Social Psychology

Social Perception and Biases

At a fundamental level, social psychology helps make sense of the biases and errors that we all tend to use when attempting to make sense out of another's behavior or a particular circumstance. These insights can be helpful in many situations, from hostage negotiations to performance evaluations. Social psychology encourages objective scrutiny of things we “know” to be true. Often social psychologists find that what is believed to be commonplace or accurate is actually not so common or correct after all.

For example, when asked, most people believe that individuals' expressed attitudes about topics are reflected in their behavior. However, social psychologists recognize that frequently there is less than perfect correspondence between what people say and what they actually do. Several polls have shown that Americans, as a whole, report that they do not like violence on television, are eating more healthy foods, are exercising more, and desire political change and reform. That is what they say to others when asked, their expressed attitude. However, the evidence of actual behavior is much different. The highest-rated television programs are also more violent, people are not exercising or eating as healthily as they report—in fact, 61 percent of Americans are overweight—and voter apathy is greater than at any time in recorded history.

So what we say and what we do may not always be aligned. This is important to understand in the sometimes difficult exchanges and interactions that occur with criminal justice professionals. A quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin suggests that “we are very good at finding reasons for what we do, but not very good at doing what we find reasons for.” In fact, the ability to predict someone's behavior from an expressed attitude is the subject of a great deal of research, and is not nearly as “obvious” as is often believed. Some social psychology research suggests that the equation can frequently be turned around, that people can act in such a way that their behavior actually leads to the formation of an attitude about some event. In fact, a great number of persuasion tactics (also a subject for social psychologists) attempt to employ this approach.

Simple things such as the order in which people receive information can play a significant role in their interpretations of events or individuals. In one study, subjects were given the name of a person and were presented with a list of attributes (intelligent, impulsive, and so forth). Later they were given another name and a list of attributes. The list was the same for both names, but the order of presentation of the attributes was reversed. Those who saw more positive attributes early in the list rated the person higher than those who read those same attributes toward the bottom of the list. One fundamental message of social psychology is the realization that seemingly minor influences can have a significant impact on behavior.

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