Social Psychology

C. Insight Therapies

Psychoanalysis Therapy session. To give you an appreciation of what
happens during psychoanalysis, we’ll begin with an excerpt
One reason almost everyone knows the name
What happens Freud is that he constructed one of the first amaz-
in psycho- ingly complete and interesting descriptions of from a therapy session and then explain what goes on

analysis? personality development, mental disorder, and between client and psychoanalyst.

treatment, which was a monumental and revolu- Henry is in his mid-forties and is well advanced in treat-
tionary accomplishment at the time. In fact, Sigmund Freud’s theory of ment. As he arrives, he casually mentions his somewhat late
psychoanalysis includes two related theories. e first is his comprehen- arrival at the analyst’s office, which might otherwise have
sive theory of personality development (id, ego, superego, and psycho- gone unnoticed.
sexual stages), which we discussed in Module 19. His second theory “You will think it is a resistance,” Henry remarked sar-
involves the development and treatment of various mental disorders, castically, “but it was nothing of the kind. I had hailed a taxi
which we’ll examine here. that would have gotten me to the office on time. However,
Psychoanalysis focuses on the idea that each the traffic light changed just before the cab reached me, and
of us has an unconscious part that contains someone else got in instead. I was so annoyed that I yelled
ideas, memories, desires, or thoughts that have ‘F___ you!’ a er the cab driver.” Figure/Text Credit: Therapy session adapted from “A Critique of So-Called Standard Psychoanalytic Technique,” by S. D. Lipton, 1983, Contemporary Psychoanalysis,
been hidden or repressed because they are psy- A brief pause ensued, followed by laughter as Henry 19, 35–52.

chologically dangerous or threatening to our repeated “F___ you!”—this time clearly directed to the
self-concept. To protect our self-concept analyst.
from these threatening thoughts and e analyst interpreted this interaction to mean that the

desires, we automatically build a mental cabbie had represented the analyst in the first place. Henry’s
barrier that we cannot voluntarily remove. anger at the analyst was relieved by the opportunity to curse
However, the presence of these threat- out the analyst (cabbie).
ening thoughts and desires gives rise to A er another brief pause, it was the analyst who broke

Freud’s psychoanalysis searches unconscious conflicts, which, in turn, the silence and injected his first and only interpretation of
for unconscious conflicts that result can result in psychological and physical the 50-minute session. He asserted that Henry seemed to be
symptoms and mental disorders. angry about a previously canceled therapy session.
in psychological problems.
Freud began developing the the- Henry was furious over the interpretation. “Who are you
ory of psychoanalysis in the late 1800s. From 1902 onward, a number of that I should care about missing that session?” he stormed.
young doctors and interested laypersons gathered around Freud to learn Henry paused again, and then reflected more tranquilly,
the principles and practice of psychoanalysis. In 1908, Freud was invited “My father, I suppose.”
to America to discuss his approach. Psychoanalysis makes three major is time it was the word father that served as the switch
assumptions (Corey, 2009; E. B. Luborsky et al., 2008). word to a new line of thought.
“My father was distant, like you,” he began. “We never
1 Freud believed that unconscious conflicts were the chief reason for
really had a conversation” (adapted from S. D. Lipton, 1983).
the development of psychological problems (such as paranoia) and
physical symptoms (such as loss of feeling in a hand). To overcome I was thinking how my mother Role of the Analyst
psychological and physical problems, patients needed to become didn’t make me feel appre- is brief excerpt from a psychoanalytic
aware of, and gain insight into, their unconscious conflicts ciated and how I felt bad but session illustrates the basic assumptions
and repressed thoughts. of psychoanalysis.
I still loved her and . . .
2 Freud developed three techniques—free asso- O Free association. Notice that the
patient is encouraged to free-associate or
ciation, dream interpretation, and analysis of slips say anything that comes into his mind,
of the tongue—that he believed provide clues to while the analyst makes few comments.
unconscious conflicts and repressed thoughts.
O Interpretation. When the ana-
3 Freud found that at some point during therapy lyst does comment, he or she interprets
the patient would react to the therapist as a sub- or analyzes something the patient says,
stitute parent, lover, sibling, or friend and, in the such as the meaning of the anger at the
process, project or transfer strong emotions onto cab driver.
the therapist. One of Freud’s O Unconscious conflicts. By ana-
Freud developed these three assumptions techniques was the use lyzing the client’s free associations, the
analyst hopes to reveal the client’s uncon-
gradually, over a period of about ten years, when of free association.

he was treating patients for a variety of psychological problems scious and threatening desires, which are causing unconscious
and physical symptoms. conflicts that, in turn, cause psychological problems.
We’ll explain how Freud used these three assumptions to develop the We’ll examine two of Freud’s therapy techniques in more
therapy he called psychoanalysis. detail.

560 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Techniques to Reveal the Unconscious In order to treat neuroses or neurotic symptoms, such as pho-
bias, anxieties, and obsessions, Freud wanted to discover what was
One of Freud’s major challenges was to find ways to uncover in the patient’s unconscious. To do this, he developed two major
unconscious conflicts, which, he believed, led to psychological techniques: free association and dream interpretation. To show
problems that he labeled neuroses. how these techniques work, we’ll describe two of Freud’s most
famous cases, Rat Man and Wolf-Man.
Neuroses, according to Freud, are maladaptive thoughts and actions
that arise from some unconscious thought or conflict and indicate feelings

of anxiety.

Rat Man: Free Association Wolf-Man: Dream Interpretation

Freud encouraged patients to relax, sit back, or lie down Freud listened to and interpreted his patients’ dreams because he believed
on his now-famous couch and engage in something called that dreams represent the purest form of free association.
free association. Dream interpretation is a psychoanalytic technique based on the assumption

Free association is a technique that encourages clients to that dreams contain underlying, hidden meanings and symbols that provide clues to

talk about any thoughts or images that enter their heads; the unconscious thoughts and desires.

assumption is that this kind of free-flowing, uncensored talking For example, here is one of the best-known dreams in psychoanalytic

will provide clues to unconscious material. literature. is dream was told to Freud by a 23-year-old patient who was

For example, here is how Freud described a session later named Wolf-Man because he had a phobia of wolves and other ani-
with one of his most mals (P. Buckley, 1989).
famous patients, a “I dreamt that it was night and
29-year-old law- that I was lying in my bed. Sud-
yer later named the denly the window opened of its
Rat Man because of own accord, and I was terrified to
his obsession that rats see that some white wolves were sit-
Rat Man believed that rats would would destroy his father ting on the big walnut tree in front of
destroy his father and lover. and lover. the window. ere were six or seven of Wolf-Man dreamed wolves were
them. e wolves were quite white, and sitting in the tree outside his room.
Freud writes, “The next day I made him [Rat Man]
pledge himself to submit to the one and only condition looked more like foxes or sheep-dogs, for they had big tails like foxes and
of the treatment—namely, to say everything that came they had their ears pricked like dogs when they are attending to something.
into his head even if it was unpleasant to him, or seemed In great terror, evidently of being eaten up by the wolves, I screamed and
unimportant or irrelevant or senseless. I then gave him woke up. . . . I was 3, 4, or at most 5 years old at the time. From then until
leave to start his communications with any subject he my 11th or 12th year I was always afraid of seeing something terrible in my
pleased” (Freud, 1909/1949, p. 297; italics in the original). dreams” (Freud, 1909/1949, p. 498).
Freud is actually telling Rat Man to free-associate. Freud’s interpretation of this dream was that, as a young boy, Wolf-Man
By this means, Freud uncovered a number of Rat Man’s was “transformed” into a wolf and had witnessed his parents’ sexual inter-
Photo Credit: bottom, © Sigmund Freud Copyrights/Sulloway/Mary Evans Picture Library repressed memories, such as how Rat Man, as a child, course (looking through the bedroom window). Later, sexual fears created
would get into rages and bite people, just like a rat. unconscious conflicts and resulted in a phobia of wolves and other animals.
Free association was one of Freud’s important meth- As Freud demonstrates, the psychoanalyst’s task is to look behind the
odological discoveries. Psychoanalysts still use this tech- dream’s o en bizarre disguises and symbols and decipher clues to uncon-
nique today to probe a client’s unconscious thoughts, scious, repressed memories, thoughts, feelings, and conflicts (R. Greenberg
desires, and conflicts (Corey, 2009). & Perlman, 1999).

Case Studies: Anna O., Rat Man, and Wolf-Man

Case studies, such as those of Rat Man, Wolf-Man, and repressed emotional experience, one of her physical symptoms
Anna O., whom we discussed at the beginning of the disappeared.
module, were very important because from these Freud’s case studies read like mystery stories with Freud being
Freud developed the major concepts of psychoanal- the master detective who searches for psychological clues that
ysis. For example, from cases like that of Anna O., will reveal the person’s repressed feelings and unconscious
who had physical symptoms (paralyzed arm, conflicts. At the time, Freud’s assumptions and theories, such
blurred vision) but no apparent physical causes, as repressed feelings and unconscious motivation, were revo-
Freud developed the idea that repressed feelings and lutionary. However, as we’ll discuss later, Freud’s theories and
unconscious conflicts could affect behavior but that assumptions have been very difficult to verify or prove with
the person would have no awareness of this hap- experimental methods.
pening. In support of Freud’s belief that uncon- Were Anna O.’s physical Besides developing methods to reveal unconscious
scious forces were causing Anna O.’s physical symptoms caused by thoughts and conflicts, Freud discovered two other concepts
problems, each time she let out some apparently unconscious forces? that are central to psychoanalysis.

C . I N S I G H T T H E R A P I E S 561

C. Insight Therapies

Problems during Therapy
Freud was the first to notice that, during therapy, his clients became somewhat hostile toward him, a problem he
Why did clients called transference. He also found that patients became very resistant about dealing with their feelings. Freud
believed that how these two problems, called transference and resistance, were handled determined how successful
get angry? therapy would be. We’ll explain these two concepts by using the cases of Rat Man and Wolf-Man.

Rat Man: Transference Wolf-Man: Resistance Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
Freud describes a patient, later labeled For most patients, working out e cases of Rat Man and Wolf-Man illustrate two prob-
Rat Man, as expressing powerful, transference and achieving insight
aggressive feelings toward him. For into their problems are long and lems that psychoanalysts must solve before their clients can
example, Rat Man refused to shake difficult processes. One reason for get better. One problem involves the strong emotional feel-
hands with Freud, accused Freud of the difficulty is that the client has so ings that occur with transference, which must be resolved
picking his nose, called Freud a “filthy many defenses against admitting before therapy can succeed. e second problem is helping
swine,” and said that Freud needed to repressed thoughts and feelings into clients overcome their resistance so they can begin to deal
be taught some manners (Freud, consciousness. ese defenses lead with threatening or undesirable feelings. Resolving the
1909/1949). to resistance. problems of transference and resistance may take 200 to
600 sessions across several years of traditional psycho-
During therapy, Rat Man called Freud Resistance is characterized by the analysis. However, there is currently a strong push toward
a “filthy swine,” which Freud believed client’s reluctance to work through or shorter versions of psychotherapy, in large part because
deal with feelings or to recognize un- current health insurance coverage typically pays for only
resulted from transference. conscious conflicts and repressed 20 to 30 sessions. As a result, therapists have developed a
thoughts. briefer version of psychoanalysis, which is called short-term
According to Freud, Rat Man was dynamic psychotherapy (Prochaska & Norcross, 2010).
projecting negative traits of his own Resistance may show up in many
very controlling mother onto Freud, ways: Clients may cancel sessions or How long will
who became a “substitute mother.” come late, argue continually, criti- it take me to get
This process of transferring feelings cize the analyst, or develop physi- over my fears?
to the therapist is called transference. cal problems. For example, the pa-
tient named Wolf-Man constantly Shorter versions of
Transference is the process by which complained of severe constipation. traditional psychoanalysis
a client expresses strong emotions toward Freud said that Wolf-Man used con-
the therapist because the therapist substi- stipation as an obvious sign that he have proved effective.
tutes for someone important in the client’s was resisting having to deal with his
life, such as the client’s mother or father. feelings (Freud, 1909/1949). Short-term dynamic psychotherapy emphasizes a limited
time for treatment (20 to 30 sessions) and focuses on limited
Freud believed that the main part Freud overcame Wolf-Man’s resis- goals, such as solving a relatively well-defined problem. Therapists
of therapy involved working through tance by promising that his constipa- take a more active and directive role by identifying and discussing
the transference—that is, resolving tion would disappear with continued the client’s problems, resolving issues of transference, interpret-
the emotional feelings that the cli- therapy, and it did (P. Buckley, 1989). ing the patient’s behaviors, and offering an opportunity for the
ent has transferred to the therapist. Freud cautioned that the analyst patient to foster changes in behavior and thinking that will result
Freud said that if the feelings involved must use tact and patience to break in more active coping and an improved image of oneself.
in transference were not worked out, down the client’s resistance so that
therapy would stall and treatment the client faces his feelings. Several forms of short-term dynamic psychotherapy
would not occur. For this reason, have recently become more popular than long-term
Freud believed that one of the major During therapy, Wolf-Man complained traditional psychoanalysis. Short-term dynamic psycho-
roles of the analyst was to help the of constipation, which Freud believed therapy, which incorporates techniques of traditional
client deal with, work through, and psychoanalysis, has proven effective for treating a num-
resolve the transferred feelings. Iden- indicated resistance. ber of problems, including generalized anxiety, panic,
tifying the process of transference, depression, and several personality disorders (A. J. Lewis
which occurs in many therapeu- A necessary role of the analyst is et al., 2008; Milrod et al., 2007).
tic relationships, is considered one to overcome the client’s resistance so
of Freud’s greatest insights (Eagle, the therapy can proceed and stay on Next, we’ll evaluate the current importance of
2000). course (E. B. Luborsky et al., 2008). psychoanalysis.

562 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

PowerStudy 4.5™

Psychoanalysis: Evaluation Module 11

e 50th anniversary of Sigmund Freud’s death (1939) was marked the 1950s, there was a decline in the pop- D. Long-Term Memory:
by a series of articles in Psychoanalytic Quarterly titled, “Is ere a ularity of psychoanalysis (Bornstein, Storing
Future for American Psychoanalysis?” One author said that such a
2001). Now, more than 150 years a er Freud’s birth (1856), many
question was unheard of in the articles are reporting that some of his ideas are returning in popu-
1950s, when psychoanalysis was larity and describe his influence as an “inescapable force” (Adler,
at the height of its popularity 2006). We’ll discuss the decline in popularity of psychoanalysis
(Kirsner, 1990). However, after following the 1950s as well as its current status.

Decline in Popularity Current Status

How did it happen that psychoanalysis, the number one Beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present, there has been a
therapy in the 1950s, lost its popularity and is now strug- major effort by psychoanalytic societies and their members to encourage
gling to compete with other therapies? Here are some of research on the methods, concepts, and outcomes of therapy. This shift
the reasons according to its practitioners (Wallerstein & toward research indicates a major turning point in psychoanalysis. Previ-
Fonagy, 1999; Westen & Gabbard, 1999). ously, psychoanalysts almost exclusively reported individual case studies;
O Lack of research. In the 1970s, critics pointed out they rarely studied the psychoanalytic process or its effectiveness using the
that almost no research had been done on whether the experimental approach that had been adopted by competing therapies. For
psychoanalytic process was an effective form of therapy. example, when researchers compared psychoanalysis with different kinds
For example, psychoanalysts were very slow to analyze of long-term psychotherapies, they found that psychoanalysis was just as
their own profession in terms of education—how best to successful in improving patients’ mental status (Blomberg et al., 2001). is
train analysts—and to conduct research into what goes on is one example of the current efforts to test, compare, and show that long-
during analysis and how to make it more effective. is term psychoanalysis can produce results as successful as those found with
criticism, which questioned the effectiveness of psycho- other therapies.
analysis, contributed to its decline in popularity. Freudian concepts. Current followers agree that some of Freud’s con-
O Competing therapies. Perhaps the major reason cepts, such as the id being the source of energy, the importance of the
for the decrease in popularity of psychoanalysis was that, Oedipus complex in personality development, and basic drives limited to
beginning in the 1970s, a number of competing psycho- sex and aggression, have proved difficult to verify. e same followers add
therapies (discussed later in this mod- that other Freudian concepts, such as the influence of unconscious forces,
ule) were developed that proved to long-term effects of early childhood patterns, and the existence of defense
be equally effective but had a great mechanisms, resistance, and transference, have been experimentally tested
advantage in that they are much and supported (Fotopoulou, 2006; L. Luborsky & Barrett,
quicker and far less costly. For exam- Is it true that 2006; Ramachandran, 2006; Westen, 2007). For example,
ple, psychoanalysis may require 200 there have been researchers discovered we have memories, called pro-
some changes to
to 600 sessions (2 to 4 per week for my theory? cedural or nondeclarative (p. 246), that are outside our
several years) versus about 25 for awareness (unconscious) but affect various behaviors,
other therapies. is last point is par- such as acquiring strong emotional responses through
ticularly important, since most major classical conditioning (Mayes, 2000). us, two basic
health insurance plans limit either concepts underlying psychoanalysis—unconscious
the amount of money or the num- forces and defense mechanisms—have received
ber of sessions (usually about 25) for support (Solms, 2006).
treatment of psychological problems. According to recent surveys, Freud’s influence is
Because of this policy, health plans very much alive in today’s culture. Forty-three per-
would not pay the costs of therapy cent of adults in the United States believe dreams
for patients choosing psychoanalysis. Freud’s method of psychoanalysis has declined reflect unconscious desires, and nearly 30% believe
O Psychoactive drugs. Another in popularity, but his ideas have been incorporated that an adult’s psychological problems can be
traced back to his or her childhood (Adler, 2006).
reason for the decline of psychoanal- into other therapies.

ysis was the discovery of many new psychoactive drugs Conclusion
that proved effective in treating many of the problems
formerly dealt with in psychoanalysis, such as anxiety rough the years, many ideas from Freud’s classical psychoanalysis have
Photo Credit: © Zohar Lazar and mood disorders. Some patients preferred drugs to been used to develop a kind of therapy called the psychodynamic approach.
psychoanalysis. Although it shares some of its concepts with classical psychoanalysis, the
All of the above factors—lack of research on its effec- psychodynamic approach has the therapist taking a more directive role that
tiveness, development of new and less costly therapies, reduces the number of sessions but seems equally effective. One example of
and discovery of psychoactive drugs—resulted in psy- this newer approach is short-term dynamic psychotherapy (p. 562).
choanalysis experiencing a great decline from its peak Next, we’ll discuss an approach developed by a clinician who had been
popularity in the 1950s. using Freud’s psychoanalytic approach but became very displeased with it.

C . I N S I G H T T H E R A P I E S 563

C. Insight Therapies

Client-Centered Therapy

What is a As a therapist, Carl Rogers used the most Rogers: A lot of pain.
therapist’s role? popular therapy in his time, which was Client: A lot of pain.
Freud’s psychoanalytic approach. How- Rogers: A lot of pain. Can you say anything more what that’s
ever, before long Rogers became dissatis-
fied with Freud’s view that human nature was dependent on about? (adapted from C. R. Rogers, 1989).
biological urges and instincts—sex and aggression—and that psy- Client-centered approach. In this brief excerpt, you can see
chological problems arose from unconscious thoughts and desires two of the hallmarks of client-centered therapy. First, Rogers avoids
that threatened one’s self-concept. Rogers also disagreed with giving any suggestions, advice, or disapproval and primarily shows
Freud’s belief that the analyst—and not the the client that he understands what the client is feeling. Second,
client—was responsible for the client’s one technique Rogers uses for showing understanding is reflect-
progress. Instead, Rogers said that clients ing or restating the client’s concerns. Reflecting the client’s feelings
themselves have the capacity and are is one of the basic techniques of the person-centered approach. In
responsible for change. Using these addition, humanistic therapists believe that clients have the capac-
ideas, Rogers developed client-centered ity to discover and reach their true potential and it is the therapist’s Figure/Text Credit: Therapy session adapted from “Person-Centered Therapy,” by N. J. Raskin and C. R. Rogers, 1989. In R. J. Corsini and D. Wedding (Eds.), Current
therapy (C. R. Rogers, 1951, 1986). role to help and remove any roadblocks in their paths (Prochaska Psychotherapies, 4th ed. F. E. Peacock.
Client-centered therapy (also called & Norcross, 2010).

person-centered therapy) assumes that each Therapist’s Traits

person has an actualizing tendency, which is a Rogers believed that personal characteristics of the therapist—
empathy, positive regard, genuineness—would bring about the cli-
tendency to develop one’s full potential. The ent’s change. Empathy is the ability to understand what the client is

therapist’s task is to be nondirective and show saying and feeling. Positive regard is the ability to communicate

compassion and positive regard in helping the caring, respect, and regard for the client. Genuineness is the ability

Rogers believed client reach his or her potential. to be real and nondefensive in interactions with the client. Rogers
that each person has In client-centered therapy, Rogers and his followers assumed that a therapist with these three charac-
a tendency to develop teristics would be able to help a client change
his or her potential. changed the therapist’s role from that and grow (Raskin et al., 2008).
of an all-knowing expert to a helper or
facilitator, whose personal characteristics would foster growth and However, numerous studies have shown What’s blocking my
change (C. R. Rogers, 1986). that these three characteristics are not always path to developing
Therapy session. To illustrate some of the differences between my true potential?

psychoanalysis and client-centered therapy, here is a brief excerpt related to successful outcomes (C. E. Hill &
Nakayama, 2000). The success of client-
from a client-centered therapy session where a mother is talking centered therapy appears to be due more
about her problems with letting her daughter be more independent.
Client: I’m having a lot of problems dealing with my daughter. to developing a good working client–
therapist partnership and to the client’s
She’s 20 years old; she’s in college; I’m having a lot of trouble let- attitudes of wanting to and working hard
ting her go . . . And I have a lot of guilt feelings about her; I have
a real need to hang on to her. And it’s very hard with a lot of to change (Prochaska & Norcross, 2010).

empty places now that she’s not with me. Effectiveness
Rogers: e old vacuum, sort of, when she’s not there. Client-centered therapy has been
Client: Yes, yes. I also would like to be the kind of mother that found to be effective in producing
could be strong and say, you know, “go and have a good life,” significant changes in clients in
and it’s really hard for me to do that. comparison with no-treatment control groups, but no more or less
Rogers: It’s very hard to give up something that’s been so precious effective than other forms of therapy (C. E. Hill & Nakayama, 2000).
in your life, but also something that I guess has caused you pain According to client-centered therapy, the client–therapist relation-
when you mentioned guilt. ship is the main reason the approach is effective (Kirschenbaum &
Client: Yeah, and I’m aware that I have some anger toward her that Jourdan, 2005). Some studies, however, report that client-centered
I don’t always get what I want. I have needs that are not met. therapists who are very reflective and give very little direction are
And, uh, I don’t feel I have a right to those needs. You know . . . less effective than therapists who make more suggestions and give
she’s a daughter; she’s not my mother—though sometimes I feel more direction (L. S. Greenberg & Rice, 1997).
as if I’d like her to mother me . . . It’s very difficult for me to ask
for that and have a right to it. Although very few therapists currently identify themselves as
Rogers: So it may be unreasonable, but still, when she doesn’t meet primarily client-centered in their approach, the principles of client-
your needs, it makes you mad. centered therapy have greatly contributed to making therapists aware
Client: Yeah. I get very angry, very angry with her. (pause) of the importance of and the need to develop a positive working
Rogers: You’re also feeling a little tension at this point, I guess. relationship with their clients (Kirschenbaum & Jourdan, 2005).
Client: Yeah, yeah. A lot of conflict . . .
e therapist takes a much more directive role in the next kind
of insight therapy, called cognitive therapy.

564 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Cognitive Therapy Cognitive approach. Notice how the client tries to avoid

Do negative Similar to Carl Rogers’s experience, Aaron Beck
was also trained in psychoanalytic techniques admitting that her thoughts inf luence her feelings. Also
thoughts get and used them to treat patients, many of whom notice her negative self-statements, such as “I’m just not smart
you down? were suffering from depression. When he asked enough” and “I can never be happy.” Beck believes that these
them to free-associate, he noticed that depressed kinds of negative self-statements will inf luence this client’s
patients o en expressed negative or distorted thoughts about them- thoughts and feelings and contribute to her major symptom,
selves—“I’m a failure, no one likes me, nothing turns out right.” What depression.
EPMROOBTILOENMASLntapwnCdtmCtondCarsdgCthhhietseonoeceeieeolllloaaassoertgcpeiiigdiveeecnTtCsTbaNtitpueeelbkieuusacaroeerrrlhregmlonnnheo.newyehtetgrseeaalarritorihgsiove,ttttst.Btieghvtppehpaeevceuhs:::agensh:preswBatoeiaielieelivpehilatcesessosfateIW(t.uydteuscyIrti-ttetittleritphnndhehlvkpggveei,::rh:ercaplp”adhdyeeoe.aaseeihsonotttaichrilrnaNHt“ruDdotrinhhtsdnsltouweffoantIev,igfthndhgoteooh’oeobltsuaapgeafemeihieleeei,muwnfwsiuylichlastrbsrfgeyn)psohebnugIstwsopaogtasmrrolaurgwcaeaoas,i.harpyfnhreiaeavuoefasttlaeetnywotmasahyletsaert2tnfnsnyi,oastfwudesaeliadle(o6aet.aem,ftelanAg?irtfouaouetuoesxe-mdIecantItrthdYrlnyto.Tr’ffnchpioodiehsodl,cTeowpileiwleosdolcaeelueecmidinoaa,otn.raa”ukfoynnvarhoontucetrpgkBsacrseafeturegoehgowemtodati-ltlteilutiaevnnddioorrvlneauonihcalfnaoctiaegpslvtiaent“ronalrigiektsdogntrngrteedttoEns’hntomtegsye,theiudiisheghhtmddvgntsenpvisa1oggtgh.reoehnbeatie.weg,t9aguissemftrsaywatrnegCmonte,ew7ttiaideytiuitfsstoAcnaelaev6penloidhhebepvaautrIleaananangge,atglooyupteekeoardlonfuota1tdwtunoolrs-ntmerodihahittey9?ybid—netaeclfwioiatooyyep,oya9tvlnlpeaesemmDuwBsoniaawwor1urecsfvtatyngwheeuo)tmoasusuirirei.sshi’wscooc’snt.oitrtcttnemsttkiwesducthalnwBohfgecsileeichgt,hcedflov.aeeidhoxh-oleiopgeurLencyszu,aoroiorhspktntidenaymwloe,aklotrds’ptop.gsstlseseecp.esyumPaunwetesvctemwlyclexoewoetemduehfihshgph-,ne”lSOn?arsomcaaein—r“eiarsggerwveotNntrsihriahidsslnemnctieovosebakI.tiezasserngctsyeuvchfau.negihdatecsantllbidshieeiboltmhtivtloneosrv.iownreaagptgu.aioYiueehestnafetBttfgreertetdrsagiyoaeeitsvhisnanonhcvn,uotetottkudlok.geetrs--IffieiznnagttiinsvIobttsiac(Bepawophmoomenhptimodiufteolooeoohrenean.etgnlaclwsdptnnpwCeoiiral5pktceoaoenase“pn.rto7rhtvtdpforipPmitiii4g(oioozdet,nibarfAvyce)antonesoeiepug,eomooinniud.ansnstctwtttnTgpntrist.sie,eihtototheevinv.le,iIeFwhuonaefisntenooe’Bgtitaotienlrtihheoauatnlaettnclitc,mdhlithfiovvcglgektioc,niawdepoakareovhiachiapgnkrvnnrerreuathtl&ntlnsoeinxiisadghaygehontsniubidty,hvessthaeuiWeoigflmiaqeaieofnotrteavsncrynvpuyn“aumecdepbresce,Idtetpiutagia’ey’rshrtissoistmsynhsvthrhhiarmi,.or.wi,ttecdtreloanoeisuswaaoicproawerufBtgczgtaaattnrrhxofhicseuehohp,nollaotapsordhtacos2metcynrdi,nmekmuekn,,slor,0assuascasawgosst’gctl0uetapsusishleur,ielnheltfi”y8hnclnbieabiibgeosbebteise)thcmmzi”ydpsufnoil.e“issschnepoptsadasoacpmtMiclaIrhapiaiibtoriniirahnennttuhrinanasstenltiumeefatiiotoguaamonrfkngnketaoaolfltsealtssdasnltseimahera,eirixevpnsutiecaeectarledgncentetgeaufrdhpxeeroln,psaxsiiaeasggroafmtoyncA.rano,eonmtjsan,pgowt,oniuitonCmwcipocimgpxhefivtplmchnowdpiprdhdiionnomlehiponcalpdvioengiellpeushignaeuleeoiwieghstluetactiaictlemrcplhnmuittorcyseeodnhylshhtgcaboiheoaottcflhovwotbtehehlaotseoelothuoih.ieftoeoonainaihnstfznifharosngoabtuTirvp’dnnotaadtladchsprtadenhuseiaeygont.vehmesonqlteeciafdtigrsdshiltisTeseogisiouoltkyoaigsoooh.teaertenase.etsnnhnohgeeoesfrrr.xtpceBbcklvkmsunoiniirtiotmartpttraatoaozeniniiithwinweiefimfannanonndrneecvuvzogekrsastilnnddddookgggaeeee”sr-------tt,
Figure/Text Credit: Therapy session adapted from Cognitive Therapy of Depression, by A. T. Beck, A. J. Rush, B. F. Shaw & G. Emery, 1979, pp. 145–146. Guilford Press. erapist: And what does that mean to you? Effectiveness

Why do I keep Client: at I’m just not smart enough. Cognitive therapy has proved effective in treating a variety of
thinking all those erapist: Anything else? symptoms. For example, it is as effective as various drugs in
negative thoughts? treating depression, bipolar disorder, general anxiety, social
Client: at I can never be happy. phobia, agoraphobia, panic attacks, smoking, anger, and eating
Therapist: And how do these thoughts make disorders. e benefits of cognitive therapy extend beyond the
you feel?
Client: Very unhappy. end of treatment. In some cases, the benefits last longer than
erapist: So it is the meaning of failing a those of other forms of therapy (Ball et al., 2006; Clark et al.,
test that makes you very unhappy. In 2006; DeRubeis et al., 2005; Dobson & Khatri, 2000; Rupke et
fact, believing that you can never be al., 2006).
happy is a powerful factor in producing Increasingly, methods of cognitive therapy are combined
unhappiness. So, you get yourself into a with those of the next approach, behavior therapy. e result
trap—by definition, failure to get into is a very popular approach called cognitive-behavioral therapy.
law school equals “I can never be happy” However, before explaining cognitive-behavioral therapy, we’ll
(A. T. Beck et al., 1979, pp. 145–146). need to discuss behavior therapy, which is our next topic.

