AP Psychology Lesson: Psychology of Social Situations

Unit: Social Psychology and Personality
Lesson: 3 of 6
Topic: Psychology of Social Situations
AP Exam Weighting: 15–25%

1. Warm-Up

Write 1–2 sentences for each question.

  1. Why might you act differently in a group than when alone?

  2. How could a crowd influence your decision to help someone?

2. Vocabulary and Meanings 

Students will refer to this list for all activities.

Term Meaning
Social Influence When other people’s presence, expectations, or actions shape an individual’s behavior.
Conformity Changing behavior to match group norms.
Normative Social Influence Conforming to be liked, accepted, or avoid rejection.
Informational Social Influence Conforming because you believe others know more than you.
Bystander Effect The tendency to help less when others are present.
Diffusion of Responsibility The feeling that “someone else will take care of it.”
Pluralistic Ignorance Assuming a situation is not an emergency because others appear calm.
Social Facilitation Doing better on simple tasks when others are watching.
Social Inhibition Doing worse on difficult tasks when others are watching.
Evaluation Apprehension Worry that others are judging your performance.
Social Loafing Putting in less effort when working in a group.
Deindividuation Losing self-awareness and restraint in a group setting.
Obedience Following commands from an authority figure.
Groupthink When group pressure leads to poor decisions because members avoid disagreement.
Asch Conformity Conforming to a group’s incorrect answer in Solomon Asch’s line experiment.
Milgram Obedience Following harmful orders in Stanley Milgram’s shock experiment.

3. Key Concept Explanations

Social influence shapes actions in group settings — people may conform to gain approval, obey authority, or behave differently when watched.

Conformity may happen to fit in or because people think others have better information.

Bystander effect explains why people freeze in emergencies — responsibility feels spread out, and everyone waits for someone else.

Social facilitation and social inhibition show how audiences change performance depending on the task difficulty.

Groupthink explains poor decisions in groups that avoid disagreement.

Obedience reveals how authority figures can shape actions, even when orders go against personal values.

4. Knowledge Check Questions

Define social influence using the vocabulary list:

Define bystander effect using the vocabulary list:

Explain how social facilitation affects behavior (use a real example):

Explain how obedience affects a different behavior (example required):

Why does groupthink often lead to bad decision-making?

How can cultural norms increase or decrease conformity?

5. Guided Practice Activities 

Activity 1: Concept Match 

Match each situation with the correct vocabulary term.

Write the term that fits each scenario:

  1. A student runs faster when classmates are cheering.
    Term: __________________________________

  2. A group decides on a bad plan because no one wants to disagree.
    Term: __________________________________

  3. A whole class fails to report a fight, assuming the teacher “already knows.”
    Term: __________________________________

  4. A student copies the group’s answer even though they think it’s wrong.
    Term: __________________________________

  5. People look around during an emergency; no one moves because others look calm.
    Term: __________________________________

  6. A person does less work on a group project than when working alone.
    Term: __________________________________

Activity 2: Apply the Terms 

Using the vocabulary list, answer the following:

  1. Which concept explains why someone might join peer misbehavior even if they disagree?
    Answer: __________________________________
    Explain why:

  2. Which concept explains why students may freeze when a teacher collapses during class?
    Answer: __________________________________
    Explain why:

  3. Which concept explains feeling judged while taking a test with people watching?
    Answer: __________________________________
    Explain why:

Activity 3: Rewrite a Social Situation 

Situation: A fire alarm goes off during lunch, and most students wait for someone else to move first.

Rewrite FOUR versions of the situation using four different terms:

  • Diffusion of responsibility

  • Pluralistic ignorance

  • Conformity

  • Deindividuation

  1. Diffusion of responsibility version:

  2. Pluralistic ignorance version:

  3. Conformity version:

  4. Deindividuation version:

6. Case Studies Assignment

Study Summary 1:

A 2018 study found people were less likely to help a stranger in crowded cities.

Question 1: Explain how this demonstrates the bystander effect and suggest one way to reduce it.

Study Summary 2:

A 2020 study showed that supportive audiences improved athlete performance, but hostile audiences harmed it.

Question 2: Explain how this shows social facilitation and identify one factor that influences it.

AP Exam Connection: This practices analyzing and evaluating research, a key skill for FRQs.

AP Exam Practice

Instructions: Answer the question below. We’ll review answers as a class to learn exam strategies.
Free-Response Question (FRQ):
Explain how psychodynamic, humanistic, and social cognitive theories interact to influence a specific behavior (e.g., decision-making, relationships, or stress response). Provide one example for each theory (psychodynamic, humanistic, social cognitive) and analyze how they interact to shape the behavior.

Closure

Instructions: Write a brief summary (2–3 sentences) of two key ideas you learned today about how personality theories explain behavior.

Extended Practice

Instructions: Complete the tasks below based on today’s lesson to reinforce AP skills.

  1. Review your answers from this lesson.
  2. Write a detailed paragraph (5–7 sentences) applying today’s topic to a real-life behavior (e.g., how your personality affects your school or social life). Include references to psychodynamic, humanistic, and social cognitive theories, and explain their interaction.
  1. Find a short article or study on personality theories (e.g., via apa.org) and write 2–3 sentences summarizing its relevance to today’s lesson. Cite the source (e.g., website or article title).
Last modified: Tuesday, 18 November 2025, 8:00 PM