Lifespan Psychology B: Social Psychology of the Person Module

Lifespan Psychology B: Social Psychology of the Person Social Psychology and Research Methods in Individual Differences Aims of Module Course Overview Social psychology and individual differences Research methods and individual differences Course Overview Lifespan B: Social Psycholog...

Lifespan Psychology B: Social Psychology of the Person Social Psychology and Research Methods in Individual Differences Aims of Module Course Overview Social psychology and individual differences Research methods and individual differences Course Overview Lifespan B: Social Psychology of the Person Ethos & interest in I. traditional social psychology, II. critical social psychology, and III. individual differences Focus on supporting you to question how distinct the individual is from the social Encouraging you to develop a stronger academic voice and take a stance on debates in Social Psychology & Individual Differences Learning Outcomes On completion of the module, students should be able to: 1.Demonstrate knowledge of historical and conceptual debates within the field of social psychology and individual differences. 2.Demonstrate knowledge of a range of research methods and techniques used to study the person in social psychology and individual differences. 3.Understand and critically evaluate the empirical evidence underpinning selected theories relating to social psychology and individual differences. 4.Demonstrate skills in searching for and evaluating scientific evidence related to social psychology and individual differences. 5.Develop cogent arguments about topics in social psychology and individual differences using appropriate empirical evidence. Module Pre-live session activity Structure Live lecture Live seminar Essential reading Canvas discussion board Module at a Glance Assessment Lifespan Psychology B is assessed via a 1000 word in-course assessment (coursework). Lifespan Psychology B is a 10 credit module. It is synoptically assessed with Lifespan Psychology A: Introduction to Developmental Psychology (10 credit) according to the following methods and weightings: Lifespan Psychology A – Essay (1,000-words) (50%) Lifespan Psychology B – Essay (1,000-words) (50%) The assessment marks for each module will be aggregated to form the 10+10 credit module mark that will appear on your transcript. Assessment Essay title: “What matters most when explaining human behaviour: social or individual factors? The question is asking you to choose a topic from the module & weigh up social and individual factors. You need to come to a conclusion about what is more important, individual factors, social factors, or both (and in what way are both important). You should use academic literature and critically appraise it. Workshops are designed to support you in tackling this assessment. See the assessment page for more information. What made a good essay last year? Had a clear argument and stance to the question that was reinforced throughout the essay Used evidence to support argument and used the literature critically Sources were synthesized rather than listed-the relevance of the literature was clear Some essays drew on concepts & ideas that spanned the whole module & beyond They were logically and clearly structured around key themes in the literature Introductions and conclusions clearly laid out the argument Discussion Board Please use the Padlet discussion board below to ask any module questions. The module team will not respond to individual emails regarding this module. Please note, the discussion board is not monitored over the evenings and weekend. Responses to discussion board queries will be posted within Monday-Friday working hours. The teaching team will respond to any new comments or posts once a week. Social Psychology and Individual Differences Introducing Social Psychology “The scientific study of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others” (Smith, Mackie, & Claypool, 2015, p. 3) Influenced by trying to understand current issues in society, i.e. Nazism and the roots of prejudice, rationing and changes in eating behaviours. Primarily interested in exploring, developing, and furthering theories/concepts that help us to understand something of the personal social world of humans. Example Topics in Social Psychology Experimental/Traditional Social Psychology Social influence Prosocial behaviour Aggression Prejudice and discrimination Critical Social Psychology Cultural Psychology - the study of how cultural contexts shape and influence human behaviour, cognition, and emotions. Critical Social Psychology - subfield that challenges mainstream social psychology by focusing on the socio-political contexts of behaviour and attitudes. Fundamental Axioms Social Psychology The construction of reality (ontology) Is there one universal reality, that is out there, and it can be known? Is there one universal reality, this is out there, but it can only be partly known? Are there multiple, sometimes, competing realities, that we can only know representations of? Pervasiveness of social influence Other people influence our behaviours, thoughts, and feelings, and we influence other people We cannot disentangle the social from the person and vice versa Experimental (traditional) and Critical Social Psychology Stainton-Rogers (2011): Two approaches to Social Psychology Experimental Social Psychology Critical Social Psychology Only way to understand social Scientific method is one way of coming phenomenon, processes, and to understand social phenomenon, events is in using the scientific processes, and events, but there are method many other ways to do this Controlled settings (e.g., in labs to Contextual understanding (e.g., control external