C . I N S I G H T T H E R A P I E S 565

D. Behavior Therapy PowerStudy 4.5™

Module 9

Definition F. Research Focus:

Conditioning Little Albert

The 1950s was the time Carl Rogers Module 10
developed client-centered therapy and
What’s so Aaron Beck developed cognitive therapy. I. Application: Behavior
important about Both were motivated to develop new
Modification
Little Albert?
erapist: Well, there are probably certain situations in which it
would be less difficult for you to assert yourself, such as telling
approaches because they had become your boss that he forgot to pay you for the past four weeks.
disillusioned with the techniques and results of the psychoanalytic Client: (laughing) I guess in that situation, I would say something.
approach, which they had used in clinical practice. Although I must admit, I would feel uneasy about it.
is was also the time Joseph Wolpe (1958, 1990), a physician in erapist: But not as uneasy as if you went in and asked him for
South Africa, became disillusioned with psychoanalysis and devel- a raise.
oped a new, quicker, and more effective procedure to reduce fear Client: No. Certainly not.
and anxiety. erapist: So, the first situation would be low on the staircase,
At the beginning of this module, we whereas the second would be higher up. If you can learn to
told you about Little Albert, who initially handle easier situations, then the more difficult ones would
wanted to touch and play with a white rat present less of a problem. And the only way you can really learn
but, a er being conditioned, came to fear it to change your reactions is through practice.
Through classical (Watson & Rayner, 1920). This demonstra- Client: In other words, I really have to go out and actually force
conditioning, this tion, which occurred in the 1920s, showed myself to speak up more, but taking it a little bit at a time?
that emotional responses erapist: Exactly. And it’s easier and safer to run through some
pet rat . . .

could be conditioned. But it was not until the of these situations here because you can’t really get into trouble Photo Credit: left, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
1950s that a clinician developed a procedure if you make a mistake. Once you learn different ways to speak Figure/Text Credit: Therapy session adapted from Clinical Behavior Therapy, by M. R. Goldfried and G. C. Davison, 1976. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
to unlearn emotional responses. your mind, you can try them out in the real world (adapted
In a real sense, Wolpe finished what John from Goldfried & Davison, 1976).
Watson had started: Watson had conditioned Behavioral approach. Notice that the behavior therapist does
Little Albert to fear an object, while Wolpe not encourage the client to free-associate, which is a major tech-
conditioned patients to be less fearful. Wolpe’s nique of psychoanalysis. e behavior therapist does not repeat or
procedure was the first experimental dem- reflect what the client says, which is a major technique of client-
onstration of reducing fear through con- . . . came to be feared centered therapy. e behavior therapist does not discuss the cli-
ditioning and gave a real jump-start to the by Little Albert. ent’s tendency to automatically think negative thoughts, which is a

development of behavior therapy (Persons, 1997). major technique of cognitive therapy.
Behavior therapy, also called behavior modification, uses the principles Instead, the behavior therapist quickly identifies the specific

of classical and operant conditioning to change disruptive behaviors and problem, which is the woman’s tendency to be unassertive when

improve human functioning. It focuses on changing particular behaviors she really wants to speak her mind. Next, the behavior therapist

rather than the underlying mental events or possible unconscious factors. will discuss a program for behavioral change that will help this

We’ll first give you an example of a behavior therapy session and woman learn to behave more assertively.
then describe Wolpe’s conditioning procedure to reduce fear. Two goals. Behavior therapy has two goals. e
Therapy session. In this session, the therapist is talking to first is to modify undesirable behaviors, using
a woman who feels bad because she has great difficulty being many of the principles of operant condition-
assertive. ing, and teach the client how to perform
Client: e basic problem is that I have the tendency to let people new behaviors, which for this woman
step all over me. I don’t know why, but I just have difficulty in involves learning ways
speaking my mind. to be more assertive. e
erapist: So you find yourself in a number of different situations second goal of behavior Why do I let
where you don’t respond the way you would really like to and therapy is to help the cli- people walk all

over me?

you would like to learn how to behave differently. ent meet specific behav-
Client: Yes. But you know, I have tried to handle certain situations ioral goals through constant practice and
differently, but I just don’t seem to be able to do so. reward (Spiegler & Guevremont, 2009).
erapist: Well, maybe you tried to do too much or didn’t quite For example, this woman would be asked
know the right technique. For example, imagine yourself at the to practice initiating conversations and
bottom of a staircase, wanting to get to the top. It’s too much to stating her opinions, perhaps begin-
ask to get there in one gigantic leap. Perhaps a better way to go ning in the safety of the therapist’s office and gradually practicing
about changing your reaction in these situations is to take it one these new assertive behaviors in the more threatening situations of
step at a time. the real world.
Client: at would seem to make sense, but I’m not sure if I see The next example of behavior therapy illustrates a specific
how it could be done. technique that is used to help clients overcome phobias.

566 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

PowerStudy 4.5™

Systematic Desensitization Module 9
H. Application: Conditioned

Fear & Nausea

Case Study 1 Relaxation

Jack had developed a phobia of blood Jack, whose phobia was a fear of blood, underwent systematic desensitization, a very effective
that interfered with his plans. He was
a high-school senior who wanted to treatment for phobias (Cormier & Nurius, 2003). In the first step, Jack learned to relax by prac-
ticing progressive relaxation. is method involves tensing
be an ambulance driver. But the and relaxing various muscle groups, beginning with the toes MOST STRESSFUL
problem was that he passed out at the and working up to the head. With this procedure, Jack 7 Needle drawing blood
sight or discussion of blood. He had learned how to put himself into a relaxed state. For most 6 Finger dripping blood
been afraid of blood for years and individuals, learning progressive relaxation requires several 5 Seeing someone cut
had fainted about 20 times in science weeks with at least one 15-minute session every day. 4 Needle entering arm
and biology classes. He even felt 3 Watching blood on TV
queasy when bloody acci- 2 Stimulus Hierarchy
dents or operating-room e second step was for Jack to make a stimulus hierarchy,
scenes were shown on
television. If his su- which is a list of feared stimuli, arranged in order from least 2 Cutting own finger
pervisor found out to most feared. With the help of his therapist, Jack made the 1 Seeing word “blood”
stimulus hierarchy shown on the right, which lists various
about his phobia, situations associated with blood. A rating of 1 indicates little
Jack might lose fear if confronted by this stimulus, while a rating of 7 indi- Stimulus hierarchy ranks fearful
his chance to be cates that Jack would probably pass out from this stimulus. situations from least (1) to most (7).

an ambulance 3 Exposure
driver. Except
Jack’s fear of for his phobia, Systematic desensitization training means that, a er successfully completing steps 1
blood interfered Jack was happy and 2, Jack was ready for step 3, which was to systematically desensitize himself by
with his being an at school, rarely exposing himself to the fear stimuli. Desensitization occurs through relaxing
ambulance driver.

became depressed, and was generally while simultaneously imagining the feared stimuli.
easygoing (Yule & Fernando, 1980).
Some therapies for phobias might Jack put himself into a relaxed state and then imagined the first or least
feared item in his hierarchy, seeing the word blood. He tried to remain in a
require years of treatment; for in- relaxed state while vividly imagining the word blood. He repeated this proce-
stance, a psychoanalyst would search
for unconscious conflicts causing the dure until he felt no tension or anxiety in this situation. At this point, he went
on to the next item in his hierarchy. Jack repeated the procedure of pairing
phobia. In contrast, behavior thera- A necessary relaxation with images of each feared item until he reached the last and most
pists would take a direct approach to part of therapy feared item.
the treatment, requiring 5 to 30 ses- is exposure to
sions. e technique used today by rough the desensitization program described here, Jack’s blood phobia
the feared was treated in five one-hour sessions. A follow-up five years later indicated that
situation.

behavior therapists is based on the Jack was still free of his blood phobia, had not developed any substitute symptoms, and was
one that Wolpe (1958) developed in
the 1950s and is called systematic training to be an ambulance driver (Yule & Fernando, 1980).

desensitization. Exposure: Imagined or In Vivo

Systematic desensitization is a tech- Systematic desensitization appears to be most effective if, instead of just imagining the items on

nique of behavior therapy in which the cli- the list, which is called imagined exposure, clients gradually expose themselves to the actual situ-

ent is gradually exposed to the feared ation, which is called in vivo exposure (the phrase in vivo is Latin for “in

object while simultaneously practicing real life”) (G. T. Wilson, 2005). For example, in Module 22 we described

relaxation. Desensitization involves three the case of Kate Premo (right photo), who signed up for a treatment

steps: learning to relax, constructing a course that used in vivo exposure to treat her lifetime phobia of flying. In

hierarchy with the least feared situation her case, a modified systematic desensitization program included in vivo

on the bottom and the most feared situa- exposure, which meant taking an actual flight while doing the breathing

tion at the top, and being progressively and relaxation exercises that she had learned. The in vivo exposure

Photo Credit: © Elizabeth Roll exposed to the feared situation. worked for Premo, who was able to overcome her phobia of flying.

Behavior therapists assume that Systematic desensitization has proved to be a very effective treatment
since Jack’s phobia was acquired for a variety of anxiety disorders, especially when combined with in
through a conditioning process, vivo exposure (Moscovitch et al., 2008). Later, in the Critical inking
his phobia can be unconditioned section (p. 578), we’ll discuss how systematic desensitization is being Kate is being
by gradually exposing him to the used in virtual therapy, a revolutionary new treatment approach. exposed to the actual
feared object through the process of situation (in vivo) that
systematic desensitization. e next therapy is actually a combination of behavior and cognitive causes her fear, flying
therapies.
in an airplane.

D . B E H A V I O R T H E R A P Y 567

D. Behavior Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Kinds of Problems
As psychoanalysis reached its peak of popular- Throughout this text, we have discussed
Why combine ity in the 1950s, a number of clinicians and Who how behavior therapy, cognitive therapy,
two different researchers were becoming dissatisfied with its
can be and the popular cognitive-behavioral ther-
therapies? procedures, which were time-consuming, costly, helped? apy have been used to treat the following
and useful for treating only a limited number of problems:
clients with relatively minor problems (Franks, 1994). O Insomnia: cognitive-behavioral program
At this same time, there was a great increase in the popularity of was as effective as drugs in helping people get
learning principles that came from Pavlov’s work on classical condi- to sleep (p. 162).
tioning and Skinner’s work on operant conditioning. Researchers and O Conditioned nausea: individuals
clinicians began to apply these learning principles to change human undergoing chemotherapy devel-
behavior with methods based on a strong experimental foundation oped conditioned nausea and were
rather than Freud’s unverified beliefs about unconscious conflicts. Both treated with behavior therapy
behavior and cognitive therapies developed out of dissatisfaction with (p. 207).
psychoanalysis and the belief that learning principles would provide O Autistic children: behavior
more effective methods of changing human behavior than would the modification helped some autistic
concepts of psychoanalysis. children develop
Combining therapies. One of the interesting developments in sufficient academic I need to
therapy has been occurring since the late 1970s as both behavior and and social skills to learn assertive
cognitive therapies have become increasingly popular. e major dif- enter public schools
behaviors.

ference between them is that behavior therapy focuses on identifying and function very well (p. 232).
and changing specific behaviors, while cognitive therapy focuses on O Psychosomatic problems:
identifying and changing specific maladaptive thought patterns. Begin- behavior therapy (biofeedback)
ning in the early 1990s, researchers and clinicians began combining the helped people decrease stress-related symptoms by reducing
methods of behavior and cognitive therapies into what is now called headaches and physiological arousal (p. 233).
cognitive-behavioral therapy (P. Grant et al., 2005). O Abusive parents: cognitive-behavioral therapy that
Cognitive-behavioral therapy combines the cognitive therapy technique of involved training in social skills helped parents deal with

changing negative, unhealthy, or distorted thought patterns with the behavior their own personal problems as well as daily difficulties

therapy technique of changing maladaptive or disruptive behaviors by learning related to caring for demanding children (p. 401).

and practicing new skills to improve functioning. O Stress management: cognitive-behavioral techniques

Currently, the difference between cognitive therapy and behavior are basic to all programs for reducing stress (p. 502).
therapy has become blurred as techniques from O Phobias: various phobias, such as fear of specific situa-
I need to stop these two approaches are combined into what has tions (flying, public speaking) or objects (snakes, bugs, blood),
thinking all those become a very popular therapy that is commonly were treated with cognitive-behavioral techniques (pp. 225,
negative thoughts. 524, 525).
called cognitive-behavioral therapy (Butler et al.,
2006; Dobson, 2009). We’ll also discuss several other examples of cognitive-
Cognitive-behavioral techniques. behavioral techniques in the Application section.
Effectiveness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is cur-
Cognitive-behavioral therapists combine a rently being used to treat a wide variety of problems, includ-
number of techniques that are designed to
change both thoughts and behaviors and ing eating disorders, marital problems, anxiety and phobias,
thus improve a person’s psychological func- depression, and sexual dysfunction. Programs based on
tioning. ese techniques include monitor- cognitive-behavioral therapy are widely used to help people
ing one’s own thoughts and behaviors; stop smoking, become more assertive, improve communi-
identifying thoughts and behaviors cation and interpersonal skills, manage stress, and control
that need to be changed; setting anger. Researchers report that cognitive-behavioral therapy
specific goals that increase in dif- was significantly more effective in treating this wide variety
ficulty; learning to reinforce oneself for reaching a goal; imitating or of problems than were control procedures (Butler et al., 2006;
modeling new behaviors; substituting positive for negative thoughts; Dobson, 2009). And in some cases, cognitive-behavioral
and doing homework, which involves practicing new behaviors in a safe therapy was as effective as drugs in treating some forms of
setting before performing them in the real world (A. T. Beck & Weishaar, anxiety, phobia, depression, and compulsive behavior (Butler
2008). ese cognitive-behavioral techniques are the basis for almost all et al., 2006; Spiegler & Guevremont, 2009).
self-help programs, which may be completed without the assistance of a A er the Concept Review, we’ll review and compare the
therapist. For more serious problems or additional support, the aid and development, techniques, and effectiveness of all the major
help of a therapist may be needed. therapies that we have discussed.

568 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Concept Review

1. If you first trained as a physician and 7. One approach to therapy assumes that each
then went into a psychiatric residency, person has an actualizing tendency—that is, a
which involves additional training in tendency to develop his or her full potential. In
pharmacology, neurology, and psycho- this approach, the therapist’s task is to show
therapeutic techniques, you would be a compassion and positive regard in helping the
(a) . If you completed a PhD program in psychol- client reach his or her potential. This approach
ogy, including one year of work in a clinical setting, you would be a was developed by (a) and is
(b) . If you completed a PhD program in psy- called (b) therapy.
chology or education, including work in a counseling setting, you
would be a (c) . 8. Another approach to therapy assumes that
we have automatic negative thoughts that
2. A process characterized by verbal interaction between we usually say to ourselves without much Negative
therapist and client and the development of a supportive relation- notice. By continually repeating these thoughts
ship, during which a therapist may analyze or suggest ways for the
client to deal with and overcome his or her problems, is called automatic negative thoughts, we color and
distort how we perceive and interpret our
. world and influence how we behave and feel.

3. One approach to therapy is character- This approach to therapy was developed
by (a) and is called
ized by the idea that we have an uncon- (b) therapy.
scious part whose activities and thoughts
are hidden behind a mental barrier that we cannot voluntarily
remove. Behind this barrier are repressed and psychologically 9. One approach to therapy primarily uses the principles of classi-
dangerous thoughts that give rise to unconscious conflicts, which, cal and operant conditioning to change disruptive behaviors and
in turn, can result in psychological and physical symptoms. This improve human functioning. This approach, which focuses on
approach is called . changing particular behaviors rather than on the underlying men-
tal events or possible unconscious factors, is called
4. Freud developed two techniques to
therapy.

uncover unconscious thoughts. One was 10. One approach combines changing negative,
to encourage clients to talk about any unhealthy, or distorted thoughts and beliefs by
thoughts or images that entered their substituting positive, healthy, and realistic ones
heads, which is called (a) . The second technique
was based on the assumption that dreams contain hidden meanings and changing one’s undesirable or disruptive
and symbols and the therapist’s role was to (b) behaviors by learning and practicing new skills
these dream symbols. to improve functioning. This approach, which
combines two therapies, is called
5. Freud said that, during therapy, a
patient may respond as if the therapist therapy.

were a father or mother and project strong 11. There is a technique of behavior therapy in which
feelings toward the therapist. This process is the client is gradually exposed to the feared object
called (a) . Also during therapy, a patient may be while simultaneously practicing relaxation. This
reluctant to work through feelings or to recognize unconscious con- technique, which involves three steps—learning
flicts and repressed thoughts; this is called (b) . to relax, constructing a hierarchy with the least
feared situation on the bottom and the most
6. The popular approach to therapy shares many feared situation at the top, and being progres-
of the features of psychoanalysis—for example, sively exposed to the feared situation—is called
discussing the client’s feelings, breaking down the
client’s defenses and resistances, and interpreting .
the client’s behaviors—but may not necessarily use
free association or agree that many problems result 12. Because of its effectiveness, cognitive-behavioral therapy has
from unconscious sexual conflicts. This approach, become the basis for many self-help programs to stop smoking,
which takes less time than psychoanalysis, is called reduce insomnia, decrease conditioned nausea, help autistic chil-
dren develop academic and social skills, and reduce intense and
psychotherapy. irrational fears called .

Answers: 1. (a) psychiatrist, (b) clinical psychologist, (c) counseling psychologist; 2. psychotherapy; 3. psychoanalysis; 4. (a) free association,
(b) interpret; 5. (a) transference, (b) resistance; 6. psychodynamic; 7. (a) Carl Rogers, (b) client-centered; 8. (a) Aaron Beck, (b) cognitive; 9. behavior;
10. cognitive-behavioral; 11. systematic desensitization; 12. phobias

C O N C E P T R E V I E W 569

E. Review: Evaluation of Approaches

Background, Assumptions, and Techniques
We have discussed five different approaches to psychotherapy, including psychoanalysis, client-centered therapy, cog-
How do nitive therapy, behavior therapy, and the increasingly popular cognitive-behavioral therapy. We’ll briefly review the
they differ? different backgrounds, assumptions, and techniques for four of these approaches, and then discuss their effectiveness.

Psychoanalysis

Background. Psychoanalysis, which was repressed and unavailable to conscious recall. Repressed thoughts
developed by Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s could produce unconscious conflicts that, in turn, could result in
and early 1900s, marked the beginning of feelings of anxiety and a variety of psychological and emotional
psychotherapy. Freud gradually developed his problems.
major assumptions from treating patients for Techniques. Freud developed two techniques for uncovering and
a variety of symptoms and problems. Thus, revealing unconscious thoughts: free association and dream inter-
Freud’s assumptions are based on case studies pretation. Freud was also the first to identify and recognize the
rather than on experimental data. importance of transference and resistance during therapy. He
Basic assumption. Freud believed that believed that patients overcame their problems by bringing up and
unacceptable or threatening thoughts were dealing with underlying unconscious conflicts.

Client-Centered Therapy

Background. In the late 1940s and early therapist, is responsible for change. He believed that, although the
1950s, Carl Rogers became disillusioned with client had the major role in making changes, there were certain
the psychoanalytic role of the therapist as characteristics of the therapist that helped the client change.
expert and in charge of changing the client. To Techniques. e client-centered therapist uses the technique of
give the client a greater role in making deci- repeating or reflecting what the client says and thereby showing
sions and changes, he developed his client- interest and understanding. Rogers believed that therapists would
centered approach. be effective if they had three characteristics: empathy, positive
Basic assumption. Rogers assumed that the regard, and genuineness. ese characteristics produced a warm
client has the capacity to actualize and reach and supportive atmosphere in which the client felt comfortable and
his or her full potential and the client, not the could better deal with solving his or her problems.

Cognitive Therapy

Background. In the late 1960s and early Basic assumption. Beck pointed out that our automatic, irrational
1970s, Aaron Beck became dissatisfied with thoughts and beliefs can color our feelings and actions, distort our
the psychoanalytic assumption that uncon- perceptions, and result in various psychological and emotional
scious conflicts were the chief cause of psy- problems. He assumed that these irrational self-statements, such as
chological problems. As Beck treated patients, polarized thinking, needed to be changed.
he noticed that they would often repeat a Techniques. e techniques of cognitive therapy include having
string of negative statements, almost without the client monitor and identify his or her automatic, negative,
notice. Beck believed that these automatic, irrational thoughts and replace them with positive ones. us, cli-
negative self-statements played a major role in ents deal with and solve their problems by gradually substituting
emotional problems. positive thoughts for distorted self-statements.

Behavior Therapy

Background. Developed in the 1950s, behav- Techniques. e behavior therapist identifies specific behaviors
ior therapy was based on principles of learn- that need to be changed and provides the client with particular
ing from classical and operant conditioning. methods for carrying out the changes. Specific behavioral tech-
Behavior therapy was a reaction against psy- niques include self-observation, self-reward, modeling, and role
choanalysis, whose emphasis was on uncon- playing. For treatment of anxiety, fears, and phobias, systematic
scious and unobservable conflicts and whose desensitization combined with in vivo exposure has proved
concepts lacked a scientific foundation. effective.
Basic assumption. Behavior therapy assumes
that just as emotional reactions can be learned Currently, techniques of cognitive and behavior therapies are
or conditioned, so too can they be unlearned combined into cognitive-behavioral therapy, which has proved
using the same principles of learning. Behav- effective for treating a variety of psychological problems and self-
ior therapy focuses on observable behaviors, while cognitive- help programs.
behavioral therapy also emphasizes changing thought patterns.
Because these four approaches differ in their assumptions and
techniques, is one approach more effective than another?

570 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Effectiveness of Psychotherapy

Nearly 20% of the adult population in the Researchers have analyzed over 1,500 studies that examined the
How helpful United States seek help and treatment for effects of psychotherapy on a variety of problems, such as depres-
is psycho- mental illness from various mental services sion, various kinds of anxieties, family problems, interpersonal
therapy? (Adler, 2006). However, about half of all indi- difficulties, and eating disorders. Researchers found that psycho-

viduals who have a serious mental How do I know therapy was more effective in reliev-
health problem do not seek treatment because they want if I need therapy ing a wide variety of psychological
to avoid the stigma that many in our society attach to for my problem? and behavioral symptoms than were

mental illness (Satcher, 2000). Mental health profes- control procedures such as being on
sionals have tried to erase this stigma by explaining a waiting list to receive therapy or
that mental illness is not a character flaw but a real just being in a group that received
health problem that can o en be successfully treated no systematic treatment.
with therapy programs that may involve drug, non- Knowing that psychotherapy is
drug, or a combination of therapies. an effective treatment brings us to
A person needs therapy for a problem if that problem the second question: Is one kind of
begins to interfere with the person’s social interactions, psychotherapy more effective than
relationships, work, career, or daily functioning. another?

Common Factors

Is one If you lived fi y years ago and needed pro- the same results is they all share common factors (L. Luborsky
fessional help for a mental illness, your only et al., 2002).
approach more choice was psychoanalysis, which was very Common factors are a basic set of procedures and experiences that

effective? time-consuming and expensive. In con- different therapies share and that explain why different approaches are

trast, if you need professional help today, equally effective. Common factors include the growth of a supportive and

you can choose from a number of different therapies, which are trusting relationship between therapist and client and the development of

available at a variety of mental health facilities. However, because an accepting atmosphere, in which the client feels willing to admit problems

the current therapy approaches begin with different assumptions and is motivated to work on changing. I found out that many of
and use different methods, you might wonder if one therapy is The fact that the above common fac- the therapies are about
more effective than another. In answer to this question, researchers
have consistently found that there is very little, if any, difference in tors are basic to all approaches explains equally effective.
why different assumptions and different
effectiveness among various therapies (Drisko, 2004; L. Luborsky techniques can be effectively combined to
et al., 2002). However, for a small number of specific disorders, develop the several different current forms
including panic attacks, phobias, generalized anxiety, obsessive- of psychotherapy, all of which are about
compulsions, insomnia, and depression, cognitive-behavioral- equally effective (L. Luborsky et al., 2002).
type therapies have generally been shown to be more effective than Related to the common factors of various
traditional talk therapies, such as the psychodynamic approaches therapeutic approaches is the basic assump-
(Butler et al., 2006; Dobson & Khatri, 2000). tion that therapy takes places face to face,
It may seem surprising that therapies with such different with therapist and client in the same room.
assumptions and techniques have been found to be equally effective. In this regard, you may find the recent
One reason different therapies using different techniques achieve growth in cybertherapy, discussed next, a bit surprising.

