Social psychology textbook aronson pdf

Social Psychology Ninth Edition

Elliot Aronson

Timothy D. Wilson

Robin M. Akert

Samuel R. Sommers

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Aronson, Elliot. Social psychology / Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers. — Ninth Edition. pages cm Revised editon of the authors’ Social psychology, 2013. ISBN 978-0-13-393654-4 (Student Edition) 1. Social psychology. I. Wilson, Timothy D. II. Akert, Robin M. III. Title. HM1033.A78 2016 302—dc23 2015016513

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Student Edition ISBN-10: 0-13-393654-6 ISBN-13: 978-0-13-393654-4

Books à la Carte ISBN-10: 0-13-401239-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-13-401239-1

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To my grandchildren: Jacob, Jason, Ruth, Eliana, Natalie, Rachel, and Leo. My hope is that your capacity for empathy and compassion will help make

the world a better place.

—E.A.

To my family, Deirdre Smith, Christopher Wilson, and Leigh Wilson

—T.D.W.

To my mentor, colleague, and friend, Dane Archer

—R.M.A.

To my students—past, present, and future—for making coming to work each morning fun, educational, and unpredictable.

—S.R.S.

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iv

1 Introducing Social Psychology 1

2 Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research 23

3 Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World 51

4 Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People 84

5 The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a Social Context 119

6 The Need to Justify Our Actions: The Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction 157

7 Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts and Feelings 188

8 Conformity: Influencing Behavior 226

9 Group Processes: Influence in Social Groups 269

10 Interpersonal Attraction: From First Impressions to Close Relationships 303

11 Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help? 344

12 Aggression: Why Do We Hurt Other People? Can We Prevent It? 375

13 Prejudice: Causes, Consequences, and Cures 413

Social Psychology in Action 1 Using Social Psychology to Achieve a Sustainable and Happy Future 455

Social Psychology in Action 2 Social Psychology and Health 476

Social Psychology in Action 3 Social Psychology and the Law 496

Brief Contents

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v

Preface xi About the Authors xvii Special Tips for Students xix

1 Introducing Social Psychology 1 Defining Social Psychology 3 Try IT! How Do Other People Affect your Values? 3

Social Psychology, Philosophy, Science, and Common Sense 4 How Social Psychology Differs from Its Closest Cousins 6

Try IT! Social Situations and Shyness 7

The Power of the Situation 9 The Importance of Explanation 10 The Importance of Interpretation 12

Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives 15 The Self-Esteem Motive: The Need to Feel Good About Ourselves 16

SuffERiNg AND SELf-JuSTifiCATioN

The Social Cognition Motive: The Need to Be Accurate 17 ExpECTATioNS AbouT ThE SoCiAL WoRLD

Summary  20 • Test Yourself  21

2 Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research 23

Social Psychology: An Empirical Science 24 Try IT! Social Psychology Quiz: What’s your Prediction? 25

Formulating Hypotheses and Theories 25 iNSpiRATioN fRoM EARLiER ThEoRiES and ReSeaRch  •  hYpoTheSeS BaSed  oN pERSoNAL obSERvATioNS

Research Designs 27

The Observational Method: Describing Social Behavior 28 eThnogRaphY  •  aRchival analYSiS  •  limiTS  of ThE obSERvATioNAL METhoD

The Correlational Method: Predicting Social Behavior 30 SuRveYS  •  limiTS of The coRRelaTional meThod:  CoRRELATioN DoES NoT EquAL CAuSATioN

Try IT! Correlation and Causation: Knowing the Difference 33

The Experimental Method: Answering Causal Questions 34 independenT and dependenT vaRiaBleS  •  inTeRnal  validiTY in expeRimenTS  •  exTeRnal validiTY  in expeRimenTS  •  field expeRimenTS  •  ReplicaTionS  and meTa-analYSiS  •  BaSic veRSuS applied ReSeaRch

New Frontiers in Social Psychological Research 42 Culture and Social Psychology 43 The Evolutionary Approach 43 Social Neuroscience 44

Ethical Issues in Social Psychology 45 Summary  48 • Test Yourself  49

3 Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World 51

On Automatic Pilot: Low-Effort Thinking 53 People as Everyday Theorists: Automatic Thinking with Schemas 54 Which Schemas Do We Use? Accessibility and Priming 56 Making Our Schemas Come True: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 58

Types of Automatic Thinking 61 Automatic Goal Pursuit 62 Automatic Decision Making 63 Automatic Thinking and Metaphors About the Body and the Mind 63 Mental Strategies and Shortcuts: Judgmental Heuristics 65

how eaSilY doeS iT come To mind? The availaBiliTY  heuRiSTic  •  how SimilaR iS a To B? The  REpRESENTATivENESS hEuRiSTiC

Try IT! reasoning Quiz 69

peRSonaliTY TeSTS and The RepReSenTaTiveneSS  hEuRiSTiC

Cultural Differences in Social Cognition 70 Cultural Determinants of Schemas 70 Holistic versus Analytic Thinking 71

Controlled Social Cognition: High-Effort Thinking 73 Controlled Thinking and Free Will 73

Try IT! Can you Predict your (or your Friend’s) Future? 76

Mentally Undoing the Past: Counterfactual Reasoning 76 Improving Human Thinking 77

Try IT! How Well Do you reason? 78

Watson Revisited 79 Summary  80 • Test Yourself  82

4 Social Perception: How We Come to Understand Other People 84

Nonverbal Communication 86 Try IT! Using your Voice as a Nonverbal Cue 87

Facial Expressions of Emotion 87 evoluTion and facial expReSSionS  •  whY iS decoding  SomeTimeS difficulT?

