Syllabus

Unit I: Introduction to Psychology and Social Psychology

Definition, Nature and scope of Psychology, Social Psychology as branch of Psychology.

Definition, Nature and scope of Social Psychology. Individual in a social milieu. Influence of
society on individuals. Social Psychology in relation to Sociology and Social sciences –
Anthropology and Economics. Methods in Social Psychology – survey method – questionnaire
and interview, observation method, experimental method in social psychology.

Q: What do you mean by Psychology ? Explain nature and scope of psychology

Ans: Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology has been defined in
various ways, perhaps the simplest yet most accurate definition is that provided by miller (1966),
“the science of mental life” mental life refers to three phenomena: 1) behaviors, 2) thoughts and
3) emotions. Today, most psychologists would agree that psychology involves all three.

Nature and Scope of Psychology

NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology is the positive science. It is behavioural science. It

has the following features:

1. Describe behavior – what is the nature of this behavior?

2. Understand and explain behavior - why does it occur?
3. Predict behavior– can we forecast when and under what circumstances it will occur?
4. Control behavior - what factors influence this behavior?
5. Inter-disciplinary Psychology is a science
6. Psychology is an art

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Scope of Psychology

Psychology addresses a variety of issues related to mental and behavioural functioning of an

individual. Such a study helps us to develop a basic understanding about human nature and
facilitates us to deal with a number of personal and social problems. Psychology helps us to
understand the processes involved in reaching this high level of accomplishment.

The scope of psychology started changing more towards the scientific study of behaviour.
The scope of psychology widened as it addresses a variety of issues pertaining to the behavioral
and mental working of individuals. By studying psychology, a basic understanding of the nature
of humans can be developed as it paves the way of dealing with many social and personal
challenges effectively. Psychology in India is gaining attention and its demand is increasing as it
is a highly rewarding and lucrative field of study.

Thus psychology as a discipline has a vast scope. It not only studies human beings across the life
span but also tries to explore mental processes and potentials in order to facilitate achieving a
better quality of life.

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Q: Define Social psychology. Discuss the nature and scope of social psychology and its relation
with psychology.

Ans : Myers and Spencer (2006) define social psychology as the “scientific study of how
people think about, influence, and relate to one another”.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY attempts to determine the character of social Behavior

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NATURE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

1. Social Psychology as a Science

2. Social Psychology: Focus on Individual Behaviour
3. Understand Causes of Social Behaviour and Thought
a) Actions and Characteristics of Other Persons
b) Cognitive Process
c) Ecological Variables
d) Cultural Context
e) Biological Factors

1. Social Psychology as a Science

Social psychology is a science because it evaluates and provides explanations of human
behaviour.
Scientific method involves systematic and detailed attempts to which includes as follows.
A. The careful collection of observations or data (methodology),
B. The ordered integration of these observations into hypothesis and scientific laws (theory
building),
C. Tests of adequacy of these laws in terms of whether they can be successfully predict
future observations (Scientific experiment and observation).
2. Social Psychology: Focus on Individual Behaviour
The social thoughts and actions are taken by individuals. They might be influenced by the
society.
But the thought and actions are of the individuals, and not groups. The social psychology has a
very strong focus on individuals, and tries to understand the behaviour of individuals. It also
tries to understand various environmental influences on social thought and actions, viz.,Culture,
social norms, etc. Still the focus of the social psychology enquiry is individual.
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3. Understand Causes of Social Behaviour and Thought
a) Actions and Characteristics of Other Persons
We are affected byvarious actions of others. Our behaviour often gets affected by other’s
behaviour,
e.g, (1) If you are walking in a market place and suddenly you see everyone running, without
questioning you, you will also run and later on ask what happened,
(2) If in a party somebody smiles at you, you will smile back even if you don’t know that person.
Similarly another person’s looks, dress will also influence your behaviour towards that person.
SCOPE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Social psychology is the science of behaviour of the individuals in the society. The social
psychology has in a major way concentrated its attention on the following areas.
1. Role of social psychology in legal system,
2. Health psychology,
3. Psychology in work setting,
4. Organizational behaviour,
5. Consumer behaviour,
6. Solution of social problems,
7. Social psychology in education,
8. Social psychology in crime and delinquency,
9. Social psychology in community and national affairs,
10. Social psychology in military etc.

Individual in a Social Milleu

Q: What are the factors that influence Self-Concept?

Ans : Self-Concept: Who am I?
Self-Concept is a person’s answers to the question “Who am I?” Self-concept is a collection
of beliefs about oneself. A self-concept is an understanding we have of ourselves that is based on
the following factors:
a. Development of Social Self
b. Self-knowledge
c. Self-esteem
d. Self-control
e. Self-efficacy
f. Self-serving bias
g. Locus of control

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a. Development of Social Self
The following are the factors which influence development of social self:
i. The roles we play: As we grow older, we take up new roles in life-enacting role of a college
student, then enacting role of an executive and then enacting a role of a parent. As we start
enacting these roles we start supporting certain things in life which we never supported before.
ii. Social comparisons: We compare our abilities and opinions with others. We set standards for
ourselves by comparing with others. We consider ourselves as rich or poor, intelligent or weak
by comparing ourselves with others.
iii. Success and failure: Our daily experiences cause us to have empowerment or low self-
esteem. When we experience success then it stimulates us to perform better and achieve more.
iv. Other People’s Judgments or the Looking glass self: How we think others perceive us, is a
mirror for perceiving ourselves. We create an image of ourselves which we feel will be
acceptable by others. Other people act as mirrors. Their reaction to our image is the reflection of
the mirror. If we feel that they are reacting positively to the image that we have created about
ourselves then we are motivated.
v. Self and Culture: Individual can be influenced by culture. In some cultures individualism
prevails and in other cultures collectivism prevails. Individualism is the concept of giving
priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal
attributes rather than group identifications. Collectivism means giving priority to the goals of
one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly
b. Self-knowledge
Self-knowledge is a term used in psychology to describe the information that an individual draws
upon when finding an answer to the question "What am I like?" While seeking to develop the
answer to this question, self-knowledge requires ongoing self-awareness and self-
consciousness (which is not to be confused with consciousness). Self-awareness is the capacity
for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the
environment and other individuals. While consciousness is being aware of one's environment and
body and lifestyle, self-awareness is the recognition of that awareness. Self-awareness is how an
individual consciously knows and understands his/her own character, feelings, motives, and
desires. When feeling self-conscious, one becomes aware of even the smallest of one's own
actions. Such awareness can impair one's ability to perform complex actions. A person with a
chronic tendency toward self-consciousness may be shy or introverted.
c. Self-esteem

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Self-esteem is the way people think about themselves, and how worthwhile they feel. It means
whether someone likes themselves or not. Someone with high self-esteem might think that they
are good at things and are worthwhile. Someone with low self-esteem might think that they are
bad at things and worthless. Very high self esteem becomes problematic as it leads to inflated
sense of self. Low self-esteem is linked to depression, eating disorders and bullying.

d. Self-control

Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts,
and behaviour in the face of temptations and impulses. As an executive function, self-control is a
cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's behaviour in order to achieve
specific goals.

e. Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is an individual's belief in his or her innate ability to achieve goals. Expectations of
self-efficacy determine whether an individual will be able to exhibit coping behaviour and how
long effort will be sustained in the face of obstacles. Individuals who have high self-efficacy will
exert sufficient effort that, if well executed, leads to successful outcomes, whereas those with
low self-efficacy are likely to cease effort early and fail.

f. Self-serving bias

A self-serving bias is any cognitive or perceptual process to perceive oneself in an overly

favourable manner. It is the belief that individuals tend to attribute success to their own abilities
and efforts, but ascribe failure to external factors. When individuals reject the validity of
negative feedback, focus on their strengths and achievements but overlook their faults and
failures, or take more responsibility for their group's work than they give to other members, they
are protecting their ego from threat and injury. These cognitive and perceptual tendencies
perpetuate illusions and error, but they also serve the self's need for esteem.

g. Locus of control

Locus of control can be internal or external. Individuals with an internal locus of control believe
that they have personal control over situations and that their actions can change the situations.
Those with an external locus of control believe that outside forces, chance and luck determine
situations and that their actions cannot change anything. Individuals with an external locus of
control are more likely to exhibit a self-serving bias and ascribe failures to external factors.

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 INFLUENCE OF SOCIETY ON AN INDIVIDUAL

Q: How is an individual influenced by the Society?

Ans : Social influence occurs when a person's emotions, opinions or behaviours are affected by
others intentionally or unintentionally. They are following:

Types of Social influence on an Individual:

1. Compliance: Compliance is the act of responding favourably to an explicit or implicit request

offered by others. Technically, compliance is a change in behaviour but not necessarily in
attitude; one can comply due to mere obedience or by otherwise opting to withhold private
thoughts due to social pressures. According to Kelman's 1958 paper, the satisfaction derived
from compliance is due to the social effect of the accepting influence (i.e., people comply for an
expected reward or punishment-aversion).

