Throughout this course we have talked about the “social identity” and why it is important to be aware of. Please describe what the social identity is and how it relates to our personal or self-identity. In your answer you should describe these two concepts and why they differ. You should explain why a social identity is important to consider and how this particular identity relates to action and behavior on behalf of the group. Please provide an example of a social identity you hold and how it impacts your daily life.
Throughout the unit on “Perceiving Others”, we discussed how people make attributions of what causes others’ behavior, including our own behavior. Please describe the difference between making internal and external attributions of behavior. When trying to understand what causes us to fail at something, what attribution are we more likely to make? Do we make the same attributions when strangers do something wrong or fail at something? Please discuss the bias we hold when we make different attributions for ourselves and others and why this may be (hint: review lecture notes on internal and external attributions, the slides on biases, and make interpretations as to why we have this bias).
In our lecture on conformity and influence, we learned the difference between how we conform to peers and friends and how we obey people who are in a position of power. Please discuss at least one study about conforming to peers and one about how people obey authority figures. In your response, please indicate why you think people were socially influenced in these studies and what it may say about humanity as a whole (hint: review the three main studies we discussed in this unit, consult the chapter, and prepare to make interpretations based on your own judgments on this issue).