Culture and the Channels of Nonverbal Communication 90

First Impressions: Quick but Long-Lasting 93 The Lingering Influence of Initial Impressions 94 Using First Impressions and Nonverbal Communication to Our Advantage 95

Contents

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vi Contents

Causal Attribution: Answering the “Why” Question 97 The Nature of the Attribution Process 97

Try IT! Listen as People Make Attributions 98

The Covariation Model: Internal versus External Attributions 98 The Fundamental Attribution Error: People as Personality Psychologists 101

ThE RoLE of pERCEpTuAL SALiENCE iN ThE fuNDAMENTAL aTTRiBuTion eRRoR  •  The Two-STep aTTRiBuTion  pRoCESS

Self-Serving Attributions 106 The “Bias Blind Spot” 108

Culture and Social Perception 109 Holistic versus Analytic Thinking 110

SoCiAL NEuRoSCiENCE EviDENCE

Cultural Differences in the Fundamental Attribution Error 111 Culture and Other Attributional Biases 113 Summary  115 • Test Yourself  117

5 The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a Social Context 119

The Origins and Nature of the Self-Concept 120 Cultural Influences on the Self-Concept 122

Try IT! A Measure of Independence and Interdependence 123

Functions of the Self 124

Knowing Ourselves Through Introspection 125 Focusing on the Self: Self-Awareness Theory 125

Try IT! Measure your Private Self- Consciousness 127

Judging Why We Feel the Way We Do: Telling More Than We Can Know 127 The Consequences of Introspecting About Reasons 128

Knowing Ourselves by Observing Our Own Behavior 130 Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation 131 Mindsets and Motivation 134 Understanding Our Emotions: The Two-Factor Theory of Emotion 134 Finding the Wrong Cause: Misattribution of Arousal 137

Using Other People to Know Ourselves 139 Knowing Ourselves by Comparing Ourselves to Others 140 Knowing Ourselves by Adopting Other People’s Views 141 Knowing Our Future Feelings by Consulting Other People 143

Self-Control: The Executive Function of the Self 144

Impression Management: All the World’s a Stage 146 Ingratiation and Self-Handicapping 147 Culture, Impression Management, and Self-Enhancement 149

Self-Esteem: How We Feel About Ourselves 150 Summary  153 • Test Yourself  155

6 The Need to Justify Our Actions: The Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction 157

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 158 When Cognitions Conflict 158

whY we oveReSTimaTe The pain of diSappoinTmenT

Dissonance and the Self-Concept 162 Decisions, Decisions, Decisions 163

diSToRTing ouR likeS and diSlikeS  •  The peRmanence  of ThE DECiSioN

Try IT! The Advantage of Finality 165

cReaTing The illuSion of iRRevocaBiliTY  •  The deciSion To Behave immoRallY

Dissonance, Culture, and the Brain 167 diSSonance in The BRain  •  diSSonance acRoSS  CuLTuRES

Self-Justification in Everyday Life 169 The Justification of Effort 169

Try IT! Justifying What you’ve Done 171

External versus Internal Justification 171

counTeRaTTiTudinal advocacY

Punishment and Self-Persuasion 173 The laSTing effecTS of Self-peRSuaSion  •  NoT JuST TANgibLE REWARDS oR puNiShMENTS

The Hypocrisy Paradigm 176 Justifying Good Deeds and Harmful Acts 177

The Ben fRanklin effecT: JuSTifYing acTS of kindneSS

Try IT! The Internal Consequences of Doing Good 179

dehumanizing The enemY: JuSTifYing cRuelTY

Some Final Thoughts on Dissonance: Learning from Our Mistakes 181

poliTicS and Self-JuSTificaTion  •  ovERCoMiNg DiSSoNANCE

Summary  185 • Test Yourself  186

7 Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts and Feelings 188

The Nature and Origin of Attitudes 190 Where Do Attitudes Come From? 190

cogniTivelY BaSed aTTiTudeS  •  affecTivelY BaSed  ATTiTuDES

Try IT! Affective and Cognitive Bases of Attitudes 192

BehavioRallY BaSed aTTiTudeS

Explicit versus Implicit Attitudes 193

When Do Attitudes Predict Behavior? 195 Predicting Spontaneous Behaviors 196 Predicting Deliberative Behaviors 196

Specific aTTiTudeS  •  SuBJecTive noRmS  •  peRceived  bEhAvioRAL CoNTRoL

How Do Attitudes Change? 199 Changing Attitudes by Changing Behavior: Cognitive Dissonance Theory Revisited 199 Persuasive Communications and Attitude Change 200

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vii

ThE CENTRAL AND pERiphERAL RouTES To peRSuaSion  •  The moTivaTion To paY  aTTenTion To The aRgumenTS  •  The aBiliTY To paY  aTTenTion To The aRgumenTS  •  how To achieve  LoNg-LASTiNg ATTiTuDE ChANgE

Emotion and Attitude Change 205 feaR-aRouSing communicaTionS  •  emoTionS  aS a heuRiSTic  •  emoTion and diffeRenT TYpeS  of ATTiTuDES

Attitude Change and the Body 209

The Power of Advertising 210 How Advertising Works 211 Subliminal Advertising: A Form of Mind Control? 212

DEbuNkiNg ThE CLAiMS AbouT SubLiMiNAL adveRTiSing  •  laBoRaToRY evidence foR SuBliminal  iNfLuENCE

Try IT! Consumer Brand Attitudes 215

Advertising, Stereotypes, and Culture 215 gendeR STeReoTYpeS and expecTaTionS  •  CuLTuRE AND ADvERTiSiNg

Resisting Persuasive Messages 219

Attitude Inoculation 219 Being Alert to Product Placement 219 Resisting Peer Pressure 220 When Persuasion Attempts Backfire: Reactance Theory 221 Summary  223 • Test Yourself  224

8 Conformity: Influencing Behavior 226 Conformity: When and Why 228

Informational Social Influence: The Need to Know What’s “Right” 230

The Importance of Being Accurate 233 When Informational Conformity Backfires 234 When Will People Conform to Informational Social Influence? 235

when The SiTuaTion iS amBiguouS  •  when The SiTuaTion  iS a cRiSiS  •  when oTheR people aRe expeRTS

Normative Social Influence: The Need to Be Accepted 236

Conformity and Social Approval: The Asch Line-Judgment Studies 238 The Importance of Being Accurate, Revisited 241 The Consequences of Resisting Normative Social Influence 243

Try IT! Unveiling Normative Social Influence by Breaking the rules 244

When Will People Conform to Normative Social Influence? 244

when The gRoup gRowS laRgeR  •  when The gRoup iS  impoRTanT  •  when one haS no allieS in The gRoup  •  WhEN ThE gRoup’S CuLTuRE iS CoLLECTiviSTiC

Minority Influence: When the Few Influence the Many 248

Strategies for Using Social Influence 249 The Role of Injunctive and Descriptive Norms 250