factors) examining behaviour in social / cultural context) Social world separate Social world produced by those within it- Hypothesis testing (cause-and- it is made meaningful through effect relationship) interactions (e.g., using discourse analysis) How is the person conceptualized in Social Psychology? Stainton-Rogers (2011) Experimental Social Psychology Critical Social Psychology The image of the person as a The image of the personal as an produce of innate instinct, intentional actor within their social world, moulded by social and cultural has the capacity for free will forces, lacking free will The scientific enquiry, therefore, may We can therefore use scientific not be the most appropriate means to enquiry to determine universal explore human nature, indeed, it is more laws of human nature complicated Introducing Individual Differences Aims to explain observable differences between individuals in terms of underlying psychological differences How and why do people differ in how they think and feel? Do these differences affect the way people behave? Usefulness of taxonomies of individual differences (e.g., Big Five, MBTI) Example Topics in Individual Differences Personality Intelligence (ability) Emotional Intelligence Attitudes Cognitive abilities Applications: e.g., ageing, wellbeing, and health Assumptions of Individual Differences People vary on a range of psychological attributes. This variation is consistent between situations and across time. It is possible to measure and assess these individual differences. People can be classified according to their personality characteristics and intelligence (for example). Individual differences are useful for explaining and predicting behaviour and performance. Consistency and Stability We want to understand & predict But, is behaviour consistent: over time? across situations? After the age of about 30, there’s little change in personality traits (McCrae & Costa 1990) People may be consistent in some situations but not others (Wright & Mischel 1987) People may have some consistent traits (Ben & Allen, 1974) On many traits, most of us show only limited consistency from one type of situation to another (Mischel, 1993).  How would you distinguish between social and individual differences?  Research Methods in Social Psychology and Individual Differences Focus on objectivity and measurement Kant argued psychology couldn’t be quantified therefore not science (1786) Wundt started first scientific examinations (1864) You CAN get people to reflect on perception, can carefully control environment, can do experiments First personality theorist: Sir Francis Galton- the lexical hypothesis The most important personality traits in language, reduce down, get stable personality traits (factor analysis) First social theorist Kurt Lewin: People’s behaviour = personality x environment Revolutionary, because less about past, more about their understanding of situation (Freud) Assumptions Explicit Assumptions Social Psychology 1.Interpersonal Effects: Social interactions have measurable and significant impacts on behaviour. 2.Broad Impact of Social Factors: Social influences tend to have similar effects across different individuals. 3.Framework Development: Social behaviours can be systematically analyzed and understood within a structured framework. Differential Psychology 1.Understanding Intrapersonal Factors: Individual traits and characteristics can be studied and understood. 2.Prediction and Description: Knowledge of individual differences can help predict and describe behaviour. 3.Introspection and Verification: People can reflect on their own traits, and these can be verified through research. Implicit Assumptions 1.Tool Efficacy: The tools and methods used in psychology are capable of accurately measuring and analyzing these factors. 2.Unified Theory: It is possible to construct a comprehensive theory of human behaviour that integrates both social and individual factors Data Source Description Example Self-report Most well used, answering a series of questions, usually on a Delsing et al: selfreported personality and Assumptions scale or yes/no. music preferences -assumes people generally know their behaviours, thoughts and feelings and are able to report them -open to interpretation Observation Asking someone else about people’s behaviours, thoughts Brandt et al.: parents and teacher rating of and feelings personality as a predictor for academic +may be less influenced by personal biases success -may be inclined to present the person in a particular way -assumes people are the same around different people -may not know some of internal thoughts or feelings well Direct observations Observe behaviour directly, i.e., how sociable a person is – Olino et al.: observation of children’s watch how they interact and frequency of questions asked, extraversion in response to Laboratory how many ppl spoke to… Temperament Assessment Battery -time-intensive & expensive -only focussed on observable behaviour, not internal states Objective Biodata, i.e., average achievement on work, heart rate, sweat Gao et al.: galvanic skin response and blood measures response, phone use volume pulse as subconscious physiological -not always clear it is assessing the criteria of focus signals for identifying real and posed smiles Interviews Ask people to talk about an experience Poortaghi et al.: interviews with nurses exploring management during COVID-19 Experimentation Factors are manipulated in a lab by the researcher and Kerr et al.: lab-study, 1) control condition, 2) responses recorded (can use a range of the other data stress without interruptions, 3) stress with sources). interruptions. Monitored heartrate, and reported on current mood Data collection: Timing Cross sectional A single