Social Psychology: A Reader Lecture Compilation PDF

A Lecture Compilation By: Chelsean Mann S. M. Cubero, Introducing Social Psychology We’ve heard of the proverbial story of a man whose second wife who was selfish, narcissistic and self – absorb woman. The man’s own daughter however is quite the opposite, kind, unselfish, timid, this daug...

A Lecture Compilation By: Chelsean Mann S. M. Cubero, Introducing Social Psychology We’ve heard of the proverbial story of a man whose second wife who was selfish, narcissistic and self – absorb woman. The man’s own daughter however is quite the opposite, kind, unselfish, timid, this daughter we all famously know as Cinderella. At an early age Cinderella had learned that she was supposed to do what was asked of her, do what she is told and accept any treatment, malicious it maybe and mold into thinking that she should never upstage her stepsister and stepmother. Thanks to her fairy god – mother Cinderella momentarily escape her situation for an evening to attend a grand ball, where she attracted the attention of the handsome prince. 12 o’clock struck Cinderella’s true to life fantasy ended, her beautiful dress disappears, her mighty stallion turned into mice all that was left for the price was a piece of Cinderella’s glass slipper. When the head over heels in love prince later encountered Cinderella back in her debasing home, he wasn’t able to recognize her. Unbelievable? The folktale demands us to believe on the power of Situation. In the presence of her oppressing stepmother, Cinderella was completely Different Person, she was humble and unappealing. At the Ball, Cinderella was feeling Beautiful thus she talked, walked and smiled as if she were. In one Situation she cowered into submission and in the other she charmed. The French philosopher-novelist Jean-Paul Sartre (1946) would have had no problem accepting the Cinderella premise. We humans are “first of all beings in a situation,” he wrote. “We cannot be distinguished from our situations, for they form us and decide our possibilities” (David G, Mayers, Jean m. Twenge, Social Psychology, Mcgrow Hill Education 2015) In this Section of the module we will go through the basic concepts in Social Psychology particularly: ✓ What is social psychology? ✓ What are social psychology’s big ideas? ✓ How do human values influence social psychology? ✓ I knew it all along: Is social psychology simply common sense? ✓ Research methods: How do we do social psychology? WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? __________________________________________ Social psychology is a science that studies the impact of our surroundings in our construction of our worldview, and how environment and individual affect one another vice versa. More precisely, it is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another (Mayers, David G, 2015) The Science of Social Psychology and its famed predecessor Sociology has an overlapping similarity although primarily different. Compared with sociology (the study of people in groups and societies), social psychology focuses more on the individual cognitive processes and does more experimentation. Compared with personality psychology, social psychology focuses less on individuals’ differences and more on how people, in general, view and affect one another. The Fledgling Science Social psychology is a young science. The first social psychology experiments were only barely reported more than a century ago , and even the first social psychology texts did not appear until approximately 1900 (Smith, 2005). Not until World War II did it begin to emerge as the vibrant field it is today. And not until the 1970s and beyond did social psychology enjoy accelerating growth in Asia—first in India, then in Hong Kong and Japan, and, recently, in China and Taiwan (Haslam & Kashima, 2010). Social psychology Investigate our thoughts, relationships and influences by inquiring queries that have intrigued scientist in the past century. Here are some examples Is our social behavior a result of the objective situations we face daily or a product of how we subjectively construe them? Our construal’s matter, Social beliefs can be self-fulfilling. For example, happily married people will attribute their spouse’s critical comments (“ Cant you watch the kids for a while?”) to something external (“He must have had a frustrating day”). While Unhappily married people will attribute the same remark to a mean disposition (“Geesh, what an indolent husband!”) and may respond with a counterattack. Moreover, expecting hostility from their spouse, they may behave resentfully, thereby eliciting the hostility they expect. Would people be cruel if ordered? In the Second world War, 6 million Jews across the world were systemically killed by the Nazi Germans, How did Nazi Germany conceive and implement the unconscionable slaughter of these 6 million Jews? How did the Fascist Leader Adolf Hitler convince his constituents for the callous manslaughter of millions of Jews. Those evil acts occurred because thousands of people followed orders. They put the prisoners on Camps, worked them to death, and herded them into crowded “showers,” and poisoned them with gas. How could people engage in such horrendous activities? Were those individuals’ normal human beings? Stanley Milgram (1974) wondered. So, he set up a situation in which people were ordered to administer increasing levels of electric shock to someone who was having difficulty learning a