of Induced Compliance, 177

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Famous Cognitive Dissonance Studies: When Less Leads to More Self-Persuasion, 178

When Dissonance Is a Tool for Beneficial Changes in Behavior, 179

Summary and Review, 181

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 183

6. Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination: The Causes, Effects, and Cures, 184

How Members of Different Groups Perceive Inequality, 188

The Nature and Origins of Stereotyping, 190

Stereotyping: Beliefs about Social Groups, 191

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective The Gender or Race Card: Too Easy to Play, or Harder Than You Think?, 195

Can We Conclude that Stereotyping Is Absent When Members of Different Groups Are Rated the Same?, 196

Can We Be Victims of Stereotyping and Not Even Recognize It?: The Case of Single People, 198

Why Do People Form and Use Stereotypes?, 200

Prejudice and Discrimination: Feelings and Actions toward Social Groups, 202

The Origins of Prejudice: Contrasting Perspectives, 204

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology What Causes Groups to Be Prejudiced toward Other Groups and Is Prejudice Inevitable?, 207

Discrimination: Prejudice in Action, 211

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . When Our Group Has Done Harm to Others, 212

Why Prejudice Is Not Inevitable: Techniques for Countering Its Effects, 214

On Learning Not to Hate, 215

The Potential Benefits of Contact, 215

Recategorization: Changing the Boundaries, 216

The Benefits of Guilt for Prejudice Reduction, 217

Can We Learn to “Just Say No” to Stereotypes?, 218

Social Influence as a Means of Reducing Prejudice, 219

Summary and Review, 221

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 223

7. Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships, 224

Internal Determinants of Attraction: The Need to Affiliate and the Basic Role of Affect, 226

The Importance of Affiliation for Human Existence, 226

Affect and Attraction: Feelings as a Basis for Liking, 228

The Affect-Attraction Relationship and Social Influence, 229

External Determinants of Attraction: Proximity and Others’ Observable Characteristics, 230

The Power of Proximity: Unplanned Contacts, 231

Observable Characteristic of Others: Liking—or Disliking—What We See, 233

Factors Based on Interacting with Others: Similarity and Mutual Liking, 238

Similarity: Birds of a Feather Actually Do Flock Together, 238

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Complementarity or Similarity: Which Is the Basis for Attraction?, 239

Reciprocal Liking or Disliking: Liking Those Who Like Us, 242

What Do We Desire in Others? Designing Ideal Interaction Partners, 242

Close Relationships: Family, Friends, Lovers, and Spouses, 244

The Cultural Foundations of Relationships: Seeing the Social World through the Lens of Our Culture, 245

Interdependent Relationships: Family and Friends, 245

Family: Where Relationships and Attachment Styles Begin, 246

Friendships: Relationships beyond the Family, 248

Loneliness: Life without Close Relationships, 249

Romantic Relationships and Falling in Love, 252

Romance: Beyond Friendship—Far beyond!, 252

Selecting a Potential Mate: Different Criteria for Women and Men, 253

Love: Who Can Explain It? Who Can Tell You Why? Just Maybe, Social Psychologists!, 254

Jealousy: An Internal Threat to Relationships—Romantic and Otherwise, 258

Marriage: Happily Ever After—or Not?, 260

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Terman’s Early Research on Similarity and Marital Happiness, 261

Marital Happiness: What Factors Affect It?, 261

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The Role of Positive Illusions in Marital Happiness, 263

Why Relationships Fail—and Why, Sometimes, They Succeed, 264

Summary and Review, 267

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 269

8. Social Influence: Changing Others’ Behavior, 270

Conformity: Group Influence in Action, 274

Asch’s Research on Conformity: Social Pressure—The Irresistible Force?, 275

Sherif’s Research on the Autokinetic Phenomenon: How Norms Emerge, 277

Factors Affecting Conformity: Variables that Determine the Extent to which We “Go Along”, 277

