Introducing Social Psychology PDF

INTRODUCING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER 1  LEARNING OBJECTIVES Review the history of the Describe and provide field of social psychology Define social psy...

INTRODUCING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER 1  LEARNING OBJECTIVES Review the history of the Describe and provide field of social psychology Define social psychology. examples of the person- and the topics that social situation interaction. psychologist's study. Review the concepts of Define the ABC model as Identify how social (a) social norms and (b) considered by social psychologist study cultures. psychologist. behavior What is Social Psychology? 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. In lined with the four major goals of Psychology: Describe, explain, predict, and change or control.  Brief History of Social Psychology During the 1940s and 1950s, the social psychologists The earliest social psychology experiments on group Kurt Lewin and Leon Festinger refined the experimental behavior were conducted before 1900 (Triplett, approach to studying behavior, creating social 1898),Triplett, N. (1898). psychology as a rigorous scientific discipline. 1900 the 1940s and 1950s 1908 An introduction to social psychology textbook was first published. Brief History of Social Psychology Kurt Lewin known as “the father of social psychology”. Developed the idea of dynamic interactions among people. Kurt Lewin Father of Social Psychology In 1954, Leon Festinger edited an influential book called Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences. Social psychology quickly expanded to study other topics (aggression, altruism, etc)  Brief History of Social Psychology The latter part of the 20th century saw an expansion of social psychology into In the 1970s and 1980s, the field of attitudes, with In the 21st century, the social psychology became a particular emphasis on field of social psychology even more cognitive in cognitive processes. has been expanding into orientation. During this time, social still other areas. psychologists developed the first formal models of persuasion.  Why do people do what they do?  SOCIAL SITUATION The people with whom we interact every day.  SOCIAL INFLUENCE The processes through which other people change our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and through which we change theirs. THE PERSON AND THE SOCIAL SITUATION How Social Influence Creates Social Norms Social Norms the ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving that are shared by group members and perceived by them as appropriate. DIFFERENT CULTURES HAVE DIFFERENT NORMS CULTURE A 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 beliefs. Difference in Social Norms between Western and East Asian Cultures Individualism Cultural norms, common in Western countries, that focus primarily on self- enhancement and independence. Collectivism Cultural norms, common in Eastern countries, that indicate that people should be more fundamentally connected with others and thus oriented toward interdependence. The ABC Model 1.Affect (feelings) 2.Behavior (interactions) 3.Cognition (thought) The ABC Model 1.AFFECT - refers to the feelings we experience as part of our everyday lives. We experience affect in the form of mood (can be positive or negative feelings) and emotions. 2.BEHAVIOR – refers to the individual’s intention towards to an attitude object. 3.COGNITION - relates to mental activity that relates to social activities and that helps us meet the goal of understanding and predicting the behavior of ourselves and others.  Research Goal Advantages Disadvantages Design Observational To create a snapshot Provides a relatively Does not assess of the current state complete picture of what is relationships between of affairs occurring at a given time. variables. Allows the development of Conducting questions for further study Research in Correlational To assess the relationships between two or Allows the testing of expected relationships between variables and the Cannot be used to draw inferences about the causal relationships Social more variables making of predictions. Can assess these relationships in everyday life events between the variables. Psychology Experimental To assess the causal Allows the drawing of Cannot experimentally impact of one or conclusions about the causal manipulate many more experimental relationships among important variables. manipulations on a variables. May be expensive and dependent variable take much time to conduct.  Obtaining informed consent from research participants Ethical Safeguards Fully debriefing subjects after in Social the research is completed Psychological Research Evaluating the costs and benefits of research procedures  Reference SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PRINCIPLES (CHARLES STANGOR, 2012) PAGE 7-61