2. Identification: Identification is the changing of attitudes or behaviours due to the influence of

someone who is admired. Advertisements that rely upon celebrity endorsements to market their
products are taking advantage of this phenomenon. According to Kelman, the desired
relationship that the identifier relates to the behavior or attitude change.

3. Internalization: Internalization is the process of acceptance of a set of norms established by

people or groups that are influential to the individual. The individual accepts the influence
because the content of the influence accepted is intrinsically rewarding. It is congruent with the
individual's value system, and according to Kelman the "reward" of internalization is "the
content of the new behaviour".

4. Conformity: Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in behaviour, belief,

or thinking to align with those of others or with normative standards. It is the most common and
pervasive form of social influence. Social psychology research in conformity tends to distinguish
between two varieties: informational conformity and normative conformity.

The first type of conformity, informational conformity, is when one goes along with others
because they don’t know what to do otherwise. This can happen in the form of imitating people,
as the person being copied is viewed as an example of the correct behaviour in terms of fitting in.
This type of conformity can cause great problems in society however, for example, if a stranger
collapses in public, the surrounding people may not respond and help, as everybody is copying
the actions of everyone else. Informational conformity can be split into two separate factors,
private acceptance and public compliance. Private acceptance is when somebody copies someone
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because they genuinely believe that the other person is correct, and this can develop into the
altering of personality. Public compliance is when someone copies somebody else because they
fear they would be rejected from a group if they didn’t. Informational conformity can be split
into two separate factors, private acceptance and public compliance. Private acceptance is when
somebody copies someone because they genuinely believe that the other person is correct, and
this can develop into the altering of personality. Public compliance is when someone copies
somebody else because they fear they would be rejected from a group if they didn’t.

The second type of conformity, Normative conformity, can be simplified as acting the same way
as certain people in order to fit in with them, even if you do not agree with the actions or beliefs
of the group. NSI occurs as it is an internal desire to belong to a social group, and many feel this
is the way of belonging. Many of these people tend to have a low self-esteem, and are more
easily influenced by those surrounding them. This can often turn into a bad thing, and immoral
acts can be committed in order to fit in, as the fear of being considered “strange” or “unsociable”
is far greater. However, this form of conformity can occur in much simpler situations as well, for
example, pretending to enjoy a certain music genre to a group of people you have never met, in
order to impress them. Normative conformity, is when one goes along with others because they
don’t know what to do otherwise. This can happen in the form of imitating people, as the person
being copied is viewed as an example of the correct behaviour in terms of fitting in. This type of
conformity can cause great problems in society however, for example, if a stranger collapses in
public, the surrounding people may not respond and help, as everybody is copying the actions of
everyone else.

5. Minority influence: Minority influence takes place when a majority is influenced to accept
the beliefs or behaviours of a minority. Minority influence can be affected by the sizes of
majority and minority groups, the level of consistency of the minority group, and situational
factors (such as the affluence or social importance of the minority). Minority influence most
often operates through informational social influence (as opposed to normative social influence)
because the majority may be indifferent to the liking of the minority.

6. Self-fulfilling prophecy: A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly

causes itself to become true due to positive feedback between belief and behaviour. A prophecy
declared as truth (when it is actually false) may sufficiently influence people, either through fear
or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfil the once-false prophecy.

7. Reactance: Reactance is the adoption of a view contrary to the view that a person is being
pressured to accept, perhaps due to a perceived threat to behavioural freedoms. Reactance is an
unpleasant motivational arousal (reaction) to persons, rules, or regulations that threaten or
eliminate specific behavioural freedoms. Reactance occurs when a person feels that someone or
something is taking away their choices or limiting the range of alternatives. Reactances can
occur when someone is heavily pressured to accept a certain view or attitude. Reactance can
cause the person to adopt or strengthen a view or attitude that is contrary to what was intended,

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and also increases resistance to persuasion. This phenomenon has also been called
anticonformity.

8. Obedience: Obedience, in human behaviour, is a form of "social influence in which a person

yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally
distinguished from compliance, which is behaviour influenced by peers, and from conformity,
which is behaviour intended to match that of the majority. Depending on context, obedience can
be seen as moral, immoral, or amoral. Humans have been shown to be obedient in the presence
of perceived legitimate authority figures.

9. Persuasion: Persuasion is a method of changing a person’s cognitions, feelings, behaviours,

or general evaluations (attitudes) toward some object, issue, or person. It is a process of guiding
oneself or another toward the adoption of an attitude by rational or symbolic means. Robert
Cialdini defined six "weapons of influence": reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority,
liking, and scarcity. These "weapons of influence" attempt to bring about conformity by directed
means. Persuasion can occur through appeals to reason or appeals to emotion. In business,
persuasion is a process aimed at changing a person's (or a group's) attitude or behaviour toward
some event, idea, object, or other person(s), by using written, spoken words or visual tools to
convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof.

10. Psychological manipulation: Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that

aims to change the behaviour or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded
tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at another's expense, such methods
could be considered exploitative, abusive, devious, and deceptive. Social influence is not
necessarily negative. For example, doctors can try to persuade patients to change unhealthy
habits. Social influence is generally perceived to be harmless when it respects the right of the
influenced to accept or reject it, and is not unduly coercive. Depending on the context and
motivations, social influence may constitute underhanded manipulation.

11. Abusive power and control: Controlling abusers use tactics to exert power and control over
their victims. The goal of the abuser is to control and intimidate the victim or to influence them
to feel that they do not have an equal voice in the relationship.

12. Propaganda: Propaganda is information that is not objective and is used primarily to
influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts selectively to encourage a
particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than
a rational response to the information that is presented.

13. Hard power: Hard power is the use of military and economic means to influence the
behaviour or interests of other political bodies. This form of political power is often aggressive
(coercion), and is most effective when imposed by one political body upon another of lesser
military and/or economic power. Hard power contrasts with soft power, which comes from
diplomacy, culture and history.

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 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND OTHER SOCIAL
SCIENCES

Q: How is Social Psychology related to other social science?

Ans: We can understand the problems of social psychology in a much better manner if we
understand its relationship with the other social sciences.

Social psychology is a field where the psychologists apply theories in social context. Something
that is common in all the disciplines of social sciences is that they use the observation methods in
research and are scientific in nature.

Let us examine the relationship of social psychology with other disciplines of social science:

1. Social Psychology and Basic Social Psychology As discussed earlier, both the social (basic)
psychology and social psychology are interrelated and they complement each other. The basic or
fundamental social psychology tries to study the various causes that influences the human
behaviour and various related problems. The social psychologists develop theories to explain
social phenomena and the social psychologists apply these theories to find out solution to
behavioural problems and issues.

2 Social Psychology and Sociology: Social psychology involves application of theories and
principles of psychology in the societal environment. It deals with the behaviour pattern of an
individual in relation to his/ her social environment. The social environment of an individual
consists of his/her parents, relatives, friends, enemies, playmates, companions and other related
people. While, sociology is a field that studies about the nature, origin, and development of a
society.

Sociology tries to understand the manners, customs and institutions of a society and their stages
of development. It is also concerned about the inter relationships between human beings in a
society. Social psychology is concerned with the experience and behaviour of an individual and
sociology is concerned with the role that an individual plays by showing various behaviours in
society. Therefore, there exists a relationship between social psychology and sociology.

3. Social Psychology and Physiological Psychology : Social psychology is a science that deals
with modifying human behaviour and their experiences. These physical or psychological
experiences of individuals are intimately connected with their physiological processes, especially
of the nervous system. Hence, the study of social psychology is interconnected to the
physiological processes. Further, the human behaviour is a bodily reaction to the existing
physical and social environment and the physiological psychology attempts to study the nature of

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all kinds of physiological processes that is, the functions of all organs of the body. Therefore,
there is a strong relationship between the fields of social psychology and physiological
psychology.

4. Social Psychology and Anthropology Social psychology attempts to modify or influence

the human behaviour while, Anthropology studies the culture, customs, ritual and practices of
different distinct groups of people and try to understand the differences among them. Since
human behaviour is influenced by these various factors, social psychology plays an important
role in understanding the influence of these factors towards changing the human behaviour.

Many of the researches done in the field of Anthropology have tried to understand why people of
a particular tribal community or even whole nation, behave as they do so. These findings have
very much enriched the field social psychology. Vis a vis the socio- psychological theories have
also contributed towards understanding the origins of culture, customs, religious practices etc.
Thus, there exists a reciprocal relationship between social psychology and anthropology.

5 Social Psychology and Economics The social psychology plans interventions for human
beings who are directly or indirectly contributing towards the economy, while, Economics deals
with the contributing factors like income, expenditure, the role of economic institution etc. These
economic factors have an influence upon human behaviour. Social psychologists have tried to
study the influence of certain economic factors like that of income on the development of human
behaviour. Further, the factors like poverty and economic deprivation also have a significant
influence upon the development of behaviour since the childhood stage. Thus, social
psychology is significantly interrelated to economics.

