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Social Psychology (8-10%)
Understand how groups and individuals affect group and individual behavior. Focus on social cognition, including attribution theory, and discuss the fundamental attribution error in the context of an example like the mass suicide at Jonestown in 1978. Discuss how attitudes are formed and if/how they can be changed; you can illustrate attitude change by watching the clip on the Stanford Prison experiment from “The Power of the Situation” in the Discovering Psychology series. Consider the ways in which stereotypes affect our attributions and how prejudice develops, be exposed to classic studies on social influence, including those on conformity, compliance, obedience, and altruism. Explore the ethical questions raised by Milgram’s study on obedience to authority figures. His classic study has been recreated with fascinating results in “The Milgram Experiment Revisited,” part 5 in the Primetime: Basic Instincts series. Understand aggression and how conflict between groups develops. Focus on ways to increase cooperation among members of different groups, including groups in organizations.
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error, self-serving bias).
• Describe the structure and function of different kinds of group behavior (e.g., deindividuation, group polarization, social traps).
• Explain how individuals respond to expectations of others, including groupthink, conformity, and obedience to authority. (heavens gate cult)
• Discuss attitudes and how they change (e.g., central route to persuasion).
• Predict the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g., bystander effect, social facilitation).
• Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members (e.g., in-group/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism, prejudice, gender stereotypes).
• Articulate the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) on self-concept and relations with others.
• Anticipate the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Describe the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
• Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and cognitive dissonance.
• Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon Festinger, Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).
Essential Questions:
How do people explain (or attribute) the behavior of others?
What impact do these attributions have on individuals and society as a whole?
How are individuals affected by groups? Under what conditions do people obey, conform, make friendships, find love, and help others?
How do attitudes and actions influence individual and group behavior?
How do psychologists define culture? What influence does culture have on individuals and groups?
Examples: CROW
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