Cybertherapy

Is cyber- Our understanding of therapy has services in areas with limited availability of mental
largely been based on the assumption health services. e disadvantages are that cyberthera-
therapy really that it must take place face to face. pists may not have the same credentials and are gener-
therapy? However, cybertherapy, a high- ally not as well trained as traditional therapists. Also,
Photo Credit: © Ingram Publishing/Alamy cybertherapists cannot clearly see body gestures or facial
tech way to deliver therapeu- expressions and cannot clearly hear the emotional tone
tic services, challenges this basic assumption. in a client’s voice.
Cybertherapy is therapy delivered over the Internet.
Initial research on cybertherapy suggests it has prom-
Cybertherapy can range from clients e-mailing ise; however, more controlled experimental research
questions or concerns to a therapist, who in turn is needed to better assess its effectiveness (Barak et al.,
responds by e-mail, to clients sitting in front of a 2008; Derrig-Palumbo & Zeine, 2005; Rochlen et al.,
camera mounted on their computer and having a 2004; Zack et al., 2004).
live online session with a therapist (right photo).
The advantages of cybertherapy are that it Cybertherapy may seem strange to some, but the next
reduces costs and improves access to therapeutic treatment feels very strange to most Westerners.

E . R E V I E W : E V A L U A T I O N O F A P P R O A C H E S 571

F. Cultural Diversity: Different Healer

Case Study: Young Woman

What was In Bali, which is a province of Indonesia, as the local nurse, who gave an injection of multivitamins to treat
well as in parts of Africa, China, and Fiji her low energy level and general apathy. e injection did not help
her problem? Islands, many psychological problems that and the nurse recommended that the family take Putu to a local
Western clinicians would diagnose as anxi- witch doctor or healer, who could use special rituals to cure Putu
ety, mood disorders, or schizophrenia are believed to be caused by (L. Connor, 1982).
possession by evil spirits (Hobart, 2003; McGrath, 2003). For
example, take the case of Putu, a young unmarried woman, who In Western terminology, clinicians would say that Putu was
was about 20 years old. suffering from depression, which was most certainly brought on
Putu lived with her family in a small village on the beautiful by having to break off her loving relationship and being forced by
island of Bali. Putu’s family had made her break off her loving her family to become engaged to someone she did not like. Western
relationship with one man and become engaged to another, whom therapists would have treated her depression with some form of psy-
she did not want to marry. Since her new engagement, Putu had chotherapy and, if possible, would have brought the whole family in
lost all interest in things around her, ate very little, and did not for therapy. However, in Bali, Putu was believed to be the victim
take part in normal activities or conversation. Putu was taken to of witchcra , which could be cured by taking her to a traditional
healer, who is called a balian.

Healer’s Diagnosis and Treatment
The family took the depressed Putu to a out of cooked rice and were set on the ground to the south of the
What is well-respected healer, or balian, a woman girl. When the evil spirit was driven out of Putu’s body by smoke,

healing smoke? named Jero. Balians, such as Jero, believe the evil spirit would be attracted to the effigies, which would then
their powers come from supernatural be broken to destroy the spirit.
forces. e balians o en undergo periods of fasting and isola- In the morning, Jero asked Putu to stand in the middle of
tion that induce trances through which the spirits speak to healing smoke. A er about 40 minutes, the evil wind spirit
them. Balians are considered special healers who are asked left Putu’s body and entered the small
to help individuals with a variety of personal and mental You are male and female rice figures, which were
problems (Keeney, 2004). possessed of broken and thrown away. Then Putu’s
an evil wind
In Putu’s case, Jero located a small pulsation spirit. body was purified with holy water. Dur-

beneath Putu’s jawbone that indicated the presence ing the course of the afternoon, Putu
of an evil wind spirit. e rejected lover had placed began to talk, show interest in food and things around her,
the evil spirit into Putu’s body, and there was now and generally get over her former apathy.
a great danger that this evil spirit might travel For two more weeks, Putu stayed with Jero, who
throughout her body: If it reached Putu’s ears, continued to perform purification ceremonies and
she would go deaf; if it reached her brain, she drive away any lingering evil wind spirits. As part
would become violent and insane. Jero (right of the purification ceremonies, Putu was asked to
photo) said that she would mix a special medi- take part in everyday activities, such as gathering and
cine and that the family should return in two making food, engaging in normal conversations, washing
days for an exorcism of the evil wind spirit. clothes, and doing other chores. Through this pro-
As part of the exorcism rites, two small Indonesian healers, called balians, cess, Putu was helped and encouraged to resume her
function like Western therapists. normal duties and take part in social activities.
human effigies, a male and a female, were made

Healers Versus Western Therapists suffering from a variety of psychological and physical problems Photo Credit: © Roger Dashow/AnthroPhoto
show remarkable improvement a er receiving placebo treatments
The case of Putu shows that the beliefs and (Wampold et al., 2005). e balian’s rituals and herbs may function
Is a balian treatments used in the traditional healing like Western placebos (p. 111), which create positive beliefs and
a therapist? practices of African and Asian balians or expectations to help individuals recover from a variety of physical
and psychological problems. Second, the balian’s purification cer-
healers are very different from those used by emonies involve the development of a close relationship with the
Western therapists to treat psychological problems. But notice that sufferer, and this relationship may involve common factors similar
the balian’s exorcism rites, purification rituals, and herbal medi- to those found effective in Western therapy. Thus, placebos and
cines did reduce Putu’s depression. In many parts of Asia, China, psychotherapy’s common factors may explain the success of balians
Africa, Fiji Islands, and Indonesia, healers use herbal medicines, in treating a variety of mental problems in different cultures.
exorcism, and purification rituals to successfully treat a variety of
psychological problems (McGrath, 2003; Sue & Sue, 2007). Next, we’ll discuss treatment of one of the more difficult psycho-
logical problems, getting over a terrible and traumatic situation.
ere are two explanations of why a balian’s potions and ritu-
als are effective treatments for various mental and physical prob-
lems. First, studies on Western patients find that many patients

572 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

G. Research Focus: EMDR—New Therapy

Does EMDR Stop Traumatic Memories? a troubling traumatic memory while visually focusing

What is In the early 1990s a new kind of psycho- Can watching on and following the back-and-forth movement of a
therapy appeared that was unlike any a moving hand therapist’s hand. This process usually continues for
EMDR? we have discussed. After only a few reduce terrible several 90-minute sessions, after which the traumatic
sessions, clients reported a decrease
memories?

in traumatic memories, a problem very difficult to treat. memories are greatly reduced or eliminated.

is therapy was called Eye Movement Desensitization Francine Shapiro (1991) discovered EMDR a er noticing that her
and Reprocessing (F. Shapiro, 2002). own troubling thoughts disappeared a er she associated them with
her back-and-forth eye movements. Because EMDR’s method and
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or claims were so unusual, researchers wondered if it really worked.

EMDR, essentially involves having the client talk about or imagine

Evidence from Case Studies Evidence from Experiments
All of the early support for the effectiveness of EMDR
came from testimonials and case studies, many of them Does EMDR work? We have discussed many examples of so-called “medi-
as dramatic as the following: cal treatments” (Korean centipedes, rhino horns, fake pills and injections)
that, according to 30–80% of users’ testimonials, reduced pain, increased
A er one individual lost both arms and hearing in a sexual stamina, or cured various physical problems (pp. 31, 111) (Talbot,
tragic fire and explosion, he experienced terrible flash- 2000). ese “medical treatments” are examples of the well-known placebo
backs and nightmares for the next six years. When he effect, which can have a powerful influence and may explain why EMDR
finally consulted a psychiatrist, he was desperate and works. For nearly 20 years, researchers have studied EMDR therapy and
agreed to try the then-new EMDR procedure. During generally concluded that it was not simply a placebo effect but was effective
the EMDR procedure, he vividly recalled the fire, the in reducing traumatic memories, such as occur in posttraumatic stress dis-
shouts of the employees, and other terrible images, while order or PTSD (p. 491). So our first question, Does EMDR work? has been
visually following the back-and-forth movement of the answered positively (R. Shapiro, 2005; S. M. Silver et al., 2005).
therapist’s hand. However, as he continued imagining However, wondering if eye movement was the critical feature of EMDR
terrible images and following the therapist’s hand move- therapy, researchers compared clients who moved their eyes with those who
ments, he began to feel a flowing sensation of peace. stared straight ahead. As shown
Following a number of sessions, he was reported to be in the right graph, subjects who Score on Distance Scale
free of flashbacks and nightmares, had taught himself to
drive a car, and had joined a group that helps children made eye movements (EMDR) EMDR 8 Before
who need artificial limbs (Wartik, 1994). and who fixed their stare both Fixed 8
showed significant reductions in
Dramatic cases like this suggested that EMDR was distress (Renfrey & Spates, 1994).
a very simple yet effective treatment for getting rid of Researchers now know that differ- 1 EMDR After
traumatic memories, one of the most difficult problems
therapists face. In explaining how EMDR worked, Sha- ent kinds of stimulation (eye move- Fixed
piro (1991) hypothesized that the eye movements dur-
ing EMDR aided information processing to somehow ments, fixed staring, hand taps) are
reduce the distress accompanying traumatic events and effective as long as such stimulation occurs while clients are recalling their
images. traumatic memories (May, 2005; F. Shapiro & Maxfield, 2002).
How does EMDR work? is question has not yet been answered. What
During is known is that, during EMDR, clients are recalling and confronting their
EMDR, a most feared feelings, images, or situations, an established method of expo-
client talks sure therapy (p. 567). us, many researchers suggest that EMDR may be
about a another form of traditional exposure therapy, which is very effective for
Photo Credit: © Los Angeles Times, photo by Al Seib painful reducing fearful thoughts, images, and situations (Lilienfeld & Arkowitz,
memory 2006). However, others suggest the treatment process of EMDR is unique
because the eye movements allow patients to emotionally distance them-
while selves from the trauma experiences (C. W. Lee et al., 2006). At this point
watching a there are three therapies—EMDR, exposure therapy, and cognitive-behav-
therapist’s ioral therapy (p. 568)—that have been shown to be effective treatments for
moving hand. posttraumatic stress disorder (F. Shapiro, 2002).
Why is EMDR controversial? Some of the reasons EMDR has been so
Although the effectiveness of EMDR was supported controversial are that it seems too unusual, too simple, and too quick. How-
by case studies and testimonials, we must remember that ever, research has shown that EMDR is one of three therapies that is effective
such methods have great potential for error and bias and for treating a notoriously difficult and unusually persistent problem—the
cannot demonstrate cause and effect. us, to evaluate occurrence of traumatic memories (Marsa, 2002; R. Shapiro, 2005).
the effectiveness of EMDR, researchers used a more sci- Next, we’ll review several cognitive-behavioral techniques.
entific approach, the experimental method (p. 36).

G . R E S E A R C H F O C U S : E M D R — N E W T H E R A P Y 573

H. Application: Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques

Thought Problems

What’s a There are a number of psycho- How do I battle more worrying and more recurring negative
logical/behavioral problems crazy thoughts? thoughts (Robichaud et al., 2003). Although
common problem? that are not usually considered it’s good advice to “Just stop worrying about
serious mental disorders but it,” such advice is often very difficult to fol-
that can be very bothersome and interfere with our func- low. The harder you try to stop worrying about
tioning normally. something, the more you may worry about it. For-
For example, if you happened to do poorly on an tunately, clinicians have developed a number of
exam, were criticized by someone important to you, helpful cognitive-behavioral techniques that can be
broke up with someone, or had an accident, you may used to solve a variety of psychological or behavior
find it difficult to stop worrying and thinking about problems. We’ll discuss programs to stop recurring
the troubling event. Researchers find a gender differ- and troubling thoughts, to change negative thoughts
ence in worrying: Compared to men, women report into positive ones, and to deal with mild insomnia.

Thought-Stopping Program 1 Self-Monitoring
Researchers asked college students to
Could you not try very hard to suppress or stop any In all behavior-changing procedures, the first step is self-monitoring,
think about a thoughts having to do with a large which is observing one’s own behavior without making any changes.
In Carol’s case, it meant that for one week she wrote down all depress-
white bear? white bear. But researchers found that ing thoughts about Fred that lasted for more than a couple of minutes.
no matter how hard students tried to In addition, the therapist asked Carol to bring in pictures of herself
that showed her in pleasurable activities. ese pictures would provide
suppress worrisome negative thoughts, they kept coming back cues for thinking rational thoughts.
(Borton, 2002). These kinds of recurring and unwanted
thoughts are called intrusive thoughts. 2 Thought Stopping

Intrusive thoughts are thoughts that we repeatedly experience, Each time Carol began to experience a disturbing thought, she would
stop what she was doing, clasp her hands together, close her eyes,
are usually unwanted or disruptive, and are very difficult to stop or silently yell “Stop!” to herself, and silently count to ten. is was the
thought-stopping procedure.
eliminate.
3 Thought Substitution
Researchers found that just trying to stop thinking about
something, called thought suppression, is not very effective, A er counting silently to ten, she would open her eyes and take five
especially when the thoughts involve emotional situations and photographs out of her purse. She would look at each photograph and
especially if you are under a lot of stress (G. J. Beck et al., 2006; read what she had written on the back. For example, one photograph
Wenzlaff & Luxton, 2003). Instead of using thought suppres- showed her about to board an airplane for a trip. On the back she had
sion (trying not to think that thought), which is not effective, written, “I’m my own boss. My life is ahead of me. I can do what I want
researchers suggest using a mental program that either distracts to do.” Carol would then think about the trip and how much she liked
us or helps us change our goals (Wenzlaff & Wegner, 2000). For to travel. She would do the same for all five photographs.
example, we’ll describe a cognitive-behavioral program to iden-
tify and change intrusive thoughts. is program can be carried is thought-substituting procedure took 1–2 minutes. A er that,
out on one’s own or with the help and support of a therapist. she would return to whatever she had been doing.
Here’s a real-life example of Carol, who couldn’t stop think-
ing about her former boyfriend, Fred, with whom she had just During Carol’s first week of self-monitoring, she thought about Fred
broken up. No matter how much she tried, she thought about constantly and spent from 15 minutes to an hour each day crying. How-
Fred almost every day, and her thinking ever, a er using the thought-stopping and thought-substituting proce-
How do I stop about breaking up with Fred triggered dures for eight weeks, Carol had reduced the time thinking about Fred Photo Credits: top and bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
thinking about my a chain of other negative thoughts about to the point that she rarely cried or was depressed. A follow-up inter-
former boyfriend? herself: “I feel that I am a failure. I feel view four months a er therapy revealed that Carol was no longer having
intrusive thoughts about Fred, was no longer depressed, had developed
ugly and useless. I keep thinking about no new symptoms, and had a new boyfriend (G. L. Martin, 1982).
not being able to have a relationship. I feel
really depressed and I don’t want to do In Carol’s case, thought suppression alone (trying not to think that
anything” (G. L. Martin, 1982). thought) did not stop intrusive thoughts about Fred. What Carol and
Carol’s problem is that she has been most individuals with this problem need is a thought-stopping plus a
unable to stop the intrusive thoughts substitution program, which together are very effective (Borton, 2002).
about Fred, which result in her feeling
depressed. An effective cognitive- As you’ll see next, thought substitution is a very useful technique
behavioral technique for stopping for a number of problems, including fear and anxiety.
intrusive thoughts has three steps.

574 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Thought Substitution Treatment for Insomnia
For many years Rose was trapped in her house by intrusive Two major causes of insomnia
How can I thoughts that resulted in an intense fear of going out into How can are excessive worry and ten-
change fearful public places, which is called agoraphobia. If she even I get to sion. There are several non-

thoughts? thought about going outside to do her shopping, she felt sleep? drug treatments for insomnia
pain in her arms and chest, she began to perspire, her heart that differ in method, but all
beat rapidly, and her feet felt like rubber. However, after cognitive-behavioral have the same goal: to stop the person from exces-
therapy, she overcame her agoraphobia. sive worrying and reduce tension. One proven
As part of the overall therapy program, a cognitive therapist asked Rose a num- cognitive-behavioral method to reduce insomnia
ber of questions to identify her irrational thoughts. For example, she may have is to establish an optimal sleep pattern (Bootzin &
overgeneralized, thinking, “ e last time I went out I was terrified; it’s sure to hap- Rider, 1997; Means & Edinger, 2006).
pen again.” Or Rose may have engaged in polarized thinking: “All my happiness is
right here in this house; nothing outside could give me any pleasure.” Her thinking Establishing an Optimal Sleep Pattern
might have been distorted by selective attention, such as remembering all those By following the eight steps below, your sleep pat-
activities outside the house that terrified her and forgetting all those activities that
she had once found pleasurable, such as shopping and going to movies. tern will become more
Rose was asked to make a list of all her irrational thoughts on one side of a sheet of regular and efficient and
help reduce insomnia.

paper. en, next to each irrational thought, she was asked to write down a rational 1. Go to bed only when
response that could be substituted for the irrational one. Here are some examples: you are sleepy, not by
convention (it’s time
Irrational Thoughts Rational Thoughts for bed) or habit.
O I am much safer if I stay
at home. O Rarely has anything bad Cognitive-behavioral 2. Put the light out im-
O I feel more protected if happened when I have gone program for insomnia mediately when you
I do not have to walk Thought out. get into bed.
through crowds. substitution
O I think something
awful will occur if I go to O I have never been harmed 3. Do not read or watch television in bed, since
a supermarket. by a crowd of people. these are activities that you do when awake.
O I can’t bear the thought O ousands of people go
of going to a movie theater. to supermarkets and do 4. If you are not asleep within 20 minutes, get out
their shopping unharmed. of bed and sit and relax in another room until
O Many people enjoy you are sleepy and tired again. Relaxation can
going to movies. include tensing and relaxing one’s muscles or
using visual imagery, which involves closing
Like Rose, you can follow the same three steps of the thought-substitution pro- one’s eyes and concentrating on some calm
gram, which is a very effective technique for changing feelings and behaviors. scene or image for several minutes.

1 rough self-monitoring, write down as many irrational thoughts as possible. If 5. Repeat step 4 as o en as required and also if
you are in a habit of thinking irrational thoughts, it may require special attention you wake up for any long periods of time.

to identify them. 6. Set the alarm to the same time each morning
2 Next to the column of irrational thoughts, compose a matching list of rational so that your time of waking is always the same.
thoughts. e rational thoughts should be as detailed or specific as possible. is step is very important because oversleep-
ing or sleeping in is one of the primary causes
3 Begin to practice substituting rational thoughts for irrational ones. Each time of insomnia the next night.

you make a substitution, give yourself a mental reward for your effort. 7. Do not nap during the day because it will
One reason therapists give throw off your sleep schedule that night.
clients homework, such as using
How do I change my thought substitution in daily life, 8. Follow this program rigidly for several weeks
fearful thoughts so is to encourage clients to prac- to establish an efficient and regular pattern
I can go out in public? of sleep.

Photo Credit: © Rob Bartee/SuperStock tice thinking rationally (A. T. Beck & Results. Nondrug treatment programs, such
Weishaar, 2008). Cognitive-behavioral as the eight-step program described here, were
therapists see irrational thoughts and among the most effective programs for signifi-
beliefs as the primary causes of emo- cantly decreasing insomnia (Means & Edinger,
tional and behavioral problems (Dob- 2006).
son, 2009).
Worrisome, annoying, and irrational We have discussed several cognitive-behavioral
thoughts are one of the major causes of techniques that can be used on one’s own or with
insomnia, which can also be treated the aid of a therapist. ese techniques are effec-
with a cognitive-behavioral program. tive for treating a wide range of mild to severe
mental problems (Dobson, 2009).

H . A P P L I C A T I O N : C O G N I T I V E - B E H A V I O R A L T E C H N I Q U E S 575

Summary Test

A. Historical Background 7. During the course of therapy, a patient will project conflict-
ridden emotions onto the therapist; this process is called
1. In the early 1800s, the popular belief that mental (a) . Working through transference is one of the
patients could be helped to function better by pro-
viding humane treatment in a relaxed and decent two essential requirements for improvement in psychoanalysis;
the other is that the patient achieves (b) into
environment was called (a) . In the causes of his or her problem. A patient’s reluctance to work
the early 1950s, the first drugs to reduce schizo-
phrenic symptoms were discovered. These drugs, through feelings or recognize unconscious conflicts and repressed
thoughts is called (c) .
called (b) , reduced the effects of
the neurotransmitter (c) .
8. Increasing pressure to use briefer versions of psychotherapy
2. Following the use of phenothiazines, many mental patients resulted in a shortened form of traditional psychoanalysis. This
were released from mental hospitals and returned to the commu- new version uses some of the same principles, such as dealing with
nity to develop more independent and fulfilling lives; this process transference, but has the therapist taking a more active role and
was called (a) . People with mental disorders dealing with a more specific problem; this approach is called
that do not require hospitalization often seek treatment in
psychotherapy.

(b) centers. 9. A form of insight therapy developed by Carl Rogers emphasizes
our creative and constructive tendencies and the importance of
B. Questions about Psychotherapy building caring relationships. This is called (a)
therapy. One of its basic techniques is to restate or
3. If you go to medical school, receive an MD degree, and (b) the client’s concerns and feelings.
then take a psychiatric residency, you can become a
(a) . If you go to graduate school in 10. Rogers believed that the therapist’s characteristics foster
growth and change. The therapist needs to have the ability to
clinical psychology and complete a PhD program, understand what the client is saying and feeling, a trait called
including at least one year of work in a clinical setting,
you can become a (b) . If you go (a) ; the ability to communicate caring, respect,
and regard for the client, called (b) ; and the
to graduate school in psychology or educa- ability to be real and nondefensive in interactions with the client,
tion and complete a PhD program, includ-
ing work in a counseling setting, you can called (c) .

become a (c) . 11. Another form of insight therapy is the cognitive therapy

4. Therapy in which the therapist and client talk about the client’s developed by Aaron Beck. The basic assumption of Beck’s cogni-
tive theory is that our (a) negative thoughts
symptoms and problems with the goal of reaching or identifying distort how we perceive and interpret things, thus influencing
the cause of the problem is called (a) therapy.
Therapy that involves the application of learning principles and our behaviors and feelings. For example, making blanket judg-
ments about yourself on the basis of a single incident is called
focuses on identifying and changing specific behaviors is called (b) . Sorting information into one of two catego-
(b) therapy. Therapy that involves the use of
various psychoactive drugs, such as tranquilizers and neuroleptics, ries is (c) . Focusing on one detail so much that
you do not notice other events is using (d) .
to treat mental disorders is called (c) therapy. Beck believes that maladaptive thought patterns cause a

C. Insight Therapies distorted view of one’s world, which in turn may lead to
various emotional problems.
Photo Credit: (#1) National Library of Medicine, #A-13392
5. Freud developed one of the first forms of insight 12. Cognitive therapy has been shown to have approximately the
therapy, which he called (a) . same effectiveness as do drugs in treating major
At the core of psychoanalysis is the idea that and has been used effectively to treat other psychological
psychological and physical symptoms arise from problems.
(b) that a person cannot volun-
tarily uncover or recall.
D. Behavior Therapy
6. Freud developed two techniques that he believed
provide clues to unconscious thoughts and conflicts: When clients 13. Therapy that emphasizes treatment of specific behaviors and
are encouraged to talk about any thoughts or images that enter working toward specific goals without focusing on mental events
their heads, this is called (a) ; when a therapist or underlying unconscious factors is known as
looks for hidden meanings and symbols in dreams, this is called therapy. This form of therapy is based on classical and operant
(b) . conditioning principles.

576 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

14. A technique of behavior therapy in which the F. Cultural Diversity: Different Healer
client is gradually exposed to the feared object
while simultaneously practicing relaxation is 22. In many cases, the healers in Asia and Africa are as effective
as Western therapists. One explanation is that these
called (a) . As part of this tech- healers may rely on the (a) effect,
nique, the client must prepare a list of feared stim-
uli, arranged in order from least to most feared; this which is found to produce significant improve-
ment in 10–30% of Western patients. Another is
is called a (b) hierarchy. Another that the healers’ ceremonies may involve some of
technique is for the client to be gradually exposed
to the actual feared or anxiety-producing situa- the (b) that underlie the effective-
ness of Western therapy.
tion; this is called (c) exposure.

15. One form of therapy combines two methods: changing nega- G. Research Focus: EMDR—New Therapy
tive thoughts by substituting positive ones, and changing unwant-
ed or disruptive behaviors by learning and practicing new skills to 23. Researchers have shown that three different thera-
improve functioning. This approach is called pies are effective ways to reduce the distress, anxiety,
therapy. and traumatic memories in individuals suffering from

(a) , or PTSD. These three therapies ,
are (b) , or EMDR, (c)
E. Review: Evaluation of Approaches and . Researchers believe that

16. Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis, whose basic EMDR may work because it is similar to another therapy called
(d) .
assumption is that emotional problems are caused by underlying
(a) . Techniques used to uncover unconscious
conflicts include (b) and .
H. Application: Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques
17. Carl Rogers developed (a) therapy, whose
basic assumption is that the client is responsible for change and 24. Behavior or cognitive-behavioral therapy
usually involves three steps in changing
has the capacity to grow and reach his or her full potential. thought patterns. The first step is observing Thought
Techniques include (b) the client’s concerns; substitution
therapists must also show the characteristics one’s own behavior without making any
changes; this is called (a) . thoughts.
of empathy, positive regard, and genuineness. The second step is to identify those

18. Aaron Beck’s cognitive theory assumes (b) thoughts that
need to be changed. The third step is to
that automatic, negative, and irrational (c) a positive thought for
(a) can color our feelings and
actions, distort our perceptions, and result in a negative one. Another step that is sometimes
included is to actively stop (d)
various problems. Its techniques include recog-
nizing negative thoughts and (b) positive ones.