6. Social Psychology and Political Science Social psychologists try to examine the influence
of certain psychological factors influencing leadership and politics. This has contributed towards
analysing behaviour and the factors which make certain politicians as successful leaders.
Political science is a discipline which deals with the political organisations, institutions and
government practices. This takes place with the help of interaction between political science and
social psychology. Attempts have been made to study and analyse the influence of the political
system on human character and behaviour. Psychological analysis has also contributed towards
the different aspects of political behaviour like propaganda, voting behaviour, emergence of
public opinion, mob mentality etc.

7.Social Psychology and Geography Social psychology tries to apply psychological principles
to enhance relationship among individuals of different societies. While, Geography is an social
science which deals with the study of places and relationship between people and their
environment. Therefore, in order to build a good relationship between people and environment,
we need to strengthen the relationships between people first. Therefore, social psychology is
interrelated to the discipline of geography.

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 METHODS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Q: Explain the various methods of Social Psychology.

Ans : Procedures for gathering information in any discipline are known as methods. Every
scientific investigation begins with a question. The question can be dictated by a practical
problem or grow out of theoretical interest. Our discussion will be limited to following methods:

1. Observational method
2. Correlation method
3 Experimental method
4. Survey method and Interview method

1. Observational Method : Observation is the old method of social psychology. Many writers
have used different terms and categories for this method like method of systematic observation
(Morgan and King), direct observation (Hilgard and Atkinson) and Feldman has included it in
field study.

Observation is to simply observe the phenomena under study as it occur naturally (Hilgard and
Atkinson 2003: 21) This method plays a very important role in the collection of data on overt
behaviour and the actions of individuals. The main problem involved in the application of this
method include,

 What to observe?
 How to fixate the observations?
 How to structure observation?
 What should be the units of observation in social psychological research, and the definite
interval of time for observation?

Advantages of Observational Methods:

 Participants are in there normal environment and therefore are more likely to react in a
realistic/ genuine way.
 Extraneous variables can be controlled easily therefore validity is higher than naturalistic
observations.
 Being involved in the social group can give the observer insight into the emotions and
motives of the participant’s behaviours.
 Observer can remain more objective about the situation as they aren't involved.

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  Participants are less likely to be aware that they are being observed which means that
they will react in a more genuine way
 Any behaviour can be recorded so the data is wider spread and richer.

Disadvantages of Observational Method:

 There are many personal behaviours or secret activities which are not open for
observation.
 Observation is a highly technical job. One is never sure that what he is observing is the
same as it appears to his eyes. Two persons may judge the same phenomena differently.
One person may find something meaningful and useful from a situation but the other may
find nothing from it. Only those observers who are having the technical knowledge about
the observation can make scientific observation.
 The major problem with observational methods is that the investigator has little control
over the situation he is interested to observe. In the natural setting, too many extraneous
factors influence the phenomenon. As a result, it is difficult to assess what causes or
determines the behaviours of researcher's interest. It is extremely difficult, and sometimes
impossible to establish cause-and-effect relationships in our understanding of the
behaviours. The observational report in most cases turns out to be descriptions of events
rather than explanations for the event that can be used for prediction and control.
 Observer-bias is one of the important problems in observational research. The personal
philosophy, attitudes, beliefs, convictions, and sometimes the personal interests of the
observer are most likely to colour his perceptions of the event. His observational report
may in part reflect his biases in describing and interpreting the event. Thus, the
description may not reflect the true features of an event.
2. Correlation Method : Correlation is a relationship between two (or more) variables such that
systematic increase or decrease in the magnitude of one variable is accompanied by systematic
increase or decrease in the magnitude of the others” ( Reber & Reber, 2001: 158).

Correlational investigations try to determine, ‘what is the relationship among the variables of
interest to the researcher?’ The question is asked, ‘as something changes in amount, how do
other things vary? One may ask if wealthier people were happier than those who had little
money.

A Correlational study of the connection between income and happiness thus inquires whether
more money is associated with greater happiness (Positive correlation), or with lower happier (a
negative correlation) or does not go along with happiness (a zero correlation). The degree of
relationship is assessed mathematically and is expressed as a correlation coefficient ranging from
+1.00 to -1.00. A positive correlation indicates that the scores on the two variables move in the
same direction; as the scores rise (or fall) on one variable, they also rise or fall on the other
variable. A negative correlation indicates that the score move in opposite directions: an increase

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in the scores on one variable is accompanied by a decrease in scores on the other. The magnitude
of the obtained correlation reflects the degree of this relationship. The plus sign indicates a
positive relation and the minus sign a negative correlation. The closer a correlation value comes
to positive or negative 1.00, the stronger the relationship between two variables.

3. Experimental Method : Experimentation has been the dominant research method in social
psychology, mainly because it is without equal as a method for testing theories that predict
causal relationships between variables. The goal of an experiment is to see what happens to a
phenomenon, such as obedience, when the researcher deliberately modifies some features of the
environment in which the phenomenon occurs (that is, if variable A is changed, will there be
resulting changes in B). We can see the meanings of some basic concepts of the experimental
research in the table given below.

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Advantages of Experimental Method:

i. A High Level Of Control- With experimental research groups, the people conducting the
research have a very high level of control over their variables. By isolating and determining what
they are looking for, they have a great advantage in finding accurate results.

ii. Can Span Across Nearly All Fields Of Research- Another great benefit of this type of
research design is that it can be used in many different types of situations. Just like
pharmaceutical companies can utilize it, so can teachers who want to test a new method of
teaching? It is a basic, but efficient type of research.

iii. Clear Cut Conclusions- Since there is such a high level of control, and only one specific
variable is being tested at a time, the results are much more relevant than some other forms of
research. You can clearly see the success, failure, of effects when analyzing the data collected.

iv. Many Variations Can Be Utilized - There is a very wide variety of this type of research.
Each can provide different benefits, depending on what is being explored. The investigator has
the ability to tailor make the experiment for their own unique situation, while still remaining in
the validity of the experimental research design.

Disadvantages of Experimental Method:

i. Largely Subject To Human Errors- Just like anything, errors can occur. This is especially
true when it comes to research and experiments. Any form of error, whether a systematic (error
with the experiment) or random error (uncontrolled or unpredictable), or human errors such as
revealing who the control group is, they can all completely destroy the validity of the
experiment.

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ii. Can Create Artificial Situations- By having such deep control over the variables being
tested, it is very possible that the data can be skewed or corrupted to fit whatever outcome the
researcher needs. This is especially true if it is being done for a business or market study.

iii. Can Take An Extensive Amount of Time To Do Full Research- With experimental testing
individual experiments have to be done in order to fully research each variable. This can cause
the testing to take a very long amount of time and use a large amount of resources and finances.
These costs could transfer onto the company, which could inflate costs for consumers.

4. The Survey Method and Interview method

Survey and questionnaires are one of the most common methods used in psychological
research. In this method, a random sample of participants completes a survey, test, or
questionnaire that relates to the variables of interest. Random sampling is a vital part of
ensuring the generalizability of the survey results.

A survey is a way of getting information about a specific type of behavior, experience,

or event. When using this method, researchers give people questionnaires or interview them to
obtain information. A survey is a data collection tool used to gather information about
individuals. Surveys are commonly used in psychology research to collect self-report data from
study participants. A survey may focus on factual information about individuals, or it might aim
to collect the opinions of the survey takers.

A survey can be administered in a couple of different ways. In one method known as a

structured interview, the researcher asks each participant the questions. In the other method
known as a questionnaire, the participant fills out the survey on his or her own.

When subjects fill out surveys about themselves, the data is called self-report data. Self-
report data can be misleading because subjects may do any of the following:

i. Lie intentionally
ii. Give answers based on wishful thinking rather than the truth
iii. Fail to understand the questions the survey asks
iv.Forget parts of the experience they need to describe
Advantages of Using Surveys
i. Surveys allow researchers to collect a large amount of data in a relatively short period of time.
ii. Surveys are less expensive than many other data collection techniques.
iii. Surveys can be created quickly and administered easily.
iv. Surveys can be used to collect information on a wide range of things, including personal
facts, attitudes, past behaviours and opinions.
Disadvantages of Using Surveys
i. Poor survey construction and administration can undermine otherwise well-designed studies.

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ii. The answer choices provided on a survey may not be an accurate reflection of how the
participants truly feels.
iii. While random sampling is generally used to select participants, response rates can bias the
results a survey.
Types of Survey Data Collection
Surveys can be implemented in a number of different ways. Chances are good that you have
participated in a number of different market research surveys in the past.
Some of the most common ways to administer survey include:
i. Mail - An example might include an alumni survey distributed via direct mail by your
alma mater.
ii. Telephone - An example of a telephone survey would be a market research call about
your experiences with a certain consumer product.
iii. Online - Online surveys might focus on your experience with a particular retailer,
product or website.
iv. At home interviews - The U.S. Census is a good example of an at-home interview
survey administration.

The interview method

The interview is used widely to supplement and extend our knowledge about
individual(s) thoughts, feelings and behaviours, meanings, interpretations, etc. The interviewer
collects detailed personal information from individuals usually in one to one situations using
oral questions.

