Social Psychology Lecture Notes PDF

Lecture 1 - 02/-09/2024 What is social psychology? -> Predicting people’s behavior, usually tot 3 types of social processes: change/alter it - Social cognition → How we think about ourselves, others, 4 le...

Lecture 1 - 02/-09/2024 What is social psychology? -> Predicting people’s behavior, usually tot 3 types of social processes: change/alter it - Social cognition → How we think about ourselves, others, 4 levels to explain/understand behavior: social situations and how this influences 1. Intrapersonal (person) our actions and thoughts 2. Interpersonal (others) 3. Intragroup (positional, group Forms: self perception, social perception, influence) group perception and attitudes 4. Intergroup (ideological, influence each other) - Social influence → How is our behavior changed by Fundamental principles for human (implied/imagined/present) others behavior: 1. Social influence is pervasive, Forms of social influence: people will always influence you - Social norms whether present or not - Conformity 2. People construct their own reality, - Obedience we experience things differently - Persuasion + Self perception: Who am I? ←→ - Social interaction Social perception: Who are others? → Positive/negative interactions with others Lecture 2 The (social) self consists of: - Self concept - Self esteem The self concept → The sum of beliefs that we hold of ourselves - Consists of self schemas: info/associations you have about yourself (schematic/aschematic) Our self knowledge consists of: - Actual self - Ideal self - Ought self A sense of me: our thoughts, self-concept and the wider community we live in are created through communication and exist through symbolic interaction (language/values) → so the self arises out of human interaction I subject ←→ Me object (looking glass self) The part that reacts/acts who you think that others think you are → The ‘I’ reacts to the ‘me’ (Samantha thinks i'm smart, so i accept her invitation) Forming of the looking glass self: 1. We imagine what others think of us 2. We figure out their judgment based on their perception 3. We have a (subconscious) emotional reaction to the judgment we think others have of us Identity: the meaning we attach to our We usually have multiple selves: sense of self, which is relational - Self-aspects: summaries of a → Different levels of identity: person’s beliefs about the self in - Human identity specific domains/roles/activities - Social identity - Working self concept: self concept - Role identity (certain situations) you have in a specific situation at a - Personal identity specific moment Mental process behind forming social → Through all these different ways to form identity: a self-concept, its difficult to choose 1. Social categorization how/what, strategies to construct a 2. Social identification coherent self construct: 3. Social comparison - Focus on key traits - Selective memory Constructing the self concept goes - Accessibility through 2 ways: 1. Internal cues: Introspection, Cultural differences: self-perception, autobiographical - Western/individualistic cultures: memories independent view of self 2. External cues: Social comparison, - Eastern/collectivistic cultures: Two-factor theory of emotion, interdependent view of self socialization, reflected (But actually:) self-appraisal + Differences within a culture are bigger than between cultures + Cultures emphasize different ways of being both independent and interdependent The self esteem → The global evaluation we hold of ourselves 2 types of self-esteem: - Trait self-esteem: general (climate) - State self-esteem: day to day fluctuation (weather) 2 theories for the need for self-esteem - Sociometer theory: we have a primitive desire for self esteem, through our ‘’sociometer’’ we detect acceptance/rejection → high/low self-esteem - Terror management theory: We all share the feeling of impending doom/death and need self-esteem to boost against this What influences our self esteem? 3. Focus on discrepancy (how (self-discrepancy) aware/focussed are we) When our current self does not align with: 2 types of behavior after realizing - Our ideal self → disappointment, self-discrepancy: self dislike - Match behavior to standard - Our ought self → fear, anxiety, guilt (change) - Withdraw from self-awareness What decides the impact of (drugs, alcohol, mindless scrolling) self-discrepancy? 1. Amount of discrepancy (big/small Self-enhancing triad; biases to avoid low difference) self esteem: 2. Importance of the discrepancy (is it - Overestimate good points important to us?) - Overestimate control over events - Unrealistically optimistic about our future Is the need for self esteem a universal need? - ‘’Self-enhancement is a western phenomenon’’ → Cultural self-perspective - ‘’Self-enhancement/protection are universal motives’’ → Self enhancing tactician model (SCENT) Accuracy of self knowledge: not really, we tend to be very biased when evaluating ourselves, SOKA model: Known to me Unknown to me Known to others Open area Blind area (evaluative traits) Unknown to others Hidden areas Unkown area Lecture 3 Social influence → The process by which attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors can be affected by the real, imagined or implied presence of others Why does social influence happen? 