19. An approach to therapy based on learning principles is called Answers: 1. (a) moral therapy, (b) phenothiazines, (c) dopamine;
(a) therapy, whose basic assumption is that 2. (a) deinstitutionalization, (b) community mental health; 3. (a) psychia-
emotional problems are (b) and thus can be trist, (b) clinical psychologist, (c) counseling psychologist; 4. (a) insight,
unlearned by using learning principles. Its techniques include (b) behavior, (c) medical; 5. (a) psychoanalysis, (b) unconscious conflicts;
systematic desensitization, role-playing, imitation, and modeling. 6. (a) free association, (b) dream interpretation; 7. (a) transference,
Photo Credit: (#22) © Roger Dashow/AnthroPhoto (b) insight, (c) resistance; 8. short-term dynamic; 9. (a) client-centered,
20. Despite differences in approaches and techniques, the five most (b) reflect; 10. (a) empathy, (b) positive regard, (c) genuineness;
popular forms of psychotherapy differ little in (a) , 11. (a) automatic, (b) overgeneralization, (c) polarized thinking, (d) selec-
except for a small number of disorders, such as phobias, panic tive attention; 12. depression; 13. behavior; 14. (a) systematic desensitiza-
attacks, and depression, in which (b) therapy is tion, (b) stimulus, (c) in vivo; 15. cognitive-behavioral; 16. (a) unconscious
found to be more effective. Most improvement in therapy occurs in conflicts, (b) free association, dream interpretation; 17. (a) client-centered,
a relatively short period of (c) . (b) reflecting or restating; 18. (a) thoughts, (b) substituting; 19. (a) behav-
ior, (b) learned; 20. (a) effectiveness, (b) behavior or cognitive-behavioral,
21. One reason therapies tend to be equally effective is that they (c) time; 21. common factors; 22. (a) placebo, (b) common factors;
all share . For example, the development of a 23. (a) posttraumatic stress disorder, (b) Eye Movement Desensitization and
supportive and trusting relationship between therapist and client Reprocessing, (c) exposure therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, (d) expo-
results in an accepting atmosphere in which the client feels willing sure; 24. (a) self-monitoring, (b) negative or automatic, (c) substitute,
to admit problems and is motivated to work on changing. (d) intrusive or annoying

S U M M A R Y T E S T 577

Critical Thinking

Can Virtual Reality
Be More than Fun & Games?

QUESTIONS Most people experience a traumatic used to navigate through the three- 4What are some Photo Credit: left, © AP Images/Ted S. Warren
event at some point in their life, dimensional scene, and special gog- of the physical
1Can virtual-reality but for some, the trauma has lasting gles help make the scene more real, symptoms you would
therapy be used to effects that interfere with their daily so real in fact that users feel as expect these veterans
treat drug addiction, functioning. People who are plagued though they are back in Iraq. The re- to exhibit during the
even though it isn’t a by nightmares, flashbacks, and con- enactment takes place on a vibrating reenactment that
fear resulting from a stant stress as a result of a traumatic platform so the veteran can feel the seems so real?
traumatic experience? experience, such as abuse, rape, bur- humming of the tank’s motor or the
Explain. glary, or watching a person die, are rumbling of explosives being set off. 5Which type of
often in desperate need of treatment. Sounds and smells (such as voices, therapeutic
2What type of For many years, therapists have been gunshots, and odors) can be incor- approach and tech-
DSM-IV-TR disor- working with such clients by helping porated to add to the realness of the nique is virtual-reality
der is fear of spiders them confront their fears in a system- situation. This process is gradual, therapy most like?
and fear of heights? atic, step-by-step approach. beginning with only a few elements
of the traumatic experience and add- 6What type of
3What are some As you may expect, many clients ing more elements until the scenes mental health
other advantages who have intense fears are reluctant to become gruesomely realistic, with im- professional(s) would
of virtual-reality ther- undergo therapy requiring them to ages of people getting blown up and most likely administer
apy over traditional confront the very fear they so badly terrifying sounds of screaming. The virtual-reality therapy?
therapy methods? want to avoid. A relatively new treat- goal is that eventually the veteran can
ment option for these clients is virtual- go through an intense re-creation ANSWERS
reality therapy, where they can vividly without being overcome with fear. TO CRITICAL
experience the feared object or situa- THINKING
tion in a safe and controlled manner. Because research data on the effec- QUESTIONS
That’s right, virtual reality is no longer tiveness of virtual-reality therapy
only about experiencing fun adven- have been so positive, qualified men-
tures or fantasies. It’s a powerful treat- tal health professionals can now lease
ment technique. For instance, virtual- software so they can administer treat-
reality therapy can help a socially ments in their own offices. The cur-
anxious client speak to intimidating rent technology is not nearly as sophis-
crowds of people, or help a client with ticated as the world portrayed in The
a phobia of spiders to approach and Matrix films, but nevertheless, based
hold a hideous-looking spider, or even on clients’ intense reactions, the virtu-
help a client with an intense fear of al scenes are realistic enough. (Adapt-
heights stand on a 30-story building ed from P. L. Anderson et al., 2005;
and look straight down. APA, 2008b; H. G. Hoffman, 2004;
Jardin, 2005; Osborne, 2002; A. Rizzo
One of the major advantages of et al., 2009; S. Rizzo, 2008; Z. Rosen-
virtual-reality therapy is it can be used thal, 2007; Rothbaum, 2009; Saladin
when a client’s fear is not something a et al., 2006; J. Williams, 2009)
therapist can easily expose him or her
to. For this reason, virtual-reality ther-
apy is being used to treat Iraq war vet-
erans diagnosed with PTSD as a result
of traumatic combat experiences.
These veterans describe the scene that
haunts them, and the therapist uses a
computer program to create a virtual
environment that consists of the key
elements of the reported traumatic ex-
perience. The handheld joystick is

578 M O D U L E 2 4 T H E R A P I E S

Links to Learning

Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities

agoraphobia, 575 free association, 561 PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
agoraphobia: treatment, 575 Freud, Sigmund, 560 to Psychology 4.5
Beck, Aaron, 565 healers versus Western
behavior therapy, 566 Use PowerStudy to complete quizzes and learning activities for erapies. e
behavior therapy: basic therapists, 572 DVD also includes interactive versions of the Summary Test on pages 576–577
imagined exposure, 567 and the critical thinking questions for the article on page 578, key terms, an out-
assumptions, 570 insight therapy, 559 line and an abstract of the module, and an extended list of correlated websites.
behavior therapy: insomnia: treatment, 575
intrusive thoughts, 574 CengageNOW!
techniques, 570 in vivo exposure, 567 www.cengage.com/login
client-centered therapy, 564 medical therapy, 559 Want to maximize your online study time? Take this easy-
client-centered therapy: meta-analysis, 559 to-use study system’s diagnostic pre-test and it will create a personalized study
moral therapy, 556 plan for you. e plan will help you identify the topics you need to understand
basic assumptions, 570 neuroses, 561 better and direct you to relevant companion online resources that are specific
client-centered therapy: phenothiazines, 557 to this book, speeding up your review of the module.
psychiatrists, 558
techniques, 570 psychoanalysis, 560 Introduction to Psychology Book Companion Website
clinical psychologists, 558 psychoanalysis: basic www.cengage.com/psychology/plotnik
cognitive-behavioral Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
assumptions, 570 study, including learning objectives, additional quizzes, flash cards, updated
therapy: techniques, 568 psychoanalysis: links to useful websites, and a pronunciation glossary.
cognitive-behavioral
evaluation, 563 Study Guide and WebTutor
therapy, 559, 568 psychoanalysis: Work through the corresponding module in your Study
cognitive therapy, 565 Guide for tips on how to study effectively and for help learning the material
cognitive therapy: basic techniques, 570 covered in the book. WebTutor (an online Study Tool accessed through your
psychotherapy, 556 eResources account) provides an interactive version of the Study Guide.
assumptions, 570 resistance, 562
cognitive therapy: Rogers, Carl, 564
self-monitoring, 574
techniques, 570 short-term dynamic
common factors, 571
community mental health psychotherapy, 562
stimulus hierarchy, 567
centers, 557 systematic
counseling
desensitization, 567
psychologists, 558 thought stopping, 574
cybertherapy, 571 thought substitution,
deinstitutionalization, 557
dream interpretation, 561 574, 575
eclectic approach, 559 transference, 562
effectiveness of

psychotherapy, 571
Eye Movement Desensiti-

zation and Reprocessing,
or EMDR, 573

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking complete confidentiality and reduces possible embarrassment
because exposure doesn’t have to take place in public settings.
1. Yes, virtual-reality therapy can be used to treat drug addiction. A 4. A wide range of physical symptoms may occur. They include pound-
therapist guides a patient through a virtual world filled with tempta- ing heart, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, muscle tension,
tions, which brings the patient’s cravings in the outside world into heightened sweat gland activity, dilated pupils, and dry mouth.
therapy. When temptations arise, the patient’s cravings intensify, 5. Virtual-reality therapy is essentially an application of a type of
and since patients don’t take drugs in the virtual world, they learn behavior therapy called systematic desensitization, which is a
to cope with cravings without using drugs. method of gradually exposing patients to a feared object or situa-
tion in real life or through the use of imagination.
2. A fear of spiders and fear of heights are considered to be specific 6. Mental health professionals who could provide virtual-reality
phobias, which are characterized by marked and persistent fears that therapy are those who provide psychotherapy for psychological
are unreasonable and triggered by anticipation of, or exposure to, a disorders, which would primarily include clinical and counseling
specific object or situations (in this example, spiders and heights). psychologists as well as a smaller proportion of psychiatrists.

3. Additional advantages of virtual-reality therapy include that it can be L I N K S T O L E A R N I N G 579
less expensive and safer than other treatment methods, such as tra-
ditional exposure. The therapist can control the intensity of the expe-
rience and stop immediately if the patient panics. It also provides

Social

25 Psychology
MODULE

Photo Credit: © Westend61/Photolibrary
A. Perceiving Others 582 H. Aggression 601
B. Attributions 585 I. Application: Controlling Aggression 604
C. Research Focus: Attributions & Grades 587 Summary Test 606
D. Attitudes 588 Critical Thinking 608
E. Cultural Diversity:
Why the Debate over Teen Vaccination? 609
National Attitudes & Behaviors 591 Links to Learning
F. Social & Group Influences 592
Concept Review 599
G. Social Neuroscience 600

580

Introduction

Stereotypes Behavior in Groups
Lawrence Graham wanted to get a job at a country The touch football game had been
Why did he club and had phoned numerous clubs to set up per- Why did the going on for years and was consid-
take a $90,000 sonal interviews. Here’s what happened when he girls turn ered a rite of passage for incoming

pay cut? arrived for one of his interviews. violent? seniors. During the game, some
“We don’t have any job openings—and if you don’t minor hazing usually took place,
leave the building, I will have to call security,” the receptionist such as senior girls dumping various kinds of food
said at the first club Graham visited. (ketchup, whipped cream, syrup) on junior girls. For this
“But I just spoke to Donna, your dining game, the time and place were kept secret from school
manager, and she said to come by and dis- administrators. Also, several parents arranged to have
cuss the waiter job.” kegs at their homes so that the underage girls could
“Sorry, but there are no jobs and no one drink beer before going to the game.
here named Donna” (Graham, 1995, p. 4). About 10 minutes into the junior-senior touch football
Graham finally got two job offers and decided game, something happened and the game turned ugly
on the exclusive Greenwich Country Club. This and violent. e senior girls started to act in violent ways
club had been in existence for 100 years and was the that just happened to be videotaped by another student.
country club in the very affluent, prestigious, and Later, as CNN played the tape over and over, everyone
White town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The club’s wondered how these particular senior girls, who came
A posh country members included a former president, a number of high- from a well-to-do Chicago suburb and went to a good
club would offer ranking government officials, and dozens of Fortune 500 high school, could have done such disgusting things.
Graham only the executives, bankers, and Wall Street lawyers.
job of a busboy.

Although Graham wanted a job as a waiter, he was hired to be a busboy.
Except when one of the members wanted something and deliberately looked
for him, Graham’s job as a busboy made him quite invisible and able to over-
hear members’ conversations.
“Here, busboy. Here, busboy,” a woman called out. “Busboy, my coffee is
cold. Give me a refill.”
“Certainly, I would be happy to,” said Graham. Senior girls
Before he returned to the kitchen, Graham heard the woman say to her engage in
companion, “My goodness. Did you hear that? at busboy has diction like violent hazing
an educated White person” (Graham, 1995, p. 12). of juniors
In real life, Lawrence Graham was a Harvard Law School graduate, had while about
a job as an associate in a New York law firm, and earned $105,000 a year. 100 watch.
Although he was ready to move up the social ladder, Graham, who is Afri-
can American, received no invitations to join a country club, as his White According to the video (above illustration) and police
associates did. So to find out what goes on in country clubs that do not admit reports, junior girls were beaten, slapped, kicked, splat-
African Americans, he got in the only way he could, as a busboy making $7 tered in the eyes with Tabasco sauce and vinegar, hit
an hour. with buckets, covered with animal intestines and urine,
Graham’s example points out how people o en make judgments about and smeared with blood, fish guts, mud, and feces. Five
others on the basis of physical appearance and accompanying stereotypes, girls ended up in the hospital, some requiring stitches.
which are both major topics of social psychology. During the violent hazing, about a hundred students just
Social psychology is a broad field whose goals are to understand and explain how stood and watched, not trying to stop the brawl (L. Black
& Flynn, 2003). What kind of group pressure causes
our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of, normal people to submit to being hazed, and what kind
of group pressure turns normal people into violent and
or interactions with, others. ugly hazers?

One relatively new, rapidly growing, and important subarea of social What’s Coming
psychology is cognitive social psychology.
Cognitive social psychology is a subarea of social psychology that focuses on We’ll discuss how we perceive people, how we explain
the causes of our behaviors, why we develop attitudes,
Photo Credit: © Ted Hardin how cognitive processes, such as perceiving, retrieving, and interpreting information and how we respond to persuasion. We’ll also explore a
variety of social influences and group behaviors, such as
about social interactions and events, affect emotions and behaviors and how emotions what makes hazing so popular, how we respond to group
pressures, what motivates us to help others, and why we
and behaviors affect cognitions (Roese, 2001). behave aggressively.

Social psychologists study how we form impressions and perceive others, We’ll begin with Graham’s story, which raises the
how we form attitudes and stereotypes, how we evaluate social interactions, question of how we form impressions of others.
and why racism exists—all of which are involved in Lawrence Graham’s
story. I N T R O D U C T I O N 581
Another major topic of social psychology is how people behave in groups.

A. Perceiving Others

Person Perception 3 Influence on behavior. Your first impressions will influence

How do you Compare the photo of Lawrence Graham on how you would like or interact with a person. For example, if
form first the le with that on the right. In the le photo, your first impression of Graham is as a $7-an-
your first impression is that Graham is hour busboy, you would interact very differently
impressions? a busboy or waiter, while

in the right photo, than if your impression of him was as a
your first impression is that Graham is a con-
fident businessman or professional. Your first $105,000-a-year professional working for a
4large corporation.
impressions, which were formed in seconds, Effects of race. Researchers found that
with little conscious thought, and were biased
by your past experiences, are part of person members of one race generally recognize
perception. faces of their own race more accurately
Person perception refers to seeing someone and At country clubs, Graham was
Graham was actually a graduate
then forming impressions and making judgments about of Harvard Law than faces of other races (Ferguson et al.,
offered jobs as School. 2001). is means we may perceive faces
that person’s likability and the kind of person he or she a busperson. that are racially different from our own in

is, such as guessing his or her intentions, traits, and behaviors. a biased way because they do not appear as distinct as faces Photo Credits: top left and right, © Ted Hardin; bottom left, Courtesy of Dr. Victor Johnston, from “Why We Feel”; bottom center, © Ismael Lopez/Photolibrary;
bottom right, © Dave Falk/Getty Images
As you formed a first impression of Graham from each photo, four from our own race. Further evidence of racial bias occurring in
factors influenced your judgment (L. S. Newman, 2001). first impressions is found in research showing that the area of
the brain associated with emotional vigilance becomes more
1 Physical appearance. Your initial impressions and judgments of a activated when White people view photos of unfamiliar Black,
person are influenced and biased by a person’s physical appearance.
For example, Graham makes a very different first impression when he as compared to unfamiliar White, faces (Fiske, 2006).
Researchers report that first impressions, such as the one you
looks like a busboy or a professional. make of Graham, usually occur automatically and function to
influence or bias future social interactions in a positive or nega-
2 Need to explain. You don’t just look at a person, but rather you try
to explain why he looks, dresses, or behaves in a certain way. You might tive direction (Andersen et al., 2007; L. S. Newman, 2001). One
explain that Graham-as-busboy is working his way through college, factor that plays a major role in person perception, especially
while Graham-as-professional is successfully developing his career. forming first impressions, is physical attractiveness.

Physical Appearance

What Researchers found that, for better or worse, a about 0.90) among Whites, African Americans, Asians, and His-
person’s looks matter, since people who are panics about which faces of adults and children are and are not
makes a face judged more physically attractive generally attractive (Langlois et al., 2000). According to evolutionary psy-
attractive? make more favorable impressions (D. K. Mar- chologists, judging and valuing attractiveness may have evolved
cus & Miller, 2003). To determine why a face is and become a “built-in” ability because attractiveness was a
judged attractive, researchers created faces by combining and aver- visible sign of a person having good genes, being healthy, and
aging physical features taken from different faces. Researchers could becoming a good mate (Lie, 2009; Quill, 2009).
make faces more or less attractive by averaging more According to evolutionary psychologists, men
(32) or fewer (16) faces (Langlois et al., 1994). For are most attracted to youthful women who have an
example, the face in the le photo, which was rated “hourglass figure” (hips larger than waist), which
very attractive, was actually created by averaging signals a childbirth advantage. Women are most
thousands of faces (Johnston, 2000). It turns out attracted to men who have masculine faces,
that average faces are more attractive than the with a larger jaw and great-
originals, and the preference for average faces er muscle mass, which
begins in infancy, as babies stare at composite faces suggests higher testos-
How attractive longer (Langlois, 2009).When faces of attractive terone levels (Jayson,
is this woman? women were shown to heterosexual men, the men’s 2009a). Interestingly,

brain scans showed that looking at attractive faces activated the when women are ovulat-
brain’s reward/pleasure center (p. 330), the same center that is acti- ing, which is the most fer-
vated by food, sex, and drugs (cocaine) (Aharon et al., 2001). tile time in their monthly
Evolution. Some researchers believe that physical attraction is cycle, their preference for
completely instinctual and not based on logic. Research suggests more masculine faces
that some physical characteristics are considered more universally and masculine bodies
attractive (Jayson, 2009a). For example, researchers found that both Women prefer intensifies (Gangestad, Men prefer women
within and across cultures, there is strong agreement (correlation men with more 2009). with “hourglass
masculine faces. figures.”

582 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Stereotypes On the right are photos less controlling groups more negatively than members
of actors who played the of more powerful or more controlling groups.
What could roles of patients complain-
bias medical ing of chest pains. While Stereotypes played an important role in the
treatment? study we just described. Although the actor-

describing their symp- patients reported the same symptoms and should
toms, the actor-patients were videotaped. ese have received about the same kinds of treatment,
videotapes were shown to over 700 physicians physicians were 40% less likely to recommend
who were asked to recommend treatments. sophisticated medical tests for women and Afri-
Because the actor-patients all described the same can Americans compared to White men (Schul-
physical symptoms, all the physicians should have man et al., 1999). More recent research also found
generally recommended the same treatments. that African Americans were less likely than
However, physicians recommended different Whites to receive expensive medical procedures
treatments that depended on the physicians’ par- (USA Today, 2005).
ticular sexual and racial stereotypes (Schulman ese studies show that racial and sexual stereo-
Photo Credits: top, From “The Effect of Race and Sex on Physicians’ Recommendations for Cardiac Catheterization” by K. A. Schulman et al., 1999, The New England et al., 1999). Which of these individuals received types, which may occur automatically and without
Journal of Medicine, 2/5/99, pp. 621–622. Copyright © 1999, Massachusetts Medical Society. Reprinted by permission of publisher and Interactive Drama; bottom left the best treatment for heart problems? awareness, may bias the physicians’ perceptions
and right, © PhotoDisc, Inc. Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people

have certain traits because they belong to a particular group. Stereotypes and judgments (Andersen et al., 2007). As you’ll see next, once
are often inaccurate and frequently portray the members of less powerful, negative stereotypes are formed, they are difficult to change.

Development of Stereotypes Functions of Stereotypes

Psychologists believe that we develop stereotypes when parents, Social cognitive psychologists suggest that, just as we have devel-
peers, teachers, and others reward us with social approval for hold- oped physical tools, such as hammers and saws, to help us build
ing certain attitudes and beliefs. ere are also cultural pressures to things more efficiently, we have also developed cognitive tools,
adopt certain values and beliefs about members of different groups. such as stereotypes, to help us think and make decisions more
For example, in the weight-conscious culture of the United States, efficiently. For example, instead of having to analyze in detail the
there is an emphasis on being thin (see Module 15), so we might person in the photo below, you immediately notice the person’s
expect a negative stereotype to apply to people who are overweight. unique characteristics, assign the person to a social group, such as
In fact, research shows that people have a significant bias against teenage-punker, and use the information stored in your “teenage-
hiring overweight job applicants, especially overweight women punker” stereotype: disregards standard social customs and fash-
(Pingitore et al., 1994). Other research shows that a er taking into ions, is independent, dislikes authority, goes to rave parties,
account factors such as age, race, and sex, people who are perceived experiments with drugs, and so on. is example shows that ster-
as more attractive make more money (Judge et al., 2009). Another eotypes are frequently used because they serve at least two major
study found that in a trivia competition, a situation in which work- functions (Banaji, 2005; D. J. Schneider, 2004).
ing with a partner with a high IQ provides a distinct advantage, Thought-saving device. Stereotypes help us Why don’t
people are willing to sacrifice 12 IQ points in a partner to have one conserve time and energy when making deci- adults like me?

Why do you think who is thin (Caruso, 2009). These biases are sions in social situations. By using stereotypes,
I wasn’t hired? examples of negative stereotypes, which are o en we make quick (and sometimes inaccurate)
accompanied by prejudice and discrimination. decisions and thus save time and energy by not
Prejudice refers to an unfair, biased, or intoler- having to analyze an overwhelming amount of

ant attitude toward another group of people. personal and social information.

An example of prejudice is believing that Alertness and survival. Recent neurological
overweight women are not as intelligent, com- research found that the sight of a stranger of another
petent, or capable as women of normal weight. race leads to heightened physiological arousal,
Discrimination refers to specific unfair behav- which likely reflects unconscious biases and a

iors exhibited toward members of a group. natural awareness of individuals of unfamiliar groups (such as race)

An employer’s bias against hiring overweight (A. Olsson et al., 2005). us, one function of stereotypes is to make
applicants is an example of discrimination. us alert and cautious around members of an unfamiliar group.
e history of the United States provides many examples of rac- However, a major problem with stereotypes is they are very dif-
ist and sexist cultural stereotypes, such as beliefs that women are ficult to change because they occur automatically and without our
not smart enough to vote and that African Americans are inferior awareness of having used them to make judgments (D. J. Schneider,
to Whites (Swim et al., 1995). Research shows that some stereo- 2004). Another reason stereotypes are difficult to change is that we
types, including racial prejudice, are so much a part of our society o en dismiss information that contradicts or doesn’t fit our stereo-
that they begin developing as early as 6 years of age (A. S. Baron & types (Banaji, 2006). is means biased stereotypes can live on and
Banaji, 2006). lead to inaccurate judgments and decisions in social situations.
One reason we frequently use stereotypes to make judgments Another view of stereotypes is they are like having information
about people is that stereotypes save us thinking time. categories in the brain, which are called schemas, our next topic.

A . P E R C E I V I N G O T H E R S 583

A. Perceiving Others

Schemas

How are When Dr. Harriet Hall received her careers. While married to a civilian, she was not allowed to live in base
medical degree in 1970, few women housing or receive the dependent allowances that her male colleagues
schemas like were in medicine and even fewer got because wives were classified as dependents and husbands
social filters? women joined the militar y. were not (H. A. Hall, 2008). One reason people responded to
Dr. Hall was the only female Dr. Hall in sexist ways is they had developed mental categories,
doctor at David Grant USAF Medical Center and the called schemas.
only female military doctor in Spain. roughout her Schemas are mental categories that, like computer files, contain

career, she had to fight for acceptance from just about knowledge about people, events, and concepts. Because schemas affect

everyone. Even a 3-year-old daughter of a patient said, what we attend to and how we interpret things, schemas can influence,

“Oh, Daddy! That’s not a doctor, that’s a lady.” After bias, and distort our thoughts, perceptions, and social behaviors.

spending several years as a medical officer in Spain, Sexist schemas of women working in medical fields and in
she returned to the United States, learned to fly, and the military put women like Dr. Hall at a disadvantage com-
became a f light surgeon. Dr. Hall earned a pilot’s Why was Dr. Hall pared to their male colleagues. Even today, successful women
license despite being told “women aren’t supposed to shown less respect in male-dominated fields are o en regarded more negatively
fly,” a phrase she chose as the title of her memoirs. than her male peers? than their male colleagues (M. E. Heilman & Okimoto, 2007).

With such exceptional accomplishments, Dr. Hall had For instance, researchers asked participants to read memos announcing the
to tolerate prejudice and discrimination simply because hiring of a new executive. One group read a description about a male execu-
she chose to work in a male-dominated field. For instance, tive, and another group read the same description about a female executive.
when she applied for specialty training as a radiologist, she People viewed the male leader as professional, capable, and likable, and the
was rejected because the program gave preference to males, female leader as mean, ruthless, and stubborn. us, schemas influence our
as females were not considered to have stable, long-term thoughts, behaviors, and feelings toward others (J. E. Young et al., 2006).

Kinds of Schemas Advantages and Disadvantages

Schemas are part of social cognition, which studies ere are two disadvantages of schemas. First, sche-
how and what people learn about social relationships. mas may restrict, bias, or distort what we attend to
Schemas, which are like hundreds of different infor- and remember and thus cause us to over- Photo Credits: top, Courtesy of Dr. Harriet Hall; bottom left, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; right, © arabianEye/Photolibrary
mation files in your brain, are generally divided into look important information (Devine et
four types: person, role, event, and self schemas. al., 1994). For example, if your self
Person schemas include our judgments about the traits schema is being a good student, you
Person schema has
information on how to that we and others possess. may not pay attention to suggestions
act with a new date. For example, when meeting someone new, we may from parents or teachers that may
make you a better student.
rely on person schemas to provide general informa- The second disadvantage is that
tion about that person. Person schemas that contain general information about
people who have membership in groups are stereotypes (Wyer, 2007). schemas are resistant to change
Role schemas are based on the jobs people perform or the social positions they because we generally select and Your person
attend to information that supports schema may
hold. cause you to

The reason you often ask “What do you do?” is so you can use your role our schemas and deny information reject valid
schemas to provide missing information about the person and provide mental that is inconsistent with them (Mac- criticisms of
shortcuts about what you might say or how you might act in social situations. rae & Bodenhausen, 2000). For exam- your work.

Event schemas, also called scripts, contain behaviors that we associate with famil- ple, you might pay attention to positive comments on

iar activities, events, or procedures. a class paper and reject any constructive suggestions

e event schema for graduation is to celebrate getting your degree. In con- about ways to improve your writing skills.
trast, the event schema for a college class is to be silent, pay attention, and take Schemas also have advantages. For example, if
notes. Event schemas help us know what to expect and provide guidelines on someone says “I’m a freshman,” you use your “fresh-
how to behave in different kinds of situations. man schema,” which contains information about
Self schemas contain personal information about ourselves, and this information how freshmen think and behave, to help you analyze

influences, modifies, and distorts what we perceive and remember and how we behave. and respond appropriately in this particular social

What’s interesting about our self schemas is that they overemphasize our situation. Schemas also provide guidelines for how
good points, which explains why being criticized in public easily hurts our to behave in various social events (event schemas)
feelings. and help us explain the social behavior of others (role
We especially look for information or feedback to support our schemas and schemas) (J. A. Howard & Renfrow, 2006). Explaining
tend to disregard information that doesn’t (Wyer, 2007). For this reason, once social behavior is one of the most intriguing areas of
schemas are formed, they are difficult to change (J. E. Young et al., 2006). social cognition, and it’s our next topic.

