Name: scripts that guide social behavior
Uploaded: 2020-02-12T11:07:42.000Z
Duration: 2 min 10 s
Channel: JoVE

Living in a social world involves knowing how to behave in a given situation. For instance, when people enter a new setting&mdash;like an elevator&mdash;they rely on past experiences and cultural expectations to guide their behavior.

These factors form a mental blueprint known as a social script&mdash;a person&rsquo;s knowledge of what is culturally expected in a particular setting.

For example, when going out to a restaurant, one couple relies on their social script: they know that they should wait to be seated, make eye contact with the waitress&nbsp;when they are ready to order, and at the end of the meal, leave a generous tip.

Depending on a person&rsquo;s culture, they may be uncertain of the local script to model. Instead, they frantically flag down the server, and even though service was excellent, they leave a small tip.

As they depart, and pass by several other tables, they start to recognize that their sequence of behaviors&mdash;their social script for restaurants&mdash;did not match with everyone else&rsquo;s. However, they can form a new one and act appropriately, to fit in with the locals in the future.

Beyond interpersonal encounters, the media&mdash;including music and movies&mdash;can also play a role in writing a person&rsquo;s socia

social scripts

Social Scripts

People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person&rsquo;s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank &amp; Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts&nbsp;are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script&#39;s features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter), the opening conditions (i.e., the customers are hungry), the scenes (entering, ordering, eating, and leaving), and the results (e.g., customers are pleased, and the server made money).&nbsp;

How do you act on the first day of school, when you walk into an elevator, or are at a restaurant? For example, at a restaurant in the United States, if we want the server&rsquo;s attention, we try to make eye contact. In Brazil, you would make the sound &ldquo;psst&rdquo; to get the server&rsquo;s attention. You can see the cultural differences in scripts. To an American, saying &ldquo;psst&rdquo; to a server might seem rude, yet to a Brazilian, trying to make eye contact might not seem an effective strategy.

Scripts are important sources of information to guide behavior in given situations. Can you imagine being in an unfamiliar situation and not having a script for how to behave? This could be uncomfortable and confusing. How could you find out about social norms in an unfamiliar culture?

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This text is adapted from <a href="https://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@10.24:o-J4fhDB@11/12-2-Self-presentation" target="_blank">OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.</a>

People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person&rsquo;s knowledge about the sequence of events ...

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JoVE Core

Social Psychology

Foundations of Social Psychology

Social Judgement and Decision-Making

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

scripts that guide social behavior

Scripts guide social behavior in familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific situation. It is a type of schema, which is a mental framework for organizing information. Scripts include default details for an event, such as the people, objects, and actions involved.

A restaurant script is a common example. Its props can include tables, a menu, food, and money. Its roles can include a customer and a waiter. The opening condition is that the customers are hungry. The scenes usually include entering, ordering, eating, and leaving, and the result is that customers are pleased and the server makes money.

Scripts also help people know how to act in everyday places like school, an elevator, or a restaurant. They are especially useful because they point to the social norms for that situation. In the United States, a person may try to make eye contact to get a server’s attention. In Brazil, a person may say “psst” instead. These cultural differences show that scripts can vary across cultures.

What seems normal in one culture may seem rude or ineffective in another. To an American, “psst” may sound rude. To a Brazilian, trying to use eye contact may not work well. Scripts are important because they help people avoid confusion in unfamiliar situations and learn how to behave in a new culture.

Scripts That Guide Social Behavior

reason and intuition

Fast vs. Careful Decision Making

The brain uses fast and careful decision-making to choose what to do next. The fast route is intuitive. The careful route is rational. These two systems are also known as System 1 and System 2. The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and low effort. It often relies on emotions or habits as cues. The rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests the brain uses only one system at a time when it processes information. These systems...

schemas

Schemas in Memory and Daily Habits

Schemas are mental structures that organize related ideas and help the brain process information more efficiently. When a schema is activated, people often make quick assumptions about what they see. As new experiences come in, schemata can change through assimilation, which means fitting new information into what is already known, and accommodation, which means updating a schema to match new information. Role schemas shape expectations about how people in certain jobs or social roles may...

Scripts guide social behavior in familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific situation. It is a type of schema, which is a mental framework for organizing information. Scripts include default details for an event, such as the people, objects, and actions involved. A restaurant script is a common example. Its props can include tables, a menu, food, and money. Its roles can include a customer and a waiter. The opening condition is that...

the availability heuristic

Availability Heuristic in Everyday Decisions

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut people use when making decisions. A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework. It helps people work through choices without weighing every detail. This shortcut is more likely to show up when there is too much information, when time is limited, when the decision is unimportant, when very little information is available, or when a useful heuristic comes to mind right away. In these situations, people often rely on what feels easiest to...

the representativeness heuristic

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The representativeness heuristic is a biased way of thinking that can shape quick judgments. It happens when people unintentionally stereotype someone or something based on how well it fits a mental image. For example, you may assume that professors spend their free time reading books and having intellectual conversations. You might not expect them to play volleyball or visit an amusement park, because those activities do not match your stereotype of professors. This text is adapted from...

the anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic

Anchoring Bias in Everyday Decisions

Anchoring bias can shape everyday decisions and problem solving. It happens when you focus too much on one piece of information while making a choice. That first piece of information becomes the anchor. People usually use knowledge and reasoning to make good decisions. Those judgments are often sound. But bias can sway them, and other people can also manipulate the situation. In the example, a realtor may do this by showing only very run-down houses at $1,600 and then a much nicer house at...

confirmation biases

Confirmation Bias in Social Judgments

Confirmation bias in social judgments is the tendency to notice information that supports an existing belief and to ignore information that does not match it. This bias can shape how people judge others, especially when they already expect a certain outcome. A simple example is a student who thinks a professor is unfriendly. That student may focus on rude moments and overlook the many pleasant interactions the professor has during the day. The result is a one-sided view that seems to prove the...

hindsight biases

Hindsight Bias and Predictability

Hindsight bias is the feeling that an event was predictable after it has already happened. It can make you believe you knew the outcome all along, even when you did not. This bias shapes how people remember events and judge their own earlier predictions. It is often summed up by the phrase “hindsight is 20/20,” which means events can seem clearer after the fact. This text is adapted from OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.

framing effects

How Message Framing Shapes Decisions

Message framing shapes how people judge information and make decisions. The same facts can lead to different responses depending on how they are presented. That can mean the wording, the order, or the time frame of the message. One major group is valence framing, which uses positive and negative wording. Levin and colleagues described three forms of this framing. Risky-choice framing, first shown by Tversky and Kahneman, demonstrates that people may choose differently when the same problem is...

key terms and concepts

Learn how social scripts shape expected behavior in settings like restaurants, schools, and elevators, and how these patterns can differ across cultures.

Scripts That Guide Social Behavior | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Social Psychology offers a comprehensive learning experience on the principles of social behavior through concise, animated video lessons. The series explores key topics such as self-concept, social cognition, group dynamics, stereotypes, and relationships. It provides a structured foundation for understanding human behavior in social situations. Students gain insights into how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts while examining the psychological processes that influence interactions and judgments. By integrating theory with real-world applications, these lessons offer a clear and engaging approach to mastering essential concepts in social psychology.

social psychology

Scripts That Guide Social Behavior

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