The interview method of research is a conversation with a purpose and is non-

experimental in design. The interviewer in one-to-one conversation collects detailed personal
information from individuals using oral questions. The interview is used widely to supplement
and extend our knowledge about individual(s) thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Or how they
think they feel and behave. Interviews can give us both quantitative and qualitative data about
participants' thoughts, feelings and behaviours. This is due to the standardisation and/or free
ranging nature of questions asked. The more structured or standardised interview questions are,
the more able you are to get quantitative data. Quantitative data is reliable and easy to analyse.
The less structured and freer ranging the interview questions the more qualitative your data
becomes. Qualitative data is difficult to analyse and is not as reliable. There are two categories
of interview, Structured interview and Unstructured interview.

The key feature of the structured interview is in the pre-planning of all the questions
asked. Structured interviews also allow for replication of the interview with others. You can
then generalise what you find out to the population from which your interview sample came.

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 Structured interviews are conducted in various modes: face-to-face, by telephone, videophone
and the Internet. There are three types of structured interview- The structured interview itself,
the semi-structured interview and the clinical interview. A major feature, and difference, is the
degree to which each use standardised and unplanned questions. Standardisation helps the
reliability of your results and conclusions. The more use of unplanned questions, the less
structured the interview becomes. Unplanned spontaneous questions are a key feature of the
unstructured interview. Spontaneous questioning is more responsive to the participant. However
spontaneous questioning does not allow for generalisation. Spontaneous questions can also be
accused of generating invalid results and conclusions.

Advantages of interviews

 they are useful to obtain detailed information about personal feelings, perceptions and
opinions
 they allow more detailed questions to be asked
 they usually achieve a high response rate
 respondents' own words are recorded
 ambiguities can be clarified and incomplete answers followed up
 precise wording can be tailored to respondent and precise meaning of questions clarified
(eg for students with English as a Second Language)
 interviewees are not influenced by others in the group
 some interviewees may be less self-conscious in a one-to-one situation.
Disadvantages of interviews

 they can be very time-consuming: setting up, interviewing, transcribing, analysing,

feedback, reporting
 they can be costly
 different interviewers may understand and transcribe interviews in different ways.

Short Questions:
1. Define Social Psychology.
2. Define Self Concept.
3. What is meant by Looking glass self?
4. Write a short note on Self-knowledge
5. How does Self-esteem have an impact on an individual?
6. How is Self-control different from Locus of Control?
7. “Self-efficacy is an individual's belief in his or her innate ability to achieve goals”.
Illustrate with an example.
8. How is self-serving bias a cognitive or perceptual process to perceive oneself in an
overly favourable manner?
9. How is Social Psychology different from Sociology?
10. What is the relation between Social Psychology and Anthropology?
11. How is Social Psychology related to Economics?
12. Write a short note on Experimental Method.
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 13. Differentiate between Observation method and Interview method
14. Mention any two advantages and disadvantages of survey method.

Essay Questions:
1. Explain in detail the nature of Social Psychology.
2. Write in detail about the scope of Social Psychology.
3. What is the difference between General Psychology, Sociology and Social
Psychology?
4. How is Social Psychology related to Anthropology and Economics?
5. What are the factors that influence Self-Concept?
6. How is an individual influenced by the Society?
7. Explain the Experimental Method of Social Psychology.
8. What is Observational Method of Social Psychology? Mention the advantages and
disadvantages of Observational Method.
9. How is Survey method different from Interview method?

Syllabus
Unit-II: Attitudes and Social Process
Nature and definition of Attitudes, Need for Studying Attitudes, Formation and Change of
Attitudes; Persistence and Attitude Change, Influence of Attitudes on Individual behavior –
prejudice, discrimination, stereo typing Impression formation, Impression management,
Interpersonal Attraction, Aggression, Promoting social Harmony – Alleviating prejudice,
reducing discrimination, managing anger.

Q: Define Attitude. Describe in detail the need and importance of attitude in workplace

Ans: An attitude is a hypothetical construct in that it can only be inferred through the behaviour
of the individual. Attitudes are acquired and they develop out of influence of many factors

Definition given by one of the pioneers of the field

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Gordon Allport (1935) defined attitude as “mental and neural state of readiness, organized
through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to
all objects and situations with which it is related.”

Attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something’.

Behavior is the observable component of what we do; while attitude is the non-observable
component of why we do.

Attitude is a mirror of mind

An attitude is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of an object that is expressed at some

level of intensity. Our attitude can vary in strength along both positive affect, and with negative
affect, with ambivalence or with apathy and indifference. It usually implies feelings that are
either positive or negative.

Types of Attitudes:
Attitudes are of three types:
a. Positive:
A favourable attitude—liking people, objects, situation, etc.
b. Negative:
An unfavourable attitude—does not like people/ objects, etc.
c. Neutral:
Neither favourable nor unfavourable.

The components of attitudes are sometimes referred to as CAB or the ABC's of attitude.

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Need for studying Attitude
A positive attitude in the workplace helps employees to accomplish tasks faster and in a better
manner. The performance of employees to a great extent depends on the good relationship they
share with their colleagues. A good relationship can be established only when employees
demonstrate a positive attitude towards their work and colleagues. Through positive energy,
work becomes a pleasure and employees find it easier to achieve their goals.

A positive attitude has significant benefits for an individual in many aspects. Let’s look at some
of them below.
1. Career success:
2. Productivity:
3. Leadership:
4. Team work:
5. Decision making:
6. Motivation:
7. Interpersonal relations:
8. Stress management:

Q: Describe in detail the formation of attitudes and how they can be changed through
persuasion.

ATTITUDE FORMATION : HOW ATTITUDES DEVELOP :

Attitudes are a result of beliefs. Beliefs about the object, feelings towards the object, behavioural
intensions regarding the object and actual behaviour thus shown are all steps towards attitude
formation.
For example, if employees believe that their current job will provide them with experience and
training a positive attitude is developed in them towards the job.

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1.Mere Exposure
The mere exposure effect is the tendency to develop more positive feelings towards objects and
individuals, the more we are exposed to them. The mere-exposure effect is a psychological
phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are
familiar with them. The effect has been demonstrated with many kinds of things, paintings,
pictures of faces, geometric figures, and sounds.

2. Associative Learning
You might have seen that students often develop a liking for a particular subject because of the
teacher. This is because they see many positive qualities in that teacher; these positive qualities
get linked to the subject that s/he teaches, and ultimately get expressed in the form of liking for
the subject. In other words, a positive attitude towards the subject is learned through the positive
association between a teacher and a student.

3. Self-Perception

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According to self-perception theory, when people are unsure of their own attitudes, one way to
infer them is by looking at their behaviors. The idea behind self-perception theory is that we
form attitudes not due to exposure or associative learning, but from observations of our own
behavior.-+

4. Functional Approach
Functional attitude theory (FAT) suggests that beliefs and attitudes are influential to various
psychological functions. Attitudes can be influential on many processes such as being utilitarian
(useful), social, relating to values, or a reduction of cognitive dissonance. The theory suggests
that attitudes perform four basic functions. The functions are utilitarian function of attitudes,
knowledge function of attitudes, value-expressive function, and ego-defensive function.

a) Utilitarian Function of Attitudes: Consumers use attitudes as ways to maximize rewards and
minimize punishment. In other words, purchasing something because it brings forth a specific
benefit is one example. Another example would be, baseball fans are more prone to purchase and
wear their favorite sports team apparel because they are better able to fit in within society and
also connect with others.

b) Knowledge Function of Attitudes: Attitudes allow consumers to simplify decision-making

processes. In other words, consumer attitudes help avoid undesirable situations and approach
more desirable situations. When consumers are brand loyal to a company it assists them to
simplify the decision making process. For example, if an individual needs new tires for their car
because the ones on it now do not perform well and are cheap, the next set of tires will be of
better quality and the decision will be much simpler; being that any cheaper brand of tires will be
automatically disqualified.
c) Value-Expressive Function of Attitudes: Attitudes allow consumers to express their core
values, self-concept, and beliefs to others. in other words, the positive expression and type of
individual a consumer perceives themselves to be and the value that they hold. So if you are the
type of person that values and supports a cure for children developed cancer, you might wear a
St. Jude children research hospital supporting T-shirt.

d) Ego-Defensive Function: Attitudes work as defense mechanism for consumers. What it is is

that consumers are enabled to protect themselves in a way, from their low-self concept. For
example, smokers are more likely to ignore the fact that smoking is bad for their health as to
continue doing it.

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II OTHER FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ATTITUDE FORMATION
1. Family and School Environment:
2. Reference Groups:
3. Personal Experiences:
4. Media-related Influences

Q: Explain in detail about Persistence and Attitude Change

Psychologists claim that attitude change is of two types

1) Congruent change and

2) Incongruent change.

When a favorable attitude becomes more favourable after an incident, it is congruent change.
However, when attitude change is unfavourable that is direction of change is opposite of the
already held attitude, it is called incongruent change.

Other things being equal congruent change in attitude is easier than incongruent change.

Psychologists have identified a number of factors that affect attitude change which are as:

Changing reference group: Psychologists found that change in reference group leads to change
in attitude as well. In one of the experiments Newcomb (1950) found that a group of fresh
entrants of girls were conservative as they were coming from a family of conservative parents.
However, environment of the college promoted liberalism and one of the aims of college was to
promote liberalism among students. In the last year of college it was found that girls had shifted
from conservatism to liberalism.

