Social Psychology Lecture 1 PDF

Social Psychology Class 1 Dr. Gabriel Camacho John Jay College of Criminal Justice 1  1. Professor introduction 2. Class Overview Agenda 3. Introducing social psychology Social influence Construal...

Social Psychology Class 1 Dr. Gabriel Camacho John Jay College of Criminal Justice 1  1. Professor introduction 2. Class Overview Agenda 3. Introducing social psychology Social influence Construal Self-esteem Social Cognition 2 3 4 5 Class Overview 6 Learning Objectives Learn different theories and subject areas within the field of social psychology, and assess their strengths and weaknesses Consider the research methodology that makes social psychology a science, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of these methods Be able to apply social psychological concepts in your everyday lives 7 Office Hrs. Office: 10.65.15 NB Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM or by appointment E-Mail: [email protected] **put PSY 221 in the subject line; allow 24 hrs. for a response 8 Textbook Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Page- Gould, E., & Lewis, N. (2022). Social Psychology (11th. Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. Lectures will not be based solely on book material. 9 Textbook Option 2 Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019). Social Psychology (10th. Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. 10 Textbook Option 3 Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (2016). Social Psychology (9th. Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. 11  Final Paper Discussion Exam 1 15% Assignments 25% 10% Exam 4: Cumulative Exam 3 Exam 2 25% 25% 12 13  1 2 3 4 14 Discussion Assignment 1 For your first Discussion Assignment, please reflect on a time in which your actions were likely influenced by the social situation (i.e., the words, actions, or mere presence of other people). 1. Describe the situation (1 point) 2. Describe your construal of the situation (1 point) 3. Describe how your construal of the situation influenced your actions (2 points) 15 Example Response 1. Describe the situation (1 point) 2. Describe your construal of the situation (1 point) 3. Describe how your construal of the situation influenced your actions (2 points) I am a casual dresser (e.g., t-shirt and jeans); however, my oldest daughter told me I tend to wear nicer clothes during parent-teacher meetings (e.g., business casual). I explained to her that because we are Latino, sometimes people stereotype us as being uneducated and uninvolved in our children’s education (my construal of the situation). Therefore, I explained to her that I dress nicer during these meetings because I want her teachers to know that they need to respect us and take us seriously (how my construal of the social situation influences my actions). 16 Extra Credit Opportunities: 12 Points 17 Grading Name Email Grade from Gilberto Torres [email protected] A-E Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan [email protected] F-M Ellie Aronson [email protected] P-Z 18 19 Questions 20 Social Psychology 21 The Goal of Social Psychology To understand and predict human behavior 22 23 24 openness 1. You are original, you come up with new ideas 2. You are curious about lots of different things 3. You are clever, you think a lot 4. You have a good, active imagination 1 (Disagree a lot) 2 3 4 5 (Agree a lot) 25 26 27 28 How will Hector perform at John Jay? 31 People think like personality psychologists: They focus on individual differences - Is Hector intelligent? - Is Hector motivated? - Is Hector open to new experiences? If yes, Hector will perform well 32 If Hector doesn’t do well at John Jay, we assume it’s because he wasn’t… - Intelligent - motivated - open to new experiences Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to explain other people’s behavior entirely in terms of personality traits 33 34 Social influence: the effect that words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior - Is Hector the only Latino student in his class? - Does Hector’s professors endorse a growth mindset? - Does Hector have access to ingroup role models in his field of interest? 35 36 37 Construal: The way in which people perceive, comprehend, and interpret the social world - It is not the objective conditions of a situation that matters, but rather how one perceives the situation (construal) - If Hector is the only Latino student in his class, does he contrual it as a sign that he doesn't belong? 38 39 Motives of Construals We have a strong motive to maintain a desirable self-image and reasonably high self-esteem - Self-esteem: People’s evaluations of their own self-worth: The extent to which they view themselves as good, competent, and decent - Can distort how we interpret events in order to favor ourselves 40 41 1. Hector failed his first math test at John Jay. 2. Hector failed all his classes at John Jay. 42 Also motivated to view the world as accurately as possible - Social Cognition: How people think about the social world: select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgments and decisions -Can over-rely on shortcuts in our reasoning, causing errors - Hector can rely on stereotypes on what he believes a “real” student should look like 43 44 45 Summary 1. People are influenced by the situations they find themselves in (the words, actions, or mere presence of other people) 2. To know how someone will be influenced by the situation, it is important to know their construal (perception, understanding, interpretation) of the situation 3. Our construals are influenced by our desire to maintain a desirable self-esteem and view the world accurately via social cognition. 4. However, people tend to attribute the behaviors of ourselves and others to personality traits (fundamental attribution error) and underestimate the influence that social situations have on us. 46 Question 1 Gabby and April were playing in April’s room when April’s mother entered and scolded them for making a mess. Gabby decided then and there that April’s mother was a grouch. Gabby’s inference is an example of __________. a. the fundamental attribution error b. Availability heuristic c. automatic thinking d. a self-fulfilling prophecy 47 Question 2 Lisa is an executive, and asked her assistant repeatedly to make some copies for her. The assistant repeatedly failed to successfully complete the assignment. If Lisa is thinking like a social psychologist about this situation, what is she most likely to think about her assistant? a. “My assistant is incompetent and I should fire him immediately.” b. “All of my subordinates are incompetent.” c. “I am the only intelligent person in this office.” d. “Perhaps my assistant is under stress from something else.” 48 Question 3 Compared to social psychologists, personality psychologists are more likely to focus their attention on __________. a. subjective construals b. positive behaviors c. individual differences d. rewards and punishments 49