Social Psychology Lesson 1 PDF

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY LESSON 1 WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. B = f (p*e) Social thinking Social influence Social relations SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS...  WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Is...

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY LESSON 1 WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. B = f (p*e) Social thinking Social influence Social relations SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS...  WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Is a science that studies the influences of our situations, with special attention to how we view and affect one another. Lies at psychology’s boundary with sociology. Compared with sociology (the study of groups and societies), social psychology focuses more on individuals and does more experiment.  Social Influences We Construct Our Social Reality Shape Our “We react differently Behavior because we think differently.” SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S BIG IDEAS.. Our Social Intuitions Are Often Powerful but Sometimes Perilous Social Psychology’s Principles Are Dual processing (Kahneman Social Behavior Is “Thinking fast & slow”) Applicable in Everyday Biologically Rooted Life SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN VALUES Not-So-Obvious Ways Values Enter Psychology Subjective aspects of Science Culture –which is better, competition or cooperation? Social representations – shared beliefs taken for granted Are there any real group differences for race/gender? Psychological concepts contain hidden values Defining the good life Professional advice Forming concepts How could high self-esteem be the same as “defensive”?  RESEARCH METHODS: HOW WE DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Correlation Research: Detecting Natural Associations Location Laboratory (Controlled situation) Field (Everyday situations) Method Correlational (Naturally occurring relationships among variables) Experimental (Seeks clues to cause-effect relationships by manipulating one or more variables while controlling others)  RESEARCH METHODS: HOW WE DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Qualitative Research Quantitative Research Mixed Method Research WHAT DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS STUDY?  COMPARING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO RELATED DISCIPLINES Personality psychology - stresses individual differences in behavior Cognitive psychology - study of how people think about, perceive, and remember aspects of the world Sociology - study of behavior of people in the aggregate (population level issues EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: HOW WE ARE THE SAME 1. Human Universals 2. Group Living, Language, and Theory of Mind Theory of Mind - the understanding that other people have beliefs and desires. e.g. studies of children with autism demonstrate the lack of theory of mind in these persons. EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: HOW WE ARE THE SAME 3. Parental Investment In virtually all mammalian species, males expend far less energy devoted to raising their offspring compared to females. This may help to understand universal tendencies related to child rearing, sex, and gender. EVOLUTION AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: HOW WE ARE THE SAME 4. Avoiding the Naturalistic Fallacy Definition: The way things are, are the way they should be. It should be noted that some people mistake evolutionary accounts for behavior as suggesting that ‘biology is destiny.’ This is not true. We are predisposed for plenty of various behaviors, but those may often never arise. CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT 1. Cultural Differences in Self- Definition Independent : Individualistic Interdependent: Collectivist 2. Qualifications to these distinctions regionalism, subcultures 3. Culture and Evolution as Tools for Understanding Situations Nature proposes – culture disposes THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!