Editing Social Psychology (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
Social psychology is built on the power of the '''Situation'''.

'''The Three Pillars of Social Influence''':
1. '''Conformity (Asch's Line Study)''': People will often say something they ''know'' is wrong just to fit in with a group.
2. '''Obedience (Milgram's Shock Study)''': Ordinary people can be coerced into performing harmful acts by an authority figure. This research was driven by the desire to understand the Holocaust.
3. '''Roles (Stanford Prison Experiment)''': Phillip Zimbardo showed that people will quickly adopt the behaviors of a "role" (e.g., guard or prisoner) even if it contradicts their true personality. (Note: This study is now highly controversial and partially debunked).

'''Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger)''': When we act in a way that doesn't match our values, we feel "itchy" inside. To stop the itch, we either change our behavior or (more often) change our values to justify the behavior. "I know smoking is bad, but it helps me relax."

'''In-group/Out-group Bias''': We naturally divide the world into "Us" and "Them." We view our own group as diverse and good, and the other group as "all the same" (Out-group Homogeneity) and suspicious. This is the root of most social conflict.
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