Changing group affiliations: This has direct bearings on change in attitudes. It has been observed
that when a person breaks ties with old group and joins new one, he readily adopts norms,
values, opinions and beliefs of the new group. Therefore change in attitudes is also there.

For example, if a leader is changing his affiliations from TRS to BJP, he may find himself
elevated to the level of national level, certainly he would change his attitudes more in favour of
BJP and its policies.

Additional information: Change in attitude is also brought about by information received from
means like Radio, Television, and Newspaper. The person also gets information through
interaction with others. However, change in attitudes resulting from reception of additional
information depends on the nature of social situation in which information is given.

For example, in one of classical experiments in this regard it was aimed to bring attitudinal shift
among housewives in favour of beef consumption as compared to other types of meat. One group

25
of housewives was motivated to discuss the issue among themselves and arrived at unanimous
conclusion that increased rate of beef consumption is beneficial for several reasons. Another
group of housewives was not allowed to discuss the matter but was given a lecture by an expert
on benefits of increased beef consumption.

Later on it was found that 30 % of group of housewives who had discussed the matter and
reached a unanimous resolution in favour of beef consumption actually registered a shift in their
attitude toward beef consumption. However, only 3% of housewives subjected to lecture method
changed their attitude.

Persuasive Communication: By persuasive communication we mean communication of such

facts and information as are attractive and appealing to the listener and has direct bearing on the
attitudes of the person. Change in attitude through persuasive communication depends on four
factors: 1) Source of communication 2) Characteristics and content of communication 3)
Channel of communication, and 4) Characteristics of audience.

Process of Attitude Change

Three major concepts that draw attention to some important processes in attitude change are
described below:

The concept of balance, proposed by Fritz Heider is sometimes described in the form of the ‘P-
O-X’ triangle, which represents the relationships between three aspects or components of the
attitude. P is the person whose attitude is being studied, O is another person, and X is the topic
towards which the attitude is being studied (attitude object). It is also possible that all three are
persons. The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between the P-
O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude. This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable.

Therefore, the attitude changes in the direction of balance. Imbalance is found when (i) all three
sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative, or (ii) two sides are positive, and one side is negative.
Balance is found when (i) all three sides are positive, or (ii) two sides are negative, and one side
is positive.

Consider the example of dowry as an attitude topic (X). Suppose a person (P) has a positive
attitude towards dowry (P-X positive). P is planning to get his son married to the daughter of
some person (O) who has a negative attitude towards dowry (O-X negative). What would be the
nature of the P-O attitude, and how would it determine balance or imbalance in this situation? If

26
O initially has a positive attitude towards P, the situation would be unbalanced. P-X is positive,
O-P is positive, but O-X is negative.

That is, there are two positives and one negative in the triangle. This is a situation of imbalance.
One of the three attitudes will therefore have to change. This change could take place in the P-X
relationship (P starts disliking dowry as a custom), or in the O-X relationship (O starts liking
dowry as a custom), or in the O-P relationship (O starts disliking P). In short, an attitude change
will have to take place so that there will be three positive relationships, or two negative and one
positive relationship, in the triangle.

(b) The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. It emphasises the
cognitive component. Here the basic idea is that the cognitive components of an attitude must be
‘consonant’ (opposite of ‘dissonant’), i.e., they should be logically in line with each other. If an
individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them will be
changed in the direction of consonance.

For example, think about the following ideas (‘cognitions’) :

Cognition I : Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.

Cognition II : I eat pan masala. Holding these two ideas or cognitions will make any individual
feel that something is ‘out of tune’, or dissonant, in the attitude towards pan masala. Therefore,
one of these ideas will have to be changed, so that consonance can be attained. In the example
given above, in order to remove or reduce the dissonance, I will stop eating pan masala (change
Cognition II). This would be the healthy, logical and sensible way of reducing dissonance.

Festinger and Carlsmith, two social psychologists, conducted an experiment that showed how
cognitive dissonance works. Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive
consistency. Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or elements of the
attitude, or attitude system, must be in the same direction. Each element should logically fall in
line with other elements. If this does not happen, then the person experiences a kind of mental
discomfort, i.e. the sense that ‘something is not quite right’ in the attitude system.

In such a state, some aspect in the attitude system changes in the direction of consistency,
because our cognitive system requires logical consistency. (c) The two-step concept was
proposed by S.M. Mohsin, an Indian psychologist. According to him, attitude change takes place
in the form of two steps.

In the first step, the target of change identifies with the source. The ‘target’ is the person whose
attitude is to be changed. The ‘source’ is the person through whose influence the change is to
take place. Identification means that the target has liking and regard for the source. S/he puts
herself/himself in the place of the target, and tries to feel like her/him. The source must also have
a positive attitude towards the target, and the regard and attraction becomes mutual.

27
In the second step, the source herself/himself shows an attitude change, by actually changing
her/him behaviour towards the attitude object. Observing the source’s changed attitude and
behaviour, the target also shows an attitude change through behaviour. This is a kind of imitation
or observational learning.

Consider the following example of two step attitude change. Preeti reads in the newspapers that a
particular soft drink that she enjoys is extremely harmful. But Preeti sees that her favourite
sportsperson has been advertising the same soft drink. She has identified herself with the
sportsperson, and would like to imitate her/him. Now, suppose the sportsperson wishes to change
people’s attitude towards this soft drink from positive to negative. The sportsperson must first
show positive feelings for her/ his fans, and then actually change her/his own habit of consuming
that soft drink

(Step I) — perhaps by substituting it with a health drink. If the sportsperson actually changes
her/his behaviour, it is very likely that now Preeti will also change her attitude and behaviour,
and stop consuming the harmful soft drink (Step II).

Factors that Influence Attitude Change: Whether attitudes will change, and if so, to what
extent? This is a question that puzzles many psychologists.

Persistence and Attitude Change

Persuasion is the effort to change our attitudes through the use of various kinds of messages. It is
a part of daily life. Studies of social psychologists yielded insights into the cognitive process that
play a role in persuasion. For attitude change persuasive communication plays a vital role.
Persuasive communication is such a skill which is employed by a person to persuade other
person or persons. The skill may be based on reason. In persuasive behaviour communication is
vital. It can be through dialogue, written ideas, television or film, Through these media, the
messages sent might bring changes in our view point. Some persuasive appeal does not succeed
in attitude change.

Example: Some advertisements fail to sell the goods advertised; while others are successful. The
various ingredients of persuasion are: The communicator, communication, process of
communication these four elements include, 'What means', and to 'whom'.

There are two routes to persuasion. They are:-

1. The central route to persuasion; Persuasion that occurs when interested people focus on the
arguments. e.g: Advertisement of computer.

2. Peripheral Route to persuasion; Persuasion that occurs when people are influenced by
incidental cues. e.g: Attractiveness of the speaker.

The Early Approach to Persuasion:

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It is found that source credibility is an important factor in persuasion. Following are some
interesting findings of early research on persuasion.

I. Communicators who are credible are more persuasive. Experts with respect to the topics are
more persuasive than non-experts.
II. Communicators who are attractive in some way. E.g. physically attractive.
III. People are more susceptible to persuasion.
IV. When audience attitude is contrary to that of the persuader.
V. People who speak rapidly are often more persuasive than persons who speak more slowly.
VI. Persuasion can be enhanced by messages that arouse strong emotions (especially fear) in the
audience.

Q: What do you mean by stereotype, prejudice and discrimination ? Is there any relationship
among them ?
Stereotype

A stereotype is a specific belief or assumption (thoughts) about individuals based solely on their
membership in a group, regardless of their individual characteristics Stereotypes can be positive
or negative and when overgeneralized are applied to all members of a group.

Another example of a well-known stereotype involves beliefs about racial differences among
athletes.

As Hodge, Burden, Robinson, and Bennett (2008) point out, black male athletes are often
believed to be more athletic, yet less intelligent, than their white male counterparts. These
beliefs persist despite a number of high profile examples to the contrary. Sadly, such beliefs
often influence how these athletes are treated by others and how they view themselves and their
own capabilities.
Stereotypes are universal.
Whether or not you agree with a stereotype the content of stereotypes is generally well-known
within in a given culture (Devine, 1989).
Example : All Americans have guns, Black people are the best athletes, Men are stronger than
Women

Prejudice
Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s
membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common
against people who are members of an unfamiliar cultural group.

Discrimination is negative action toward an individual as a result of one’s membership in a

particular group (Allport, 1954; Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004).

29
As a result of holding negative beliefs (stereotypes) and negative attitudes (prejudice) about a
particular group, people often treat the target of prejudice poorly.

Q: Explain in detail about impression formation and impression management

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Ans: Impression formation and impression management are interrelated topics having
considerable practical significance in our everyday life. We very quickly form impression of
people whom we meet. We also make attempts to create favourable impression on others, so as
to gain considerable advantage from them, such asan interview, assignment, getting our work
done, etc. We also attempt to influence how others would perceive us and form impressions
about us.