Situational Norms: Automaticity in Normative Behavior, 279

The Social Roots of Conformity: Why We Often Choose to Go Along, 280

The Downside of Conformity: When Pressures to Go Along Can Produce Harmful Effects, 280

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Why Good People Sometimes Do Evil Things: The Powerful—But Not Invincible—Effects of Norms, Situations, and Conformity Pressure, 282

Resisting Pressures to Conform: Why, Sometimes, We Choose Not to Go Along, 284

Minority Influence: Does the Majority Always Rule?, 286

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Do Women and Men Differ in the Tendency to Conform?, 287

Compliance: To Ask—Sometimes—Is to Receive, 288

Compliance: The Underlying Principles, 288

Tactics Based on Friendship or Liking: Ingratiation, 290

Tactics Based on Commitment of Consistency: The Foot-in-the-Door and the Lowball, 290

Tactics Based on Reciprocity: The Door-in-the-Face and the “That’s-Not-All” Approach, 292

Tactics Based on Scarcity: Playing Hard to Get and the Fast-Approaching-Deadline Technique, 293

Symbolic Social Influence: How We Are Influenced by Others Even When They Are Not There, 294

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The Epidemic of Eating Disorders, 296

Obedience to Authority: Would You Harm an Innocent Stranger If Ordered to Do So?, 298

Obedience in the Laboratory, 298

Destructive Obedience: Why It Occurs, 299

Destructive Obedience: Resisting Its Effects, 300

Summary and Review, 302

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 303

9. Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others, 304

Why People Help: Motives for Prosocial Behavior, 306

Empathy-Altruism: It Feels Good to Help Others, 306

Negative-State Relief: Sometimes, Helping Reduces Unpleasant Feelings, 308

Empathic Joy: Helping as an Accomplishment, 308

Why Nice People Sometimes Finish First: Competitive Altruism, 308

Kinship Selection Theory: Helping Ourselves by Helping People Who Share Our Genes, 310

Responding to an Emergency: Will Bystanders Help?, 312

Helping in Emergencies: Apathy—or Action?, 312

Five Crucial Steps Determine Helping versus Not Helping, 312

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Is There Safety in Numbers? Not Always!, 313

External and Internal Influences on Helping Behavior, 318

Situational (External) Factors That Enhance or Inhibit Helping Behavior, 318

Emotions and Prosocial Behavior, 320

Empathy: An Important Foundation for Helping, 321

Social Exclusion: When Being Left out Reduces Helping, 323

Personality and Helping, 325

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The Downside of Being Helped: Why, Often, It May Actually Be Better to Give than to Receive, 326

Long-Term Commitment to Prosocial Acts, 328

Volunteering: Helping as an Ongoing Commitment, 328

Self-Interest, Moral Integrity, and Moral Hypocrisy, 331

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Are Helping (Prosocial Behavior) and Hurting (Aggression) Really Opposites?, 333

Summary and Review, 334

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 335

10. Aggression: Its Nature, Causes, and Control, 336

Perspectives on Aggression: In Search of the Roots of Violence, 338

The Role of Biological Factors: From Instincts to the Evolutionary Perspective, 338

Drive Theories: The Motive to Harm Others, 339

Modern Theories of Aggression: The Social Learning Perspective and the General Aggression Model, 340

Causes of Human Aggression: Social, Cultural, Personal, and Situational, 342

Social Determinants of Aggression: Frustration, Provocation, and Heightened Arousal, 343

Exposure to Media Violence: The Effects of Violence in Films, on Television, and in Video Games, 347

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Bandura’s Famous “Bobo Doll” Studies: Televised Violence Visits the Laboratory, 348

Violent Pornography: When Sex and Aggression Mix—and Perhaps Explode!, 351

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . The Effects of Sexually Aggressive Song Lyrics, 352