series of words. Nearly two-thirds of the participants fully complied. To help? Or to help oneself? Imagine a situation where bags of cash tumbled from an armored truck one day, as millions was scattered along the La Purisima Street. Some motorists stopped to help, returning 100,000. Judging from the 1,900,000 that disappeared, many more stopped to help themselves. (What would you have  done?) When similar incidents occurred several months later in the streets of Tetuan, the results were the same: Passersby grabbed most of the money (Bowen, 1988). What situations trigger people to be helpful or greedy? Do some cultural contexts— perhaps villages and small towns—breed less “diffusion of responsibility” and greater helpfulness? These questions focus on how people view and affect one another. And that is what social psychology is all about. Social psychologists study attitudes and beliefs, conformity and independence, love and hate. WHAT ARE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S BIG IDEAS? __________________________________________ Goal: Identify and describe the central concepts behind social psychology. Like any Academic field, the conclusions of thousands of investigators, and the insights of hundreds of theorists can be boiled down to a few central ideas. Similarly, social psychology builds on a short list of fundamental principles that will be worth remembering long after you forget the details. Our short list of “great ideas we ought never to forget” includes these, each of which we will explore further in the sections to come. I. We Construct Our Social Reality As human beings, we have an irresistible urge to explain phenomena and attribute it to some cause, and therefore to make it seem orderly, predictable, and controllable. You and I may respond differently to a situation because we interpret differently. How we react to a friend’s insult depends on whether we attribute it to hostility or to a bad day. The conclusion: There is an objective reality out there, but we always view it through the lens of our beliefs and values. When someone’s behavior is unique, consistent and distinguishing, we attribute that behavior to his or her personality. For example, if you observe someone who makes repeated snide comments, you may infer that this person has a nasty disposition, and then you might try to avoid the person. Your beliefs about yourself also matter. Do you have an positive outlook? Do you see yourself as someone who is in control? Do you view yourself as superior or inferior?Your answers influence your emotions and actions. How we construe the world, and ourselves, matters. II. Our Social Intuitions Are Often Powerful but Sometimes Perilous Our instant intuitions shape our terrors (is riding vehicle hazardous?), impressions (Can I trust him?), and relationships (Does she like me?). Intuitions even influence leaders in times of crisis, gamblers at the table, jurors assessing guilt, and personnel directors screening applicants. Such intuitions are commonplace Indeed, psychology reveals a fascinating notion of the unconscious mind—an intuitive backstage mind—that Freud forget to talk us about. More than psychologists realized until recently, thinking occurs offstage and out of our consciousness, our intuitive capacities are revealed to be “automatic processing,” “implicit memory,” “heuristics,” spontaneous trait inference,” instant emotions, and nonverbal communication. Thinking memory, and attitudes all operate on two levels—one conscious and deliberate, the other unconscious and automatic. Today’s researchers call it “dual processing.” We know more than we know we know. We think on two levels— “intuitive” and “deliberate” (Kruglanski & Gigerenzer, 2011) Two system which were thought to be the fast thinking (intuitive) and slow thinking (deliberate) Intuition is useful, but intuition can also perilous. For example, as we cruise through life, mostly on automatic pilot, we intuitively judge the likelihood of things by how easily things are perceived in the mind. We carry a readily available mental images in our mind, without deliberately thinking of the logical mechanics of the circumstances. Thus there are people who would think that driving are much safer than flying through an airline, some would drive thousands of miles to avoid risking the skies, Yet statistically there are more accidence happened in the roads that in the skies, which means it is much safer to travel in a commercial plane than in a motor vehicle. Even our intuitions about ourselves are often wrong, We intuitively trust our memories more than we should. We misread our own minds; in experiments, we deny being affected by things that do influence us. We mis predict our own feelings—how bad we’ll feel a year from now if we lose our job or our romance breaks up, and how good we’ll feel a year from now, or even a week from now, if we win our state’s lottery. Our social intuitions, then, are noteworthy for both their powers and their perils. By identifying our intuition’s gifts and pitfalls, social psychologists aim to fortify our thinking. In most situations, “fast and frugal” snap judgments serve us well. But in others, in which accuracy matters—such as when needing to fear the right things and spend our resources wisely—we had best restrain our impulsive intuitions with critical thinking. III. Social Influences Shape Our Behavior As Aristotle long ago observed, we are “social beings”. We speak and think in words we learned from others. We