Impression Formation: Impression formation deals with the processes involved in the
formation of impression about others. Impression Formation is the process through which we
develop our beliefs and evaluations of other people. It refers to the process through which we
combine diverse information about other persons into a united impression of them. Forming
impressions about others is an elaborate cognitive process. The initial or first impressions about
others are very important. It is rightly said that the “First impression is the last impression”. The
initial impressions we make on others will generally shape the course of our future relations with
them in important ways. Once an impression is formed, it is generally resistant to change. Thus,
it is necessary to be careful on first dates, interviews and other situations in which we will meet
others for the first time. Large number of research studies have shown that first impression do
seem to exert a lasting effect on both, social thought and social behaviour (Anderson 1981, Wyer
et al, 1994).

Impression Management: It is also called as self-presentation. It deals with the various methods
and efforts that individuals use to produce a favorable impression about himself/herself on
others. We often attempt to influence others by projecting ourselves in ways which will present
us in a favorable light. We often behave, act, dress and express ourselves in ways that produce
favorable
impressions on others. Impression Management is a skillful activity. Research on impression
management has shown that people who can perform impression management successfully are
often successful in many situations as they help others to form positive and good impressions
about themselves.
The two broad tactics of impression management are as follows:

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a) Self-enhancement: It can be defined as efforts to boost our own self-image. There are many
tactics of self-enhancement. One important tactic of self-enhancement is to improve our
appearance. This can done in following ways:
1) Changes in dress.
2) Personal grooming (use of cosmetic, hairstyle, use of perfume).
3) Use of various props (such as eye glasses).
4) Judicious use of nonverbal cues.
Women who dress in a professional manner (business suit or dress, subdued jewelry) are often
evaluated more favorable for management positions than women who dress in a more
traditionally feminine manner (Forsythe, Drake, and Cox, 1985).
It has also been found that eyeglasses encourage impression of intelligence, while long hair for
women or beards for men tend to reduce such impression (Terry and Krantz, 1993).
Wearing perfume or cologne can enhance first impression provided this particular grooming aid
is not overdone (Baron, 1983).

b) Other – enhancement: It refers to efforts on our part to make the target person feel good in
our presence. There are many ways in which we can enhance other’s self esteem. Some of these
are as follows:
1) Flattery – heaping praise on target person even if they don’t deserve it.
2) Expressing agreement with their views.
3) Showing a high degree of interest in them.
4) Doing small favours for them.
5) Expressing liking for them, either verbally or non verbally
6) (Wayne and Ferris, 1990).

Q Define aggression. What are the social and cultural factors that influence aggression?

Ans: Aggression is defined in social psychology as behaviour carried out with the intention
to harm another person. The range of methods available for studying aggression is limited by
the essentially harmful nature of this behaviour.

Aggression is defined as a behaviour that is aimed at producing physical or psychological harm

to another person.

Anderson and Bushman (2002) have defined human aggression as “any behaviour directed
toward another individual that is carried out with the proximate (immediate) intent to cause
harm. In addition, the perpetrator must believe that the behaviour will harm the target and that
the target is motivated to avoid the behaviour”.

Bandura (1973) has defined aggression as “a harmful behaviour which violates social
conventions and which may include deliberate intent to harm or injure another person or object”.

Aggression is one of the most potential dangers to mankind. It is a greatest stumbling block for
one’s self development and growth. Aggression and violence have been experienced by almost

32
all societies and times. The two world wars, terrorist attacks, racial conflicts, communal clashes,
etc., have gradually increased over the years. Whether aggression is manifested by individuals or
groups (including nations), it is the most destructive force in social relations and consequently an
important social issue. A major concern in either individual or group aggression is its origin.

Aggression is behavior, verbal or physical, intended to physically hurt or harm in some other
way another person or thing. Two important definitions of aggression are as follows:

According to Dollard et al., aggression can be defined as “a behaviour whose goal is the injury of
the person towards whom it is directed”. Supposedly this includes physical and verbal
aggression.

Baron and Bryne has defined aggression in the following words “aggression is any form of
behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated
to avoid such treatment”.

Aggression is defined as behavior aimed at causing harm or pain, psychological harm, or

personal injury or physical distraction. An important aspect of aggressive behavior is the
intention underlying the actor's behavior. Not all behaviors resulting in harm are considered
aggression.

For example, a doctor who makes an injection that harms people, but who did so with the intent
of preventing the further spread of illness, is not considered to have committed an aggressive act.
Aggression can be direct or indirect, active or passive, and physical or verbal.

Human aggression is a result of many causes acting in combination. The four most important
causes of human aggression are as follows:

1. Social causes of Aggression

2. Cultural causes of Aggression

3. Personal causes of Aggression and

4. Situational causes of Aggression

Social Causes of Aggression

The following are the important social causes of aggression.

i. Frustration : Frustration can arise due to many factors such as environmental or natural
calamities, accidents, personal limitations, lack of aptitude, others ill intentions, etc. The
frustration aggression viewpoint also helps to explain why unexpected frustration and frustration
that is viewed as illegitimate or unjustified produce stronger aggression than frustration that is
expected or legitimate. For e.g., an employee who has been abruptly terminated from service

33
without a reasonable and proper explanation will feel that his termination is illegitimate and
unjustified. Such an individual will develop hostile thoughts, experience intense anger and seek
revenge against the perceived source of frustration (in this case the employer). This is due to the
fact that unexpected or illegitimate frustration generates greater amount of negative affect than
frustration that is expected or viewed as legitimate.

ii. Provocation : Direct provocation leads to anger. Research studies suggest that direct
provocation from others, either physical or verbal, often play a powerful role in eliciting overt
aggression. Not every body reacts to provocation with aggression, whether we would react to
provocation with aggression is influenced by many factors. One such factor is our attributions
concerning provocation. For e.g., when we conclude that provocation from another person was
intended, i.e., purposely performed, we become angry and engage in strenuous efforts to
reciprocate. However, on the other hand if we conclude that provocation was unintended i.e., due
to the result of accident or factors beyond other’s control, we are much less likely to loose our
temper and behave aggressively. Thus, attributions concerning the causes behind the provocative
actions of others play an important role in determining how aggressively we would react.

Kinds of Provocation : Three important types of provocation that leads to aggression are as
follows:
a) Condescension : Expression of arrogance or disdain on the part of others
b) Harsh and Unjustified Criticism : Harsh and Unjustified Criticism, Especially criticism that
attacks us rather than our behaviour.

c) Teasing : Provoking statements that points to an individual’s flaws and imperfections. Teasing
can range from mild, humorous remarks and humorous nicknames to comments that are designed
to hurt and insult others. Research findings indicate that the more individuals attribute teasing to
hostile motives – a desire to embrass or annoy them – the more likely they are to respond
aggressively.

iii. Heightened Arousal: The results of a number of experimental studies show that heightened
physiological arousal, irrespective of its source, may often serve to facilitate overt aggression.
Heightened arousal created by such sources as loud and unpleasant noises, competitive activities
and even vigorous exercise has been found to facilitate aggression under “certain” conditions.

iv. Exposure to Media Violence: A large number of research studies have conclusively
demonstrated that exposure to aggressive models stimulate similar behaviour among observers.
Similarly, research studies have also conclusively shown that exposure to violence in the mass
media (films and TV), increases aggression by viewers. Some important findings of the various

34
research studies with respect to exposure to media violence and
aggression are as follows:

Research on exposure to violent television, movies, video games and music indicates that such
material significantly increases the likelihood of aggressive behaviour by people exposed to
them. Such effects are both short term and long term in nature. The magnitude of these effects is
large, real and long
lasting. It has been found that the more violent films or televisions programs participants
watched as children, the higher their levels of aggression.

Cultural causes in aggression:

Aggression can be triggered by the behavior and words of the other person, but aggression can
also be triggered from cultural factors like beliefs, norms, and expectations in a culture. Certain
cultural (cultures in South America) norms suggest that aggression is an appropriate response in
certain circumstances.

Cultures in which there are strong norms indicating that aggression is an appropriate and
acceptable response to insults in defense of one’s honor. The best example of this is shown in
most of the Asian films about warriors, in which individuals are compelled to fight with another
individual to safeguard their honor through vengeance and violence. The reasons being many,
wealth was one of the reasons considered to be the prominent reason for such norms to develop.
Cattle, slaves, treasure, lands, were some of the examples of such wealth, and mainly because
such assets were easily stolen, they would not tolerate such thefts or any other affront to their
honor. So the result was such norms condoning violence in response to such insults, norms
emerged. Such norms are not a happening of the past, but are prevalent in some parts of the
world even today. Protecting the cultural honor exists even today in different contexts.

Personal Causes of aggression:

Personal characteristics and temperaments are also determinants of aggressive actions. Several
traits or characteristics that seem to play an important role in aggression.

Type-A behavior pattern – extremely competitive, always in a hurry and especially irritable.
Ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status conscious, can be sensitive, care for other people, are
truthful, impatient, always try to help others, take on more than they can handle, want other
people to get to the point, proactive, and obsessed with time management. People with Type A
personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with
deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence. This type of personality pattern tends to be
more aggressive in nature. Additional findings indicate that Type A personality people are more
hostile people, they don’t merely aggress against others because this is a useful means for
reaching others goals, such as winning athletic contest or furthering in their own careers. They

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are more likely to engage in hostile aggression in which the prime objective is to inflict some
kind of harm on the victim.