timepoint, capturing a bunch of responses Compare usually between natural groups/trends Longitudinal Long term following of participants to watch trends Compare start vs finish Experimental Control vs experimental group Assumption of matched samples Meta-analysis / Systematic Reviews A review of other studies Assessing quality in quantitative research Reliability Validity Generalisability Do you get the same Measures what it Findings can be results? intends to measure applied to other contexts Same results with Internal/content: does different researchers it measure what it The more on different means to (i.e., not generalizable the populations another third variable) findings, the more Replications increase Construct: is the thing they explain about the reliability you want to measure phenomena Ensure the measures tangible-is it have internal measurable? consistency Criterion: does the If appropriate, inter- measure predict the rater reliability outcome (i.e., sugar consumption – sweet tooth vs type 2 diabetes) Roots of qualitative psychology: The turn back to language There was a split in approaches, philosophy, and the role between the person and society European & American split America had developed its own individualistic culture → social forces determined by individuals European philosophy & psychology was still more focussed on the collective → behaviour influenced by groups (culture) and organisations Reconnection with Europe Reconnected with sociological social psychology Critical of quantitative and experimental methods → Start of Critical Social Psychology Branching into Critical Social Psychology Interpreted in a number of ways Use of Qualitative methods E.g. Social Constructionism (Gergen & Gergen, 1970s onwards) Critique take-for-granted knowledge Sceptical of knowledge and understandings Assumptions in Critical Social Psychology Focus on seeking understanding and insight, rather than cause and effect, no need to turn constructs into variables, measure factors, aim for control, and exclude those that cannot be controlled No claim to objectivity, representativeness, realism, or control Instead… Interested in exploring ‘talk’ (this can come in many forms) Asking appropriate questions, with appropriate data collection and analytic methods, conducted rigorously and ethically Data Source Description Example Ethnography Embedding yourself in the community of which you’re Bengry-Howell & Griffin (2007): ethnographic studying. Can produce audio, field notes, and approach to understanding masculine identity photographs construction of working-class men through car modification Interviews A one-to-one purposeful discussion exploring the Pickens & Braun (2012): interview study looking research topic. Can be conducted in-person, online, at young adult heterosexual women’s on the phone. Usually produces audio, but can also experiences of being single include video and images provided by the participants (photo-elicitation). Focus Groups A purposeful group conversation, similar to focus Griffin et al. (2009): focus group study exploring groups, but also addresses interactional aspects and young people’s narratives around drinking and explore concepts in more depth. loss of consciousness/memory Diaries Participants encouraged to write and document parts Boserman (2009): diary method to explore the of their lives, this can be done based on specific meanings behind cannabis use. intervals, or more reactionary to events/emotions. Usually written, but can be done through an app and include pictures/video/audio. Documents These are usually pre-existing documents, analysis Medvedyuk et al. (2018): critical review of focussed on key messages in this data source. Can obesity and health literature to explore the include newspapers, guidelines, or advertisements, constructed relationship between health and for example. weight. Internet These can be created for the purposes of research or Fellenor et al. (2018): explored the social existent content can be analysed (though ethical amplification of risk about ash dieback disease issues in this). Can be blogs, chat rooms, websites, on twitter, message board, social media sites. Story A type of projective test wherein participants Tischner (2019): used story completion to Completion complete a story stem. In so doing, it is hoped to ‘tap explore constructions of weight-loss motivations into’ ways of thinking and override barriers of and health stories. Data analysis in Critical Social Psychology As the focus is on exploring meaning and understandings, quantitative analysis of the textual data is not enough-it will only show frequencies/maps of specific language use Qual analysis aims to discuss patterns of meaning in the text-this needs to go beyond description and demonstrate interpretative insights The type of interpretative insights are different depending on which analytic technique is used Assessing quality in Qualitative Research Commitment & Sensitivity Transparency Impact Rigour Embedding the Remaining faithful Documenting & Reaching data in context to the demonstrating influence participants’ interpretation Literature stories Applied Participants’ Retain & outline settings; does it perspectives & Appropriate analytical inform or socio-cultural data collection process develop current context Depth/breadth Use appropriate practices? Ethical issues of analysis quotes Theoretical Taking an Methodological Refer back to considerations; inductive competence & the research does it advance approach to awareness question theoretical data Engagement Methodological approaches? interpretation with the topic transparency Can it be used Reflexivity politically to help that population? What research methods would you use to explore social and individual differences? Any questions?