584 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

B. Attributions

Definition

What is After 13 seasons and 2,000 games in discrimination suit because, as Pam says, “Baseball wasn’t
the minor leagues, this umpire was ready for a woman umpire no matter how good she was”
unusual about passed over for promotion to the (S. Reed & Stambler, 1992).
this umpire? major leagues and released. An Because I’m a Most sports fans would have an expla-
evaluation report by the Office woman, I wasn’t
for Umpire Development claimed that this umpire’s nation as to why Pam Postema was not
promoted. promoted to be an umpire in major

work had “deteriorated in areas of enthusiasm and execu- league baseball. ese kinds of explanations are called
tion,” even though earlier in the season the rating had attributions.
been “better than average.” What is unusual about this Attributions are things we point to as the causes of

umpire is that she is a woman. Pam Postema (right photo) events, other people’s behaviors, and our own behaviors.

claims the reason she was passed over for promotion and If you had to explain why there are no female umpires in
released was that she was a woman and there are no major league baseball, you would choose between internal
female umpires in major league baseball. She filed a sex and external attributions.

Internal Versus External Kelley’s Model of Covariation

A famous social psychologist, Fritz Heider (1958), How do we decide whether Pam was passed over for promotion because of dis-
believed that we all function to some extent like social positional or situational factors? To answer this question, social psychologist
psychologists as we try to explain everyday behaviors. Harold Kelley (1967) developed the covariation model.
Heider was the first to distinguish between internal The covariation model, developed by Harold Kelley, says that, in making attributions,

and external causes or attributions for behaviors. we should look for factors that are present when the behavior occurs and factors that are

Internal attributions are explanations of behavior based absent when the behavior does not occur.

on the internal characteristics or dispositions of the person Kelley proposed that, in explaining someone’s behavior, we should look for

performing the behavior. They are sometimes referred to as information about three factors: consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness
dispositional attributions. (Forster & Liberman, 2007).

For example, if you used internal attributions to Consensus means determining whether other people engage in the same behavior in

explain why Postema was not made a major league the same situation.
umpire, you would point to her personal characteris- Consistency means determining whether the person engages in this behavior every

tics or dispositions, such as saying that she was not a time he or she is in a particular situation.
good judge of balls and strikes. Distinctiveness means determining how differently
1. HIGH CONSISTENCY
External attributions are expla- Pam performs about the same every time. INTERNAL the person behaves in one situation when
nations of behavior based on the 2. LOW DISTINCTIVENESS ATTRIBUTION compared to other situations.
Pam makes good decisions in calling Pam’s lack of
external circumstances or situations. strikes but not in calling base runners out. promotion is
3. LOW CONSENSUS due to her poor
They are sometimes called situation- Pam does not show the same skills as umpiring skills.
al attributions. other umpires.
Photo Credits: top, © Bettmann/Corbis; bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
If you used external attribu-
tions to explain why Postema was
not promoted, you would point to
external circumstances, such as
saying that major league baseball 1. HIGH CONSISTENCY EXTERNAL How do you decide if internal or
is run by men, and they do not Pam performs about the same every time. ATTRIBUTION external attributions apply to Pam?
want to have a woman umpire. 2. LOW DISTINCTIVENESS Pam’s lack of
Pam makes good decisions in all aspects promotion is In the examples on the le , we have
Thus, making internal or of the game. due to discrimi- applied the three factors in Kelley’s
external attributions has impor- 3. LOW CONSENSUS nation by the covariation model to Pam Postema’s
tant implications for personal Pam shows the same skills as other league. situation. Notice that high consistency,
and social behaviors (Derlega et umpires.

al., 2005). For example, if you use low distinctiveness, and low consensus result in an
internal attributions, you would say that Postema internal, or dispositional, attribution (fired because she’s a poor umpire). But
does not have the skill or talent to be a major league high consistency, high distinctiveness, and high consensus result in an external
umpire. If you use external attributions, you would or situational attribution (fired because of sexual discrimination). us, Kelley’s
say that, although she has the skills, the league dis- covariation model helps us determine if Postema’s firing was due to internal or
criminated against her because she is a woman. How external attributions (Ployhart et al., 2005). However, if we don’t follow Kelley’s
people make the distinction between internal and model, we make errors in attributing causes. We’ll discuss three errors in mak-
external attributions is a rather complicated process. ing attributions—that is, in deciding what caused what.

B . A T T R I B U T I O N S 585

B. Attributions

Biases and Errors

Most people have heard the term glass I broke through to senior-level positions because they
Can we make ceiling, which refers to a real but the glass ceiling. lack skills and intelligence, which is an
the wrong invisible barrier that keeps women internal or dispositional attribution, or

attributions? and people of color from reaching because they face discrimination from senior-level
the top positions in a business or White males, which is an external or situational attri-
organization. Evidence that there is a thick glass ceiling is bution? Although Kelley’s covariation model would help
clear because only 15 (3%) of Fortune magazine’s top 500 decide this issue, many want a quicker way and use the
chairpersons are women and 95% of the senior managers cognitive miser model (S. E. Taylor, 1981).
are White men (Y. Cole, 2009; Fortune, 2009). One woman who The cognitive miser model says that, in making attributions, people

was successful in breaking the glass ceiling is Indra Nooyi (right feel they must conserve time and effort by taking cognitive shortcuts.

photo), who became one of the first women of color to head a large We have discussed cognitive shortcuts that we use in selecting,
organization. Through perseverance, hard work, and a winning gathering, remembering, and using information—for example,
personality, she broke through the glass ceiling by becoming chief relying on stereotypes and schemas. Researchers have identified
executive officer at PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and other cognitive shortcuts that we use in making attributions (Forgas
beverage companies (Useem, 2008). Indra Nooyi is number 3 on et al., 2003; B. Weiner & Graham, 1999). Although these cognitive
the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women and is the highest- shortcuts are efficient, they may result in incorrect attributions.
ranked female CEO (D. Jones, 2009). We’ll discuss three of the most common biases in making attri-
Breaking through the glass ceiling involves decisions about butions: the fundamental attribution error, the actor-observer
attributions. Do women and people of color fail to be appointed effect, and the self-serving bias.

Fundamental Attribution Error Actor-Observer Effect Self-Serving Bias

If you believe that women and people John angrily explains that he got to his When we look for the causes of our own behav-
of color cannot break through the glass car to put more money in the meter just iors, such as why we received a good or bad grade
ceiling because they lack the skills and as the police officer was driving away. on a test, we may make errors because of the self-
intelligence to do so, you may be mak- John adds that he’s very responsible and serving bias (Fiedler, 2007; Mcallister et al., 2002).
ing the fundamental attribution error the ticket was bad luck because he was The self-serving bias refers to explaining our suc-
only 45 seconds late. John says he got
(Langdridge & Butt, 2004). the ticket because the police officer was cesses by attributing them to our dispositions or per-
just being mean. John’s explanation is a
The fundamental attribution error good example of the actor-observer sonality traits and explaining our failures by attributing
effect (Malle, 2006).
refers to our tendency, when we look for them to the situations.
The actor-observer effect refers to the
causes of a person’s When you tendency, when you are behaving (or acting), e self-serving bias can be considered another
explain someone’s to attribute your own behavior to situational
behavior, to focus on behavior, you may factors. However, when you are observing part of the actor-observer effect. According to
the person’s dispo- others, you attribute another’s behav- the self-serving bias, if you get an A on an exam,
sition or personality be wrong. ior to his or her personality traits or you tend to attribute your Photo Credits: top, © Neville Elder/Corbis; bottom left and right, © PhotoDisc, Inc.
disposition. I didn’t do success to your personality
traits and overlook well on this exam traits or disposition, such as
In the parking ticket exam- because the text intelligence and persever-
how the situation ple, John, the actor, attributes was confusing.
his getting the ticket to situ-
influenced the person’s ational factors, just having bad
luck, rather than to his own
behavior. behavior, being late. In addi- ance. However, if you get a D
tion, John, the observer, explains that
An example of the the police officer ticketed him because on an exam, you tend to attri-
fundamental attri- of a dispositional or personality factor— bute your failure to the situation,
bution error would the officer was mean (Liberman et al., such as a difficult test or unfair
be to conclude that women and peo- 2007). e actor-observer effect is very questions. us, according to the
ple of color cannot break through the common. You can tell if you’re making self-serving bias, we try to keep
glass ceiling because of personal or it by putting yourself in the position of ourselves in the best possible
dispositional factors, such as a lack the one you are observing (S. R. Wilson light by making different and
of assertiveness or intelligence. How- et al., 1997). even opposite attributions, depending on whether
ever, the real reason may be not per- we have performed well or poorly (Mcallister
sonal or dispositional factors but the et al., 2002).
situation: 95% of senior management The three errors that we just discussed show
in Fortune’s 1,000 top companies are the need to be on guard so that these errors don’t
White men who may want to keep the bias our attributions (Kenworthy & Miller, 2002).
status quo and use subtle discrimi- Although biased attributions can create prob-
natory hiring practices to keep out lems, they can also be an advantage when they help
women and people of color. us change our behaviors, as we’ll discuss next.

586 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

C. Research Focus: Attributions & Grades

Can Changing Attributions Change Grades?
Perhaps 20% of the students back academically their second year,
What we counsel tell us about get- I’m having problems with while others became discouraged and
problems do ting poor grades in their my grades and wonder if dropped out of college. Researchers

I should drop out.

freshmen face? freshman year, and their rea- discovered many differences in stu-
sons are very similar. Either dents’ attributions—that is, how students explained why
they didn’t develop good study habits in high school they bounced back or dropped out. Because one goal of
so they weren’t academically prepared for college or psychology is to apply scientific findings to real-world
they spent too much time partying or dealing with problems, researchers used findings on attributions to
stressful personal, social, or financial difficulties. develop a program for improving grades and lowering
What is interesting is that some of the freshmen who the dropout rate (T. D. Wilson & Linville, 1982). Here’s
got poor grades their first year were able to bounce what actually happened.

Kinds of Attributions Results and Conclusions
Researchers found that changing students’ attributions for poor
Photo Credits: top, © Laurence Mouton/PhotoAlto/Corbis; bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc. In explaining why a freshman is having academic problems, academic performance from permanent to temporary had two
researchers may point to personal or dispositional attributions, such significant positive effects.
as the lack of necessary academic skills. Or researchers may point to
external or situational attributions, such as pressures to party rather Change in Grade Point Average after Program
than study. Once a freshman has developed a pattern of getting poor Control
grades, another question is whether the causes are permanent or Attributions
temporary. For example, if freshmen attributed their academic prob-
lems to relatively permanent conditions, such as poor abilities, they –0.50 0.00 +0.50
would have little motivation and would expect little improvement. In
addition, poor academic performance would make new students First, in the graph above, notice that freshmen who were
worried and anxious, which in turn would interfere with their ability told how to attribute their academic problems to temporary
to study. conditions (attributions group) had a significant improvement
in grade point averages one year after the completion of this
However, if freshmen attributed their academic problems to tem- program.
porary conditions, such as poor study habits, they could expect to
improve if they developed better study skills. Researchers thought Second, as shown in the graph below, only 5% of freshmen
that if they could change students’ attributions about poor academic who changed their attributions for poor academic performance
performance and help them realize that it was a temporary rather from permanent to temporary dropped out of college, while
than a permanent state, students could improve their grades. 25% of those in the control group dropped out.
Method: Changing Attributions
Dropout Rate from College
Researchers recruited freshmen who were having academic problems, Control
such as scoring poorly on exams, not keeping up with assignments,
and considering dropping out of college. ese students were ran- Attributions
domly divided into two different groups.
Students in the experimental group (attributions group) were given 5% 15% 25%
a number of procedures that changed their attributions about poor
academic performance from a permanent cause to only a temporary From these data, researchers reached two important conclu-
condition. For example, students in the experi- sions. First, it is possible to change students’ attributions and
I did terribly my mental group read a booklet about previous expectations about academic performance. Second, changing
freshman year but freshmen who had similar academic problems students’ attributions and expectations actually improved aca-
I got my act together demic performance and reduced the dropout rate (T. D. Wilson
and didn’t drop out. but showed improvement later in college. ese & Linville, 1982). is study illustrates how social psychologists
subjects watched videotapes of previous stu- used the concept of attribution to solve a real-world problem
dents who described very convincingly how their (Covington, 2000).
grade point averages had risen a er their freshman
year. Next, these subjects were asked to write down Next, we’ll discuss one of the most active areas of social cog-
all the reasons they could think of why grade point nition—forming and changing attitudes.
averages might improve a er the freshman year.
The other group of freshmen with academic C . R E S E A R C H F O C U S : A T T R I B U T I O N S & G R A D E S 587
problems did not receive any of this information and
served as a control group.

D. Attitudes

Definition

How much The media regularly report on people’s Bo received no medical treatment for his diabetes, which doctors
attitudes toward a wide range of hot top- said was an easily treatable problem. Records showed that as
power do ics, such as politics, religion, drug use, many as 25 children in the congregation had died

attitudes have? abortion, and sports. The concept in the past 20 years because they were treated with
of attitude, which in the 1930s prayers instead of conventional medical help.
was called the single most indispensable term in social In most states, immunity from prosecution is
psychology (Allport, 1935), continues to be one of the granted to parents whose children sicken and die
most studied concepts (Maio et al., 2006). if the parents’ religious beliefs permit only faith
An attitude is any belief or opinion that includes an evalua- healing and not conventional medical treatment.

tion of some object, person, or event along a continuum from Since Bo’s death, Oregon changed its law so that

negative to positive and that predisposes us to act in a certain way They believed God parents who use religious beliefs to withhold
toward that object, person, or event. healed and prayer was medical treatment and allow their children to die
of a treatable medical illness can face criminal
Attitudes can have a significant impact on behavior, as the only treatment.

happened in the tragic death of an 11-year-old boy named Bo. An charges (M. A. Hamilton, 2005; Reaves, 2001).
autopsy showed that Bo had died of complications from diabetes. Bo’s case, as well as our earlier discussion of suicide bombers
A er suffering painful symptoms for seven days, he went into a (p. 471), is an example of attitudes that have the power to influ-
coma and died. At the time, he was 15–20 pounds underweight. ence life-and-death decisions. Attitudes influence a wide range
Bo’s parents were members of the Followers of Christ Church in of behaviors and that is one reason billions of dollars are spent
Oregon, and they believed that prayer is a substitute for conven- each year trying to measure and change attitudes and get people
tional medical treatment. e leader of the church had preached to buy certain products or vote for particular candidates. Atti-
that God would heal and that anyone seeking worldly (medical) tudes, which can have very powerful influences on our lives, have
help was weak and lacked faith in God. Because of these attitudes, three components.

Components of Attitudes component), and behaviors (behavioral component) (Huskinson &
Haddock, 2006; Maio & Haddock, 2007).
If we closely examined Bo’s parents’ attitudes toward faith healing
and conventional medical treatment, we would find that attitudes
influence their thoughts (cognitive component), feelings (affective

1 Cognitive Component 2 Affective Component 3 Behavioral Component

Bo’s parents did not Bo’s parents were fearful of seeking conven- The parents’ positive attitude toward
approve of conven- tional medical treatment because it meant using prayer alone and their negative
tional medical treat- going against God’s will. e parents’ fear- attitude toward seeking
ment for their son ful feelings illustrate the affective compo- conventional medical
because they believed nent of attitudes, which involves emotional treatment resulted in
that only prayers were needed since God feelings that can be weak or strong, positive their not calling a medi-
does the healing (if that is His/Her will) and or negative. For example, Bo’s parents had cal doctor. e parents’
that seeking medical treatment indicated a refusal to call a medical
lack of faith in God. The parents’ beliefs strong positive feelings doctor illustrates the
illustrate the cognitive component of atti- about using only prayers to behavioral component
tudes, which includes both thoughts and treat their son’s medical of attitudes, which involves performing
beliefs that are involved in evaluating some problem and strong fearful or not performing some behavior.
object, person, or idea. or negative feelings about
An attitude’s cognitive component can seeking conventional medi- In some cases, engaging in some beha-
range from a very negative evaluation to a cal treatment. vior can influence the formation of an
very positive one. For example, Bo’s parents attitude (Maio et al., 2006). For example,
have a very positive belief in faith healing Researchers found that having a good or bad experience in doing
and a very negative evaluation of conven- both beliefs and feelings are involved in something (snowboarding, sky diving,
tional medical treatment. how we form attitudes (Maio et al., 2006). using drugs, going to concerts) may result
We have many attitudes that show our For example, beliefs may be more impor- in a positive or negative attitude toward
likes and dislikes, and o en these attitudes tant in forming political attitudes, such as that activity.
are automatically triggered, without con- whom to vote for, while feelings may be
scious thought on our part (Fabrigar et al., more important in forming dietary atti- Attitudes can have weak to strong and
2005). tudes, such as deciding to eat dog or horse positive to negative influences on our
588 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y meat, which is considered very appetizing behaviors.
in some cultures.
Changing attitudes is our next topic.

Attitude Change

What made At one time, Floyd Cochran (right photo) members of Aryan Nation hating the son he loved. Floyd resolved
was an out-and-out hatemonger who was a his personal dilemma by renouncing his White supremacist values
a skinhead leader of the neo-Nazi group, Ar yan and abandoning the hate organizations.
reform? Nation, in Idaho. His goal was to exter- I was a racist He now speaks out against hate and rac-
until my values ism (Charmoli, 2006).
minate everyone who wasn’t White. Why did Floyd radically change his
He constantly preached hatred, and he recruited many hurt my son.

White youths to help him “spread the hate like a disease” attitudes, from preaching hate and rac-
(Cochran, 2007). en, as he was preparing for the annual ism to denouncing these beliefs? We’ll discuss two
Hitler Youth Festival, a group of White supremacists told popular theories that explain why people change their
him that his 4-year-old son must be euthanized because attitudes: the theory of cognitive dissonance and self-
he was born with a birth defect. Floyd found himself perception theory (Harmon-Jones & Harmon Jones,
caught between his own years of preaching hate and 2002; Petty et al., 1997).

Cognitive Dissonance Self-Perception Theory

After a group of White supremacists told him his son must be euthanized, Perhaps subjects in the previous experiment came to
Floyd’s life became one big conflict. He had spent most of his adult life practic- believe their own lies (task was interesting) after
ing racism and hate, but now his own personal values were causing him great engaging in counterattitudinal behavior not to
anguish. Floyd found himself in the middle of a very troubling inconsistency, reduce cognitive dissonance but because of changing
which Leon Festinger (1957) called cognitive dissonance. their own self-perceptions.
Cognitive dissonance refers to a state of unpleasant psychological tension that Self-perception theory says that we first observe or

motivates us to reduce our cognitive inconsistencies by making our beliefs more consis- perceive our own behavior and then, as a result, we change

tent with our behavior. our attitudes.

ere are two main ways to reduce cognitive dissonance—that is, to make Daryl Bem (1967), who developed self-perception
our beliefs and attitudes consistent with our behavior (Andersen et al., 2007). theory, would explain that subjects paid only $1 for
Adding or changing beliefs. We can reduce cognitive dissonance by add- lying would recall their behavior and conclude that
ing new beliefs or changing old beliefs and making them consistent with our they would never have lied for only $1, so the task
behavior. In Floyd’s case, cognitive dissonance was created by the conflict must have actually been interesting.
between being told the son he loved must be euthanized and his own racist and At first glance, cognitive dissonance theory and
hate-filled beliefs. To decrease his cognitive dissonance, Floyd renounced his self-perception theory seem to be similar, since
hateful beliefs so that his attitudes became consistent with his behavior, which they both indicate that if we say something, it must
was loving his son regardless of his birth defect. be true. However, each theory points to a different
Counterattitudinal behavior. Another way we can reduce reason. According to cognitive dissonance theory,
cognitive dissonance is by engaging in opposite or counter- the belief “if I said it, it must be true” occurs because
attitudinal behavior (Leippe & Eisenstadt, 1994). we are trying to reduce the inconsistency in our
Counterattitudinal behavior involves taking a public position beliefs and behaviors. In compari-

that runs counter to your private attitude. son, according to self-perception

A classic study by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) illustrates theory, concluding “if I said it,
how counterattitudinal behavior works. In this study, subjects it must be true” simply reflects
were asked to do an extremely boring task, such as turning another way of explaining our own
Did he change pegs in a board. At the end of the task, the experimenter asked behaviors.
his racist the subjects to help out by telling the next group of subjects Self-perception theory also chal-
attitudes to how interesting the task was. Subjects were asked to lie about lenges the traditional assumption
resolve his the task and say it was interesting, which is engaging in coun- that attitudes give rise to behavior. Did he change
cognitive terattitudinal behavior. For saying the task was interesting, According to self-perception the- his racist
ory, behaviors give rise to attitudes. attitudes
dissonance? For example, after Floyd began because he
speaking out against racism, his
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Floyd Cochran some subjects received $1 and some received $20. Sometime later, the origi- spoke against
nal subjects were asked how much they had liked the boring task. A curious racism?
finding emerged. Subjects paid just $1 had a more favorable attitude about the
boring task than those who were paid $20. at’s because subjects paid $20 felt attitudes changed radically. Researchers have shown
they were paid well for lying. Subjects paid $1 had no good reason for lying, that behavior can influence attitudes (Leippe &
and so, to resolve the cognitive dissonance between what they’d said (it was Eisenstadt, 1994; Van Laar et al., 2005).
interesting) and what they felt (it was boring), they convinced themselves that We may change our own attitudes in response to
the task was somewhat interesting. is shows that engaging in opposite or cognitive dissonance or self-perception. However,
counterattitudinal behaviors can change attitudes. However, there’s a different others are continually trying to change our attitudes
explanation for this experiment’s results. through various forms of persuasion, our next topic.

D . A T T I T U D E S 589

D. Attitudes

Persuasion to appear honest, and what arguments to use. We’ll begin with
choosing between two different routes—central or peripheral
Political candidates spend much of their time, energy, and money (Maio & Haddock, 2007; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).
trying to persuade people to vote for them. What politicians have
to decide is whether to use an intellectual or emotional appeal, how

Central Route Peripheral Route

If the audience is interested in thinking about the real If the audience is more interested in the candidate’s personality or image, a
issues, a politician might best use the central route. politician might seek votes using the peripheral route.
The central route for persuasion pres- The peripheral route for persuasion emphasizes emotion-
I think logical I think emotional
ents information with strong arguments, arguments and and personal al appeal, focuses on personal traits, and generates positive
analyses, facts, and logic. appeals work feelings.
hard facts best.
A political candidate using the central work best. e peripheral route assumes that not all voters will

route for persuasion should present clear, spend the time and energy to digest or discuss the issues.
detailed information about his or her views and Instead, some audiences are more interested in the candidate’s
accomplishments and should appear honest and ability to generate excitement and support by giving an ener-
credible by demonstrating knowledge and com- getic and enthusiastic speech (Priester & Petty, 1995). is route
mitment to the issues and pointing out the oppo- involves bands, banners, parties, and personal appearances, which
nents’ records (Priester & Petty, 1995). build an inviting and exciting image and create a positive attitude
Politicians should choose the central route toward the candidate. If audiences like the candidate’s image, they
when they are trying to persuade voters who will more likely agree with the candidate’s views (Carlson, 1990).
have a high need to know the facts and issues e peripheral route is more concerned with style and image,
(Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). The central route and the central route is more concerned with substance and ideas.
for persuasion works with people who think Researchers generally find that the central route produces more
about and analyze the issues. However, not all voters can enduring results, while the peripheral route produces more transient results
be persuaded by the central route. For some, a peripheral (Maio & Haddock, 2007; Perloff, 2002). Whether the central or peripheral
route for persuasion is the better method. route is used, a number of specific elements are important in persuasion.

Elements of Persuasion program identified a number of important elements in persuasion,
including the source, message, and audience (Jacks & Cameron,
Figuring out which elements are important in persuading people 2003; Petty et al., 1997).
was begun in the 1950s by the Yale Communication Program, which
is still considered one of the best models. This communication

Source. One element in Message. Another element of persuasion involves the content of Audience. Another element of being
persuading someone to the message. If the persuader is using the central route, the mes- an effective persuader involves know-
adopt your point of view sages will contain convincing and understandable ing the characteristics of the audience.
involves the source of the facts. If the facts are complicated, a written message For example, audiences who are inter- Photo Credits: top, © Steve Pope/Landov; bottom, © Scott Gries/Getty Images
message. We are more likely is better than a spoken one (Chaiken & Eagly, 1976). ested in facts are best persuaded using
to believe sources who have If the persuader is using the peripheral route, the central route, while audiences
a sense of authority, appear the messages should be designed to arouse emotion, interested in personal traits are best
honest and trustworthy, sentiment, and loyalty. Television infomercials use persuaded using the peripheral route.
have expertise and credibi- the peripheral approach by having an attractive Why is “The If the audience is leaning toward the
lity, and are attractive and and likable demonstrator show how you will look Daily Show” persuader, a one-sided message is best;
likable (Priester & Petty, news host if an audience is leaning away from the
1995). For example, re- or feel better by buying and using a particular Jon Stewart persuader, a two-sided message is best.
searchers found that good- product. However, using fearful messages to per- worth
looking TV fund-raisers suade people, such as showing blackened lungs to us, persuasion is a complicated
generated nearly twice as millions? process that involves the source’s traits,
many donations as did less using the central or peripheral route,
attractive fund-raisers (Cial- get smokers to quit, may not be effective because arousing fear may and judging the audience’s character-
dini, 2001). e source ele- interfere with and distract people from hearing and taking precau- istics. Good persuaders may combine
ment explains why national tionary measures to stop unhealthy practices (Ruiter et al., 2001). central and peripheral routes to win
and cable TV newscasters One- versus two-sided messages. Some messages are better over the audience to their viewpoints
and anchorpersons are usu- presented as one-sided; that is, you present only the message that (Cialdini, 2003).
ally physically attractive, you want accepted. Other messages are better presented as two-
likable, and believable. sided; that is, you include both the message and arguments against Next, we’ll discuss how cultures
any potential disagreements (Jacks & Cameron, 2003). us, a differ in their attitudes toward beauty,
persuader will select the best route (central or peripheral) and also organ transplants, and women’s rights.
the kind of message (one- or two-sided) (Jacks & Devine, 2000).