Using Norms to Change Behavior: Beware the “Boomerang Effect” 252 Other Tactics of Social Influence 253

Obedience to Authority 256 The Role of Normative Social Influence 259 The Role of Informational Social Influence 260 Other Reasons Why We Obey 261

confoRming To The wRong noRm  •  Self-JuSTificaTion  •  The loSS of peRSonal ReSponSiBiliTY

The Obedience Studies, Then and Now 263 iT’S NoT AbouT AggRESSioN

Summary  266 • Test Yourself  267

9 Group Processes: Influence in Social Groups 269

What Is a Group? 270 Why Do People Join Groups? 270 The Composition and Functions of Groups 271

Social noRmS  •  Social RoleS  •  gRoup  coheSiveneSS  •  gRoup diveRSiTY

Individual Behavior in a Group Setting 275 Social Facilitation: When the Presence of Others Energizes Us 276

Simple veRSuS difficulT TaSkS  •  aRouSal  and The dominanT ReSponSe  •  whY The pReSence  of oThERS CAuSES ARouSAL

Social Loafing: When the Presence of Others Relaxes Us 279 Gender and Cultural Differences in Social Loafing: Who Slacks Off the Most? 280 Deindividuation: Getting Lost in the Crowd 281

DEiNDiviDuATioN MAkES pEopLE fEEL LESS accounTaBle  •  deindividuaTion incReaSeS  oBedience To gRoup noRmS  •  deindividuaTion  oNLiNE

Group Decisions: Are Two (or More) Heads Better Than One? 283

Process Loss: When Group Interactions Inhibit Good Problem Solving 284

failuRe To ShaRe unique infoRmaTion  •  gRoupThink: manY headS, one mind

Group Polarization: Going to Extremes 287 Leadership in Groups 289

leadeRShip and peRSonaliTY  •  leadeRShip  STYleS  •  The RighT peRSon in The RighT  SiTuaTion  •  gendeR and leadeRShip  •  culTuRe  AND LEADERShip

Conflict and Cooperation 293 Social Dilemmas 293

Try IT! The Prisoner’s Dilemma 295

iNCREASiNg CoopERATioN iN ThE pRiSoNER’S DiLEMMA

Using Threats to Resolve Conflict 296

EffECTS of CoMMuNiCATioN

Negotiation and Bargaining 298 Summary  300 • Test Yourself  301

Contents vii

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10 Interpersonal Attraction: From First Impressions to Close Relationships 303

What Predicts Attraction? 305 The Person Next Door: The Propinquity Effect 306

Try IT! Mapping the Effect of Propinquity in your Life 306

Similarity 308 opinionS and peRSonaliTY  •  inTeReSTS  and expeRienceS  •  appeaRance  •  geneTicS  •  Some final commenTS aBouT SimilaRiTY

Reciprocal Liking 310 Physical Attractiveness 311

whaT iS aTTRacTive?  •  culTuRal STandaRdS  of BeauTY  •  The poweR of familiaRiTY  •  ASSuMpTioNS AbouT ATTRACTivE pEopLE

Evolution and Mate Selection 316 evoluTion and Sex diffeRenceS  •  alTeRnaTe  pERSpECTivES oN SEx DiffERENCES

Making Connections in the Age of Technology 320 Attraction 2.0: Mate Preference in an Online Era 321 The Promise and Pitfalls of Online Dating 323

Love and Close Relationships 325 Defining Love: Companionship and Passion 325

Try IT! Passionate Love Scale 327

Culture and Love 327 Attachment Styles in Intimate Relationships 329 This Is Your Brain . . . in Love 331 Theories of Relationship Satisfaction: Social Exchange and Equity 332

Social exchange TheoRY  •  equiTY TheoRY

Ending Intimate Relationships 338 The Process of Breaking Up 338 The Experience of Breaking Up 339 Summary  341 • Test Yourself  342

11 Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help? 344

Basic Motives Underlying Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help? 345

Evolutionary Psychology: Instincts and Genes 346 kin SelecTion  •  The RecipRociTY noRm

Try IT! The Dictator Game 347

gRoup SELECTioN

Social Exchange: The Costs and Rewards of Helping 348 Empathy and Altruism: The Pure Motive for Helping 349

Personal Qualities and Prosocial Behavior: Why Do Some People Help More Than Others? 353

Individual Differences: The Altruistic Personality 354 Try IT! Empathic Concern 354

Gender Differences in Prosocial Behavior 355

Cultural Differences in Prosocial Behavior 355 Religion and Prosocial Behavior 357 The Effects of Mood on Prosocial Behavior 357

effecTS of poSiTive moodS: feel good, do good  •  fEEL bAD, Do gooD

Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behavior: When Will People Help? 359

Environment: Rural versus Urban 359 Residential Mobility 360 The Number of Bystanders: The Bystander Effect 361

noTicing an evenT  •  inTeRpReTing The evenT aS an  emeRgencY  •  aSSuming ReSponSiBiliTY  •  knowing  how To help  •  deciding To implemenT The help

Effects of the Media: Video Games and Music Lyrics 366

How Can Helping Be Increased? 368 Increasing the Likelihood That Bystanders Will Intervene 368 Increasing Volunteerism 370 Positive Psychology, Human Virtues, and Prosocial Behavior 371 Summary  372 • Test Yourself  373

12 Aggression: Why Do We Hurt Other People? Can We Prevent It? 375

Is Aggression Innate, Learned, or Optional? 376 The Evolutionary View 377

AggRESSioN iN oThER ANiMALS

Culture and Aggression 378 ChANgES iN AggRESSioN ACRoSS TiME and culTuReS  •  culTuReS of honoR

Gender and Aggression 381 phYSical aggReSSion  •  RELATioNAL AggRESSioN

Try IT! Do Women and Men Differ in Their Experiences with Aggression? 383

Learning to Behave Aggressively 383 Some Physiological Influences 385

The effecTS of alcohol  •  The effecTS  of pAiN AND hEAT

Social Situations and Aggression 387 Frustration and Aggression 388 Provocation and Reciprocation 389

Try IT! Insults and Aggression 390

Weapons as Aggressive Cues 390 Putting the Elements Together: The Case of Sexual Assault 391

moTivaTionS foR Rape  •  Sexual ScRipTS  and The pRoBlem of conSenT  •  puTTing  ThE ELEMENTS TogEThER

