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Copyright, iv
Special Features, xxi
Preface, xxiii
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
Key Terms, 35
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
Key Terms, 70
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
Key Terms, 109
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
Key Terms, 145
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
Key Terms, 183
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
Key Terms, 222
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
Key Terms, 268
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
Key Terms, 303
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
Key Terms, 335
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
Key Terms, 375
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
Key Terms, 415
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
Key Terms, 457
Connections: Integrating Social Psychology, 457
Glossary, 459
References, 469
Name Index, 519
Subject Index, 529
Photo Credits, 539

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