Psych14x Social Psychology: Introduction PDF

PSYCH14X SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: INTRODUCTION BSP NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - LAGUNA | ARIANETHE V. LEGASPI 221A WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Culture –which is better, competiti...

PSYCH14X SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: INTRODUCTION BSP NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - LAGUNA | ARIANETHE V. LEGASPI 221A WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? Culture –which is better, competition or cooperation? Scientific study of how people think about, influence, Social representations – shared beliefs taken for and relate to one another. granted B = f (p*e) Are there any real group differences for race/gender?  Social thinking Psychological concepts contain hidden values  Social influence - Defining the good life  Social relations - Professional advice - Forming concepts SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS… - 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) SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Method Is a science that studies the influences of our situations, with special attention to how we view and - Correlational (Naturally occurring affect one another. relationships among variables) - Experimental (Seeks clues to cause-effect Lies at psychology’s boundary with sociology. relationships by manipulating one or more Compared with sociology (the study of groups and variables while controlling others) societies), social psychology focuses more on individuals and does more experiment. Qualitative Research SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S BIG IDEA Quantitative Research  We Construct Our Social Reality Mixed Method Research “We react differently because we think differently.” WHAT DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS STUDY?  Our Social Intuitions Are Often Powerful but - How people are influenced by others Sometimes Perilous - How people make decisions - inferences we make about others’ attitudes Dual processing (Kahneman “Thinking fast & slow”) and personalities  Social Psychology’s Principles Are Applicable - Influence of situational variables on behavior in Everyday Life - How we make sense of our world  Social Behavior Is Biologically Rooted COMPARING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO RELATED  Social Influences Shape Our Behavior DISCIPLINES SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN VALUES Personality psychology - stresses individual Not-So-Obvious Ways Values Enter Psychology differences in behavior Subjective aspects of Science Cognitive psychology - study of how people think about, perceive, and remember aspects of the world Magnayi, Beatrice 1 PSYCH14X SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: INTRODUCTION BSP NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - LAGUNA | ARIANETHE V. LEGASPI 221A 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. 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. 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 Magnayi, Beatrice 2