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Questions and Answers
Who is known as the father of Social Psychology and Experimental Psychology?
What important concept did Norman Triplett contribute to Social Psychology?
What criticism did Sumners provide regarding Social Psychology assessments?
Which psychological perspective is Lewin associated with?
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What major issue did Social Psychology face during the 1960-70s?
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What does social facilitation refer to?
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Which theory asserts that arousal can facilitate the performance of a dominant response?
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According to Robert Zajonc's drive theory, when do individuals perform better in the presence of others?
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Which of the following statements about social inhibition is true?
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What is a criticism of drive theory regarding task difficulty?
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Which of the following factors has been shown to influence social facilitation?
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Who coined the term 'social facilitation'?
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What effect did the audience have on novice pool players according to Michaels et al. (1982)?
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Which is a personality trait associated with enhanced performance in social situations?
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What phenomenon did the Fishing Line Kids Test illustrate regarding social facilitation?
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Study Notes
History of Social Psychology
- Aristotle: Society shapes human development.
- Comte: People are the product and producer of the social environment.
- Wilhelm Wundt (1879): Established the first psychology lab, separating psychology from philosophy and biology.
- Norman Triplett (1898): Founded the field of social psychology and created the social facilitation theory.
- John Dewey: Collective work benefits society.
- McDougal (1908): Published the first social psychology textbook
- Ross: Published a social psychology textbook.
- Floyd Allport (1920-1930): Considered the father of social psychology and experimental psychology. He focused on individual dispositions rather than societal forces.
- Sumner: Criticized the treatment of African Americans and the western bias in IQ tests.
- Festinger (1930-1950s): Studied conformity, obedience, and authority during World War II using controlled laboratory experiments and deception.
- Skinner: A behaviorist who believed mental states were preconditioned.
- Cognitive Revolution: Challenged behaviorism, arguing that our thoughts influence our actions.
- Lewin: Developed the interactionalism perspective, emphasizing the interaction between a person's personality and the social environment. He conducted research outside the lab (field studies). He studied resistance to propaganda and the influence of subjective experiences.
- Milgram and Zimbardo (1960-1970s): Conducted controversial experiments on obedience (Milgram) and social roles (Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment). This period raised concerns about the ethics of research.
- 1970-2000s: A period of pluralism in social psychology, integrating lab and correlational research. This allowed for the inclusion of diverse participants and cultures.
- Ethical Standards: Emphasis on informed consent, ethical treatment of participants, and a focus on oppressed groups.
Social Facilitation
- Enhanced performance in the presence of others.
- Norman Triplett: Observed cyclists performing better in groups than alone.
- Aerodynamic Theories: Explained cyclists' performance based on suction, shelter, and physical force.
- Psychological Theories: Suggested factors like hypnotism, encouragement, worry, and competitive instincts (dynamogenic theory) as contributing factors.
- Fishing Line Kids Test: Demonstrated children pulling in fish faster in groups than alone.
- Floyd Allport (1924): Coined the term "social facilitation" to refer to the positive impact of others’ presence on performance.
- Bayer (1929): Found that chickens ate more food in groups.
- Chen (1937): Observed that ants excavated more dirt when other ants were present.
Social Inhibition and Drive Theory
- Reduced performance in the presence of others.
- Robert Zajonc (1965): Drive theory: Arousal facilitates dominant responses but inhibits non-dominant ones. Performance is better with others for easy tasks but worse for difficult ones.
- Michaels et al. (1982): Found novice pool players performed worse, while expert players performed better with an audience.
Criticisms and Limitations of Drive Theory
- Lacks objective criteria for determining task difficulty.
- Limited meta-analytic support for the theory.
- Presence of others accounts for only 3% of performance variance for difficult vs. easy tasks.
- Inconsistent and contradictory findings.
Individual and Dispositional Factors in Social Facilitation
- Personality impacts performance.
-
Uziel (2007):
- Self- assured individuals perform better around others.
- Individuals with social inhibition perform worse around others.
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Description
Explore the key figures and milestones in the history of social psychology from Aristotle to Floyd Allport. This quiz covers significant contributions, theories, and developments that have shaped the field. Test your knowledge about the evolution of ideas in social psychology and the impact of societal changes on human behavior.
