Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the focus of social psychology?
What is the focus of social psychology?
- The influence of thoughts, feelings, and behavior by other people (correct)
- The biological evolution of social structures
- The genetic basis of behavior
- The scientific study of interpersonal dynamics
What does the mechanism level of explanation address?
What does the mechanism level of explanation address?
- The cultural impact on behavior development
- The long-term evolutionary history of behavior
- The immediate causal processes behind behavior (correct)
- The survival advantages of certain behaviors
Which question pertains to the ontogeny level of explanation?
Which question pertains to the ontogeny level of explanation?
- What is the evolutionary significance of this behavior?
- How does this behavior develop over an individual's lifetime? (correct)
- When did this behavior first appear in the species?
- What physiological changes occur with this behavior?
Which of the following best describes the function level of explanation?
Which of the following best describes the function level of explanation?
Phylogeny addresses which of the following questions?
Phylogeny addresses which of the following questions?
Which of the following examples best illustrates the mechanism level of explanation?
Which of the following examples best illustrates the mechanism level of explanation?
How would one describe the connection between ontogeny and personal development?
How would one describe the connection between ontogeny and personal development?
What type of factors would phylogenetic analysis typically examine?
What type of factors would phylogenetic analysis typically examine?
What does the sociocultural perspective primarily focus on regarding behavior?
What does the sociocultural perspective primarily focus on regarding behavior?
Which of the following is a core principle of the evolutionary perspective?
Which of the following is a core principle of the evolutionary perspective?
How does the social learning perspective explain behavior?
How does the social learning perspective explain behavior?
What is a key focus of the social cognitive perspective?
What is a key focus of the social cognitive perspective?
What was one method used in the study regarding cannabis use and helminth infection?
What was one method used in the study regarding cannabis use and helminth infection?
What was the result of the research on cannabis use and helminth infection?
What was the result of the research on cannabis use and helminth infection?
Which perspective emphasizes norms and rules about appropriate behavior?
Which perspective emphasizes norms and rules about appropriate behavior?
In what way does the social cognitive perspective differ from the social learning perspective?
In what way does the social cognitive perspective differ from the social learning perspective?
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Study Notes
Introducing Social Psychology
- Social Psychology studies how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people.
- It describes and explains human social cognition and behavior.
- It tries to answer both “What” and “Why” questions.
Levels of Explanation
- Niko Tinbergen formulated four questions to answer "Why" regarding human behavior.
- These levels are: Mechanism, Ontogeny, Function, and Phylogeny.
Mechanism
- Explains the immediate causal processes that make a behavior happen.
- Includes psychological and physiological explanations.
Ontogeny
- Explains how a behavior develops over an individual's lifetime.
- Can be explained psychologically and physiologically.
Function
- Explains why a behavior evolved, or what function it serves.
- For example, eating meat evolved to help humans survive and reproduce by providing vital proteins.
Phylogeny
- Explains the evolutionary history of a behavior.
- Addresses when it originated and how it spread.
- Often involves cross-species comparisons.
Four Perspectives
- Perspectives from a textbook called "KNCK" are: Sociocultural, Evolutionary, Social learning and Social cognitive.
Sociocultural
- This perspective locates causes of social cognition and behavior in group-level factors.
- These factors include culture, nationality, social class, and religion.
- Individuals learn local norms, which are rules about appropriate behavior.
Example of Sociocultural Perspective
- The physical environment can affect the social environment.
- In areas with helminths, people may develop practices to guard against them.
- Cannabis contains anthelminthic compounds.
- Aka hunter-gatherers in the Central African Republic have high cannabis use.
- Research (Roulette et al., 2016) indicates a significant negative relationship between cannabis use and helminth infection.
Evolutionary
- This perspective locates causes of social cognition and behavior in predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce.
- It emphasizes natural selection.
Social Learning
- This perspective locates causes of social cognition and behavior in the individual's past experiences of reward and punishment.
- It focuses on learning through direct and indirect experiences.
Social Cognitive
- This perspective locates causes of social cognition and behavior in people's subjective interpretations of the social world.
- It emphasizes attention, interpretation, judgment, and memory.
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