long to connect, to belong, and to be well thought of. Matthias Mehl and James Pennebaker (2003) Thus, Relationships are a big part of being human. As social creatures, we respond to our immediate circumstances. Sometimes the power of a social situation leads us to act opposing to our expressed principle, attitudes and belief. Indeed, powerfully evil situations sometimes overwhelm good intentions, inducing people to accept falsehoods or comply with cruelty. Under Nazi influence, many decent people became instruments of the Holocaust. Other situations may elicit great generosity and compassion. Often after major natural disasters, such as the hurricane that hit the Philippines in 2013, affected countries are overwhelmed with donated items and offers of assistance. Culture also helps define our worldview. For example, our standards regarding punctuality,  forthrightness, and clothing may vary with our culture. These maybe: Your preference on whether slim or a voluptuous body depends on when and where in the world you live. Whether you define social justice as equality (all receive the same) or as equity (those who earn more receive more) depends on whether your ideology has been shaped more by socialism or by capitalism. Whether you tend to be straightforward or reserved, casual or formal, hinges partly on your culture and your ethnicity. Whether you focus primarily on yourself your personal needs, desires, and morality—or on your family, clan, and communal groups depends on how much you are a product of modern Western individualism. “People are, above all, malleable.” Said differently, we adapt to our social context. Our attitudes and behavior are shaped by external social forces. (Markus, Hazel 2005) IV. Personal Attitudes and Dispositions Also Shape Behavior Internal factors also influence our worldview. We are not mere passive driftwood who flows the river of life without internal control. Inner attitudes such as genetics, traits, character also affect our overt behavior. Our political attitudes influence our voting behavior. Our smoking attitudes influence our susceptibility to peer pressure to smoke. Our attitudes toward the poor influence our willingness to help them. Personality dispositions also affect behavior. Facing the same situation, different people may react differently. Emerging from years of political imprisonment, one person exudes bitterness and seeks revenge. Another, such as South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, seeks reconciliation and unity with his former enemies. Attitudes and personality influence behavior. V. Social Behavior Is Biologically Rooted Our inherited human nature predisposes us to behave in ways that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce. We carry the genes of those whose traits enabled them to survive and reproduce. Our behavior, too, aims to send our DNA into the future. Thus, evolutionary psychologists ask how natural selection might predispose our actions when dating and mating, hating and hurting, caring and sharing. Nature also endows us with an enormous capacity to learn and to adapt to varied environments. We are sensitive and responsive to our social context. If every psychological event (every thought, every emotion, every behavior) is simultaneously a biological event, then we can also examine the neurobiology that underlies social behavior. What brain areas enable our experiences of love and contempt, helping and aggression, perception and belief? Do extraverts, as some research suggests, require more stimulation to keep their brain aroused? When shown a friendly face, do socially secure people, more than shy people, respond in a brain area concerned with reward? How do brain, mind, and behavior function together as one coordinated system? What does the timing of brain events reveal about how we process information? Such questions are asked by those in social neuroscience (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2013; Cikara & Van Bavel, 2014).  Social neuroscientists do not reduce complex social behaviors, such as helping and hurting, to simple neural or molecular mechanisms. Each science builds upon the principles of more basic sciences (sociology builds on psychology, which builds on biology, which builds on chemistry, which builds on physics, which builds on math). Yet each discipline also introduces new principles not predicted by the more basic sciences(Eisenberg, 2014). Thus, to understand social behavior, we must consider both under-theskin (biological) and between-skins (social) influences. Mind and body are one grand system. Stress hormones affect how we feel and act: A dose of testosterone decreases trust, and a dose of oxytocin increases it (Bos et al., 2010). VI. Social Psychology’s Principles Are Applicable in Everyday Life Social psychology has the potential to answer your questions about human existence, It also offers many philosophies about how to know ourselves better, how to win friends and influence people, how to transform closed fists into open arms. Scientist are also applying social psychological insights such as Principles of social thinking, social influence, and social relations to the implications for human health and well-being, Social Psychology also illuminate the problems associated with judicial procedures and judicial decisions in courtrooms, and for influencing behaviors that will enable an environmentally sustainable human future. As but one perspective on human existence, psychological