Introducing Social Psychology PDF

INTRODUCING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Prepared by: Danah Sarah F. Federico, CMHT, CHRA Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles Social psychology is the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the people around us and how our feelings, thoughts, and behav...

INTRODUCING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Prepared by: Danah Sarah F. Federico, CMHT, CHRA Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles Social psychology is the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the people around us and how our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are influenced by those people. The History of Social Psychology The science of social psychology began when scientists first started to systematically and formally measure the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of human beings. During the 1940s and 1950s, the social psychologists Kurt Lewin and Leon Festinger refined the experimental approach to studying behavior, creating social psychology as a rigorous scientific discipline.  The History of Social Psychology Social psychology was Philip Zimbardo, in his well- energized by researchers who known “prison experiment” attempted to understand found that ordinary male college students who were how the German dictator recruited to play the roles of Adolf Hitler could have guards and prisoners in a produced such extreme simulated prison became so obedience and horrendous involved in their assignments, behaviors in his followers and their interaction became during so violent, that the study had to the Second World War. be terminated early  The History of Social Psychology The latter part of the 20th century saw In the 1970s and 1980s, social an expansion of social psychology psychology became even more into the field of attitudes, with a cognitive in orientation as social particular emphasis on cognitive psychologists used advances in processes. During this time, social cognitive psychology, which were psychologists developed the first themselves based largely on formal models of persuasion, with the advances in computer technology, goal of understanding how advertisers to inform the field. and other people could present their messages to make them most effective. The History of Social Psychology In the 21st century, the field of social psychology has been expanding into still other areas. Examples that we consider in this subject include an interest in how social situations influence our health and happiness, the important roles of evolutionary experiences and cultures on our behavior, and the field of social neuroscience— the study of how our social behavior both influences and is influenced by the activities of our brain (Lieberman, 2010)  The Person and the Social Situation Social psychology is the study of Social Psychology is largely the the dynamic relationship study of the social situation. Our between individuals and the social situations create social people around them. influence—the process through which other people change our Social psychologists believe that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors human behavior is determined and through which we change theirs. by a person’s characteristics and the social situation.  Evolutionary Adaptation and Human Characteristics In Lewin’s equation, person People have these particular refers to the characteristics characteristics because we have of the individual human all been similarly shaped through being. People are born with human evolution. The genetic skills that allow them to code that defines human beings has provided us with specialized successfully interact with social skills that are important to others in their social world. survival.  Evolutionary Adaptation and Human Characteristics The assumption that human nature, including Although our biological makeup prepares us to much of our social behavior, is determined be human beings, it is important to remember largely by our evolutionary past is known as that our genes do not really determine who we evolutionary adaptation. In evolutionary are. theory, fitness refers to the extent to which having a given characteristic helps the individual organism to survive and to reproduce at a higher rate than do other members of the species who do not have the characteristic. Fitter organisms pass on their genes more successfully to later generations, making the characteristics that produce fitness more likely to become part of the organisms’ nature than are characteristics that do not produce fitness. Self-Concern The most basic tendency of all living organisms, and the focus of the first human motivation, is the desire to protect and enhance our own life and the lives of the people who are close to us. Human beings, like other animals, exhibit kin selection— strategies that favor the reproductive success of one’s relatives, sometimes even at a cost to the individual’s own survival. In addition to our kin, we desire to protect, improve, and enhance the well-being of our ingroup— those we view as being similar and important to us and with whom we share close social connections, even if those people do not actually share our genes. Other-Concern Although we are primarily concerned with the survival of ourselves, our kin, and those who we feel are similar and important to us, we also desire to connect with and be accepted by other people more generally— the goal of other-concern. What the other-concern motive means is that we do not always put ourselves first. Being human also involves caring about, helping, and cooperating with other people. Other-Concern In short, human beings behave morally toward others—they understand that it is wrong to