590 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

E. Cultural Diversity: National Attitudes & Behaviors

Nigeria: Beauty Ideal

How do One reason the concept of attitude has been As one woman said, “I want to gain weight like Monique. I don’t
so dominant in social psychology is that want to be thin” (Onishi, 2001, p. A4). Before getting married,
Nigerians our attitudes push or predispose us to young brides-to-be are sent to so-called fattening rooms,

judge beauty? think and behave in certain ways. where the goal is to eat as much as they can to get fat and
What we o en don’t realize is how round so that the bride will be admired for her fullness.
much our culture shapes our attitudes. For example, in the However, in 2001, a slim, 6-foot-tall Nigerian became
United States, the current attitude, especially among Miss World. This was the first time in 51 years that a
the middle and upper classes, is that for a woman to be Nigerian woman had won this title. Since most Nige-
attractive, she should be slender. is thin-is-beautiful rians over 40 consider beautiful women to have ample
attitude can pressure women to behave in certain backsides and bosoms, they thought the new trim
ways, such as to constantly worry about their weight Miss World was not particularly beautiful. But many
and to go on strict diets, which in some cases may of the younger Nigerians took notice of Miss World’s
result in eating disorders (Besenhoff, 2006; Hesse- Beauty in Nigeria dimensions and have begun to change their attitudes
Biber, 2007). is to be heavy. and adopt Western beauty standards that value being

But thin is not always beautiful. For example, in Nigeria, Africa, slim (Onishi, 2002). This difference in beauty attitudes between
a small group of young women were discussing who had the most America and Africa clearly shows how cultural values not only
beautiful body. ey all agreed on Monique, age 15, because she shape attitudes but also predispose us to behave in certain ways.
was already heavy for her age and on her way to being very rotund. A different debate over attitudes is going on in Japan.

Japan: Organ Transplants
Miss Wakana Kume, who lives in Japan, The reason there were about 24,000 organ transplants in the
What is the was going to die unless she received a United States in 1997 but none in Japan is that cultures have dif-
Japanese attitude liver transplant. However, since 1968, it ferent definitions of death. In the United States, death is defined
has been illegal in Japan to
on death? as brain death—when a person’s brain no longer

Photo Credits: top, © AFP/Getty Images; center, © Michael Hitoshi/Getty Images; bottom, © AP Images/Amir Nabil transplant organs from shows electrical activity, even though the heart is still
donors who are brain-dead. Like all Japanese, Miss beating. In Japan, however, death was defined as the
Kume grew up with the attitude that brain-dead was moment a person’s heart stops beating, and donor
not really dead, so she was very reluctant to get a trans- organs could be removed only a er the heart stops.
plant from a brain-dead donor. But because of the seri- But to be useful, donor organs must be removed when
ousness of her condition, Miss Kume flew to Australia, a person’s heart is still beating. In 1997, Japan passed
where she underwent a liver transplant. In a very real a law allowing organs to be donated by an individual
sense, Miss Kume engaged in counterattitudinal who is brain-dead under certain strict conditions.
behavior by doing a behavior opposite of what she Organ transplants are now Because brain death has been legalized in Japan,
believed—getting a transplanted organ. Since her life- more common in Japan. organ transplants are now possible and many Japa-

saving transplant, Miss Kume has changed her attitude toward nese have changed their attitudes toward death and accept organ
organ transplants and now approves of them. is is a real example transplants (Ling & Ming, 2006; McNeill & Coonan, 2006).
of changing attitudes by engaging in counterattitudinal behavior. A debate over attitudes and behaviors is also going on in Egypt.

Egypt: Women’s Rights
Since the early 1900s, Egyptian women have fight off assailants (photo below). The rising problem of sexual
How do been fighting for their sexual, political, and harassment of Egyptian women motivates these women to learn

Egyptians legal rights in a society that is dominated by self-defense methods (Fraser, 2009; A. Johnson,

view women? Muslim religious principles, which grant 2009). Women are also fighting to not wear veils
women few rights. For example, in public and to get good jobs. However, they are
while women are supposed to wear veils to preserve having limited success because these traditional
their dignity, a husband may strike his wife as long attitudes are backed by powerful social forces,
as he doesn’t hit her in the face and hits lightly. including political, cultural, and religious institu-
Many women are not given birth certificates, tions (Ezzat, 2004; Tolson, 2003). In getting Egyp-
which means that they cannot vote, get a pass- tians to change their attitudes toward women,
port, or go to court. Although genital cutting advocates will need to use trustworthy and hon-
(p. 346) is illegal in Egypt, virtually all women est sources, present one- or two-sided arguments,
in certain areas have been subjected to it. and, depending on the audience, use the central
Egyptian women are now fighting for more Egyptian women are learning to fight back. or the peripheral route for persuasion.

rights. Some women are taking martial arts training to learn to Next, we’ll learn how persuasion involves social forces.

E . C U L T U R A L D I V E R S I T Y : N A T I O N A L A T T I T U D E S & B E H A V I O R S 591

F. Social & Group Influences

Conformity

Why did the At the beginning of this module, we pressures, 48% of high school and college
discussed a hazing incident (right students who participate in group activities
seniors haze picture) in which senior girls conform and agree to be hazed, which means
the juniors? beat, slapped, and kicked junior humiliation and possible injury.
girls, hit them with buckets, There are many examples of conform-
and smeared them with blood, fish guts, mud, and ing, such as wearing clothes that are in style,
feces. Five of the junior girls ended up in the hospital, adopting the “in” slang phrases, and buying
some requiring stitches. Especially troubling was that the currently popular products. A recent
these students, who came from a well-to-do Chicago example of conformity in the United States
suburb, attended a very good high school, and went on began in the late 1990s, when it became
to attend college, would engage in such ugly and popular to carry your own bottle of water. It is
violent hazing behaviors (L. Black & Flynn, 2003). Hazing has changed to include now nearly an $11-billion-a-year business in the
potentially dangerous behaviors. United States alone (Castellitto, 2008). is prac-
Hazing may be part of a group’s initiation ritual during which

individuals are subjected to a variety of behaviors that range from humiliating tice has grown in popularity, fueled by the idea that bottled water
and unpleasant to potentially dangerous both physically and psychologically. was pure but also that it was healthy and perhaps necessary to drink Figure/Text Credit: Asch study based on “Effects of Group Pressure Upon Modification and Distortion of Judgements,” by Solomon Asch, 1958. In E. Maccoby,
In the United States, about 48% of high school and college at least “8 glasses of water a day.” When a researcher looked T. M. Newcomb & E. L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in Social Psychology (3rd Ed.). Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
students involved in a group activity (clubs, sports) report being into the evidence behind “8 glasses a day,” he discovered
hazed, and nearly everyone who gets hazed is humiliated (Lipkins, that this idea was based on opinion, not any scientific
2006). When students were asked why they agreed to be hazed, evidence. The researcher concluded that it’s safe for
many answered they did so because it made them feel part of the healthy people to drink considerably less, since we obtain
group (N. C. Hoover & Pollard, 2000). “Going along” with the fluids from a variety of foods and beverages (G. Reynolds,
group is an example of conformity (J. M. Levine & Kerr, 2007). 2006). e water bottle phenomenon is a modern exam-
Conformity refers to any behavior you perform because of group pres- ple of conformity and, as one researcher put it, perhaps a
sure, even though that pressure might not involve direct requests. new kind of adult security blanket (Valtin, 2002).

Normally, most students (and most of us) would never conform We’ll discuss group pressures and why people conform and obey,
or agree to be publicly humiliated. Yet, reacting to strong group beginning with a classic experiment in social psychology.

Asch’s Experiment
A classic experiment is one that causes us to change the way we think about something—in this case, how social pressures can influence
conformity (Blakeslee, 2005; Stasser & Dietz-Uhler, 2003). Solomon Asch’s (1958) classic experiment showed very clearly how an individ-
ual can be pressured to conform to a group’s standards. As we describe Asch’s experiment, imagine that you are a subject and guess how
you might have behaved.

Procedure Results

You are seated at a round table with five others and have been Out of 50 subjects in Asch’s experiment, 75% conformed on some of the
told that you are taking part in a visual perception experiment. trials, but no one conformed on all the trials; 25% never conformed.
Your group is shown a straight line and then is instructed to ese data indicate that the desire to have your attitudes and behaviors
look at three more lines of different lengths and pick out the match those of others in a group can be a powerful force.
line equal in length to the original one. e three choices are A recent study used fMRI brain scans (p. 70) to record brain activity
different enough that it is not hard to pick out the correct one. during an Asch-type research design to examine whether social pressure
Each person at the round table identifies his or her changes people’s perceptions or people who give in to the group do
choice out loud, with you answering next to last. so knowing their answers are wrong (Berns, 2005). Results showed
When you are ready to answer, you will have heard Is this line that when people went along with the group on wrong answers,
four others state their opinions. What you do not similar in activity in the brain area associated with spatial awareness and
know is that these four other people are the exper- length to line perception increased. But, when people resisted group pressure

1, 2, or 3?

imenter’s accomplices. On certain trials, they will and gave a correct answer, activity in the brain area associated
answer correctly, making you feel your choice is with strong emotions increased. ese results suggest that infor-
right. On other trials, they will deliberately answer mation provided by others may actually change what we see and
incorrectly, much to your surprise. In these cases that going against the group can be a very unpleasant experience.
you will have heard four identical incorrect Asch’s study is considered a classic because it was the first
answers before it is your turn to answer. You will 123 to clearly show that group pressures can influence conformity.
almost certainly feel some group pressure to con- These are the kinds However, we may conform publicly but disagree privately, and
form to the others’ opinion. Will you give in? of lines used in Asch’s this is an example of compliance.
study on conformity.

592 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Compliance

Were the One interpretation of Asch’s data One particular technique of compliance is
is that subjects were not really used by salespeople, who know that if they get
subjects just changing their beliefs but rather the customer to comply with a small request
pretending? just pretending to go along with (get a foot in the door), the customer is more
the group. For example, when sub- likely to comply with a later request to buy the
jects in Asch’s experiment privately recorded their product (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).
answers, conforming drastically declined. is decline The foot-in-the-door technique refers to the
indicated that subjects were conforming but not really technique of starting with a little request to gain Salespeople use the
changing their beliefs, which is one kind of compliance. foot-in-the-door technique.
eventual compliance with a later request.

Compliance is a kind of conformity in which we give in to A common example of the foot-in-the-door technique is telemarketers

social pressure in our public responses but do not change our who first get you to answer a simple question such as “How are you today?”

private beliefs. so that you’ll stay on the phone and answer their other questions. e foot-

For example, you may conform to your instructor’s in-the-door technique is one successful way to obtain compliance (Rodafinos
suggestions on rewriting a paper although you do not et al., 2005).
agree with the suggestions. In this case, you would be If you are officially or formally asked to comply with a request, such as
complying with someone in authority. “Take a test on Friday,” your compliance is called obedience.

Obedience A serious problem in states across the country is drivers who run
red lights and cause accidents. To increase obedience, cameras auto-
When it comes to signs, laws, rules, matically take photos of drivers who run red lights, and these drivers
Do you run and regulations, such as speed lim- are mailed tickets with expensive fines ($270 in California). Here’s a
red lights? its, traffic lights, smoking restric- case of using punishment to decrease accidents by increasing obedi-
ence (up to 96% reduction in running red lights) (Copeland, 2007).
tions, parental requests, instructors’
assignments, and doctors’ orders, people differ in what Most of us obey orders, rules, and regulations that are for the
they choose to obey. general good. But what if the orders or rules are cruel or immoral?

Obedience refers to performing some behavior in response

to an order given by someone in a position of power or authority.

Milgram’s Experiment
Stanley Milgram’s (1963) experiment on obedience is a classic experiment in social psychology because it was the first to study whether
people would obey commands that were clearly inhumane and immoral (A. Miller, 2005). As we describe this famous experiment, imag-
ine being the “teacher” and consider whether you would have obeyed the experimenter’s commands.

The Setup Whenever you The Conflict

Imagine that you have volunteered for a study on the effects of make a mistake, As the teacher, you give the learner shocks that
punishment on learning. A er arriving in the laboratory at you’ll receive an increase in intensity up to 300 volts, when the learner
Yale University, you are selected to be the “teacher” and electric shock. pounds on the wall. You continue and a er the next

another volunteer is to be the “learner.” What you don’t know is that the miss, you give the learner a 315-volt shock, a er
learner is actually an accomplice of the experimenter. As the teacher, you which the learner pounds on the wall and stops
watch the learner being strapped into a chair and having electrodes answering any more questions. Although you
placed on his wrists. e electrodes are attached to a shock genera- plead with the researcher to stop the experiment,
tor in the next room. You and the researcher then leave the learner’s the researcher explains that, as the teacher, you
room, close the door, and go into an adjoining room. are to continue asking questions and shock-
e researcher gives you a list of questions to ask the learner ing the learner for incorrect answers. Even
over an intercom, and the learner is to signal his answer on a though the learner has pounded on the wall
panel of lights in front of you. For each wrong answer, you, and stopped answering questions a er a 315-
the teacher, are to shock the learner and to increase volt shock, would you continue the procedure
the intensity of the shock by 15 volts for each succeed- until you deliver the XXX 450 volts?
ing wrong answer. In front of you is the shock machine, What you, the teacher, didn’t know is that
with 30 separate switches that indicate increasing inten- Shock Controller the learner is part of the experiment and acts

sities. e first switch is marked “15 volts. Slight shock,” like being shocked but never received a single
and the last switch is marked “XXX 450 volts. Danger: one. e teacher was misled into believing that
Severe shock.” You begin to ask the learner questions, he or she was really shocking the learner. e
and as he misses them, you administer stronger and Slight MAXIMUM question was whether a teacher would continue
stronger shocks. shock XXX 450 volts and deliver the maximum shock.

F. S O C I A L & G R O U P I N F L U E N C E S 593

F. Social & Group Influences

Milgram’s Results

How many e scary question was how many “teachers” (subjects) would Percentage of Subjects Who Obeyed
obeyed? deliver the maximum intensity shock to the “learner.” Experimenter’s Commands

0.12% When psychiatrists were asked to predict how 0 20 40 60 80 100
many subjects would deliver the full range of shocks, including the last 450 volts, Slight
they estimated that only 0.12% of the subjects would do so.
2% When members of the general public were asked the same question, they
Moderate

predicted that only 2% of the subjects would deliver the maximum 450 volts. Strong

65% To the surprise and dismay of many, including Milgram, 65% of the
subjects (no difference between males and females) delivered the full range of Very strong
shocks, including the final XXX 450 volts.

When Stanley Milgram conducted these studies on obedience in the early Intense Learner pounded on
1960s, they demonstrated that people will obey inhumane orders simply because Extreme intensity the wall at this point.
they are told to do so. is kind of unthinking obedience to immoral commands Danger: severe shock Learner pounded on the
was something that psychiatrists, members of the general population, and Mil- wall again at this point;
gram had not predicted. Milgram (1974) repeated variations of this experiment after this, he gave no
further answers.

many times and obtained similar results. Additionally, Milgram’s experiment XXX 450 volts 65% of the subjects in Milgram’s
was repeated in various parts of the world with similar results (T. Blass, 2000). Labels on the study obeyed the experimenter’s
shock controller command to deliver the maximum
e results of these experiments helped answer a question people had asked 450-volt shock to the learner.
since World War II: Why had Germans obeyed Hitler’s commands? More
recently, the results of Milgram’s experiments can help answer why U.S. soldiers
tortured, raped, and murdered prisoners held in Abu Ghraib. And why do students follow group leaders and engage in hazing, with some-
times dangerous consequences? According to Milgram’s experiments, social situations that involve power and authority greatly increase
obedience to the point that a large percentage of people will obey orders even if they are clearly unreasonable and inhumane.

Why Do People Obey? Were Milgram’s Experiments Ethical?
Psychologists have suggested several reasons
that 65% of the subjects in Milgram’s experi- Although the Milgram experiments provided important information about obedience, the
ment agreed to deliver the maximum shock study could not be conducted under today’s research guidelines. As we discussed (p. 40),
to learners. Perhaps the major reason is that all experiments today, especially those with the potential for causing psychological or
people have learned to follow the orders of physical harm, are carefully screened by research committees, a practice that did not exist
authority figures, whether they are religious at the time of Milgram’s research. When there is a possibility of an experiment causing
leaders, army commanders, doctors, scien- psychological harm, the researchers must propose ways to eliminate or counteract the
tists, or parents. However, people are more potential harmful effects. is is usually done by thoroughly debriefing the subjects.
likely to obey authority figures when they are
present. In one of his follow-up studies, Mil- Debriefing occurs after an experimental procedure and involves explaining the purpose and
gram (1974) found that when subjects received method of the experiment, asking the subjects their feelings about being in the experiment, and help-
their instructions over the telephone, they ing the subjects deal with possible doubts or guilt arising from their behaviors in the experiment.
were more likely to defy authority than when
they received their instructions in person. Although Milgram’s subjects were debriefed, critics doubted that the question of
whether any psychological harm had been done to the subjects was resolved. Because
is also explains why patients don’t follow the potential for psychological harm to the subjects was so great in Milgram’s studies,
doctors’ orders once they leave their offices. any related research had to pass very strict ethical standards. Jerry Burger, a researcher
at Santa Clara University, designed a study replicating as much of Milgram’s study as
People also obey because they have possible while complying with current ethical standards (Burger, 2007, 2009). Subjects
learned to follow orders in their daily lives, were an ethnically diverse group of 18 men and 22 women. e setup and conflict proce-
whether in traffic, on the job, or in personal dures were mostly the same as in Milgram’s study except that, due to ethical standards,
interactions. However, people are more the maximum shock the subjects could administer was 150 volts, compared to the 450
likely to obey if an authority figure is present volts used in Milgram’s study. Results showed that 70% of subjects (equal percentages of
(police officer, boss, or parent). What Mil- men and women) pressed the button for the highest, most dangerous shock possible (150
gram’s study showed was that blind obedi- volts). us, ordinary people, even in today’s society, are capable of hurting others despite
ence to unreasonable authority or inhumane hearing the person begging them to stop, as long as they are ordered by an authority
orders is more likely than we think. figure to do so.

Next, we’ll turn to another interesting question: Why do people help?

594 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Helping: Prosocial Behavior

Would you risk While Wesley Autrey was waiting for the Altruism is one form of helping or doing something, often at a cost or

subway in New York City, he saw a man risk, for reasons other than the expectation of a material or social reward.
your life to help suffering from a seizure fall onto the Altruistic people often do things that touch our hearts.
a stranger? tracks. A train was rapidly approaching Consider 87-year-old Osceola McCarty (photo below), who hand-

the station and, knowing the I donated washed clothes most of her life for grateful clients. When
man would be killed in only seconds, Wesley immediately most of my life she finally retired at age 86, she donated most of her life
jumped onto the tracks and covered the man with his savings for student
savings, an amazing $150,000, to the University
body. The train passed over their bodies leaving only scholarships. of Southern Mississippi to finance scholar-
inches to spare. e train came so close to Wesley’s body ships for the area’s African Ameri-
that it left grease marks on his hat (C. Buckley, 2007; Trump, can students. “I want them to have an
2007). Wesley’s quick, heroic action is an example of helping, or education,” said McCarty, who never
prosocial behavior. married and has no children of her
Prosocial behavior, which is also called helping, is any behavior own. “I had to work hard all my

that benefits others or has positive social consequences. life. ey can have the chance that

In our society, professionals, such as paramedics, are trained I didn’t have” (Plummer & Riden-
and paid to provide help. However, in Wesley’s case, he was the hour, 1995, p. 40). As these examples
only onlooker who risked his life to save a seizing man who had show, some people help in emergencies,
no possibility of surviving on his own. Wesley’s helping may be and others help by donating time or money. What motivates people
described as altruistic, since he expected no external reward. to help others?

Why People Help

Would Why did Osceola McCarty, who spent her life personal responsibility; (4) you choose a form of assistance; and (5) you
washing clothes, donate most of her hard- carry out that assistance.
you help? earned life savings to finance scholarships According to the decision-stage model, Wesley helped because
instead of using her savings to make her he went through all five stages. Most onlookers stopped at stage
retirement more comfortable? Researchers suggest at least three 3 and decided it was not their responsibility, so they did not help.
different motivations—empathy, personal distress, and norms and is model explains that people may recognize a situation as an
values—to explain why people, like McCarty, are altruistic and emergency (stages 1 and 2) yet fail to help because they do not take
help others without thought of rewards (Batson, 1998; Schroeder et personal responsibility for the situation (Latané & Darley, 1970).
al., 1995):
Photo Credits: top, © Alan Weiner; bottom, © AP Images/ Frank Franklin II O We may help because we feel empathy—that is, we identify Arousal-Cost-Reward Model
Wesley also may have helped the seizing man because he thought
with what the victim must be going through. Osceola McCarty about the costs and rewards.
may have donated her life savings for scholarships because she felt
empathy for other African American students. The arousal-cost-reward model of helping says that we make deci-
sions to help by calculating the costs and rewards of helping.
O We may help because we feel personal distress—that is, we
have feelings of fear, alarm, or disgust from seeing a victim in need. For example, seeing an accident may cause you to be unpleas-
Osceola said that she didn’t want other young African American antly and emotionally aroused, which you wish to reduce. In
people to have to go through the hard times that she had faced. deciding how to reduce these unpleasant feelings, you calculate
the costs and rewards of helping. For example, those who decided
O We may help because of our norms and values—that is, not to help may have felt that the costs of helping, such as getting
we may feel morally bound or socially responsible to help
those in need. involved in a potentially dangerous situ-
ation, outweighed the rewards (Piliavin
Researchers have combined these three motivations et al., 1982).
along with several other ideas to construct two different
theories of why people come out of a crowd and help per- According to these two models,
fect strangers. We can use these two theories to explain Wesley experienced five stages (five
why Wesley was the only onlooker at the subway station decisions) and then decided to help, or
who dared to jump on the tracks and risk his life to save Wesley possibly considered the costs
that of another man. and rewards of reducing his unpleasant
emotional feelings and then decided to
Decision-Stage Model help. Although the arousal-cost-reward
model and the decision-stage model
Wesley may have decided to help a er going through five focus on different factors, they are not
stages, which involved making five different decisions.
The decision-stage model of helping says that you go mutually exclusive.
Why did only Wesley Autrey from
a crowd of people risk his life to Next, we’ll explain how social forces
through five stages in deciding to help: (1) you notice the situation; save the life of another man? influence people in groups.
(2) you interpret it as one in which help is needed; (3) you assume

F. S O C I A L & G R O U P I N F L U E N C E S 595

F. Social & Group Influences

Group Dynamics When you’re with family, friends, or co-workers, you may or may not be aware of the numerous group influences
that can greatly change how you think, feel, and behave.
What happens
in groups? Groups are collections of two or more people who interact, share some common idea, goal, or purpose, and influence how

their members think and behave.

To illustrate the powerful influences of groups, we’ll describe the case of Dennis Jay, who almost died in a drunken coma and later
heard that his fraternity brothers had lied about the initiation that had almost killed him.

Group Cohesion and Norms Group Membership

As a pledge at a fraternity initiation party, Dennis Jay and In his hierarchy of human needs (see p. 333), humanistic psychologist Abra-
19 others submitted to hazing: ey were forced to drink ham Maslow identified the need for love and belonging as fundamental to
from a “beer bong,” a funnel into which beer was poured; human happiness (Maslow, 1970). One way to satisfy this social need is by
the beer ran down a plastic hose placed in the mouth (le joining a group, which helps individuals feel a sense of belonging, friend-
photo). The rule was that once you ship, and support. e need for belonging carries into adulthood as indi-
My fraternity threw up, you could stop drinking viduals join various community and business organizations. According to
brothers lied from the beer bong. Because he did not Maslow’s theory, the social need to belong points to a motivational reason
about why I was throw up, Jay was given straight shots for joining groups. At about the same time Maslow published his work on
in a coma.

of whiskey until he fell on his face. the hierarchy of motivation, Leon Festinger (1954) offered another reason
By the time his frat brothers got for joining groups, based on the social comparison theory.
Jay to the hospital, he Social comparison theory says that we are driven to compare ourselves to oth-

was in a coma and ers who are similar to us, so that we can measure the correctness of our attitudes

barely breathing. His and beliefs. According to Festinger, this drive to compare ourselves motivates us to

blood alcohol content join groups.

was 0.48, and a level of According to Festinger’s theory, the drive to compare and judge our atti-
0.50 is usually fatal tudes and beliefs against those of others who are similar to us points to a
(legally drunk in many cognitive reason for joining groups.
states is 0.08). An additional reason for forming groups is that we can accomplish things
At first, Jay refused to describe what happened because in groups that we simply cannot do alone. For example, students form study
he wanted to be loyal to his fraternity. Then he heard groups because they want academic help, social support, and motivation.
that the fraternity brothers had lied and said that he had However, there are two kinds of study groups, each with different goals:
stumbled drunk into their frat house and that they had task-oriented and socially oriented groups (Burn, 2004).
brought him to the emergency ward just to help out. e In a task-oriented group, the members have specific duties to complete.
Photo Credits: left, © 1993 Taro Yamasaki; right, Jim LoScalzo/U.S. News & World Report
fraternity brothers’ lies made Jay angry, and he told the In a socially oriented group, the members are primarily concerned about foster-

truth (Grogan et al., 1993). As discussed earlier, one rea- ing and maintaining social relationships among the members of the group.

son individuals like Jay endure harmful and humiliating For example, a task-oriented group helps members achieve certain aca-
hazing rites is because they wish to become a member of demic, business, political, or career goals, while a socially oriented group
a desired group. primarily provides a source
Social psychologists would explain that the fraternity of friends, fun activities,
lied about what happened to Jay because of two powerful and social support.
group influences: group cohesion and group norms. Group membership can
Group cohesion is group togetherness, which is determined have a powerful influence

by how much group members perceive that they share common on many social interac-

attributes. tions, such as deciding with

One reason many groups have some form of initiation whom to socialize, whom
rites and rituals is to have all members share a common to discriminate against,
experience and thus increase group cohesion. which principles to follow,
Group norms are the formal or informal rules about how and whom to battle, psy-

group members should behave. chologically and physically

Group norms, written or unwritten, can exert power- (Simon & Sturmer, 2003). A group of young Mormons in training
ful influences, both good and bad, on group members’ An example of how group
behaviors (Hewstone et al., 2002). For example, because membership influences members’ views and behaviors occurs during nation-
of powerful group norms to stick together to preserve al elections, when Republicans and Democrats wage hard-fought political
their group, these fraternity members were willing to lie and personal battles for money, votes, and power.
about what really happened to Jay. Next, we’ll discuss how groups and crowds can influence our behaviors.

596 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Behavior in Crowds
You may not notice, but being in a crowd can cause you to think and behave differently than when you’re alone.
How do A crowd, which is a large group of persons who are usually strangers, can facilitate or inhibit certain behaviors.

you behave in For example, we’ll discuss how being in a crowd can increase or decrease personal performance, encourage

a crowd? individuals to engage in antisocial behaviors, such as riots, or cause individuals to refuse to help to someone
in need.

