Remember the Titans

Based upon the movie Remember The Titans and your books, choose 5 specific examples which show the following social psychology terms, concepts or theories:

attribution theory
fundamental attribution theory
foot-in-the door phenomenon
Cognitive dissonance
chameleon effect
normative social influence
informational social influence
Obedience
social facilitation
social loafing
deindividuation
group polarization
groupthink
ingroup bias
scapegoat theory 
frustration-aggression principle
social scripts
social traps
altruism
the bystander effect
social exchange theory
reciprocity norm
social responsibility norm

In your blog make certain you give the definition of the term and a clear example of this based upon the movie.

• groupthink

Groupthink- When the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal for alternatives.


In Remember the Titans groupthink occurs when during the season the team begins to feel the stress of racial differences. Gerry and Julius call a team meeting and at first the team wants to leave because they  realize the coach isn't there and they feel like they are wasting their time. Then after a pep talk they see that they need to put their differences aside and go back to the strong, harmonious team that they had become at Camp Boone.

• cognitive dissonance 

Cognitive dissonance- the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort  we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.

At first when the black players and the white players are forced to live together and work together at Camp Boone, they find themselves fighting all of the time. Then gradually, starting with Louie and Rev, their attitudes for the opposite race begins to change and they begin to get along. Eventually, especially after Gerry and Julius begin to work together, the team's whole attitude towards each other changes as does their actions towards each other. They all become closer and friendly once they start to work together as a team.

• ingroup bias  

Ingroup bias- the tendency to favor one's group.

This happens when the team, after they all became accepting of each other, eat at separate tables based on whether they played defense and offense. Gerry's old best friend Roy tried to sit next to Gerry and Julius at lunch one day and Gerry look at him and says -(this is paraphrased) -'this is the defense table. The offense table is over there'. This shows that the defense and offense ate at separate tables and were prone to ingroup bias. 

• frustration-aggression principle

Frustration-aggression principle- the principle that frustration creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Gerry and Julius have their conversation about what each of them are doing wrong and Julius says 'attitude reflects leadership, captain'. This is an example of frustration-aggression principle because, instead of working together and admitting that they are both wrong, they blame each other. Their anger comes from the refusal to accept each other which causes friction  between them.

• altruism

Altruism- unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Coach Yoast is told, if he lets the referees call an unfair game which would cause the Titans to lose, that he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Yoast, no matter how much he wanted the hall of fame, decided that this was wrong and called out the ref. Yoast wanted Boone to have the chance to prove himself because Yoast knew that Boone was what really brought the team together and knew that he was a good man.