Type- B personality people are extremely opposite in nature who are not highly competitive,
who are not always fighting the clock, who do not readily lose their tempers. People with Type B
personality by definition generally live at a lower stress level and typically work steadily,
enjoying achievements but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved. When faced with
competition, they do not mind losing and either enjoy the game or back down. They may be
creative and enjoy exploring ideas and concepts. They are often reflective. They are more likely
to engage in instrumental aggression which is primarily to attain other goals aside from harming
the victim.

Attributions play an important role in our reaction to others’ behavior and especially to apparent
provocations from them, is the reason that influences aggression. Hostile attributional bias is a
tendency to perceive hostile intentions in others’ actions. They simply assume and perceive evil
intent in others actions and the actions by others are always provocational and intentional and
they react accordingly.

Promoting social Harmony-Alleviating Prejudice and reducing Discrimination

There are a number of scientifically examined strategies that have been developed in attempt to
alleviate Prejudice and reducing discrimination which are as follows:

Intergroup interaction approaches

Intergroup interaction approaches to prejudice reduction refer to strategies in which members of

one group are put in situations where they have to interact with members of another group that
they may hold prejudiced beliefs about.

For example, if people from Group X are prejudiced towards people from Group Y or vice versa,
an intergroup approach would require at least one person from Group X to interact with at least
one person from Group Y.

The expectation is that prejudice will decrease following a specified type of interaction.
Intergroup approaches to prejudice reduction have been studied a great deal in laboratory
settings, as well as outside of the laboratory, particularly in schools.

A lot of intergroup prejudice reduction approaches are grounded in one of 3 main theoretical
perspectives: interdependence, intergroup contact, and social identity.

Interdependence approaches

Interdependence approaches to prejudice reduction are based on psychologist, Mark Deutsch’s,

theory of interdependence. According to this theory, when two groups realize that they have a
common issue that can only be solved by pooling their resources together, they are more likely to
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engage in cooperative behaviors. Cooperation then results in friendliness during discussion and
positive evaluations of the individuals from the opposite group.

Intergroup contact approaches

Contact approaches to prejudice reduction are based on prominent social psychologist, Gordon
Allport’s, contact hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, prejudice is best reduced under
optimal conditions of contact between those who hold prejudiced beliefs and those who are the
targets of prejudiced beliefs. The optimal conditions include equal status between groups in the
context of the given situation, shared goals, authority support, and cooperation as opposed to
competition.

Social identity approaches

According to social identity theory, people are biased to favor their in-group – the group that
they identify as belonging to – at the expense of the out-group – the group that they do not
identify with. Social identity-based approaches to prejudice reduction attempt to make a
particular group-based identity, such as race or gender, less salient to individuals from different
groups by emphasizing alternative ways of categorizing people.

Disclosure approaches

Disclosure approaches rely on self-disclosure of personal information. Here, two individuals

from different social groups would each reveal a piece of personal information about themselves.
The act of disclosure signals vulnerability. This increases trust and liking, and that then results in
a decrease of prejudiced beliefs. It is not clear if the decrease in prejudice extends beyond the
disclosing individual to the social group to which that person belongs.

Cognitive approaches

Some research suggests that teaching people how to engage in more complex thinking elicits less
biased evaluations of outgroup members. For example, instructing people on how to apply
statistical reasoning to everyday judgments leads people to make more accurate assessments of
outgroup members.

Some prejudice reduction strategies rely on creating a sense of internal conflict. One such
strategy involves holding people accountable for their prejudice. Prejudice has been shown to
decrease when people are asked to provide concrete reasons for prejudiced beliefs. The process
of generating these reasons gets people to consider the irrational nature of their prejudiced
beliefs. Another strategy is to get people to view prejudice as being inconsistent with their
behaviors or valued attitudes. This creates cognitive dissonance, and people attempt to resolve
this tension by reducing expressions of prejudice. For example, after agreeing to write a public
statement advocating a policy that is beneficial to racial minorities but costly to whites, whites

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report more personal support for this policy than before being asked to write the public
statement.

People are also less likely to endorse prejudiced beliefs when their own self-worth is affirmed.
After being made to feel good about themselves, people are more likely to positively rate job
candidates from stigmatized groups and less likely to negatively stereotype people from
stigmatized groups.

Q What do you mean by Promoting social Harmony

Social harmony is customary idea which suggests perfect society – nonappearance of contention
and individuals collaborating with each other. One of the parts of social amicability is the
“democracy and run of law” and “fairness and justice”. It mirrors an essential worry in any
general public.

Social harmony normatively to mean a social state which displays balance, alignment, mutual
support and flourishing. It is a state that is devoid of conflicts, tensions and discords. Social
harmony is not an all or nothing state, but allows differences in degrees. The degree of harmony
a society has is contingent on the amount of harmony attributes it has in its major dimensions. A
society can exhibit different degrees of harmony over time, contingent on the differential
prevalence of its harmony elements at different times. Thus, a society can be highly harmonious
at time A, and become less harmonious at time B.

A society is balanced when the forces or interests are countered by other equal and opposing
forces or interest. In a balanced society no single force or interests becomes dominant to the
extent that other forces or interests are disadvantaged or suppressed. Alignment refers to a
condition that the elements and forces of a society are orderly interconnected and coordinated to
realize a function or objective. A well-aligned society is one where interests, needs,
relationships, activities and processes, rules as well as values and goals, are well coordinated and
integrated for a specific target or a common purpose. A mutually supportive and flourishing
society means that its inhabitants are mutually supportive of each other, while reciprocating each
other with help, good will and trust for mutual growth and prosperous thriving. Last but not least,
a society cannot be truly harmonious without being harmonious with nature that supports and
sustains it. Thus a human-nature harmony is also a key ingredient of a harmonious society.

Q Write in detail about Managing Anger

Anger can be the result of hurt pride, of unreasonable expectations, or of repeated hostile
fantasies. Besides getting our way, we may unconsciously use anger to blame others for our own

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shortcomings, to justify oppressing others, to boost our own sagging egos, to conceal other
feelings, and to handle other emotions (as when we become aggressive when we are afraid).

Any situation that frustrates us, especially when we think someone else is to blame for our loss,
is a potential trigger for anger and aggression. So, what is frustration? It is the feeling we get
when we don't get what we want, when something interferes with our gaining a desired and
expected goal. It can be physical (a flat tire), our own limitations (paralysis after an accident),
our choices (an unprepared for and flunked exam), others' actions (parental restrictions or
torturing a political prisoner), others' motives (deception for a self-serving purpose), or society's
injustice (born into poverty and finding no way out). Anger is feeling mad in response to
frustration or injury.

You don't like what has happened and usually you'd like to get revenge. Anger is an emotional-
physiological-cognitive internal state; it is separate from the behavior it might prompt. In some
instances, angry emotions are beneficial; if we are being taken advantage of, anger motivates us
to take action (not necessarily aggressive) to correct the situation. Aggression is action, i.e.
attacking someone or a group. It is intended to harm someone. It can be a verbal attack--insults,
threats, sarcasm, or attributing nasty motives to them- -or a physical punishment or restriction.
What about thoughts and fantasies in which we humiliate or brutally assault our enemies? Is that
aggression? What about violent dreams? Such thoughts and dreams suggest anger, of course, but
are not aggression as I have defined it here.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are the components of attitude?
2. What do you mean by prejudice?
3. What is interpersonal attraction?
4. Briefly explain about impression management.
5. Briefly explain about stereotyping
6. Define Aggression?
7. What are the causes of anger?

Essay Type Questions

1. Define Attitude. Describe in detail the formation of attitudes and how they can be
changed through persuasion.
2. Explain in detail about Persistence and Attitude Change.
3. Define aggression. What are the social and cultural factors that influence aggression?
4. Explain in detail about impression formation and impression management.
5. Explain the factors that influence attitudes development and factors that contribute to
resistance to persuasion
6. Describe some useful techniques for prevention and control of violence (aggression).

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 Syllabus
Unit III: Motivation and Leadership
Definition and process of Motivation; Types of motives – primary and secondary motives.
Influence of motivation on social behaviour.

Mid-2
Leadership: Definition of Leadership; Types of Leadership; Characteristics of successful leader.
Social power – source of power; Determination of social power. Difference between leader and
manager.

Definitions of Motivation
The word Motivation derives from the Latin word “Movere”. The Latin word “Movere” means
“To move”, “To drive” or “To drive forward” etc. Motivation can be defined as stimulating,
inspiring and inducing the employees to perform to their best capacity. Motivation is a
psychological term which means it cannot be forced on employees. It comes automatically from
inside the employees as it is the willingness to do the work.

Joe Kelly defined Motivation as “Motivation is a process where by needs instigate behavior
directed towards the goals that can satisfy those needs.”

According to W. G. Scot, “Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to

accomplish the desired goals.”