Violence and the Media 394 Studying the Effects of Media Violence 394

expeRimenTal STudieS  •  longiTudinal STudieS

The Problem of Determining Cause and Effect 397

viii Contents

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How to Decrease Aggression 399 Does Punishing Aggression Reduce Aggression? 399

uSiNg puNiShMENT oN vioLENT ADuLTS

Catharsis and Aggression 401 ThE EffECTS of AggRESSivE ACTS oN SubSEquENT aggReSSion  •  Blaming The vicTim of ouR  AggRESSioN

What Are We Supposed to Do with Our Anger? 403 vENTiNg vERSuS SELf-AWARENESS

Try IT! Controlling your Anger 404

TRAiNiNg iN CoMMuNiCATioN AND pRobLEM-SoLviNg SkillS  •  counTeRing dehumanizaTion  BY Building empaThY

Disrupting the Rejection-Rage Cycle 406 Summary  408 • Test Yourself  411

13 Prejudice: Causes, Consequences, and Cures 413

Defining Prejudice 414 The Cognitive Component: Stereotypes 415

fRom caTegoRieS To STeReoTYpeS

Try IT! Stereotypes and Aggression 417

whaT’S wRong wiTh poSiTive STeReoTYpeS?  •  STeReoTYpeS of gendeR

The Affective Component: Emotions 420

Try IT! Identifying your Prejudices 421

The Behavioral Component: Discrimination 421 Racial diScRiminaTion  •  gendeR diScRiminaTion  •  ThE ACTivATioN of pREJuDiCE

Detecting Hidden Prejudices 427 Ways of Identifying Suppressed Prejudices 427 Ways of Identifying Implicit Prejudices 428

The Effects of Prejudice on the Victim 430 The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 430 Stereotype Threat 431

Causes of Prejudice 434 Pressures to Conform: Normative Rules 434 Social Identity Theory: Us versus Them 436

eThnocenTRiSm  •  in-gRoup BiaS  •  ouT-gRoup  homogeneiTY  •  Blaming The vicTim  •  JuSTifYing  feelingS of enTiTlemenT and SupeRioRiTY

Realistic Conflict Theory 440 ECoNoMiC AND poLiTiCAL CoMpETiTioN

Reducing Prejudice 442 The Contact Hypothesis 443 When Contact Reduces Prejudice 445

WhERE DESEgREgATioN WENT WRoNg

Cooperation and Interdependence: The Jigsaw Classroom 447

whY doeS JigSaw woRk?

Try IT! Jigsaw-Type Group Study 449

ThE gRADuAL SpREAD of CoopERATivE AND iNTERDEpENDENT LEARNiNg

Summary  451 • Test Yourself  453

Social Psychology in Action 1 Using Social Psychology to Achieve a Sustainable and Happy Future 455

Applied Research in Social Psychology 458 Capitalizing on the Experimental Method 459

ASSESSiNg ThE EffECTivENESS of inTeRvenTionS  •  poTenTial RiSkS of Social  iNTERvENTioNS

Social Psychology to the Rescue 461

Using Social Psychology to Achieve a Sustainable Future 461

Conveying and Changing Social Norms 462

Try IT! reducing Littering with Descriptive Norms 463

Keeping Track of Consumption 464 Introducing a Little Competitiveness 465 Inducing Hypocrisy 465 Removing Small Barriers to Achieve Big Changes 467

Happiness and a Sustainable Lifestyle 469 What Makes People Happy? 469

SaTiSfYing RelaTionShipS  •  flow: Becoming  engaged in SomeThing You enJoY  •  accumulaTe  expeRienceS, noT ThingS  •  helping oTheRS

Try IT! Applying the research to your Own Life 472

Do People Know What Makes Them Happy? 472 Summary  473 • Test Yourself  474

Social Psychology in Action 2 Social Psychology and Health 476

Stress and Human Health 477 Resilience 478 Effects of Negative Life Events 479

Try IT! The College Life Stress Inventory 480

LiMiTS of STRESS iNvENToRiES

Perceived Stress and Health 481 Feeling in Charge: The Importance of Perceived Control 482

iNCREASiNg pERCEivED CoNTRoL iN nuRSing homeS  •  diSeaSe, conTRol, and  WELL-bEiNg

Coping with Stress 486 Gender Differences in Coping with Stress 487 Social Support: Getting Help from Others 487

Try IT! Social Support 488

Reframing: Finding Meaning in Traumatic Events 489

Prevention: Promoting Healthier Behavior 491 Summary  493 • Test Yourself  494

Contents ix

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Social Psychology in Action 3 Social Psychology and the Law 496

Eyewitness Testimony 498 Why Are Eyewitnesses Often Wrong? 498

acquiSiTion  •  SToRage  •  ReTRieval

Judging Whether Eyewitnesses Are Mistaken 503 ReSponding quicklY  •  The pRoBlem wiTh  veRBalizaTion  •  poST-idenTificaTion  fEEDbACk

Try IT! The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony 506

The Recovered Memory Debate 506

Juries: Group Processes in Action 509 How Jurors Process Information During the Trial 509 Confessions: Are They Always What They Seem? 510 Deliberations in the Jury Room 512 Summary  513 • Test Yourself  514

Glossary 516

References 522

Credits 567

Name Index 573

Subject Index 588

Answer Key AK-1

x Contents

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xi

Preface

When we began writing this book, our overrid-ing goal was to capture the excitement of social psychology. We have been pleased to hear, in many kind letters and e-mail messages from professors and students, that we succeeded. One of our favorite responses was from a student who said that the book was so inter- esting that she always saved it for last, to reward herself for finishing her other work. With that one student, at least, we succeeded in making our book an enjoyable, fascinating story, not a dry report of facts and figures.

There is always room for improvement, however, and our goal in this, the ninth edition, is to make the field of social psychology an even better read. When we teach the course, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing the sleepy stu- dents in the back row sit up with interest and say, “Wow, I didn’t know that! Now that’s interesting.” We hope that students who read our book will have that same reaction.

