In this video I consider why we’re attracted to people and some of the factors that influence the relationships that we form. One major contributor is proximity, which refers to the fact that we tend to form relationships with people who are physically close to us; classmates, neighbors, & co-workers. … Read More
Obedience & The Milgram Study
In this video I discuss what is perhaps the most famous study in social psychology; Stanley Milgram’s investigation of obedience to authority, conducted at Yale in the early 1960s. Milgram’s study involved the delivery of increasingly powerful electric shocks to another person. While psychiatrists predicted only 1% of participants would … Read More
Compliance & Persuasion
In this video I discuss compliance and persuasion, which are direct social pressures to comply with requests or modify attitudes or behavior. First I discuss the distinction between the central route and peripheral routes to persuasion, then describe several compliance techniques. These include the foot-in-the-door technique, the door-in-the-face technique, the … Read More
Conformity
In this video I discuss how we can experience an indirect pressure to conform to the attitudes or behaviors of a group. I describe Muzafer Sherif’s early research using the autokinetic effect to demonstrate informational influence, followed by Solomon Asch’s well-known work on conformity. Asch distinguished between private acceptance and … Read More
The Presence of Others: Social Facilitation & Social Loafing
In this video I discuss how the presence of others can influence performance. I begin with social facilitation, studied by Norman Triplett in 1898, which suggests that the additional arousal caused by the presence of others can improve performance on simple or well-learned tasks. I also discuss social loafing, which … Read More
Attitudes, Behavior, & Cognitive Dissonance
In this video I discuss the relationship between attitudes and behavior, including Richard LaPiere’s early work on discriminatory practices and Festinger and Carlsmith’s classic study on cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort caused by conflicting attitudes or behaviors, and Festinger and Carlsmith proposed that people will attempt to … Read More
The Self & Others
In this video I discuss how others influence the formation of our self–concept using the theories of social comparison theory and social identity theory. Social comparison theory, proposed by Leon Festinger, suggests that we necessarily look to the traits and abilities of others in order to understand ourselves. Social identity … Read More
Culture & Cultural Dimensions
In this video I discuss how cultural dimensions can be used to think about the general differences between cultures and how culture may influence thought and behavior. I describe Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, based on his research with IBM employees in more than 50 countries around the world. Hofstede investigated … Read More
Introduction to Social Psychology
In this video I introduce social psychology and the investigation of how groups, culture, and social context influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. I differentiate social psychology from sociology, which generally looks at influence on broader groups rather than individuals. Next I describe some of the research methods that are … Read More
Adulthood & Aging
In this video I describe the changes and challenges associated with adulthood and aging. These include new responsibilities, declines in physical and cognitive abilities, and changes in relationships over time. Despite these changes, however, most older adults see an increase in overall well-being late in life, which is likely due … Read More