SOC 104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Santa Barbara City College, Leon Festinger, When Prophecy Fails
Document Summary
As well as discovering the extraordinary degree to which our behavior is affected by our social situation, social psychologists have found that we often fail to recognize how significant the social situation is in deciding behavior. We still mistakenly think we and others behave on our own terms, without any external influences. It is easy to assume that the people who commit extreme acts are rare or extreme people, such as terrorists or members of suicide cult. And yet much research suggests that these behaviors are triggered more by the social situation than by individual characteristics, and that it is incorrect to rely too strongly on interpretations of the characteristics of the individuals. Perhaps there is no clearer example of the powerful influence of the social situation than the one found in research that shows the tremendous role others play in our physical and mental health.