Photo Credits: left, © Bob Daemmrich/PhotoEdit; center, © WorldFoto/Alamy; bottom, © SuperStockRF/SuperStock Facilitation and Inhibition Deindividuation in Crowds The Bystander Effect
During the Los Angeles riots in the early As a person lies unconscious on a city sidewalk,
Performing before a large crowd can 1990s, people were arrested for looting, dozens or hundreds of people may walk by with-
facilitate or inhibit behaviors. setting fires, and beating others. Individ- out helping. There are several reasons no one
uals in a crowd are more likely to com- stops to help, including fear of the person’s reac-
If a runner has a history of successful mit such antisocial acts because being in tions, inexperience with providing help, and the
competition, he may turn in a better a crowd conceals the person’s identity, a bystander effect.
performance in front of a large crowd process called deindividuation.
as a result of social facilitation. The bystander effect says that an individual may
Deindividuation refers to the increased feel inhibited from taking some action because of the
Social facilitation is an increase in tendency for subjects to behave irrationally presence of others.
performance in the presence of a crowd. or perform antisocial behaviors when there
is less chance of being personally identified. Data from over 50 studies indicate that 75% of
In contrast, if a runner has a spotty people offer assistance when alone, but fewer than
history in competition, he may turn in Looting is more likely to occur in a crowd 53% do so when in a group (Latané & Nida, 1981).
a worse performance in front of a large because of deindividuation. There are two explanations for the bystander
crowd because of social inhibition. effect.
Researchers believe deindividuation
Social inhibition is a decrease in per- occurs because being in a crowd gives The informational influence theory says that we
formance in the presence of a crowd. individuals anonymity and reduces use the reactions of others to judge the seriousness of
guilt and self-awareness, so that people the situation.
Whether we show facilitation or are less controlled by internal standards
inhibition depends partly on our and more willing to engage in deviant or If other bystanders are taking no action, we
previous experience. Generally, the antisocial roles (Silke, 2003; Zimbardo, conclude that no emergency exists and we do
presence of others will facilitate well- 1970). Support for this explanation of nothing to offer help or aid (Burn, 2004).
learned, simple, or reflexive responses deindividuation comes from competi-
but will inhibit new, unusual, or com- tive sporting events in which spectators The diffusion of responsibility theory says that, in
plex responses. An example of social turned into violent individuals (Postmes the presence of others, individuals feel less personal
facilitation occurs during champion- & Spears, 1998). responsibility and are less likely to take action in a situ-
ship games when a player is awarded ation where help is required (Latané, 1981).
the title of “most valuable player.” Another situation where deindividu-
An example of social inhibition also ation occurs and people feel anonymous Recent survey results report that 77% of Amer-
occurs during championship games is on the Internet. For instance, teens icans want to help victims of disasters such as
when a star player, who is expected are willing to disclose sexual informa- hurricanes and earthquakes, but when it comes to
to do great, instead feels anxiety tion when their anonymity is ensured volunteering, many will not because they believe
about performing and plays poorly or on the Internet (Chiou, 2006). the whole country is already helping (Marchetti
“chokes” (Baumeister, 1995). us, the & Bunte, 2006). us, an individual may feel less
presence of a crowd can either facili- responsibility to offer help or aid.
tate or inhibit behaviors, depending
on the situation (Burn, 2004). e presence of others also influences how we
make decisions, which we’ll examine next.

Just being in the presence of other strangers can
inhibit an individual from helping someone in need.

F. S O C I A L & G R O U P I N F L U E N C E S 597

F. Social & Group Influences

Group Decisions All of us have been in groups—families, fraternities, sororities, various social or business clubs. What
you may not realize is that being in a group creates social pressures that influence how you think and
Does being in a group make decisions. We’ll discuss two interesting factors in making decisions: group polarization and
affect thinking? groupthink.

Group Polarization Groupthink
Imagine that a young lawyer is trying to decide between two job
offers. e first offer is from a large, well-established firm that prom- In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy took the world to the
ises more security, financial opportunities, and prestige. However, it brink of nuclear war when he ordered the invasion of Cuba. is
has a poor record as an equal opportunity employer of women and invasion, which occurred at the Bay of Pigs, was a terrible decision
currently has no women partners. e second offer is from a small, and a well-remembered failure. Researchers have analyzed group
recently established firm that can promise little security or prestige. decision-making processes involved in bad decisions, such as the
However, this firm is doing well and has an excellent record in pro- Bay of Pigs, the escalation of war in Vietnam, the Watergate cover-
moting women as partners. Which offer should the lawyer accept? up, and the Challenger disaster, as well as flawed group decisions
Using dilemmas such as this, researchers compared the recommen- in business and other organizations. One reason that groups made
dations from individuals in a group with those made by the group bad decisions in the above examples is a phenomenon called
a er it had engaged in discussion (Gigone & Hastie, 1997; Pruitt, groupthink (Janis, 1989; Vallacher &
1971). Group discussions change individuals’ judgments, such as Nowak, 2007). Groupthink
when a group urges a more risky recommendation than do individ-
uals. is phenomenon became known as the risky shi . Groupthink refers to a group making What’s most
bad decisions because the group is more important is that
Researchers later discovered that the direction of a group’s risky we stick together.
shi depends on how conservative or liberal the group was to begin concerned about reaching agreement
with. If a group’s members are initially more conservative, group
discussion will shi its decision to an even more conservative one. and sticking together than gathering the
If a group’s members are initially more liberal, group discussion
will shi its decision to an even more liberal one. relevant information and considering all

The group’s shift to a more extreme position is called group the alternatives (right figure).
polarization (Fiedler, 2007).
Groupthink. According to psy-
Group polarization is a phenomenon in which group discussion rein- chologist Irving Janis (1989), group-
forces the majority’s point of view and shifts that view to a more extreme think has a number of clearly defined
position. characteristics: Discussions are lim-
ited, few alternatives are presented, and there is increased pressure
Group Polarization to conform. For example, the group usually has a member that
Janis calls a mindguard, whose job is to discourage ideas that
Before group might be a threat to the group’s unity. In addition, groupthink
discussion, results in viewing the world in very simple terms: ere is the
individual views ingroup, which includes only the immediate members of the
are generally group, versus the outgroup, which includes everyone who is not
positive. a part of the group. When a group adopts the ingroup–outgroup
attitude and mentality, the result is that it strengthens group-
After group think by emphasizing the protection of the group’s members over
discussion, making the best decisions.
individual views Avoiding groupthink. One authority on groupthink recom-
shift to more mends using a method, called vigilant decision making, that
positive views. helps a group avoid falling into groupthink and thus leads to bet-
ter decisions (Janis, 1989). Major elements of vigilant decision
Whether this group polarization (figure above) is in a liberal or making include the following: doing a thorough, open, and unbi-
conservative direction depends on the initial leanings of the group’s ased information search; evaluating as many alternative ideas as
members. Researchers also found that the more the group repeated possible; and having an impartial leader who allows the members
each other’s arguments, the more polarized the group became to freely and openly express differing opinions without being criti- Photo Credits: © PhotoDisc, Inc.
(Burn, 2004). us, repetition of the same arguments resulted in cized or being considered a threat to the group. Researchers found
stronger formation of attitudes and more group polarization. that the vigilant decision-making method does result in better and
more successful group decisions, although it is criticized for being
very time-consuming (Burn, 2004).
A er the Concept Review, we’ll learn about how our social
interactions affect our brain.

598 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Concept Review

1. A broad field that studies how our thoughts, feelings, percep- 9. Another theory of attitude change says that we first observe
tions, and behaviors are influenced by interactions with others our own behaviors, which in turn causes us to change our atti-
is called (a) . A major branch tudes. This is called theory.
of this field that studies how people perceive,
retrieve, and interpret information about social 10. If a politician tries to get votes by presenting information with
interactions is called (b) . strong arguments, analyses, facts, and logic, he or she is using the
(a) route of persuasion. If a politician seeks
2. Making judgments about the traits of others
through social interactions and gaining knowledge from our votes by emphasizing emotional appeals, focusing on
social perceptions are called . personal accomplishments, and generating positive
feelings, he or she is using the (b)
3. Widely held beliefs that people have certain traits because they route of persuasion.

belong to a particular group are known as (a) . 11. Persuasion involves at least three elements:
We are likely to believe a (a) who appears honest
An unfair, biased, or intolerant attitude toward another group and trustworthy; if we disagree with the message, it is better if
of people is called (b) . Specific unfair
behaviors exhibited toward members of a group are known the persuader presents a (b) message; if the
(c) is less interested in issues, the peripheral
Photo Credits: (#1) © Ted Hardin; (#4, #6) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (#8) Courtesy of Floyd Cochran; (#10) © Steve Pope/Landov; (#13) © Bob Daemmrich/PhotoEdit; as (c) . route is more effective.
(#15) © PhotoDisc, Inc.
4. Cognitive structures that represent an organized collection 12. Any behavior we perform because Shock Controller
of knowledge about people, events, and concepts are called of social influences or group pressure,
even if that pressure involves no direct
. They influence what we requests, is called (a) .
perceive and remember and how we behave.

5. The process by which we look for causes A kind of conformity in which we give in Slight MAXIMUM
to explain a person’s behavior is known as shock XXX 450 volts

(a) . If we attribute behavior to the internal char- to social pressure in our public responses .
but do not change our private beliefs is called (b)
acteristics of a person, we are attributing the behavior to the per- Any behavior performed in response to an order given by some-
son’s (b) . If we attribute behavior to the external
circumstances or context of that behavior, we are attributing the one in a position of authority is called (c) .

behavior to the (c) . 13. An increase in performance in the presence of a crowd is called
social (a) ; a decrease in performance in the pres-
6. If we attribute the cause of a behavior to a person’s disposition ence of a crowd is called social (b) .
and overlook the demands of the environment or situation, we are
committing the (a) error. If we attribute our An increased tendency for individuals to behave irra-
tionally or perform antisocial behaviors if there is
own behavior to situational factors but the behaviors less chance of being personally identified is called
of others to their disposition, we are committing
the (b) effect. If we attribute suc- (c) . Being socially inhibited to take
some action, such as helping, because of the presence
cess to our disposition and failure to the situation, of others is called the (d) effect.
we are using the (c) bias.
14. A collection of two or more people who interact and share some
7. Beliefs or opinions that include a positive or negative evalua- common attribute or attributes is called a (a) .
tion of some target (object, person, or event) and
that predispose us to act in a certain way toward Togetherness, which is determined by how much group members
perceive that they share common attributes,
the target are called . is called group (b) .

8. There are two different theories about why we 15. The phenomenon by which group dis-
change our attitudes. One theory says that experi- cussion reinforces the majority’s point of
encing cognitive inconsistencies produces psycho- view and shifts that view to a more extreme position is called group
logical tension that we try to reduce by making our beliefs more (a) . If a group makes bad decisions because it is
consistent. This is called (a) theory. If we take more concerned about reaching an agreement and sticking together
a public position that is counter to our private attitude, we are than gathering the relevant information and considering all the
engaging in (b) behavior. alternatives, it is referred to as (b) .

Answers: 1. (a) social psychology, (b) cognitive social psychology; 2. person perception; 3. (a) stereotypes, (b) prejudice, (c) discrimination; 4. schemas;
5. (a) attribution, (b) disposition, (c) situation; 6. (a) fundamental attribution, (b) actor-observer, (c) self-serving; 7. attitudes; 8. (a) cognitive dis-
sonance, (b) counterattitudinal; 9. self-perception; 10. (a) central, (b) peripheral; 11. (a) source, (b) two-sided, (c) audience; 12. (a) conformity,
(b) compliance, (c) obedience; 13. (a) facilitation, (b) inhibition, (c) deindividuation, (d) bystander; 14. (a) group, (b) cohesion; 15. (a) polarization,
(b) groupthink

C O N C E P T R E V I E W 599

G. Social Neuroscience

Definition As we learned earlier in this module (p. 582), the area of the
brain associated with emotional vigilance becomes acti-
What happens in vated when White people view unfamiliar Black faces,
our brains as we

perceive others? and the brain area associated with reward and pleasure
becomes activated when heterosexual men view faces of
attractive women. ese research findings are examples of a new interdisciplinary
field called social neuroscience.
Social neuroscience refers to an emerging area of research that examines social behavior,

such as perceiving others, by combining biological and social approaches. In other words, it

focuses on understanding how social behavior influences the brain as well as on how the brain

influences social behavior (Cacioppo & Berntson, 2002). Social neuroscience examines our brain
Research in social neuroscience has grown dramatically in recent years (Cacioppo et al., processes as we perceive others.

2007). We’ll discuss the methods researchers use to study social neuroscience and some of Photo Credits: top center left, © Visuals Unlimited/Corbis; bottom center left, © Digital Stock Corporation; top center, © Mike Kepka/San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis;
the research findings that have emerged from this recent approach to understanding social behavior. bottom center, © Canadian Press/Phototake; bottom left, © Bob Daemmrich/The Image Works

Methods A variety of techniques are used in social neuroscience to examine the interaction of brain and social pro-
cesses. As we learned earlier (pp. 70–71), there are several techniques for studying the brain. e common
How do we study techniques used in social neuroscience to examine brain activity include positron emission tomography (PET
brain processes? scan), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and transcranial
magnetic stimulation (TMS).

PET scan involves injecting a slightly radioac- EEG involves placing electrodes at
tive solution into the blood and then measuring how various points across the scalp. The elec-
much radiation is absorbed by neurons. Different trodes detect electrical activity (brain wave
levels of absorption are represented by colors—red activity) throughout the brain’s surface.
and yellow indicate maximum activity of neurons,
while blue and green indicate minimal activity.

fMRI measures the changes in the activity of TMS is a noninvasive technique that
specific neurons that are functioning during cogni- sends pulses of magnetic energy into the
brain. It works to either activate or sup-
tive tasks, such as thinking about another person. press brain activity.

Findings Perhaps the most fascinating research in social neuroscience has been identifying mirror neurons, which are brain

How do we cells that are responsible for human empathy. Mirror neurons allow us to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and

empathize with experience how they feel. ey are the reason we smile when we see a baby smile or flinch when we see a person in
others? pain. Mirror neurons also explain why yawning is contagious. When we see another person yawn (photo at le ),
mirror neurons tell our brains to do the same. In fact, I (H. K.) couldn’t stop myself from yawning when I looked at
this photo! On a more upbeat note, group laughter spreads in much the same way (Dobbs, 2006b). For instance, I
always laugh more while watching a comedy in a crowded theater than when I watch one alone at home. anks to
mirror neurons, I know there is a biological explanation for why these movie watching experiences are so different.
One of the major areas of social neuroscience research has been racial bias.
Racial bias. Many people who adamantly report being race-blind may unknowingly hold unconscious racial
biases, which can come out in unexpected ways. For instance, when White Americans see photos flashed so quickly
that they have no conscious awareness of having seen them, the area of the brain that signals “Watch out!” is more
active immediately following Black faces than White faces (Begley, 2008a). Another example is the unfortunate case
of a White woman married to a Black man who, in a state of rage, unintentionally called her husband a racial slur,
only to later feel tremendous shame. In this case, the emotional, more instinctual area of her brain overpowered the
Does this photograph rational, more thoughtful area of her brain (Restak, 2006).
make you yawn?
Next, we’ll discuss a potentially very disruptive social behavior—aggression.

600 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

H. Aggression PowerStudy 4.5™

Module 3

Genes and Environment E. Transmitters

Module 4

Drive-by shootings, gang fights and killings, A. Genes & Evolution
Is aggression spouse and child abuse, school shootings, hate
genetic influences may partly predispose
a person to develop aggressive behaviors, but
in a person’s crimes, revenge-shooting by angry workers, whether this actually occurs depends on the
genes? bullying, road rage, and extreme forms of interaction with potentially powerful good

hazing are all examples of aggression. or bad environmental influences.
Aggression is any behavior directed toward another that is intended to Genes interact with good/bad environ-
ments. e evidence for the interaction of
cause harm.

ere is no single reason someone turns into a genetic and environmental factors in aggres-
child bully or an aggressive adult but rather three sive behavior is abundant. Researchers found
major components: genetic and environmental that a specific gene variation influences brain
influences, social cognitive and personality traits, development to make someone more prone
and situational cues (R. A. Baron & Richardson, to engage in impulsive violence, but only
2004; B. Bower, 2006a; Kalat & Shiota, 2007). We’ll when the gene variation is combined with Human aggression
begin with genetic or hereditary influences. environmental stress. Other researchers is regulated by the
Animal Genetic influences in animals. You can reported that this same gene variation results interaction of three
aggression major components.

is largely clearly see that genetic influences can regulate in neurotransmitter imbalances, unusually small brain structures
regulated by aggression by watching the behavior of animals. associated with emotions, and minimal activity in the prefrontal
genetic factors. Ethologists, who study animal behavior in natu- lobe, which result in poor impulse control and problems regulating

Photo Credits: left, © Photo24/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images; center, © Zig Leszcynski/Animals Animals; right, © Ben Welsh Premium/Alamy ral settings, have identified numerous social signals that animals emotions (Meyer-Lindenberg, 2006; Mullin & Hinshaw, 2007).
have evolved to regulate aggression. For example, the photo below Researchers have also studied the interaction of genetic and
shows a dominant wolf standing above a submissive wolf. e sub- environmental factors by following boys who had inherited poten-
missive wolf avoids being attacked by lying down and rolling over to tially “bad genes” from their criminally inclined biological parents.
expose its vulnerable belly. Many of the dominant and submissive Some of these boys were adopted by noncriminal parents and raised
gestures observed in animals are largely programmed by genetic in good environments, while others were raised in “bad environ-
factors and help animals avoid potentially damaging aggressive ments” by criminally inclined adoptive parents. Results showed the
attacks and improve their chances combination of “bad genes” interacting with “bad environments”
of survival. Compared with animals, resulted in a large percentage of boys going on to commit crimi-
reasons for aggressive acts in humans nal acts. However, results also showed that good environments
are much more complicated. can, to a large extent, compensate for inheriting “bad genes” and
Genetic influences in humans. can override the development of aggressive or antisocial behaviors

We all begin life with a different set (A. Raine, 2002).
of genes (pp. 68, 378) that contain Genes interact with child abuse. A tragic and unexplained
chemical instructions that regulate question is why some children who suffer physical, sexual, or emo-
the manufacture and assembly of the tional abuse go on to become violent adults, while others do not.
many thousands of parts that make Researchers studied a group of severely abused boys who were also
up our body and brain. In earlier Animals use built-in social found to have a gene that creates abnormal levels of neurotransmit-
modules, we discussed how genetic signals to threaten or to ters in the brain. Boys who had the combination of being abused
factors contribute 30–70% to the avoid aggression. and having this particular gene were twice as likely to have been

development of many human behaviors, such as personality traits, diagnosed with conduct disorder as a child and Piece of
temperament, intelligence, emotions, motivation, and various men- three times more likely to have been convicted of a Genetic Code
tal health problems (Hamer, 2002). Similarly, genetic factors also violent crime by age 26. However, if boys who had
play an important role in the development of human aggression. this particular gene were not abused as children,
Researchers studied levels of aggression in twins and adopted they weren’t any more likely to be antisocial or
children to gauge how much genetic factors influence human violent. Researchers concluded that this particular
aggression. If genetic factors influence aggression in humans, then gene did not lead to developing antisocial behaviors
identical twins, who share almost 100% of their genes, should be unless an individual had also experienced a par-
more alike in committing aggressive behaviors than fraternal twins, ticular environmental influence—being abused as
who share only 50% of their genes. Also, if genetic factors influence a child.
human aggression, then children from aggressive biological par- e above studies show how genes and environ-
ents should be more aggressive, even if adopted by nonaggressive mental factors combine, interact, and influence each
parents. Researchers analyzed over 50 twin and adoption studies other to increase or decrease antisocial or aggressive
and found that genetic factors accounted for about 34% of the total behaviors (B. Bower, 2006a; Strueber et al., 2006). Genes
factors that were responsible for developing aggressive and anti- regulate
social behaviors (Rhee & Waldman, 2002). ese studies show that Next, we’ll examine specific environmental fac- chemicals
tors and situations that are involved in aggression. in the brain.

H . A G G R E S S I O N 601

H. Aggression PowerStudy 4.5™

Module 4

Social Cognitive and Personality Factors Situational Cues A. Genes & Evolution

We have discussed how genetic factors may predispose a person to A number of situational cues have been linked to increased ag-
be aggressive, but whether this occurs depends upon the interaction gression, including hot weather (above 90°F), the presence of or
with environmental factors, such as one’s learning experiences. One easy access to guns, and exposure to violent TV shows and
theory that explains how people learn to be aggressive is Bandura’s video games (C. A. Anderson & Bushman, 2002). In recent
(2001a) social cognitive theory. years, another situational cue made the news when more and
Social cognitive theory says that much of human I like to bully more drivers became so frustrated and angry by other drivers’
kids and make annoying driving habits that they responded by aggressively
behavior, including aggressive behavior, may be learned them do things.

through watching, imitating, and modeling and does not pursuing, ramming, fighting, and even shooting another driver

require the observer to perform any observable behav- (Galovski et al., 2006). e press labeled this aggressive action

ior or receive any observable reward. by frustrated drivers road rage, which shows how frustration

Support for social cognitive theory comes can trigger aggression.
from laboratory and naturalistic studies. A clas- The frustration-aggression hypothesis says that when our goals are

sic laboratory study by Bandura (1965) found blocked, we become frustrated and respond with anger and aggression.

that children who observed a model’s aggressive However, researchers soon discovered that although frus-
behaviors performed similar aggressive behaviors (p. 224). Children tration may lead to aggression, the link between the two is not
who were exposed to aggressive models, such as seeing parents use absolute. Leonard Berkowitz (1989) reviewed the research on the
physical punishment, were reported to show increased aggression frustration-aggression hypothesis and concluded the following:
with their peers, parents, and dating partners (C. A. Anderson & O Frustration doesn’t always lead to aggression.
Huesmann, 2003). ese studies show that individuals predisposed O Social rules may inhibit aggression.
to be aggressive are more likely to become so a er observing aggres- O Frustration may result in behaviors other than aggression.
sive models in their families, on television, or in video games. O Cognitive factors can override aggression.
Television/video games. Children have ample opportunity to us, Berkowitz (1993) modified the original hypothesis.
see, model, and imitate aggressive adults, since the majority of pro- The modified frustration-aggression hypothesis says that although

grams on cable and network television contain aggressive actions. frustration may lead to aggression, a number of situational and cognitive

By age 18, American youth have seen factors may override the aggressive response.

200,000 acts of violence on TV, includ- Although our daily lives are o en filled with Photo Credits: top, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; left, © Edouard Berne/Getty Images; right, © AP Images/Eduardo Di Baia
ing 40,000 murders (Herr, 2001). When frustrations, we usually find ways to control
the TV-viewing habits of 700 adolescents our frustrations and don’t express them
were followed into adulthood, researchers in anger, violence, or road
found that adolescents who had watched rage. However, a child is
2 to 3 hours of daily television (all kinds more likely to react to
of programs) were almost 4 times more frustration with vio-
likely to commit violent and aggressive acts lence if he or she has
later in life compared to those who had observed and imi-
watched less than 1 hour a day. Researchers tated the aggressive
ruled out neglect, poverty, and bad neigh- behaviors of adults A citizen slyly shows her frustrated
TV watching was linked borhoods and concluded that frequent TV (Osofsky, 1995). Sim- feelings toward police.
to later aggressive acts. viewing correlated with committing vio-
ilarly, adults with a personality trait to be impulsive or a genetic
lent acts later in life (J. G. Johnson et al., 2002). However, it’s also tendency to be aggressive are more likely to react to frustration
possible that aggressive-prone adolescents prefer to watch TV rather with aggression (Lindsay & Anderson, 2000).
than engage in other activities. Summary. We have discussed a number of recent studies on
Model of aggression. One model of how children develop aggres- aggression that show how genetic influences interact with envi-
sive behaviors points to an interaction among genetic/environmental ronmental factors and how neurotransmitters’ levels in the brain
factors, which can predispose individuals to develop an irritable or affect aggressive behavior (B. Bower, 2006a; R. Raine, 2002). Ear-
angry temperament and become more or less aggressive depending lier, we also discussed how the decision-making area of the brain
upon the environment; social cognitive factors, which involve imi- (prefrontal cortex—p. 411) doesn’t develop until early adulthood,
tating and modeling the aggressive behaviors observed on television which explains why adolescents are likely to engage in impulsive
and in video games; and personality factors, such as being impulsive, and dangerous actions. All these studies point to the importance
having little empathy, and wanting to dominate others. According to of biological influences and emphasize that any explanation of
this model, the interaction of these three factors increases the chances human aggression must consider the interaction among three
of a child developing into an aggressive adolescent and an aggressive major factors—genes and environment, social cognitive learning
adult (C. A. Anderson & Bushman, 2002; Tisak et al., 2006). and personality traits, and situational cues.
There are also situational factors that can increase or trigger One terrifying and degrading form of aggression is sexual
aggressive behaviors. aggression, which we’ll examine next.

602 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Sexual Harassment and Aggression

Why do According to a National Crime Victimiza- power, and control (Polaschek et al., 1997). For example, in inter-
tion Survey of U.S. citizens aged 12 and views with ten convicted rapists, nine said that sex was of second-
men rape? older, there were 191,670 reported rapes ary importance and that either anger or the need to
In the United dominate was the most important factor to them (S.
and sexual assaults in 2005 (Catalano, States, a woman is Levine & Koenig, 1980).
2006). Because only about one-third of rape victims report raped about every
3 minutes.
their attacks to the police, the total number of sexual assaults Another form of aggression is sexual harass-
may be closer to 600,000 annually (AAUW, 2007a). About 51% ment. Researchers found that sexual harassment is
of rape victims were under 18 years old, and of those, 85% widespread and was reported by 40–70% of women and
were raped by either a relative or an acquaintance. 10–20% of men in occupational settings and by 62% of
National surveys of female college students report that female and 61% of male college students. Although
about 20–27% of college women experience either rape or sexual harassment produces psychological and physi-
attempted rape, and about 42% experience forced sexual cal effects in most of the victims, less than 10% of
encounters, some of which lead to nonconsensual sexual victims file formal complaints (AAUW, 2007a, 2007b;
intercourse (AAUW, 2007a; Flores, 1999). ACA Group, 2004).
Most researchers agree that the primary motivation for Here, we’ll focus on rape and sexual assault and
rape is not sexual but rather a combination of aggression, begin by describing the common types of rapists.

Characteristics and Kinds of Rapists Rape Myths

Psychologists have identified several developmental factors that One consistent finding about rapists is that they hold negative and
are associated with men who rape: ey o en come from broken demeaning attitudes toward women. For example, here are some
homes, did not have a loving caregiver, were sexually or physi- of their negative beliefs:
cally abused, were neglected, and spent time in penal institutions O Healthy women cannot be raped against their will.
(Polaschek et al., 1997). However, these factors alone do not pro- O Women o en falsely accuse men of rape.
duce rapists; other men who have suffered similar development O Rape is primarily a sex crime committed by sex-crazed
problems do not become rapists. At present, there is no generally maniacs.
accepted theory of what turns men into rapists. O Only bad girls get raped.
Researchers have interviewed rapists to understand the moti- O If a girl engages in petting and lets
vation behind their sexual aggression. Rapists reported different things get out of hand, it is her own Some men
degrees and combinations of anger, sexual violence, power, and fault if her partner forces sex on her. mistakenly believe
control. Here are descriptions of four types ese kinds of statements are called rape
of rapists (Knight, 1992). that only bad
women get raped.
O e power rapist, who commits 70%
The most common myths (Buddie & Miller, 2002; Greensite,
rapist is a man who 2007).
wants to possess of all rapes, is not out to hurt physically but
his victim. Rape myths are misinformed, false beliefs

to possess. His acts are premeditated and about women, and these myths are frequently

are o en preceded by rape fantasies. He may held by rapists.

carry a weapon, not to hurt but to intimidate Men who believe in rape myths tend to
the victim. have a more traditional view of sex roles and
O e sadistic rapist accounts for fewer hold more negative attitudes toward women.
than 5% of rapes, but he is the most danger- Although researchers found that acceptance
ous because for him sexuality and aggression of rape myths is more common among men
have become fused, and using physical force who have raped, rape myths are also held by men in general. For
is arousing and exciting. example, one survey of male college students reported that from
O For the anger rapist, rape is an impul- 17% to 75% of students agreed with one or more of nine rape
sive, savage attack of uncontrolled physical violence. e act is of myths (Giacopassi & Dull, 1986). is association between rape
short duration, accompanied by abusive language, and the victim myths and rapists illustrates how negative beliefs and attitudes
usually suffers extensive physical trauma, such as broken bones can contribute to sexual aggression (DeGue & DiLillo, 2005).
and bruises. In the United States, it is estimated that during their lifetime
Photo Credits: © PhotoDisc, Inc. O e acquaintance or date rapist knows his victim and uses 20–30% of women will be victims of some type of sexual aggres-
varying amounts of verbal or physical coercion to force his part- sion. Researchers are developing rape prevention programs to
ner to engage in sexual activities. both prevent rape and stop the perpetuation of rape myths, and
ese examples indicate that men rape for a number of or a these programs are becoming increasingly common on college
combination of reasons, such as to exercise power and control, campuses (DeGue & DiLillo, 2005; Schewe, 2002). We’ll discuss
express anger, and become sexually aroused. ways to prevent sexual aggression in the Application section.
Other factors that contribute to rape are the false beliefs, called Next, we’ll examine programs psychologists have developed to
rape myths, that some men hold about women. change attitudes toward aggression.