Cultural Factors in Aggression: “Cultures of Honor” and Sexual Jealousy, 352

Personality and Aggression: Why Some People Are More Aggressive than Others, 355

Situational Determinants of Aggression: The Effects of Heat and Alcohol, 360

Aggression in Ongoing Relationships: Bullying and Aggression at Work, 364

Bullying: Singling Out Others for Repeated Abuse, 364

Workplace Aggression: Harming Others at Work, 365

Abusive Supervision: Bosses Who Make Workplaces Unbearable, 367

The Prevention and Control of Aggression: Some Useful Techniques, 368

Punishment: Just Desserts or Deterrence?, 368

Self-Regulation: Internal Mechanisms for Controlling Aggression, 370

Forgiveness: Compassion Instead of Revenge, 371

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Catharsis: Does “Blowing Off Steam” Really Help?, 372

Summary and Review, 374

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 375

11. Groups and Individuals The Consequences of Belonging, 376

Groups: When We Join . . . And When We Leave, 380

Groups: Key Components, 382

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . Is YouTube Just a Website, or Is It a Real Group?, 382

The Benefits—and Costs—of Joining, 388

The Benefits of Joining: What Groups Do for Us, 389

Effects of the Presence of Others: From Task Performance to Behavior in Crowds, 394

Social Facilitation: Performing in the Presence of Others, 394

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Does the Presence of Others Have an Effect on Performance? Ask Any Cockroach!, 396

Social Loafing: Letting Others Do the Work, 396

Effects of Being in a Crowd, 399

Coordination in Groups: Cooperation or Conflict?, 401

Cooperation: Working with Others to Achieve Shared Goals, 401

Conflict: Its Nature, Causes, and Effects, 402

Resolving Conflicts: Some Useful Techniques, 403

Perceived Fairness in Groups: Its Nature and Effects, 405

Basic Rules for Judging Fairness: Distributive, Procedural, and Transactional Justice, 406

Reactions to Perceived Unfairness: Tactics for Dealing with Injustice, 407

Decision Making by Groups: How It Occurs and the Pitfalls It Faces, 408

The Decision-Making Process: How Groups Attain Consensus, 408

The Downside of Group Decision Making, 409

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Does Brainstorming in a Group Result in More and Higher Quality Inventive Ideas?, 412

Summary and Review, 414

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 415

12. Social Psychology: Applying Its Principles to Law, Health, and Business, 416

Social Psychology and the Legal System, 420

Social Influence and the Legal System, 420

Social Cognition and the Legal System: Why Eyewitness Testimony Is Often Inaccurate, 425

Building the Science: Classics of Social Psychology Early Evidence that Even “Expert” Eyewitnesses Are Inaccurate: Munsterberg’s Ingenious Research, 426

The Influence of Prejudice and Stereotypes on the Legal System, 429

Social Psychology and Health, 432

The Role of Attitudes in Personal Health: Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle, 433

Obesity: A Social Psychological Perspective on a Major Threat to Health, 435

Stress: Its Causes, Effects, and Control, 436

Social Psychology and the World of Work, 442

Work-Related Attitudes: The Nature and Effects of Job Satisfaction, 442

Making Sense of Common Sense: A Social Psychological Perspective Are Happy Employees Productive Employees? The Attitude-Behavior Link Revisited, 445

Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Prosocial Behavior at Work, 446

Leadership: Influence in Group Settings, 449

Social Psychology: What It Tells Us About . . . How to Make a Good First Impression in Job Interviews, 454

Summary and Review, 456

Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 457

References, 469

Name Index, 519

Subject Index, 529

Photo Credits, 539

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ABOUT THIS TITLE - DESCRIPTION

Social Psychology, 12E is the text that shows students how the ever-changing field of social psychology is useful in their everyday lives! This classic text retains the hallmark of its own past success: up-to-date coverage of the quickly evolving subject matter written in a lively manner that has been embraced by hundreds of thousands of students around the world. This book continues to balance its coverage of fundamentals with current research.

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