What’s New in This Edition? We are pleased to add new features to the ninth edition that we believe will appeal to students and make it easier for them to learn the material. Each chapter begins with some learning objectives, which are repeated in the sections of the chapter that are most relevant to them and in the chapter- ending summary. All major sections of every chapter now end with review quizzes. Research shows that students learn material better when they are tested frequently, thus these section quizzes, as well as the test questions at the end of every chapter, should be helpful learning aids. Every chapter now has several writing prompts that instructors can decide to assign or not. In addition, we have retained and refined features that proved to be popular in the pre- vious edition. For example, many of the Try It! exercises, which invite students to apply specific concepts to their everyday behavior, have been revised or replaced.

We have updated the ninth edition substantially, with numerous references to new research. Here is a sampling of the new research that is covered:

• A signature of our book continues to be Chapter 2, “Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research,” a readable, student-friendly chapter on social psychol- ogy research methods. This chapter has been updated for the ninth edition with new references and examples.

• Chapter 3, “Social Cognition: How We Think About the Social World,” has been reorganized to make the struc- ture clearer to students. There are now four major sec- tions: On Automatic Pilot: Low-Effort Thinking; Types of Automatic Thinking, Cultural Differences in Social Cognition, and Controlled Social Thinking. There are

also new sections on automatic goal pursuit and deci- sion making. Finally, the chapter has been updated with numerous new references.

• Chapter 4, “Social Perception: How We Come to Un- derstand Other People,” now includes a new section on “First Impressions: Quick but Long-Lasting,” with new coverage of thin-slicing, belief perseverance, and the use of nonverbal communication to personal advantage (e.g., in the form of power posing). The chapter also pre- sents updated research and conclusions regarding the universality of emotional expression, and new popular media examples from programs such as Breaking Bad, Duck Dynasty, and the podcast Serial.

• Chapter 5, “The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a So- cial Context,” has been reorganized into seven major sections instead of five, which should make the mate- rial clearer to students. We also revised the opening example, added a section on affective forecasting, re- organized some of the other sections (e.g., on culture and the self and on mindsets), added two new figures, and deleted or consolidated two other figures. Nearly 50 references to recent research have been added.

• Chapter 6, “The Need to Justify Our Actions,” now in- cludes a revised definition of cognitive dissonance and two dozen new references. These updates include stud- ies examining dissonance and cheating, hypocrisy and its consequences for self-justification, the justification of kindness in very young children, and a field study of jus- tification of effort among participants in a religious ritual in Mauritius.

• Chapter 7, “Attitudes and Attitude Change: Influencing Thoughts and Feelings,” includes some reorganization of section order in response to reviewer suggestions and an updated analysis of advertising, stereotypes, and culture. New Try It! exercises have also been added regarding the role of automatic thought processes in consumer-related attitudes.

• Chapter 8, “Conformity: Influencing Behavior,” now boasts a new section on tactics of social influence, in- cluding the foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face tech- nique. We have also added review of the Bond et al. (2012) election study in which the appearance of an “I Voted” button on Facebook was found to influence users’ own likelihood of voting. This chapter also dis- cusses the role of normative social influence in the polar plunge trend and the ALS ice bucket challenge that went viral on social media in 2014.

• Chapter 9, “Group Processes: Influence in Social Groups,” includes a new section on the relationship between group diversity, morale, and performance. The discussion of deindividuation has also been updated to consider the tendency as it is manifested in on-line contexts.

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xii preface

• Chapter 10, “Interpersonal Attraction: From First Im- pressions to Close Relationships,” has a new opening vignette focusing on Tinder and other dating-related apps/websites. We have expanded the treatment of fer- tility and attraction in response to reviewer feedback, and also added new research on the relationship be- tween genetic similarity and attraction.

• In Chapter 11, “Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help?” we substantially revised the sections on religion and prosocial behavior and on positive psychology. We now discuss recent research by van den Bos on appraisal and bystander intervention and recent media examples, such as a mention of the movie Kick Ass.

• Chapter 12, “Aggression: Why Do We Hurt Other Peo- ple? Can We Prevent It?,” has undergone significant organizational changes across the entire chapter for clarity and narrative flow. The first section now uni- fies various answers to the question of the origins of aggression—evolutionary, cultural, learned, physi- ological influences—with special attention to gender and aggression (similarities as well as the familiar dif- ferences). We have also added a section, “Putting the Elements Together: The Case of Sexual Assault.” Here we not only updated the references but also added the latest studies about causes of rape and sexual assault; sexual scripts; and a 2015 review of research on sexual miscommunications.

• In Chapter 13, “Prejudice: Causes, Consequences, and Cures,” we have added more on the Implicit Associa- tion Test (IAT) as it relates to measuring implicit bias. The chapter also now includes more social neuroscience research on social categorization and expands its dis- cussion of the effects of prejudice on its targets. Several new glossary entries have been added to reflect these updates.

• Social Psychology in Action chapters—“Using Social Psychology to Achieve a Sustainable and Happy Fu- ture,” “Social Psychology and Health,” and “Social Psychology and the Law”—have been updated with many references to new research, but remain shorter chapters. When we teach the course, we find that stu- dents are excited to learn about these applied areas. At the same time, we recognize that some instructors have difficulty fitting the chapters into their courses. As with the previous edition, our approach remains to maintain a shortened length for the applied chap- ters to make it easy to integrate these chapters into different parts of the course in whatever fashion an instructor deems best. SPA1, “Using Social Psychology to Achieve a Sustainable and Happy Future,” has a new opening example about the effects of climate change on U.S. cities and a new discussion of how experiences make people happier than material things. In SPA2, “Social Psychology and Health,” we revised the sections on perceived control, “tend and befriend” responses to stress, and behavioral causes of health problems. SPA3, “Social Psychology and Law,” has updated information on the role of post-identification feedback on eyewit- ness confidence and revised conclusions regarding the repressed memory debate.

REVEL™ Educational technology designed for the way today’s students read, think, and learn When students are engaged deeply, they learn more effec- tively and perform better in their courses. This simple fact inspired the creation of REVEL: an immersive learning ex- perience designed for the way today’s students read, think, and learn. Built in collaboration with educators and stu- dents nationwide, REVEL is the newest, fully digital way to deliver respected Pearson content.

REVEL enlivens course content with media interactives and assessments—integrated directly within the authors’ narrative—that provide opportunities for students to read about and practice course material in tandem. This immer- sive educational technology boosts student engagement, which leads to better understanding of concepts and im- proved performance throughout the course.

