Social Psychology in Natural Settings

The study of human behavior in actual social settings is an extraordinarily complex area of research. Social behavior, unlike the controlled conditions of the laboratory, is affected by an enormous number of variables and environments. Researchers, therefore, are faced with the task of designing adequate experiments that have the sophisticated controls necessary to increase the experimenter's confidence that a relationship between a particular stimulus in a social environment and a particular social response actually exists. This distinctive supplementary text for social psychology courses gives students a real feeling for the possibilities of experimentation outside the laboratory. The reprinted and abstracted articles in this book are reports of experimental studies conducted in natural settings, and the orientation is scientific--focusing on consistencies between laboratory and field research, rather than their inconsistencies. The book discusses research on discrimination, status, prosocial behavior, dissonance, attitude change, interpersonal and group influence, compliance performance, change and rumors, honesty, and participation. The chapters were selected on the basis of both content and methodology and demonstrate particularly ingenious applications of experimental methodology to the study of natural settings. Throughout the book, the editor stresses the ethical and moral issues associated with field research, demonstrating that scientific work must be humane as well as rigorous. Social Psychology in Natural Settings is appropriate for course use at introductory as well as more advanced levels. It is instructive and useful as a reference volume for graduate students and researchers as well.

Paul G. Swingle

I INTRODUCTION, PERFORMANCE AND PARTICIPATION 1. "Arousal Hypothesis" and the Effects of Music on Purchasing Behavior 2. Increasing Participation in Natural Group Set[1]tings : A Preliminary Report 1 DISCRIM INATION AND STIGMATIZATION 3. Bumper Stickers and the Cops 4. A Study of Legal Stigma 5. Verbal Attitudes and Overt Behavior Involving Racial Prejudice 2. STATUS EFFECTS 6. Status Factors in Pedestrial Violation of Traffic Signals 7. Status of Frustrator as an Inhibitor of Horn[1]Honking Responses S HELPING AND HONESTY The Bystander and the Thief 9. Response to Compatriot and Foreigner Who Seek Assistance10. Effect of Feeling Good on Helping: Cookies and Kindness DECISIONS AND DISSONANCE 11. Postdecision Dissonance at Post Time 12. The Temporal Sequence of Post-Decision Processes 13. It Feels Good When It Stops 3. INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCE 14. Communicator-Recipient Similarity and Decision Change 15. Reactions to Unconditional Cooperation: A Field Study Emphasizing Variables Neglected in Laboratory Research 4. GROUP INFLUENCE 16. In-Group and Intergroup Relations: Experimental Analysis 17. Public and Private Conformity Under Different Conditions of Acceptance in the Group 18. The Effect of Changes in Roles on the Attitudes of Role Occupants 5. COMPLIANCE 19. Stigma and Compliance 20. Compliance Without Pressure: The Foot-in-the Door Technique 21. The Effects of Presenting "One Side" versus "Both Sides" in Changing Opinions on a Controversial 22. Negative Persuasion via Personal Insult 23. A Field Experiment on the Comparative Effectiveness of "Emotional" and "Rational" Political Leaflets in Determining Election Results 24. A Field Experiment on Rum or Transmission and Distortion