- Social psychology studies how an individual’s behaviour is influenced by other people and the social environment.
- Social behaviour occurs in the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
- People form attitudes (ways of thinking) about others and social issues due to social influences.
- Understanding social behaviour requires studying both social-cognitive processes and observable behaviour.
- Social psychologists go beyond common sense to scientifically explain how people understand their own and others’ behaviour.
Definitions [1]
Define attitude.
Kretch and Crutchfield and Ballachey (1962) hold that attitudes have an adoptive significance in that they represent a fundamental psychological link between a person’s ability to perceive, feel and learn while giving order and meaning to his continuing experience in a complex social environment.
Key Points
Key Points: Concept of Social Behaviour
Key Points: Nature and Components of Attitudes
- Subject-Object Relationship: Attitudes are linked to specific objects, people, or situations, and are shaped through social interaction and personal experiences.
- Components of Attitude (ABC Model): Attitudes consist of three components: cognitive (beliefs), affective (emotions), and behavioural (actions), which together guide a person’s behaviour.
- Development Through Experience: Attitudes develop through both direct (personal experiences) and indirect (social influences, such as family and peers) experiences.
- Valence and Emotional Tone: Attitudes are never neutral; they are positive, negative, or neutral, shaped by emotions like love, hate, or fear, and influence how we react to objects or situations.
- Guidance of Behaviour: Attitudes direct behaviour by creating a tendency to approach (positive) or avoid (negative) certain things, guiding responses to the environment.
- Enduring Nature: Attitudes are generally stable and consistent over time, though they can change through new experiences, learning, or social interactions.
- Attitude Change and Complexity: Attitudes can be changed by new information or experiences. They can be simple or complex, with central attitudes having a more significant impact on other attitudes and behaviour.
Key Points: Formation of Attitude
- Attitudes Are Learned: Attitudes develop through personal experiences, interactions, and indirect genetic influences.
- Socialisation: Attitudes form through interactions with family, peers, and media, which teach values and behaviours.
- Learning by Rewards & Punishments: Positive behaviours lead to favourable attitudes, while negative behaviours result in unfavourable ones.
- Personal & Vicarious Experience: Attitudes can form from direct personal experiences or by observing others' behaviours and their outcomes.
- Cognitive Development: As children grow, they differentiate and develop more complex attitudes based on their experiences.
- Reference Groups: Family, peers, and social groups influence attitude formation and guide behaviour through group norms.
- Media & Classical Conditioning: Media shapes attitudes by providing indirect information, while attitudes also form by associating experiences with positive or negative stimuli.
Key Points: Prejudice and Discrimination
- Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group; discrimination is its behavioural expression.
- Prejudice has cognitive (stereotype), emotional (hatred), and behavioural (discrimination) components.
- It creates social distance, conflict, and tension in society.
- Prejudices are learned through family, media, culture, and experience.
- Ingroup bias leads to favouring one’s own group and disliking others.
- Scapegoating blames minority groups for problems.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy and belief in a “kernel of truth” help prejudice continue
Key Points: Strategies for Handling Prejudice
- Prejudice can be reduced by minimising opportunities to learn stereotypes and by changing negative attitudes.
- Education and spreading correct information help in correcting stereotypes and reducing ingroup bias.
- Increasing positive intergroup contact reduces mistrust and improves understanding.
- Intergroup contact is effective when groups interact cooperatively, have equal status, and engage in close interaction.
- Emphasising individual identity over group identity helps weaken prejudice based on ingroup–outgroup differences.
Concepts [11]
- Concept of Social Behaviour
- Nature and Components of Attitudes
- Formation of Attitude
- Prejudice and Discrimination
- Strategies for Handling Prejudice
- Social Cognition
- Schemas and Stereotypes
- Impression Formation and Explaining Behaviour of Others Through Attributions
- Behaviour of Others Through Attributions
- Behaviour in the Presence of Others
- Pro-social Behaviour