harm other people without a strong reason for doing so, and they display compassion and even altruism toward others. Sometimes the goals of self-concern and other-concern go hand in hand. The Social Situation Creates Powerful Social Influence When people are asked to indicate the things they value the most, they usually mention their social situation—that is, their relationships with other people (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Fiske & Haslam, 1996). When we work together on a class project, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or serve on a jury in a courtroom trial, we count on others to work with us to get the job done. We develop social bonds with those people, and we expect that they will come through to help us meet our goals. In addition to the people with whom we are currently interacting, we are influenced by people who are not physically present but who are nevertheless part of our thoughts and feelings. Social Psychology in the Public Interest How the Social Situation Influences Our Mental and Physical Health In comparison with those who do not feel that they have a network of others they can rely on, people who feel that they have adequate social support report being happier and have also been found to have fewer psychological problems, including eating disorders and mental illness. In addition to having better mental health, people who have adequate social support are more physically healthy. They have fewer diseases (such as tuberculosis, heart attacks, and cancer), live longer, have lower blood pressure, and have fewer deaths at all ages. Social Psychology in the Public Interest The opposite of social support is Because connecting with others is the feeling of being excluded or such an important part of human ostracized. Feeling that others are experience, we may sometimes excluding us is painful, and the pain of rejection may linger even withhold affiliation from or longer than physical pain. People ostracize other people in order to who were asked to recall an event attempt to force them to that caused them social pain conform to our wishes. (e.g., betrayal by a person very close to them) rated the pain as more intense than they rated their memories of intense physical pain. Social Psychology in the Public Interest Taken together, then, social psychological research results suggest that one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to develop a stable support network. Social Influence Creates Social Norms In some cases, social influence occurs rather passively, without any obvious intent of one person to influence another, such as when we learn about and adopt the beliefs and behaviors of the people around us, often without really being aware that we are doing so. One of the outcome of social influence is the development of social norms—the ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by group members and perceived by them as appropriate(Asch, 1955; Cialdini, 1993). Different Cultures Have Different Norms The social norms that guide our everyday behaviors and that create social influence derive in large part from our culture. A culture represent sa group of people, normally living within a given geographical region, who share a common set of social norms, including religious and family values and moral belief. Cultures differ in terms of the particular norms that they find important and that guide the behavior of the group members. WESTERNERS are primarily toward individualism EASTERN ASIAN CULTURES are more oriented toward interdependence, or collectivism. Different Cultures Have Different Norms It is important to be aware of cultures and cultural differences, at least in part because people with different cultural backgrounds are increasingly coming into contact with each other as a result of increased travel and immigration, and the development of the Internet and other forms of communication. AFFECT, BEHAVIOR AND COGNITION Affect, Behavior, and Cognition Social psychology is based on the ABCs of affect, behavior, and cognition. 1. Affect (feelings) 2. Behavior (interactions) 3. Cognition (thought) Social Affect: Feelings about Ourselves and Others Affect refers to the feelings we experience as part of our everyday lives. Affect signals us that things are going all right (e.g., because we are in a good mood or are experiencing joy or serenity) or that things are not going so well (we are in a bad mood, anxious, upset, or angry). We experience affect in the form of mood and emotions. Mood refers to the positive or negative feelings that are in the background of our everyday experiences. Emotions are brief, but often intense, mental and physiological feeling states.  Social Behavior: Interacting with Others ◦ Because we interact with and influence each other every day, we have developed the ability to make these interactions proceed efficiently and effectively. ◦ The sharing of goods, services, emotions, and other social outcomes is known as social exchange. ◦ One of the outcomes of humans living together in small groups over thousands of years is that people have learned to cooperate by giving benefits to those who are in need, with the expectation of a return of benefits at a future time. This mutual, and generally equitable, exchange of benefits is known as reciprocal altruism. Social Behavior: Interacting with Others However, in order for reciprocal altruism to work, people have to keep track of how benefits are exchanged, to be sure that everyone plays by the rules. If one person starts to take benefits without paying them back, this violates the principle of reciprocity and should not be allowed to continue for very long. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Prepare for a short quiz next meeting!