We are proud to release the ninth edition of Social Psychol- ogy in REVEL. This version of the book includes integrated videos and media content throughout, allowing students to explore topics more deeply at the point of relevancy. All of the interactive content in REVEL was carefully written and designed by the authors themselves, ensuring that students will receive the most effective presentation of the content in each chapter. Videos were also carefully selected by the au- thor team, and several of them were filmed specifically for the ninth edition in REVEL.

REVEL also offers the ability for students to assess their content mastery by taking multiple-choice quizzes that of- fer instant feedback and by participating in a variety of writing assignments such as peer- reviewed questions and auto-graded assignments.

Learn More About REVEL http://www.pearsonhighered.com/revel/

Actor A

Actor B

ObserverB

ObserverA + B

ObserverA

ObserverB

ObserverA + B

ObserverA

This hands-on interactive helps students understand a well-known study on perceptual salience by giving them additional pop-up information when they click on a particular participant perspective.

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preface xiii

Teaching and Learning Resources A really good textbook should become part of the classroom experience, supporting and augmenting the professor’s vision for the class. Social Psychology offers a number of sup- plements that enrich both the professor’s presentation of social psychology and the students’ understanding of it.

MyPsychLab® • MyPsychLab (013401264X) combines proven learning

applications with powerful assessment to engage stu- dents, assess their learning, and help them succeed.

• An individualized study plan for each student, based on performance on chapter pre-tests, helps students focus on the specific topics where they need the most support. The personalized study plan arranges content from less complex thinking—like remembering and un- derstanding—to more complex critical-thinking skills— like applying and analyzing—and is based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Every level of the study plan provides a formative assessment quiz.

• Media assignments for each chapter—including videos with assignable questions—feed directly into the grade- book, enabling instructors to track student progress au- tomatically.

• The Pearson eText (0134012631) lets students access their textbook anytime and anywhere, and in any way they want, including listening online.

• Designed to help you develop and assess concept mas- tery and critical thinking, the Writing Space offers a single place to create, track, and grade writing assign- ments, provide resources, and exchange meaningful, personalized feedback with students, quickly and easily. Thanks to auto-graded, assisted-graded, and

create-your-own assignments, you decide your level of involvement in evaluating students’ work. The au- to-graded option allows you to assign writing in large classes without having to grade essays by hand. And because of integration with Turnitin®, Writing Space can check students’ work for improper citation or pla- giarism.

Instructor Resources We know that instructors are “tour guides” for their stu- dents, leading them through the exciting world of social psychology in the classroom. As such, we have invested tremendous effort in the creation of a world-class collection of instructor resources that will support professors in their mission to teach the best course possible.

For this edition, new coauthor Sam Sommers guided the creation of the supplements package. Here are the high- lights of the supplements we are pleased to provide:

PRESEnTATIOn TOOLS AnD CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

• MyPsychLab Video Series for Social Psychology (0205847021) Current and cutting edge, the new MyPsychLab Video Series for social psychology features videos covering the most recent research, science, and applications. Watch clips from ABC’s wildly popular What Would You Do? series and discover how real peo- ple in real-world scenarios bring to life classic concepts in social psychology. The video series is also available to adopters on a DVD. Contact your Pearson representa- tive for more information.

• Social Psychology PowerPoint Collection (0134012348) The PowerPoints provide an active format for presenting concepts from each chapter and incorporating relevant figures and tables. Instructors can choose from three PowerPoint presentations: a lecture presentation set that

This edition of Social Psychology offers a variety of video types includ- ing interviews, as shown here with our lead author Elliot Aronson; news segments; and original lab experiment re-enactments directed by the authors and filmed at Tufts University.

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highlights major topics from the chapters, a highly visu- al lecture presentation set with embedded videos, or a PowerPoint collection of the complete art files from the text. The PowerPoint files can be downloaded from www .pearsonhighered.com.

• Instructor’s Resource Manual (0134012445) The In- structor’s Manual includes key terms, lecture ideas, teaching tips, suggested readings, chapter outlines, stu- dent projects and research assignments, Try It! exercises, critical thinking topics and discussion questions, and a media resource guide. It has been updated for the ninth edition with hyperlinks to ease facilitation of navigation within the IM.

ASSESSMEnT RESOuRCES

• Test Bank (0134012453) Each of the more than 2,000 questions in this test bank is page-referenced to the text and categorized by topic and skill level. Each question in the test bank was reviewed by several instructors to ensure that we are providing you with the best and most accurate content in the industry.

• MyTest Test Bank (0134012437) This Web-based test- generating software provides instructors “best in class” features in an easy-to-use program. Create tests and eas- ily select questions with drag-and-drop or point-and- click functionality. Add or modify test questions using the built-in Question Editor, and print tests in a vari- ety of formats. The program comes with full technical support.

LEARnIng CATALyTICS

• Learning Catalytics™ is an interactive, student-response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more sophisticated tasks and think- ing. Now included with MyLab & with eText, Learning Catalytics enables you to generate classroom discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Instructors, you can:

• Pose a variety of open-ended questions that help your students develop critical thinking skills.

• Monitor responses to find out where students are struggling.

• Use real-time data to adjust your instructional strat- egy and try other ways of engaging your students during class.

• Manage student interactions by automatically group- ing students for discussion, teamwork, and peer-to- peer learning.

Acknowledgments Elliot Aronson is delighted to acknowledge the collabora- tion of Carol Tavris in helping him update this edition. He would also like to acknowledge the contributions of his best friend (who also happens to be his wife of 60 years), Vera Aronson. Vera, as usual, provided inspiration for his ideas and acted as the sounding board for and supportive critic of many of his semiformed notions, helping to mold them into more-sensible analyses.

Tim Wilson would like to thank his graduate mentor, Richard E. Nisbett, who nurtured his interest in the field and showed him the continuity between social psychologi- cal research and everyday life. He also thanks the many stu- dents who have taken his course in social psychology over the years, for asking fascinating questions and providing wonderful examples of social psychological phenomena in their everyday lives. Lastly, he thanks the many graduate students with whom he has had the privilege of working for joining him in the ever-fascinating discovery of new so- cial psychological phenomena.