science does not answer life’s ultimate questions: What is the meaning of human life? What should be our purpose? What is our ultimate destiny? But social psychology does give us a method for asking and answering some exceedingly interesting and important questions. Social psychology is all about life—your life: your beliefs, your attitudes, your relationships. HOW DO HUMAN VALUES INFLUENCE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? In this section we will Identify the ways that values penetrate the work of social psychologists. Social psychology is not a set of multitude ideas and concepts rather than a set of strategies for answering important questions. Its not what we know but is about how confident are we on what we know for a fact. In science, as in courts of law, personal opinions are taken as incorrect. When ideas are put on trial, evidence determines the verdict. But are social psychologists really that impartial? Because they are human beings, and as human as as they are their values, their personal convictions about what is desirable and how people ought to Behave seep into their work? If so, can social psychology really be scientific? Obvious Ways Values Enter Psychology Values enter the picture when social psychologists choose research topics. These choices typically reflect social history, attitudes and belief (Kagan, 2009) for example there were flourishing research on prejudice and fascism in (1940) because of the ongoing happenstance in the decade. the 1960s saw interest in riots and rising crime rates; the feminist movement of the 1970s helped stimulate a wave of research on gender and sexism. the 1990s and the early twenty-first century were marked by heightened interest in how people respond to diversity in culture, race, and sexual orientation. Susan Fiske (2011a) suggests that we can expect future research to reflect today’s and tomorrow’s issues, including immigration, income inequality, and aging. Values differ not only across time but also across cultures. People even take pride in their nationalities. For example English are seen to be different from the scots by the way they talk, their preferences and belief. German and the Austrians are similarly parallel to the people of ohio. Thus Europe has given as “social Identity “ Values also influence the types of people who are attracted to various disciplines (Moynihan, 1979) At your school, do the students majoring in the humanities, the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences differ noticeably from one another? Do social psychology and sociology attract people who are, for example, relatively eager to challenge tradition, people more inclined to shape the future than preserve the past (Prentice, 2012)? And does social science study enhance such inclinations? To prove this premise there was a study in 2011 done by Jonathan haidt, where he asked approximately 1000 social psychologist on their political Inclinations, 90 percent raised their hand indicated that they were liberal only 3 raised their hand when asked if they are “conservative.” Finally, values obviously enter the picture as the object of social psychological analysis. Social psychologists investigate how values form, why they change, and how they influence attitudes and actions. None of that, however, tells us which values are “right.”  Not-So-Obvious Ways Values Enter Psychology Science does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves; it describes nature as exposed to our method of questioning.” (Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy, 1958) Science is not purely objective. Scientists do not simple read the book of nature. Rather, they interpret nature, using their own mental categories, Our numbers do not speak for themselves. We interpret them. In our daily lives, too, we view the world through the lens of our preconceptions. Whether we see a moving light in the sky as a flying saucer depends on our perceptual set. While reading these words, you have been unaware that you are also looking at your nose. Your mind blocks from awareness something that is there, if only you were predispose to perceive it. This tendency to prejudge reality based on our expectations is a basic fact about the human mind. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS CONTAIN HIDDEN VALUES DEFINING THE GOOD LIFE Values influence our idea of how best to live. The personality psychologist Abraham Maslow, for example, was known for his sensitive descriptions of “self-actualized” people who go on to fulfill their human potential. Maslow, guided by his own values, selected his sample of self-actualized people himself. The resulting description of self-actualized personalities as spontaneous, autonomous, mystical, and so forth—reflected Maslow’s personal values. LABELING. Value judgments, then, are often hidden within our social psychological language—but that is also true of everyday language: I KNEW IT ALL ALONG: IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY SIMPLY COMMON SENSE? __________________________________________ Explore how social psychology’s theories provide new insight into the human condition. Is social psychology just common sense in fancy words? Social psychology faces two contradictory criticisms: first, that it is trivial because it documents the obvious; second, that it is dangerous because its findings could be used to manipulate people. Do social psychology and the other social sciences simply formalize