Extra Credit Blog!

I think the five sexiest theories are:

1. Cognitive Dissonance Theory. This is the theory that inconsistent cognitions create tension within us that we are motivated to reduce. Cognitive dissonance is one of those theories that literally applies to all aspects of life, in very possible situation it seems. That is why I think it’s sexy. In addition, after reading Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) I will always remember cognitive dissonance. Plus, it’s just a fun theory!

2. Social Exchange Theory. This theory is sexy because I think relationships are fascinating! Social exchange theory is the idea that in relationships we are motivated to maximize our benefits and minimize our costs. We all want the benefits without all the other stuff, just keep the good times coming, am I right?!

3. Self-Perception Theory. The idea that we gain self-insight from observing ourselves is just a cool concept. We make judgments and come to conclusions about other people by watching and observing them, so why not do it to ourselves as well… It’s not something that I had thought about, I think that’s partially a contributing “sexy” factor as well.

4. Attribution Theory. Attribution theory is another interesting concept in everyday life. We make attributions about everything and everyone; we love to come up with explanations for everything! Taking the time to break down what we are doing and how we go about making attributions was very insightful. I feel like that is good information to know so that we can try and cut back on all the mistaken attributes.

5. Self-Awareness Theory. This theory is sexy because it is so powerful. Also, this theory can be seen as a solution to cognitive dissonance (a sexy theory in itself). Basically by taking the time to focus on ourselves we can “shape up” and make changes in our behavior. It also allows for withdrawal from self-awareness” but that’s not as powerful.

I think my five favorite social psychologists are:

1. Gottman. His research on relationships is pretty awesome. I think the fact that he can predict if relationships will last is definitely sexy. Plus, he calls his lab the “Love Lab!”

2. Cialdini. His research about compliance techniques is super cool. And what fun research to conduct, tricking people and getting them to do crazy things!

3. Swann. Swann is sexy because his research on self-verification caught me off guard. I figured people with positive self-concepts want to be around people who reinforce their self-perceptions, but I would have thought all people looked to enhance their self-perceptions. Not true, thanks Swann!

4. Zajonc. I really liked his research on social facilitation… I mean he used roaches! Who thinks or wants to study cockroaches?!

5. Wegner. I like Wegner because of his White Bear study and the card game footsie. He seems like a funny guy with those silly white bears creeping in everywhere!

Free-Riding

We have all been social loafers at some point in our lives. I’ll admit that I have taken part in social loafing numerous times. Social loafing is the decrease in individual output on tasks where everyone’s contributions are pooled (Latane et al., 1979). Basically speaking, we don’t exert as much effort when in a group, mostly because individual output can’t be identified.

Recently, our sorority had a potluck dinner. As far as potlucks go, for those of you who don’t know about potlucks, everyone is supposed to bring something. Anyways, the girl in charge of the event had created a sign-up sheet and reinforced the idea multiple times that everyone was supposed to contribute something to the dinner, even if all the blanks had been filled. However, I sit at the front of the room during chapter and consequently never get passed the sign-up sheets. Nothing was different this time, I didn’t receive the sign-up and instead of doing what I had been instructed to do and bring something anyways I just figured that since forty-some odd other girls had signed up to bring things no one would notice if I didn’t contribute an item. I mean if forty-plus people are bringing dishes there would for sure be plenty of food. And that was me being a total free-rider, letting everyone else do the work while I just showed up and ate.

Side note on the event: We initially were in a panic at the beginning of our potluck because half the people who signed up didn’t bring what they’d signed up for or showed up late with it; we weren’t sure we were going to have enough food. And at that point I felt super guilty about not bringing anything. Whoops! But I still managed to not get caught J

Latane, B., Williams, K., & Harkins, S. (1979). Many hands make light the work: The causes and consequences of social loafing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 822-832.