Social Psychology Overview and Experiment

Social Psychology Definition

• A scientific approach to understanding how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence (actual, imagined, or implied) of others.
• Gordon Allport (1954) defined it as the study of how individuals are influenced by others, focusing on individuals within a society.
• Social psychology looks at how attitudes towards the world are shaped by interactions with people and media.

Schachter 1959 Social Isolation Experiment

• A study involving 5 volunteers in a windowless room with only food, water, and entertainment.
• 80% of participants reported feeling uncomfortable without human contact, indicating strong psychological impact.
• Most participants couldn't endure isolation for long periods, showing the necessity of human contact.
• Individuals responded differently to isolation, with some lasting 8 days without adverse effects.
• Limitations included a small sample size, lack of cultural representation, and the artificial nature of the windowless room.

Ethics in Social Isolation Studies

• Participants should have the freedom to withdraw from the study.
• Informed consent is essential, ensuring participants understand the study's purpose and procedures.
• Participants should receive debriefing and resources after the study.
• Recruitment should be ethical, accounting for the benefits to participants.
• Avoiding payment or coercion is critical for ethical research.

Impacts of Social Isolation (Hawthorn 2006, Holt-Lunstad 2015, Shanker 2015)

• Social isolation's impacts on physical and mental health include high blood pressure, mental illness, physical inactivity, dementia, emotional distress, poorer immune functioning, smoking, poor sleep quality, decreased well-being, and premature death.

Small World Phenomenon (Milgram 1967, 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon)

• Any individual can be connected to any other individual through a chain of at most five other people.

Environmental Factors

• Factors that explain how the same person may act differently in different situations, including other people, objects, information, social systems, and events.

Dispositional Factors

• Factors influencing how different people react to the same situation include personality, demographics (age, gender), mood, culture, and prior beliefs.

Brindal 2021 COVID Study

• A study investigating how dispositional factors impacted life satisfaction during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Factors associated with higher life satisfaction included working from home, having more children at home, spending time on hobbies, and concern about contracting COVID-19.
• Factors associated with lower life satisfaction included unhealthy eating habits, increased screentime, being extraverted or agreeable, and concern about society's impact.

COVID-19 Study Limitations

• Self-reported, subjective accounts taken after the event.
• Participants might have answered questions in a way reflecting their perceived expectations.
• Participants may have answered questions based on the past 6 months, making accuracy and current feelings questionable.

Community Psychology & Collectivism

• Considers how environmental and political factors influence personal behavior.
• Examines social interactions and how societies and communities shape a person's life.
• It aims for second-order change by improving societal factors, contrasting with individualistic approaches.
• Community psychology advocates for a collectivistic perspective, emphasizing the interconnectedness of individual lives with surroundings.
• Focus is on societal problems and second-order change. Media, social interactions, and environment influence a person's life, all contributing factors that are included in the observations.

Kelly 2019 Social Enterprise in Scotland

• A study focusing on social isolation in Scotland using community activity to understand and reduce isolation.
• Recognizes the significance and extent of social connection.
• Analyzes how social isolation impacts individuals and emphasizes the reciprocal influence between a person's characteristics and social environment.

Explore the fascinating field of social psychology, examining how human thoughts and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others. Delve into the Schachter 1959 social isolation experiment that reveals the psychological impact of human contact and the varied responses to isolation among participants.