what any amateur already knows intuitively? So lets look at the studies of Sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld (1949) reviewed those studies and offered a sample with interpretive comments; Better-educated soldiers adjusted less easily than did less-educated soldiers. (Intellectuals were less prepared for battle stresses than were street-smart people.) Southern soldiers coped better with the hot South Sea Island climate than did Northern soldiers. (Southerners are more accustomed to hot weather.) White low-ranking soldiers were more eager for promotion than were Black lowranking soldiers. (Years of oppression take a toll on achievement motivation.) Southern Blacks preferred Southern to Northern White officers. (Southern officers were more experienced and skilled in interacting with Blacks. As you read those findings, did you agree that they were basically common sense? you may be surprised to learn that Lazarsfeld went on to say, “Every one of these statements is the direct opposite of what was actually found.” In reality, the studies found. that less-educated soldiers adapted more poorly. Southerners were not more likely than northerners to adjust to a tropical climate. Blacks were more eager than Whites for promotion, and so forth. “If we had mentioned the actual results of the investigation first [as Schlesinger experienced], the reader would have labeled these ‘obvious’ One problem with common sense is that we assume it after we know the facts. Event are far more “obvious” and predictable in hindsight than beforehand. Experiments reveal that when people learn the outcome of an experiment, that outcome suddenly seems unsurprising— much less surprising than it is to people who are simply told about the experimental procedure and the possible outcomes (Slovic & Fischhoff, 1977). RESEARCH METHODS: HOW DO WE DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? __________________________________________ This Section examine’s the methods that make social psychology a science. Forming and Testing Hypotheses As we wrestle with the question of human nature, we organize our ideas and findings into theories. What is a theory then? “Theory is an integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events. Theories are a scientific shorthand” (Mayers, David 2015) To a scientist, facts and theories are apples and oranges. Facts are agreed-upon statements about what we observe. Theories are ideas that summarize and explain facts. “ Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones,” wrote the French scientist Jules Henri Poincaré, “but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.” Theories not only summarize but also imply testable predictions, called hypotheses. Hypotheses serve several purposes. First, they allow us to test a theory by suggesting how we might try to falsify it. Second, predictions give direction to research and sometimes send investigators looking for things they might never have thought of. Third, the predictive feature of good theories can also make them practical. But how do we conclude that one theory is better than another? A good theory possess the ff. effectively summarizes many observations, and makes clear predictions that we can use to Confirm or modify the theory, generate new exploration, and suggest practical application Correlational Research: Detecting Natural Associations Social psychological research can be laboratory research (a controlled situation) or field research (everyday situations). And it varies by method—whether correlational (asking whether two or more factors are naturally associated) or experimental (manipulating some factor to see its effect on another). If you want to be a critical reader of psychological research reported in the media, you will benefit by understanding the difference between correlational and experimental research. field research - Research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory. correlational research - The study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables. experimental research Studies that seek clues to cause–effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant). Let’s first consider the advantages of correlational research (often involving important variables in natural settings) and its major disadvantage (ambiguous interpretation of cause and effect). CORRELATION AND CAUSATION Correlations indicate a relationship, but that relationship is not necessarily one of cause and effect. Correlational research allows us to predict, but it cannot tell us whether one variable causes another variable. The correlation–causation confusion is behind much muddled thinking in popular psychology. Consider another very real correlation— between self-esteem and academic achievement. Children with high self- esteem tend also to have high academic achievement. (As with any correlation, we can also state this the other way around: High achievers tend to have high self-esteem.) Why do you suppose that is true? \\ Some people believe a “healthy self-concept” contributes to achievement. Thus, boosting a child’s self-image may also boost school achievement. Believing so, 30 U.S. states have enacted more than 170 self-esteem-promoting statutes. Martin Seligman (1994, 2002), doubt that self- esteem is really “the armor that protects kids” from underachievement (or drug abuse and delinquency). Perhaps it is the other way around: Perhaps problems and failures cause low self-esteem. Perhaps self-esteem