1. Understanding → to behave effectively 2. Beloning → social approval 3. Controlling → gain rewards/avoid punishment Social impact theory states that social influence is a function of SIN: - Strength of source/target (status, expertise, relational) - Immediacy to target (the closer, the more power) - Number of sources relative to target (amount of people on your side) Interpersonal influence: 1. Obedience: behavior is changed by command of authority Causes/factors of obedience: (context Milgram) - Authority (look the part, location, immediacy) - ‘Victim’ (immediacy to target) - Situation (transmitting/executants, allies) 2. Persuasion: message induces a change in belief/attitude/behaviour - Central and persuasive route Factors of persuasion: - Source (Credibility and likeability) - Message (arguments, primacy/recency, emotions, perceived manipulation?) - Audience (ability to understand, motivation, self-esteem, distraction and age) 3. Compliance: change in behavior/attitude by direct request Compliance techniques: - Request with reason Consistency → keep asking - Reciprocity → Make people believe they are getting something - Commitment → low ball, attach people’s self-image Intragroup influence: 4. Conformity: changing behaviour/perception/attitude due to real/imagined group pressure Types of conformity: 1. Private conformity → conforming because you believe they have more information/are right 2. Public conformity → conforming because we don't want to stand out/be accepted Factors of conformity: - Unanimity of the group - Group cohesion (most influential, - Group size (~8 people) - Private/public response 5. Mere presence: The mere presence of others affect us Drive theory: When we are in the presence of people, our brain is aroused/activated and our performance is limited 3 different effects: - Social facilitation (easy behavior is enhanced) - Social inhibition (difficult behavior is impaired) - Deindividualization → self image is not activated, so norms are dampened and extreme behavior becomes possible Lecture 4 Cognitive biases and identity Heuristics (mental models) → knowledge structures that we develop to describe, explain and predict the world around us, this creates biases that makes it difficult to see the world in another way Cognitive biases Implicit bias → subconscious attitudes, perception and stereotypes that influence our understanding, actions and behavior → People who dont believe they have biases have naive realism: the belief that your perception of the world is unbiased, not accounting for the impact of your emotions and past experiences of identity Impact of cognitive biases: decreases information processing based on facts/objective situations, forms misunderstandings and reinforces stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice - Stereotypes: beliefs/associations, links groups with certain traits - discrimination: actions directed at people because of their group membership - prejudice: negative feelings towards people because of their group membership This all relates to identity: how people define themselves, what makes us similar from others, both stable (ethnicity) and fluid (hobbies) 3 components of identity: - Personal (what makes you unique/special) - Relational (aspects with roles/positions you have in relationships) - Social (to which groups we belong/share norms and values with) → Identity is interrelated and overlaps differently depending on the situation, → A coherent identity can integrate all parts of and present aspects of who you are (personal, relational and social), which then aligns with how you see yourself and how you want to be seen by others A coherent sense of self helps people be more authentic, find meaning in activities and deal with change in their personal live → provides tools to navigate complexities between all parts Identity and biases Ingroup V outgroup → discrimination in ex. hiring How can we improve perceptions? - Make people aware of their biases? No, often reinforces biases - Improving self-awareness → ex. with implicit associations test Actually reducing biases happens through meaningful interactions, based on the contact hypothesis: interaction reduces the bias of people Under certain conditions: Equal status, personal interaction, shared goal, social norms + Global mindset: self-awareness, mental models (reducing biases), cultural immersion Lecture 5 Part I: How do we become attracted to people Step 1: Affiliation/attraction → Propinquity effect: the more we see/interact with people, the more likely they are to become our friends/partners - Mainly because of availability and mere exposure effect (creates familiarity, chances increase to like it) + Physical distance and functional distance (contact frequency) We are attracted to those who look good, which causes the Halo effect: We infer other characteristics based on known characteristics (beautiful = good/smart/etc.) → Persists because of self-fulfilling prophecy (believing changes behavior → reinforces) Bunch of theories: - Reciprocity effect: we like someone more if we think that they like us - Similarity attraction principle: we like those who are similar to us (demographic, personality) → because of implicit egoism, we like our own traits most - Complementary principle: attraction to characteristic(s) that complement your own Balance theory: psychologically related individuals will see each other as more similar if they like each other, we prefer to agree with the people we like and vise versa + Can also be repulsed by differences Arousal theory of attraction Physiological arousal: belief that another person is the cause of the arousal that is actually induced by something else → misattribution of excitation transfer Part II - Intimate relationships Components of love: intimacy, passion, commitment + Triangular theory of love Stimulus value-role theory: we move through stages as you progress your relationship We develop: - Intimacy through self disclosure, overlapping self-concept - attachment through relating to each other, and whether or our concerns are met - commitment through cost-reward perception/investment, kind of relationship we believe we deserve and chances for better alternatives (+satisfaction_ From perceiving to loving Part II - Ending relationships What leads to friction? - Fatal attraction theory: factor that caused the attraction causes its demise - Inequity theory: Relationship is unequal in effort and reward Conflict can be caused by: - Communication types: Negative affect reciprocity, demand/withdraw interaction pattern - Behavioral inferences: Relationship enhancing/distress-maintaining attributions Alternatives for exiting relationships: Detachment process: the longer the relationship, the more painful the breakup 1. Loyalty: waiting for improvement 2. Neglect: Ignore and allow relationship to deteriorate 3. Voice concern: improve relationship → Relationship factors are more important than personal factors