H . A G G R E S S I O N 603

I. Application: Controlling Aggression

Case Study

In a family of six children, one it turned out, Monster Kody had three brothers and two sisters who
was so bad he was nicknamed grew up in the same poverty and destitution but developed into
Monster Kody. He became a law-abiding citizens who are leading very productive lives (Azar &
gang member and shot his first Sleek, 1994).
victim at age 11. Kody contin-
ued his violent and aggressive Out of six children raised in the same environment, only one,
Why did only one of six children ways until he was arrested, Monster Kody, became an aggressive adult. This shows that the
develop into a violent adult? convicted, and sentenced to jail development of aggressive behavior depends on the interaction of
the three factors that we have discussed: genetic and environmental,
for robbery. When he wrote his autobiography from his prison cell, social cognitive, and personality factors. Because genetic and envi-
he blamed his problems and violent behavior on his parents’ pov- ronmental factors are sometimes difficult to change, recent programs
erty and destitution and on his belonging to a violent gang. But as focus on social cognitive factors to reduce and control aggression.

Controlling Aggression in Children Aggressive
children
Most children have occasional outbursts of anger and aggression, but if these outbursts become frequent, usually
young children may develop a pattern of using aggressive behaviors to deal with problems (Lemerise & become
Dodge, 2000). Researchers found that, unless treated, an aggressive child will surely become an aggressive
adolescent and adult and develop later problems, such as substance abuse, criminality, and mental health aggressive
disorders (Broidy et al., 2003). Researchers have discovered that aggressive children have a number of adolescents
cognitive-behavioral deficits that make them perceive, remember, and react to a world that appears more and adults.
hostile than it really is. We’ll first discuss these cognitive-behavioral deficits and then a treatment program.

Cognitive-Behavioral Deficits Programs to Control Aggression

Parents and teachers need to realize that an aggressive child or Children who engage in antisocial and aggressive behaviors are usually
teenager does not perceive the world, take feedback, or act as described by the term conduct disorder, which is one of the most fre-
regular nonaggressive children do. Here are some of the ways quent reasons for referral to treatment programs (Ollendick et al., 2006).
that aggressive children differ (Lochman et al., 2006; Spielman We’ll discuss two successful programs for treating conduct disorder.
& Staub, 2000): Cognitive problem-solving skills training. A well-researched
O An aggressive child does not accurately perceive or treatment program involves helping aggressive children overcome
recall social cues. For example, the aggressive child selectively the deficits in cognitive-behavioral skills that we just discussed. For
attends to aggressive or hostile actions and overlooks positive example, because an aggressive child does not know how to stop
social cues. When an aggressive child is asked to recall thinking and acting in aggressive ways, therapists teach the
what happened that day, the child tends to remember You know I’ve child specific rules, such as no matter how angry the child
all the hostile actions rather than any friendly cues. got a quick temper, gets, he or she must not hit, yell, or kick. e child receives

so don’t make
O An aggressive child does not make accurate me angry! special reinforcement for obeying these rules. The child
Photo Credits: bottom, © PhotoDisc, Inc.; right, © Ben Welsh Premium/Alamy
explanations or attributions of the situation. For learns to use self-statements to inhibit impulsive behavior,
instance, aggressive children tend to attribute hostile including “I can stop myself.” e child learns to use alterna-
actions to other children when, in fact, other children tive, nonaggressive solutions when frustrated. These might
are not behaving in an aggressive or hostile way. be hand clapping, scribbling on a sheet of paper, or tensing
O An aggressive child does not have many adap- and relaxing muscles. Cognitive programs have reduced the
tive solutions to problems. This means aggressive aggression of children in both home and school (Nangle et al.,
children tend to use hostile and aggressive actions to 2002; C. R. omas, 2006).
solve many of their problems rather than using non- Parent Management Training (PMT). An effective treat-
hostile or verbal solutions. ment program for conduct disorder is called Parent Manage-
O An aggressive child is reinforced for aggres- ment Training, or PMT (Mash & Wolfe, 2007). In this program, a
sive behaviors rather than for positive social behaviors. therapist teaches parents how to use specific procedures in the home
at’s because aggressive children get their way by using to alter angry interactions with their child, to decrease deviant behav-
hostile actions, which in turn are reinforced. Aggressive chil- iors, and, very important, to promote positive or prosocial behaviors.
dren have poor social skills, which means they rarely solve For example, parents learn to not reinforce aggressive behaviors that
problems in nonaggressive ways, such as by discussion. a child uses to get his or her way, to establish and enforce reasonable
Because of these cognitive-behavioral deficits, aggressive rules, and to reinforce appropriate behaviors. PMT has proven very
children perceive a more hostile world and respond with more effective in decreasing aggressive behaviors in the home and school
aggressive behaviors (Lochman et al., 2006). ere are programs (C. R. omas, 2006).
that teach children how to control their aggression. Now, we’ll examine methods of controlling aggression in adults.

604 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Controlling Anger in Adults
You’ve probably known people who get mad, rant and rave, and then take their anger out on whoever hap-
How do I pens to be near. en, a er their violent outbursts, they may apologize, say they’re sorry, or explain that they

stop being angry? have to let out their angry feelings or they’ll explode. Is it true that “letting it all out” is a good way to deal
with anger?

Catharsis Cognitive-Relaxation Program

A popular idea for reducing and controlling aggression I’ll get you for At the urging of his wife, Rob came to therapy because he’s
involves catharsis. cutting me off, prone to angry outbursts, especially when driving. He says
you dumb . . . ! things like, “I’m not doing anything unsafe; it’s that jerk in front
Catharsis is a psychological process through which

anger or aggressive energy is released by expressing or let- of me who’s going too slow.” Rob admits to getting angry at

ting out powerful negative emotions. one thing or another many times a day (Holloway, 2003).

According to the concept of catharsis, a good way Rob can learn to gain control over his anger with an anger
to deal with anger or aggression is to “let off steam,” management program.
which means expressing strong negative emotions One such successful program is the cognitive-relaxation
by yelling, arguing, hitting, or kicking something. program. It begins by having Rob observe and later write
Sigmund Freud used the term catharsis to down his behaviors (feeling tense) and anger-producing
mean that one should let frustration and anger thoughts (“ at guy’s a jerk”) during several days of driving.
out so that they don’t build up and explode in an is process is called self-monitoring and helps Rob make a
aggressive rage. However, most research does not record of the anger-producing thoughts and behaviors that
support Freud’s conclusion about the usefulness he may not have been aware of and that trigger and main-
of catharsis. For example, a er college students tain his anger. Next, Rob learns a method to quickly relax
were made angry, some were told to punch a bag himself on cue (progressive relaxation—p. 503) so that he will
while thinking about the person who made them be able to reduce his body tension and arousal. He also makes a
angry (catharsis group), while others were told only to sit quietly list of positive thoughts (“ at guy’s a careful driver,” “ at guy is
for 2 minutes (control group). A erward, students in the catharsis trying to avoid an accident”) that he can substitute for his anger-
group, who vented their anger, rated their anger higher than those producing ones (“ at driver’s a jerk”). Once Rob has learned to
in the control group, who did nothing to let it out. e researcher relax on cue and has his list of positive thoughts, he’s ready to
concluded that venting to let anger out (catharsis group) was like begin driving while substituting positive for negative thoughts and
pouring gasoline on a fire; it only adds fuel and makes the anger relaxing on cue whenever he begins to feel tense or angry. Being
worse. Accordingly, it’s bad to vent one’s anger by punching a pil- able to relax on cue is important because it’s very hard to get angry
low, since it seems to only make the anger worse (Bushman, 2002). if you’re relaxed. Researchers found that this cognitive-relaxation
A better way to deal with anger, at the job, school, home, or on the program has proved very effective in helping individuals reduce
road, is to use a cognitive-relaxation program. and control their anger (Deffenbacher, 2003, 2005).

Controlling Sexual Coercion

Several studies have found that from 42% to who report higher levels of sexual coercion also perceived women
What are 78% of college women report sexual coercion, as showing higher levels of sexual interest in nonsexual, mundane
the risks? which includes men using social pressure, ver- situations (having a conversation). Researchers concluded that, in
bal coercion, lies, alcohol or drugs, emotional these cases, it is not the women’s behaviors that put them
manipulation, or threat of force to have sexual contact at risk for sexual coercion but rather it is that sexually
with women (Struckman-Johnson et al., 2003). Part coercive men misperceive women as showing sexual
of the socialization of males involves seeing situa- interest when they are not (Bondurant & Donat,
tions that may reinforce and increase their risk of 1999). These researchers suggest that prevention
using sexual coercion. For example, the media programs need to educate sexually coercive men
(movies, videos, songs) portray situations in about how they may misperceive the sexual inter-
which men believe that using sexual coercion est of women, even in very mundane situations like
Photo Credit: © Creasource/Corbis does no harm and may even be arousing to their ordinary conversations.
partners, or may be necessary to achieve their According to researchers, one way to avoid
goals (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). These media sexual coercion on a date is for men and women to
portrayals reinforce the idea that sexual coercion is know the risk factors. For women, these include
acceptable and even arousing to women and increase One problem is that some males the heavy use of alcohol or other drugs that dull
the risk that men will be sexually coercive and not do not take “NO!” for an answer. reason and perception. For men, these include

be perceptive and responsive to a woman’s wishes or refusals. overuse of drugs, thinking that paying the expenses entitles him
Somehow the socialization creates a difference between men to sex, misperceiving his date’s sexual interest, and not recognizing
who are sexually coercive and those who are not. For example, men that “NO” means “NO!” (Struckman-Johnson et al., 2003).

I . A P P L I C A T I O N : C O N T R O L L I N G A G G R E S S I O N 605

Summary Test

A. Perceiving Others 7. An error that we make by attributing the cause of a behavior to
a person’s disposition and overlooking the demands of the environ-
1. How our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and ment or situation is the (a) attribution error. If we
behaviors are influenced by interactions with oth-
ers is studied in the field of (a) psy- attribute our own behavior to situational factors but others’ behav-
iors to their dispositions, we fall prey to the (b)
chology. A branch of this field studies how people effect. If we attribute success to our disposition and failure to the
perceive, retrieve, and interpret information about
social interactions; this branch is called social situation, we use the (c) bias.

(b) . C. Research Focus: Attributions & Grades

2. Making judgments about the traits of others through social 8. Researchers found that freshmen
interactions and gaining knowledge from our social perceptions who were encouraged to attribute their
are part of person (a) . This process is aided by Dropout Rate from College academic problems to
25 conditions, such as poor study habits,
showed a significant improvement in
15 grade point average and were less likely
to drop out than were students who
5 continued to attribute their poor perfor-
mance to permanent factors.
a wealth of social information that is stored in our memories. Percent leaving school
However, some memories can bias our perceptions. Widely held Control
beliefs that people have certain traits because they belong to a par- Change
ticular group are called (b) . Negative beliefs that Photo Credits: top, (#1) Courtesy of Dr. Harriet Hall; (#5) © PhotoDisc, Inc.; (#9) © Steve Pope/Landov
are often accompanied by an unfair, biased, or intolerant attitude Figure/Text Credit: (#8) Bar graph data from “Improving the Academic Performance of College Freshman,” by T. D. Wilson and P. W. Linville, 1982, Journal of Personality
toward another group of people are called (c) . and Social Psychology, 42, 367–376, American Psychological Association.
Specific unfair behaviors exhibited toward members of a group
are called (d) .

3. Cognitive structures that represent an organized collection D. Attitudes
of knowledge about people, events, and concepts are called
9. Beliefs or opinions that include a positive or neg-
. They help us select and interpret relevant ative evaluation of an object, person, or event and
information from a tremendous amount of incoming social that predispose us to act in a certain way are called
information and provide guidelines for how we should behave (a) . General attitudes are conve-
in different situations. nient guidelines for interpreting and categoriz-

4. There are different kinds of schemas: Those that include ing objects and events and deciding whether
to approach or avoid them. Attitudes have
our judgments about the traits that we and others possess are three components: beliefs and ideas make up
called (a) schemas; those that are based on the
jobs people perform or the social positions they hold are called the (b) component; emo-
tions and feelings make up the (c) component;
(b) schemas; those that contain behaviors that and predispositions make up the (d) component.
we associate with familiar activities, events, or procedures are
called (c) schemas, or scripts.
10. A state of unpleasant psychological tension that motivates us to
reduce our inconsistencies and return to a more consistent state is
called (a) . To reduce this tension and return to a
B. Attributions more consistent state, we may add or change (b)

5. The factors or events that we point to as or take a public position that is counter to our private attitude,
causes or explanations for people’s behavior are which is called engaging in (c) behavior.
called (a) . If we attribute According to Daryl Bem’s theory, we first observe or perceive our
behavior to the internal characteristics of the own behavior and then infer attitudes from that behavior; this is
person performing the behavior, we are using called (d) theory.
(b) explanations; if we attri-
bute behavior to the circumstances or context of 11. One method of persuasion presents information
with strong arguments, analyses, facts, and logic; this is the
that behavior, we are using (c) explanations. (a) route, which works primarily on the cogni-

6. Harold Kelley proposed that in deciding between dispositional tive component of our attitudes. Another route emphasizes emo-
and situational explanations, we should look for factors that change tional appeal, focuses on personal traits, and generates positive
along with the behavior we are trying to explain; this is called the feelings; this is called the (b) route and works
primarily on the affective or feeling component. Three factors to
model. To decide between dispositional and sit- consider in persuasion are the source, (c) , and
uational explanations, we should look for consensus, consistency, (d) .
and distinctiveness.

606 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

E. Cultural Diversity: G. Social Neuroscience
National Attitudes & Behaviors
18. Social neuroscience refers to a research area that examines
12. National attitudes are important because they social behavior, such as perceiving others, by combining
predispose citizens to (a) in cer-
approaches.

tain ways. For example, compared to the West, 19. Brain cells responsible for human
traditional Nigerian attitudes are for a woman
to become beautiful by (b) empathy are called .

a lot. One reason Egyptian women are having H. Aggression
such difficulty changing (c)
toward them is that these discriminatory policies are backed by
social, political, and religious forces. 20. The findings that identical twins are more alike
in aggression and that not all abused children become
aggressive are evidence for (a)
F. Social & Group Influences influences on aggression. The finding that people
can learn aggressive behavior through observation,
13. If you perform a behavior because of group pressure, you are imitation, and self-reinforcement supports the influ-
exhibiting (a) . Giving in to
Photo Credits: (#12) © AFP/Getty Images; (#13) © Jim LoScalzo/U.S. News & World Report; (#20) © Ben Welsh Premium/Alamy; (#22) © PhotoDisc, Inc. social pressure in your public responses but ence of (b) factors. The finding that frustration
may lead to or trigger aggression supports the influence of
not changing your private beliefs is called (c) factors. Unlike humans, aggression in
(b) . A sales technique that
relies on the increased probability of getting a animals is primarily influenced by (d) factors.

second request if you obtain compliance with 21. The primary motivation for rape is not sexual but a combination
a small first request is called the (c) technique. of , , and .
Performing a behavior in response to an order given by someone
in authority is called (d) .
I. Application: Controlling Aggression
14. Any behavior that benefits others or has positive social conse-
quences is called (a) behavior. A form of helping 22. An aggressive child perceives and reacts to a world that appears
more hostile than normal because this child has a num-
that involves doing something, often at a cost, for reasons other ber of (a) deficits. Children can
than the expectation of a material or social reward is called
(b) . learn to control their aggressive behavior by being
reinforced for obeying certain (b) .
15. A collection of two or more people who interact and share some Freud believed that adults should release frustration
common attribute or attributes is called a (a) . by acting out, which reduces anger and is called
How much group members perceive that they share common (c) . Freud’s idea is not supported
attributes determines group (b) . The formal by modern research. A successful anger management
or informal rules about how group members should behave are program for adults is called the (d) program.
called group (c) . According to Leon Festinger’s
(d) theory, we compare ourselves to others who
are similar to us so that we can measure the correctness of our Answers: 1. (a) social, (b) cognitive social psychology; 2. (a) perception,
attitudes and beliefs. (b) stereotypes, (c) prejudice, (d) discrimination; 3. schemas; 4. (a) person,
(b) role, (c) event; 5. (a) attributions, (b) internal (dispositional), (c) exter-
16. If the presence of a crowd increases performance, it is called nal (situational); 6. covariation; 7. (a) fundamental, (b) actor-observer,
social (a) ; if it decreases performance, it is (c) self-serving; 8. temporary; 9. (a) attitudes, (b) cognitive, (c) affective,
called social (b) . If people in a crowd take on (d) behavioral; 10. (a) cognitive dissonance, (b) beliefs, (c) counterattitu-
antisocial roles because they cannot be identified easily, it is called dinal, (d) self-perception; 11. (a) central, (b) peripheral, (c) message,
(c) . If an individual in a crowd is inhibited from (d) audience; 12. (a) behave, (b) eating, (c) attitudes; 13. (a) conformity,
helping someone in need, it is called the (d) effect. (b) compliance, (c) foot-in-the-door, (d) obedience; 14. (a) prosocial or
helping, (b) altruism; 15. (a) group, (b) cohesion, (c) norms, (d) social
17. The effect in which a group discussion reinforces the majori- comparison; 16. (a) facilitation, (b) inhibition, (c) deindividuation,
ty’s point of view and shifts that view to a more extreme position (d) bystander; 17. (a) group polarization, (b) groupthink; 18. biological
is called (a) . If a group makes a bad decision and social; 19. mirror neurons; 20. (a) genetic and environmental,
because it emphasizes sticking together over gathering data and (b) social cognitive, (c) situational, (d) genetic; 21. power, aggression,
considering all the alternatives, that is called (b) control; 22. (a) cognitive-behavioral, (b) rules, (c) catharsis, (d) cognitive-
relaxation

S U M M A R Y T E S T 607

Critical Thinking

Why the Debate
over Teen Vaccination?

QUESTIONS What if modern medicine could a seat belt: “Just because you wear a 5What type of per- Photo Credit: © Bob Pardue/Alamy
prevent three-quarters of the oc- seat belt doesn’t mean you’re seeking suasion are advo-
1What role does currences of a leading cause of cancer out an accident” (R. Stein, 2005). Oth- cates of the vaccine
brain development in women and save almost 300,000 ers argue the cervical cancer vaccine is mostly using to pass
play in adolescents’ lives each year? A major public health no different from routine vaccines that legislation?
likelihood of having breakthrough makes this possible. The protect children from diseases such as
safe sex to reduce the measles, polio, or chicken pox. 6 What needs to
chances of getting rst vaccine to protect women against happen for a
infected with HPV? cervical cancer is now available, but it Texas Governor Rick Perry decided parent opposed to
comes with much controversy. the bene ts of the vaccine outweighed vaccinating a teen
2 How do the three the moral concerns. Texas became the to change his or her
components of Cervical cancer is caused by HPV first state to require girls to be immu- attitude toward teens
attitude apply to (human papillomavirus), the most nized before the 6th grade. Since then getting vaccinated?
the conservatives’ common sexually transmitted infec- about two dozen states considered
position? tion in the United States. Cervical making similar requirements; howev- ANSWERS
cancer usually strikes when a woman er, only Virginia and the District of TO CRITICAL
3 Why has preach- is young, often before she has had Columbia have moved toward requir- THINKING
ing abstinence not children, and the treatment may cause ing girls to receive the shot. QUESTIONS
been more successful infertility. Because cervical cancer is
in preventing girls the leading cause of cancer death in Concerns raised about the vaccine
from getting HPV? women and its treatment has serious that are unrelated to morality include
risks, prevention is essential. its high cost ($360), uncertainty about
4Which group atti- how long the vaccine will be effective,
tudes or norms do A vaccine that prevents infection of and possible side effects. Despite these
the members of the four types of HPV and comes with concerns, more than 25% of teenage
conservative side minimal side effects is now available. girls have already received the HPV
share? How does a The vaccine is 100% effective in tar- vaccine. Advocates are optimistic that
group benefit by geting certain causes of cervical can- up to 90% of teenage girls will eventu-
sharing norms? cer that together make up about three- ally receive the HPV vaccine.
quarters of all cervical cancer cases.
Despite its effectiveness and safety, In addition to the HPV vaccine tar-
the use of the vaccine has provoked geting the major causes of cervical
considerable social controversy. cancer, it protects against the causes
of 90% of all genital warts cases and
Because many teens contract HPV may reduce the risk of oral cancer.
within only a few years after their rst Consequently, another social debate is
sexual experience, it is recommended deciding whether boys should be vac-
that the vaccine be administered to cinated as well. (Adapted from Asso-
girls during their early teens. Some ciated Press, 2005e; Bosch et al., 2002;
conservative of cials and parents op- DeNoon, 2008; FDA, 2006; Gostout,
pose vaccinating teen girls, stating the 2007; Hitti, 2006a; M. Kaufman,
vaccine undermines their value of ab- 2006b; Kotz, 2007c; MSNBC, 2006;
stinence being the best method to L. A. Peterson, 2007; R. Rubin, 2007;
avoid getting HPV. These same oppo- Slade et al., 2009; R. Stein, 2005b;
nents fear that vaccinating young S. Sternberg, 2009; Time, 2007b)
teens against a sexually transmitted
infection, such as HPV, conveys ap-
proval to be sexually promiscuous.

Alan Kaye, the executive director
of the National Cervical Cancer Co-
alition, disagrees with opponents who
worry the vaccination will result in
girls becoming sexually promiscuous.
He responds to these moral objections
by comparing the vaccine to wearing

608 M O D U L E 2 5 S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y

Links to Learning

Key Terms/Key People Learning Activities

actor-observer effect, 586 fundamental attribution PowerStudy for Introduction PowerStudy 4.5™
aggression, 601 error, 586 to Psychology 4.5
altruism, 595
arousal-cost-reward model of group, 596 Use PowerStudy to complete quizzes and learning activities for Social
group cohesion, 596 Psychology. The DVD also includes interactive versions of the
helping, 595 group norms, 596 Summary Test on pages 606–607 and the critical thinking questions
attitude, 588 group polarization, 598 for the article on page 608, key terms, an outline and an abstract of the
attributions, 585 groupthink, 598 module, and an extended list of correlated websites.
bystander effect, 597 hazing, 592
catharsis, 605 informational influence CengageNOW!
central route for persuasion, 590 www.cengage.com/login
cognitive dissonance, 589 theory, 597 Want to maximize your online study time? Take
cognitive miser model, 586 internal attributions, 585 this easy-to-use study system’s diagnostic pre-test and it will create a
cognitive-relaxation Milgram’s experiment, 593–594 personalized study plan for you. e plan will help you identify the
modified frustration-aggression topics you need to understand better and direct you to relevant com-
program, 605 panion online resources that are specific to this book, speeding up
cognitive social psychology, 581 hypothesis, 602 your review of the module.
compliance, 593 obedience, 593
conformity, 592 peripheral route for Introduction to Psychology Book Companion Website
consensus, 585 www.cengage.com/psychology/plotnik
consistency, 585 persuasion, 590 Visit this book’s companion website for more resources to help you
counterattitudinal behavior, 589 person perception, 582 study, including learning objectives, additional quizzes, flash cards,
covariation model, 585 person schemas, 584 updated links to useful websites, and a pronunciation glossary.
crowd, 597 positron emission tomography
debriefing, 594 Study Guide and WebTutor
decision-stage model of (PET scan), 600 Work through the corresponding module in
prejudice, 583 your Study Guide for tips on how to study effectively and for help
helping, 595 prosocial behavior, 595 learning the material covered in the book. WebTutor (an online Study
deindividuation, 597 rape myths, 603 Tool accessed through your eResources account) provides an interac-
diffusion of responsibility role schemas, 584 tive version of the Study Guide.
schemas, 584
theory, 597 self-perception theory, 589
discrimination, 583 self schemas, 584
distinctiveness, 585 self-serving bias, 586
electroencephalography social cognitive theory, 602
social comparison theory, 596
(EEG), 600 social facilitation, 597
elements of persuasion, 590 social inhibition, 597
event schemas, 584 social neuroscience, 600
external attributions, 585 social psychology, 581
foot-in-the-door technique, 593 socially oriented group, 596
frustration-aggression stereotypes, 583
task-oriented group, 596
hypothesis, 602 transcranial magnetic
functional magnetic resonance
stimulation (TMS), 600
imaging (fMRI), 600

Suggested Answers to Critical Thinking be more effective; and who will be the most believable and trusted
source of the message: the parents, teachers, minister, peers, or
1. The executive functions in the adolescent’s brain are not yet fully boyfriends.
developed, which helps explain an adolescent’s tendency to take 4. One of the main attitudes or norms conservatives share is that
risks (p. 411). Adolescents simply do not have the neural bases to abstinence, especially for teenagers, is the best policy to avoid get-
carefully analyze risks and make intelligent decisions, such as to ting HPV. The group comes together and develops group cohesion
always use protection when having sex. by sharing common attitudes or norms.
5. Advocates are using strong arguments, facts, and logic to persuade
2. Cognitive component: believe in abstinence and negatively evalu- others to permit teen girls to receive the vaccine, which indicates
ate vaccinating teen girls. Affective component: have strong feel- they are using the central route for persuasion.
ings about abstinence being the best course of action and fear that 6. Parents who oppose vaccinating teens expect their daughter to
vaccination may send the wrong message to teens. Behavioral abstain from sex. But, if their daughter does not abstain from sex
component: refuse to allow teens to receive the vaccine. and gets cervical cancer, these parents will develop conflicting
beliefs (the vaccine is immoral, but it can help save lives) that would
3. The problem is that changing attitudes and beliefs is difficult, cause cognitive dissonance. They might resolve this dissonance by
especially in this case, when national surveys report that about changing their belief or engaging in counterattitudinal behavior.
50% of teenagers have sex by age 17. In attempts to change atti-
tudes through persuasion, many factors are involved: whether to L I N K S T O L E A R N I N G 609
use facts and logic, the central route, or use emotional appeals, the
peripheral route; whether a one-sided or a two-sided message will