often reflects the reality of how things are going for us. Perhaps self-esteem grows from hard-won achievements Correlations quantify, with a coefficient known as r, the degree of relationship between two factors— from - 1.0 (as one factor score goes up, the other goes down) through 0 to +1.0 (the two factors’ scores rise and fall together. SURVEY RESEARCH How do we measure variables such as status and health? One way is by surveying representative samples of people survey researchers want to describe a whole population (which for many psychology surveys is not the aim), then they will obtain a representative group by taking a random sample one in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of inclusion. With this procedure any subgroup of people— are represented in the total population. Survey research is a method of collecting data through asking individuals questions either in on paper, or online. Conducting surveys is one form of primary research, which is the gathering data first-hand from its source. The information collected may also be accessed subsequently by other parties in secondary research. Survey research is used to obtain information regarding the opinions, beliefs and feelings of selected groups of individuals, often chosen from a demographic sampling. These demographics include age, gender, ethnicity or income levels. Common types of surveys include questionnaires, which are comprised of multiple-choice questionnaires, opinions and polls. Questionnaires are distributed through mail surveys, group administered questionnaires or in-person drop-offs. Experimental Research: Probing the Cause and Effect Experimental research is a study that strictly adheres to stringent scientific research design. It includes a hypothesis, a manipulated variable (independent) that can be worked by the researcher, and variables that can be measured (dependent) which are calculated and compared. Most importantly, experimental research is completed in a controlled environment. Where two groups are being tested the experimental group the one who receives the manipulating variable and the control group who acts as a basis of the normalcy. The researcher collects data and results will either support or reject the initial hypothesis made by the researcher. This method of research is referred to a hypothesis testing, post -positivistic research. (Babbie, 2004) What is the Purpose of Experimental Research? Experimental research seeks to determine the causal effect between two (2) variables—the dependent variable which is known as the measuring variable and the independent variable (independent variable). The third characteristic of an experiment is its adherences to random assignment eliminates all such extraneous factors. With random assignment, each person has an equal chance to be selected in an experiment. Worksheet # 1: The Basics of Social Psychology. In another set sheet of paper explain, elucidate, summarize and compare the following concept presented in the first section of the module. Write in at least 7 sentences per paragraph. 1. As a student of Psychology, when a friend or family ask you to explain the study social Psychology, how would you explain it to them? 2. Is thought that psychology is science that is in its fledging beginning, do you agree or disagree, if so? Explain your premise. 3. Social psychology Investigate the most intricate and bare part of our existence they are mostly concerned with our thoughts, relationship and its influences, give one example of probable problem that a social psychologist might be interested, and explain why? 4. Like any scientific field social psychology adheres to foundational premise that shape the study all through out its existence, which it calls as the “Big Ideas” how does this “big ideas” constitute or apply in the real-life scenario, give an example and explain why. 5. It was argued that human beings are social in nature, We speak and think in words we learned from others, do you agree or disagree with this premise? If so how much of you is a product of other people? Your parents? friends? Generation? 6. It is said that our thoughts process in two forms, one intuitively that happens automatically with much ease and the other occurs more deliberately, where person has to intentionally process information, and get inform action respectively. How and when does this two become advantageous in our day to day life? Explain your answer. 7. It is said that values, belief and attitudes play an inevitable impact in our study in social psychology in the forms of our choice of research, history and values. As researcher how would you mitigate these uncontrollable variables that might play when doing your own respective research. 8. Explain how psychology is not a study base on common sense but rather founded scientifically. 9. Explain and identify the characteristics of a good theory? 10. How to you differentiate the distinction between Experimentation and Correlation Research, and how are they similar? 