Robin Akert is beholden to Jonathan Cheek, Julie Don- nelly, Nan Vaida, Melody Tortosa, and Lila McCain for their feedback and advice, and to her family, Michaela and Wayne Akert, and Linda and Jerry Wuichet; their enthu- siasm and boundless support have sustained her on this project as on all the ones before it. Finally, she wishes to ex- press her gratitude to Dane Archer—mentor, colleague, and friend—who opened the world of social psychology to her and who has been her guide ever since.

Sam Sommers would like to acknowledge, first and foremost, the lovely Sommers ladies, Marilyn, Abigail, and Sophia, for being patient with round-the-clock revision ses- sions, for tolerating the constantly expanding mass of pa- pers and books on the floor of the study (he promises to clean them up before work starts on the tenth edition), and for frequently providing excellent real-life examples that illustrate social psychological concepts. He also gives spe- cial thanks to all of his teachers of social psychology, for in- troducing him to the field, for continued support, and for serving as role models as instructors, mentors, researchers, and writers.

No book can be written and published without the help of many people working with the authors behind the scenes, and our book is no exception. We would like to thank the many colleagues who read one or more chapters of this edition and of previous editions of the book.

Reviewers of the Ninth Edition Jim Allen, State University of New York, College at Geneseo; Kathryn Anderson, Our Lady of the Lake University; Anila Bhagavatula, California State University–Long Beach; Amy Bradshaw-Hoppock, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Ngoc Bui, University of La Verne; Bernardo Carducci, Indiana Univer- sity Southeast; Alex Czopp, Western Washington University; Keith Davis, University of South Carolina; Michael Dudley, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Heidi English, College of the Siskiyous; Joe Ferrari, DePaul University; Christine Floether, Centenary College; Krista Forrest, University of Nebraska at Kearney; Allen Gorman, Radford University; Jerry Green, Tarrant County College; Dana Greene, University of North Carolina; Donnell Griffin, Davidson County Community College; Lisa Harrison, California State University, Sacramento; Gina Hoover, Ohio State University; Jeffrey Huntsinger, Loyola University Chicago; Alisha Janowsky, University of Central Florida; Bethany Johnson, University of Nebraska–Omaha; Deborah Jones, Columbia University; Suzanne Kieffer, University of Houston; Marvin Lee, Tennessee State Uni- versity; Alexandra Luong, University of Minnesota Duluth; Robyn Mallett, Loyola University Chicago; Brian Meier, Gettysburg College; Andrea Mercurio, Boston University; Lori Nelson, University of Iowa; Darren Petronella, Nassau Community Col- lege; Jennifer Rivers, Elms College; Kari Terzino, Des Moines Area

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Community College; T. Joel Wade, Bucknell University; Angela Walker, Quinnipiac University; Chrysalis Wright, University of Central Florida; Garry Zaslow, Nassau Community College; Jie Zhang, University at Buffalo

Reviewers of Past Editions Jeffrey B. Adams, Saint Michael’s College; Bill Adler, Collin County Community College; John R. Aiello, Rutgers University; Charles A. Alexander, Rock Valley College; Sowmya Anand, Ohio State University; Nathan Arbuckle, Ohio State University; Art Aron, State University of New York, Stony Brook; Danny Axsom, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Joan W. Baily, Jersey City State College; Norma Baker, Belmont Uni- versity; Austin Baldwin, University of Iowa; John Bargh, New York University; William A. Barnard, University of Northern Colorado; Doris G. Bazzini, Appalachian State University; Arthur Beaman, University of Kentucky; Gordon Bear, Ramapo College; Susan E. Beers, Sweet Briar College; Kathy L. Bell, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Leonard Berkowitz, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Ellen S. Berscheid, University of Minnesota; John Bickford, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Thomas Blass, University of Maryland; C. George Boeree, Ship- pensburg University; Lisa M. Bohon, California State University, Sacramento; Jennifer Bosson, The University of Oklahoma; Chante C. Boyd, Carnegie Mellon University; Peter J. Brady, Clark State Community College; Kosha Bramesfeld, Pennsylva- nia State University; Kelly A. Brennan, University of Texas, Aus- tin; Richard W. Brislin, East-West Center of the University of Hawaii; Jeff Bryson, San Diego State University; Melissa Burkley, Oklahoma State University; Amy Bush, University of Houston; Amber Bush Amspoker, University of Houston; Brad Bushman, Iowa State University; Thomas P. Cafferty, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Melissa A. Cahoon, Wright State University; Frank Calabrese, Community College of Philadelphia; Michael Caruso, University of Toledo; Nicholas Christenfeld, University of California, San Diego; Margaret S. Clark, Carnegie Mellon University; Russell D. Clark, III, University of North Texas; Susan D. Clayton, Allegheny College; Megan Clegg-Kraynok, West Virginia University; Brian M. Cohen, University of Texas, San Antonio; Florette Cohen, Rutgers Uni- versity; Jack Cohen, Camden County College; Steven G. Cole, Texas Christian University; Eric J. Cooley, Western Oregon State University; Diana Cordova, Yale University; Traci Craig, Univer- sity of Idaho; Jack Croxton, State University of New York, Fredonia; Keith E. Davis, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, Ball State University; Dorothee Dietrich, Hamline University; Kate Dockery, University of Florida; Susann Doyle, Gainesville College; Steve Duck, University of Iowa; Michael G. Dudley, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Karen G. Duffy, State University of New York, Geneseo; Valerie Eastman, Drury College; Tami Eggleston, McKendree College; Timothy Elliot, University of Alabama–Birmingham; Steve L. Ellyson, Youngstown State University; Cindy Elrod, Georgia State University; Kadimah Elson, University of California, San Diego/Grossmont College; Rebecca S. Fahrlander, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Alan Feingold, Yale University; Edward Fernandes, East Carolina University; Phil Finney, Southeast Missouri State University; Susan Fiske, University of Massachu- setts; Robin Franck, Southwestern College; Denise Frank, Ramapo College of New Jersey; Timothy M. Franz, St. John Fisher College; William Rick Fry, Youngstown State University; Russell Geen, University of Missouri; Glenn Geher, State University of

