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Questions and Answers
What is the main focus of social psychology according to Gordon Allport?
The scientific study of how individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people.
Which of the following are elements of human experiences according to Plato?
Social contract theory suggests that communities can thrive independently without cooperation.
False
Kurt Lewin is often regarded as the father of modern __________ psychology.
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Match the research methods with their descriptions:
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What is the relationship between the number of people present and help received according to the formulated hypothesis?
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What are some advantages of laboratory research?
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In field research, controlling variables can be ________.
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Facial expressions are universally understood.
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Match the following cues with impression formation:
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Study Notes
Social Psychology as a Science
- Definition of social psychology: The scientific study of how an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people.
- Emphasis on the power of the situation and the power of the person.
- The power of the situation:
- Influenced by physical presence of other people.
- Environment or social context affects behavior.
- We are creatures of our cultures and contexts.
- The power of the person:
- Individual differences in behavior.
- We are creators of our social worlds.
Importance of Cognition
- Thought processes and interpretation of situations affect behavior.
- People react differently partly because they think differently.
- Social reality is constructed subjectively.
Fields of Study
- Sociology: Focus on general laws and theories about societies, not individuals.
- Social Psychology: Focus on psychological processes that make people susceptible to social influences.
- Personality Psychology: Focus on characteristics that make individuals unique and different from each other.
History of Social Psychology
- Ancient Greeks:
- Plato: Crowd mentality, elements of the self, and allegory of the cave.
- Aristotle: Self-concept, social contract, and living a good life.
- Middle 19th Century: Field of psychology separated from philosophy.
- Early 20th Century: Behaviorism strengthened.
- 1930s-1940s: Social phenomenons and situations arose.
- 1950s-1960s: Research on social psychology flourished.
- 1970s: Reached scientific maturity, became a legitimate science.
- 1970s-present: Recognition of gender and racial bias.
Perspectives in Social Psychology
- Socio-Cultural Perspective: Behaviors are a result of environment, cultural, and social norms.
- Evolutionary Perspective: Human social behaviors are rooted in physical and psychological predispositions.
- Social Learning Perspective: Social behavior is driven by individual experiences with reward and punishment.
- Cognitive Perspective: Emphasizes unique experiences and subjective interpretations influenced by current needs and goals.
Research Methods in Social Psychology
- Laboratory Research: Controlled experiment, high control over variables, precise measurement, and easier replication.
- Field Research: Naturalistic, high ecological validity, and real-world social interactions.
- Quasi-Experimental Method: Conducted in natural environments, IV occurs naturally, and high ecological validity.
- Correlational Method: Focuses on relationships between variables, and Pearson product correlation coefficient.
- Survey Method: Questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups, with consideration of instrument and sampling.
- Archival Method: Uses archives, statistics, and records, with easier data collection and wider range of time and societies.
Ethics in Experimentation
- Protect participants and bystanders from harm and discomfort.
- Obtain informed consent.
- Use deception only when necessary.
- Practice confidentiality.
- Debrief participants.
Social Perception
- Definition: How we think about people, events, and things around us.
- Two types of social perception:
- Object Perception: Attaching meanings to stimulus objects.
- Person Perception: Inferring other people's intentions, emotions, and possible behaviors.
Strategies for Initial Processing
- Schemas: Mental representations of a label with central features and assumptions.
- Selective attention: Focus on salient aspects.
- Categorization: According to gender, race, ethnicity, age, profession, and other social categories.
Why Our Brains Engage in These Strategies
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To simplify complex information and make quick judgments.
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To conserve cognitive resources and reduce mental effort.
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To maintain a sense of control and predictability in our environment.### Social Perception and Impression Formation
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Social perception influences our behavior and can lead to accurate assumptions at times, but can also result in faulty assumptions.
How Social Perception Comes About
- Pagiging assuming: united information in limited interactions becomes the basis for forming impressions, which can be wrong.
- Three stages of social perception:
- Initial processing or information gathering: filtering out certain stimuli, focusing on salient or important details of an object, person, or situation.
- Impression formation: making a first impression of the person based on the gathered information.
- Social perception: based on more than one interaction, and can be influenced by faulty assumptions.
Faulty Assumptions
- Temporal extension: momentary characteristic is regarded as an enduring attribute.
- Resemblance to familiar person: assuming characteristics based on physical resemblance.
- Categorization/classification: assigning characteristics based on category or group membership.
- Inference by analogy: assuming characteristics based on similarities.
Factors Influencing Attention
- Individual concerns: concerns at the moment influence attention.
- Physical characteristics of the stimulus: sound, color, etc. influence attention.
- Preoccupations: bothering thoughts or unconscious concerns influence attention.
Impression Formation
- Forming impressions based on cues from:
- Other person's behavior or characteristics.
- Characteristics of the perceiver.
- Situational context.
Cues in Impression Formation
- Verbal cues: statements and verbal communication.
- Nonverbal cues: interpersonal distance, facial expressions, etc.
- Physical appearance: matters most at first but less noticeable when acquainted.
- Facial expressions: cross-cultural and universally understood, indicates behavioral intentions.
- Paralanguage: pitch, loudness, rhythm, inflections, and hesitations.
- Gestures: varies according to context, person, and culture.
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Description
Explore the scientific study of how individuals are influenced by others, including the power of the situation and physical presence of others.