11. Device two example of testable experiment, include the independent variable dependent variable and device how you eliminate extraneous variables that might play in the experiment. Section 2: Humans as Social Beings __________________________________________________________ The first section had brought us to the definition of social psychology; the scientific study of how we think? Influence and relate to one another. We also had tackle through the fundamental research methods use in social psychology from the most stringent and most flexible and exploratory nature of researching. We also had gone through each theory and how is it applied in real life situation. Specifically, part one examines the scientific study of how we think about other people ( social cognition). In this section confronts the overriding questions: is our social attitudes reasonable? How about our belief? Explanations? Is our general impression of our self and others accurate? How does our social thinking form? How prone is it to bias and error? And as an academic how could we bring these assumptions closer to reality? At the center of our worldview, the most vital for us than anything else, is ourselves. As we continuously navigate our daily lives, our sense of self also continuously engages to the world. Consider this example one morning, you found yourself waking up having your hair sticking up strangely to the air, you were trying to find a hat, but couldn’t find any? You tried to smooth and flatten down your hair and eventually dash out of your house and went to your class. All morning, you are so conscious about your bad hair day, but to your surprise, your classmate didn’t mention anything. Are they secretly laughing at your ridiculous look? Or are they too preoccupied with themselves to noticed your spiky hair? ILLUSIONS AND SPOTLIGHTS: WHAT LEARNING LESSONS CAN THEY IMPART ABOUT OUR SELVES? _____________________________________________________________________________________ Have you ever felt like others seems to pay more attention to you than they really are? Well here comes the Spotlight effect, this occurs when we see ourselves at the center stage, thus intuitively overestimating the extent to which others’ attention is aimed at us. Spotlight effect - The belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are. (Mayer G, 2015) What’s true of our bad hair is also true of our emotions: our anxiety, irritation, disgust, deceit, or attraction to someone else (Gilovich et al., 1998). Fewer people notice than we presume. Keenly aware of our own emotions, we often suffer an illusion of transparency. If we’re happy and we know it, then our face will surely show it. And others, we presume, will notice. Actually, we can be opaquer than we realize. Illusion of transparency - The illusion that our concealed emotions leak out and can be easily read by others. We also overestimate the visibility of our social blunders and public mental slips. When we trigger the library alarm or accidentally insult someone, we may be mortified (“Everyone thinks I’m a jerk”). But research shows that what we agonize over, others may hardly notice and soon forget (Savitsky et al., 2001). The spotlight effect and the related illusion of transparency are but two of many examples of the interplay between our sense of self and our social worlds. Here are a few more: Social surroundings affect our self-awareness. When we are the only member of our race, gender, or nationality in a group, we notice how we differ and how others are reacting to our difference. A White American friend once told me [DM] how self-consciously White he felt while living in a rural village in Nepal; an hour later, an African-American friend told me how self-consciously American she felt while in Africa. Self-interest colors our social judgment. When problems arise in a close relationship, we usually attribute more responsibility to our partners than to ourselves. When things go well at home or work or play, we see ourselves as more responsible. Self-concern motivates our social behavior. In hopes of making a positive impression, we agonize about our appearance. Like savvy politicians, we also monitor others’ behavior and expectations and adjust our behavior accordingly. Social relationships help define our sense of self. In our varied relationships, we have varying selves, note Susan Andersen and Serena Chen (2002). We may be one self with Mom, another with friends, another with teachers. How we think of ourselves is linked to the person we’re with at the moment. And when relationships change, our self-concepts can change as well. College students who recently broke up with a romantic partner shifted their self-perceptions and felt less certain about who they were—one reason breakups can be so emotionally distressing (Slotter et al., 2010). As these examples suggest, the traffic between ourselves and others runs both ways. Our ideas and feelings about ourselves affect how we respond to others, and others help shape our sense of self; No topic in psychology today is more heavily researched than the self. In 2013, the word “self” appeared in 27,729 book and article summaries in PsycINFO. Our sense of self organizes our thoughts, feelings, and actions and enables us to remember our past, assess our present, and project our future— and thus to behave adaptively. In later Section, you will see, that much of our behavior is not consciously controlled but, rather, automatic and unself-conscious. However, the self does enable long-term planning, goal setting, and restraint. It imagines alternatives, compares itself with others, and manages its reputation and relationships, moreover, the self can sometimes be an impediment to a satisfying life. That’s why religious or spiritual meditation practices seek to prune the self’s egocentric preoccupations, by quieting the ego, reducing its attachments to material pleasures, and redirecting it. SELF-CONCEPT: SINO BA TALAGA AKO?