20 social psychology lessons that everyone can use

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A person spends most of his life among other people and is part of a variety of groups: family, work collective, friends, like-minded people. His behavior changes dramatically depending on the situation. Social psychologists examine the behavior and motives of people in different groups and reveal interesting patterns that you will learn about in this article.

1. It is important for us to interact with people

Psychologists in the US have found that 20% of people who receive Christmas cards from strangers also send them congratulations. For the same reason, waiters get more tips when they talk about recipes or give advice.

2. A person is inclined to value more what he directly owns

Research has shown that the willingness to sell is weaker than the willingness to buy. Participants in the experiment were persuaded to buy a glass for $ 5, but when they received it, the subjects refused to sell a mug for less than $ 10.

3. Because of the heat, we become angrier, and because of sadness, we freeze

When you are dissatisfied with something, it seems that the room is cold, and you would rather want hot dishes than cold ones. The crime rate is higher in hotter regions, and more crime is committed on warm days. This happens because the heat excites the nervous system, and people mistakenly attribute this to any life situation.

4. Smiling is contagious and can say a lot about you

In a movie theater, a person will laugh more if people around him laugh. Another situation: bowling, a man struck a strike, and began to smile only when he turned to his friends. It's a smile for social approval, not for the joy that you've done something successfully.

According to one study, students who showed (the most genuine smiles that engage the muscles around the eyes and mouth) in photographs in an album were more likely to be married and more likely to describe themselves as happy 30 years later. And students with less pronounced smiles got divorced much more often.

5. Expectation influences decision making

In one study, psychologists called participants and asked them if they would hypothetically volunteer for the American Cancer Society. When the same people phoned a few days later and asked the same question, 31% of the respondents said yes, although only 4% agreed the first time.

6. We do things differently when we remember ourselves

Before the test was given, the subjects were told that men and women scored different points. After that, the performance of the participants plummeted. And the results of men decreased after interacting with an attractive woman. And another situation: when children go to Halloween in a group, they take a lot of sweets; but if the child goes out alone and, besides, he is asked for his name, he will take much less sweets.

7. Observation from the side sometimes helps, but not while eating

If you are watched during a simple task, the results will increase, and if during a difficult task or a task related to acquiring a new skill, the results will decrease. By the way, this feature is inherent not only in humans, but also in cockroaches (!). Neighborhood in a room with others has another effect: if a repairman works in the room (even in the very corner), people begin to work more slowly. In addition, people, like animals, eat more if they eat in someone else's presence.

8. An effective way to get a person to do something is to compare him with his friends

One electricity company tried to convince people to conserve electricity at home. For this, posters were issued with the words "Your neighbors have reduced their electricity consumption." As a result, household energy use decreased by 2%. The slogans "Save energy - save money" and "Save energy to save the environment" not only did not help reduce the use of electricity, but in some cases, on the contrary, led to an increase in consumption.

9. The context of the action execution affects the action itself

During the voting, 56% of the participants who voted in the school were in favor of increasing the school budget, while in the rest of the places the figure was 53%. While this effect may not seem like a big deal, it is statistically significant. A similar experience was repeated in the laboratory (64% of people who were shown a photo of the school voted to increase the budget).

10. The more you learn something, the more you enjoy it

This feature is called the "recognition effect", and a split second is enough for it to appear. It is widely used in advertising. The more often you see an ad or advertisement, the more highly you will rate the company. Vivid pictures that evoke positive and negative emotions in just a few milliseconds change your subconscious mind about something.

11. Smooth lines vs corners

People tend to like rounded visual objects more than objects with sharp edges.

12. Make sure nothing happens to you when there are a lot of people around

Witnesses are less likely to interfere with a crime or help in an emergency if there are other onlookers, because they think they will help someone else and avoid responsibility. If the victim is bleeding, people help even less often, simply because the very sight of the blood scares them. But the victim who screams loudly will receive more help than the one who is silent: more people will perceive a clear and unambiguous signal of danger.

13. We all want to be happy, but too much happiness negatively affects work

According to the results of a survey of more than 10 thousand people in 48 countries of the world, it was found that happiness is valued more than other personal prospects - to find the meaning of life, become rich or go to heaven. Happy people often describe themselves as curious, and depressed people are able to notice even minor changes in the facial expressions of the interlocutor. And also very happy people (9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 points on the scale of measuring happiness - there is one) did not study well and receive a small salary, compared to moderately happy people (6, 7, 8 out of 10 on the scale).

14. We do stupid things to adjust

During the study, a participant was sent to a group and asked to answer a seemingly simple question. In advance, the group was instructed to say a deliberately incorrect answer. As a result, 37 out of 50 subjects gave the wrong answer, repeating it after the majority (even if it was obviously incorrect), simply because they wanted to please the members of the group or thought that the majority knew better than them. This effect is dulled if there is at least one person in the group who agrees with the subject.

15. It is difficult for us to separate appearance from character

A positive or negative reaction to a person (“he's a nice guy”) influences our judgment about his appearance (“he is attractive”). This phenomenon is called the "halo effect". It is strongly visible in the example of celebrities: their attractiveness and fame lead us to believe that they are smart, happy or kind.

16. Not all types of rewards affect us the same

Waiting for a reward reduces motivation. And an unexpected reward, on the contrary, increases it. A fixed bonus is less effective than a bonus that varies according to the quality of the work.

17. Possession of power can significantly affect our emotions and behavior

The volunteers were divided into two groups - "prisoners" and "guards" - and placed in a kind of prison. After six days, the experiment was completed (although it was planned to be carried out for two weeks). The participants got used to their roles: the "guards" abused and mistreated the "prisoners", many of the "prisoners" had severe emotional distress.

18. Power makes us obedient and can force us to do what we could not imagine

In a known study, participants were asked to give shocks of current with increasing intensity if a subject in the next room gave incorrect answers to the questions asked. The role of the victim was performed by the experimenter's assistant. The participant initially gave weak shocks, but in the second part of the experiment he was asked to press the button "Danger: strong current", ignoring the request of the victim to stop the experiment. As a result, 63% of the subjects pressed the button with the maximum discharge, which, if it were not for staging, could become fatal for another person.

19. Early self-control can be indicative of success in adulthood

Another well-known experiment is the "gummy test". The child is left in the room, and marmalade or cookies are placed on the table in front of him. And they warn: he can eat marmalade (or cookies) now, and then the experiment is considered over. But, if he waits for the experimenter to return, he will receive two gummies as a reward.

Children who can't wait and eat jujube right away or try to eat it on the sly are more likely to have problems at work in the future, get low grades on university admissions, have trouble getting attention at school, and find it difficult to maintain friendships. It's a fact: a child who can wait 15 minutes will score half as many points on admission as a child who only waited 30 seconds.

20. People like round numbers

This list consists of 20 items, not 19 for the same reason that many try to run not 1, 9 km, but 2 km in training. The addiction to certain numbers is deeply rooted in human nature.