According to Michael J. Jucius, “Motivation is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a
desired course of action, to push the right button to get a desired results.”

Motivation thus has the following stages,

1. A need, such as hunger, desire for social approval gives rise to a motive

2. 2. Certain behavior is aroused/directed to satisfy this motive

3. The motive is achieved, the need is satisfied

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 4. After some time, this entire cycle will start again

Process of Motivation

1.Unsatisfied need. Motivation process begins when there is an unsatisfied need in a human
being.
2.Tension. The presence of unsatisfied need gives him tension.
3. Drive. This tension creates an urge of drive in the human being an he starts looking for
various alternatives to satisfy the drive.
4. Search Behavior. After searching for alternatives the human being starts behaving
according to chosen option.
5. Satisfied need. After behaving in a particular manner for a long time then he evaluates
that whether the need is satisfied or not.
6. Reduction of tension. After fulfilling the need the human being gets satisfied and his
tension gets reduced.
For example, if an employee develops a need to earn more, this need will make him restless and
he will start thinking how to satisfy his need. To satisfy his need he may think of working hard in
organization and get promotion so he will start working hard. After sometime he will get
incentives or increments or promotion which will satisfy his need.

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But motivation process does not end by satisfaction of one need. After fulfilling one need
another need develops and the same process continues till needs keep emerging in human beings.

TYPES OF MOTIVES
Primary motives are unlearned motives. They are subdivided into biological and general motives.
a. Biological Motives
The biological motives are rooted in the physiological state of the body to a large extent. There
are many such motives, including hunger, thirst, sex, temperature regulation, sleep and pain
avoidance.
1. Hunger: Hunger is satisfied by food. Earlier it was believed that hunger is felt when the
stomach contracts. When the stomach is empty, contraction occurs, they are sensed and were
thought to give signal of hunger. But research later showed that the person feels hungry, even
when, for medical reasons his stomach is removed. Glucose or blood sugar is also believed to be
an important substance in the initiation of hunger motivation. Low rates of Glucose use are
correlated with reports of hunger and high utilization of glucose, such as just after the meals is
related to satiety – the absence of hunger.

2. Thirst: Thirst typically drives us to drink water. It was believed that dryness of mouth arouses
thirst, but thirst is quenched even when water is poured directly into the stomach. Thus, dryness
of mouth is merely an indicator of thirst. Thirst motivation and drinking is triggered by two
conditions in the body
I. Loss of water from the cells, dehydrates the cells, thereby signaling the person to drink.

II. Loss of water from the body also results in reduction of blood volume, which in turn lowers
the blood pressure. This stimulates the kidneys and through the secretion of certain enzymes,
thirst is triggered.

3. Sex: Sex is a unique motive because it is very powerful in directing the behavior of the
individual, but it is not essential for the survival of the individual, although it is necessary for the
survival of the species.
4. Sleep: All other motives push the person to do something, they make the organism active.
Sleep is a physiological motive which involves passive resting of the body, rather than active
striving. It is a necessary state for the body as the process of body repair and building up of the
body takes place when the person is sleeping. Earlier it was believed that accumulation of waste

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products in the body makes the person sleepy. But research has indicated that sleep is regulated
by certain centers in the brain.

5. Pain Avoidance: This is a powerful motive as it stimulates the organism to look for the ways
to relieve pain or escape it. If a rat is given shock for entering the wrong path in a maze, the rat
will learn to avoid that wrong path. Free nerve - endings widely distributed throughout the skin,
blood vessels and internal organs are receptors for the pain.

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b. General or Psychological Motives

Biological motives play important role in survival of the individual, as well as survival of the
species. They are easily satisfied in the society. Human behavior goes much beyond satisfying
the biological needs. We interact with people, move around, and play, all which has no
connection with the biological motives. These are also not totally learned behaviors. These are
called the Psychological Motives. Some of the important psychological motives are,
1. Activity: Activity motive is movement for the sake of movement. Human beings by nature are
active. They move around, for work, meeting people and also in the absence of other motives.
Confinement to a small place, which does not allow movement is not desired and gets seen as
punishment. Our participation in games and sports also satisfies this motive.

2. Curiosity: Interest in novel situations is called curiosity motive. It is common in both animals
and human beings. Rats explore surroundings, we like to peep through the key holes, listen to the
conversations of others, all indicating curiosity. In one experiment, a monkey worked for long
time to open a box of nuts, even though heaps of nuts were lying around him. All species show
marked curiosity towards environmental stimuli.

Interest in novel situation decreases after some time spent on it, so we constantly look for
situations to satisfy this motive. Like other physiological motives, this motive increases in
intensity with deprivation and decreases with satisfaction.
3. Affection or Contact Comfort: This is an important motive, the satisfaction of which has
long term consequences. In one experiment, new born monkeys were separated from their
mothers and were given two artificial mothers, one made of wood and foam rubber, covered with
soft cloth and the other made of wire mesh. Feeding bottles were attached to the center of the
breasts of these artificial mothers. Half of the baby monkeys were fed by the cloth mother and
the other half by the wire mesh mother. Both the group of monkeys preferred to cling to the cloth
mother, who was soft and so resembled the natural mother more. Contact comfort is found to
reduce fear in strange situations and provides a feeling of security.

II) Secondary motives

They are also known as learned or social motives, as they are learned in social groups. They help
to determine much of what a person does, they tend to persist, are not fully satisfied and no
sooner one goal is reached, the motive gets directed towards another one. For example, the need
for affiliation – the need to make 6

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friends- is not limited to few friends, but results in making several friendships, in variety of
situations. An effort is made to sustain these relationships, many of them turn into life-long
relations.
Some of the important secondary motives are,
1. Need for achievement (n ach): It is the need to succeed, need to achieve something and to
avoid failure. This motive determines the goals selected by a person. People in whom the need
for achievement is strong seek to become accomplished and to improve their task performance.
They are task oriented and prefer to work on tasks that are challenging and on which their
performance can be evaluated in some way, either by comparing it with performance of others or
in terms of some other standard. Achievement motivation can be seen in many areas – in the
school, at the workplace, in an athletic competition and so on.

Why are some people high in the need for achievement? Since this is a learned motive,
differences in early life experiences lead to variations in the amount of achievement motivation.
Children learn by copying the behavior of their parents and other people who serve as role
models. If the model possesses this achievement motivation to a marked degree, child will pick
up, adopt it through observational learning.
People with high need for achievement motivation will show the following behaviors,
 They select tasks which are moderately difficult, but the possibilities of success are very high.
They will not select tasks that are very easy, not challenging, tasks which do not give satisfaction
for the achievement and will also not select very difficult tasks, where the possibility of failure is
high.
 They are likely to be realistic in the task, jobs and vocations they select, that is they are likely
to make good match between their abilities and what will be demanded from them.
 They prefer tasks in which their performance will be compared with that of others. They like
to get feedback on ‘how they are performing’
 They tend to be persistent in working on tasks they perceive as career related or the ones
which reflect personal characteristics that are involved in ‘getting ahead’
 If they are successful, they tend to raise their levels of aspiration in a realistic way, so that they
will move on to little more challenging and difficult task.
 They like to work in situations in which they have some control over the outcome.
 This motive plays a very important role in our competitive culture, with high approval from
parents, teachers and the society.

2. Need for Affiliation: It is need to be a part of the social group, need to belong, experience
attachment through friendship and group membership. We seek company of others, even when
there is no particular need to do so. We spend great
7

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deal of time thinking about actual and hoped for relationships. When relationships form, we
experience joy. For the question, ‘What makes your life meaningful?’ most people mention –
before anything else – close, satisfying relationships – with family, friends, romantic partner…
The self - esteem increases when we feel included, accepted and loved. The motive of
dependency is related to the motive of affiliation. We all want someone to look upon or to turn
for help. Satisfaction of this need gives a sense of security.It is psychologically painful when we
feel excluded, ignored or shunned.

3. Need for Power (n power):It is the need to influence the behavior of others. The goal here is
to influence, control, persuade, lead and charm others. They engage in those activities which will
create impact on others. Socioeconomic status, gender and level of maturity are major factors
which influencethis need. The behavioral expression of this motive may take various forms.
Following are some of the ways in which people with high power motivation express
themselves,
 By impulsive and aggressive actions, shown by males, especially from low socioeconomic
group
 By participation in competitive sports, such as hockey or football
 By joining organizations and holding office in these organizations
 By obtaining and collecting possessions, such as fancy cars, paintings
 By choosing occupations such as teaching, diplomacy, business – occupations in which high n
– power people believe that they have an opportunity to have an impact over others.

III) By drinking and sexually dominating women, especially seen in males.Hierarchy of

Motives:

Think of a situation. You get caught in an unexpected traffic jam and reach home late, are
desperately hungry, thirsty and also have to study for important upcoming examination
scheduled the very next day. What you will do first? Study? No. Ofcourse not. You will attempt
to satisfy the most basic needs first –drink water and eat. Once these needs are satisfied, you may
think of studying. But now, if you are also very tired, you will first rest for some time and then
open the book to study.
Abraham Maslow has given an arrangement of motives, in a hierarchy, in the order in which they
are likely to be satisfied.

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