New York at New Paltz; David Gersh, Houston Community College; Frederick X. Gibbons, Iowa State University; Cynthia Gilliland, Louisiana State University; Genaro Gonzalez, Univer- sity of Texas; Jessica Gonzalez, Ohio State University; Sara Gorchoff, University of California, Berkeley; Beverly Gray, Youngstown State University; Gordon Hammerle, Adrian Col- lege; H. Anna Han, Ohio State University; Judith Harackiewicz, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Elaine Hatfield, University of Hawaii, Manoa; Vicki S. Helgeson, Carnegie Mellon University; Joyce Hemphill, Cazenovia College; Tracy B. Henley, Mississippi State University; Ed Hirt, Indiana University; Harold Hunziker Jr., Corning Community College; David E. Hyatt, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh; Marita Inglehart, University of Michigan; Carl Kallgren, Behrend College, Pennsylvania State University, Erie; Stephen Kilianski, Rutgers University; Bill Klein, Colby Col- lege; James D. Johnson, University of North Carolina, Wilmington; Lee Jussim, Rutgers University; Stephen Kilianski, Rutgers Uni- versity; Fredrick Koenig, Tulane University; Alan Lambert, Washington University, St. Louis; Emmett Lampkin, Kirkwook Community College; Elizabeth C. Lanthier, Northern Virginia Community College; Patricia Laser, Bucks County Community Col- lege; G. Daniel Lassiter, Ohio University; Dianne Leader, Georgia Institute of Technology; John Lu, Concordia University; Stephanie Madon, Iowa State University; John Malarkey, Wilmington College; Andrew Manion, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota; Allen R. McConnell, Michigan State University; Adam Meade, North Carolina State University; Joann M. Montepare, Tufts University; Richard Moreland, University of Pittsburgh; Dave Nalbone, Purdue University–Calumet; Carrie Nance, Stetson University; Todd D. Nelson, Michigan State University; Elaine Nocks, Furman University; Matylda Osika, University of Houston; Cheri Parks, Colorado Christian University; W. Gerrod Parrott, Georgetown University; David Peterson, Mount Senario College; Mary Pritchard, Boise State University; Cynthia K. S. Reed, Tarrant County College; Dan Richard, University of North Florida; Neal Roese, University of Illinois; Darrin L. Rogers, Ohio State University; Joan Rollins, Rhode Island College; Paul Rose, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Lee D. Ross, Stanford University; Alex Rothman, University of Minnesota; M. Susan Rowley, Champlain College; Delia Saenz, Arizona State University; Brad Sagarin, Northern Illinois University; Fred Sanborn, North Carolina Wesleyan College; Connie Schick, Bloomsburg University; Norbert Schwartz, University of Michigan; Gretchen Sechrist,University at Buffalo; Richard C. Sherman, Miami University of Ohio; Paul Silvia, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Randolph A. Smith, Ouachita Baptist University; Linda Solomon, Marymount Manhattan Col- lege; Janice Steil, Adelphi University; Jakob Steinberg, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Mark Stewart, American River College; Lori Stone, The University of Texas at Austin; JoNell Strough, West Virginia University; T. Gale Thompson, Bethany College; Scott Tindale, Loyola University of Chicago; David M. Tom, Columbus State Community College; David Trafimow, New Mexico State University; Ruth Warner, St. Louis University; Anne Weiher, Metropolitan State College of Denver; Gary L. Wells, Iowa State University; Jackie White, University of North Carolina at Greens- boro; Paul L. Wienir, Western Michigan University; Kipling D. Williams, University of Toledo; Tamara Williams, Hampton Uni- versity; Paul Windschitl, University of Iowa; Mike Witmer, Skagit Valley College; Gwen Wittenbaum, Michigan State University; William Douglas Woody, University of Northern Colorado; Clare Zaborowski, San Jacinto College; William H. Zachry, University of Tennessee, Martin; Leah Zinner, University of Wisconsin–Madison

preface xv

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We also thank the wonderful editorial staff of Pearson for their expertise and professionalism, including Dickson Musslewhite (Editorial Director), Diane Szulecki (Program Manager), Lindsey Prudhomme Gill (Product Marketing Manager), Luke Robbins (Editorial Assistant), Christopher Fegan (Digital Product Manager), and Shelly Kupperman (Project Manager). We would especially like to thank Mary Piper Hansen (Developmental Editor), who provided ex- pert guidance with constant good cheer and insight even

through barrages of e-mail exchanges and attachments, and Amber Chow (Executive Editor), whose smart vision for the book, and commitment to making it as good as it can be, have truly made a difference. Finally, we thank Mary Falcon, but for whom we never would have begun this project.

Thank you for inviting us into your classroom. We wel- come your suggestions, and we would be delighted to hear your comments about this book.

xvi preface

Elliot Aronson elliot@cats.ucsc.edu

Tim Wilson tdw@virginia.edu

Robin Akert rakert@wellesley.edu

Sam Sommers sam.sommers@tufts.edu

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xvii

neat,” they said. “We broke a window and nobody cared!” My friend and I hopped onto our bikes to investigate. We had no trouble finding the house—there it was, sitting off by itself, with a big, jagged hole in a first-floor window. We got off of our bikes and looked around. My friend found a baseball-sized rock lying on the ground and threw a per- fect strike through another first-floor window. There was something exhilarating about the smash-and-tingle of shat- tering glass, especially when we knew there was nothing wrong with what we were doing. After all, the house was abandoned, wasn’t it? We broke nearly every window in the house and then climbed through one of the first-floor windows to look around.

It was then that we realized something was terribly wrong. The house certainly did not look abandoned. There were pictures on the wall, nice furniture, books in shelves. We went home feeling frightened and confused. We soon learned that the house was the home of an elderly couple who were away on vacation. Eventually, my parents dis- covered what we had done and paid a substantial sum to repair the windows. For years, I pondered this incident: Why did I do such a terrible thing? Was I a bad kid? I didn’t think so, and neither did my parents. How, then, could a good kid do such a bad thing? Even though the neighbor- hood kids said the house was abandoned, why couldn’t my friend and I see the clear signs that someone lived there? How crucial was it that my friend was there and threw the first rock? Although I didn’t know it at the time, these re- flections touched on several classic social psychological issues, such as whether only bad people do bad things, whether the social situation can be powerful enough to make good people do bad things, and the way in which our expectations about an event can make it difficult to see it as it really is. Fortunately, my career as a vandal ended with this one incident. It did, however, mark the beginning of my fascination with basic questions about how people understand themselves and the social world—questions I continue to investigate to this day.