LU7 - Introduction to Social Psychology PDF

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY WHY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? “We are by all odds the most persistently and obsessively social of all species, more dependent on each other than the famous social insects, and really, when you look at us, infinitely more imaginative and deft at social living.” Lewis Thoma...

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY WHY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? “We are by all odds the most persistently and obsessively social of all species, more dependent on each other than the famous social insects, and really, when you look at us, infinitely more imaginative and deft at social living.” Lewis Thomas Question Social Psychologist Might Ask i. What shapes our attitude? ii. Does the presence of others affect how we perceive a situation? iii. How to best persuade others to change their opinions? iv. How does prejudice develop and how can we overcome it? WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? The scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people - parents, friends, employers, teachers etc. Each one of us is connected to and influenced by other people, even if we’re not always consciously aware of all the ways we are affected by them. Both the good and the bad in our lives involve other people. They can be the source of happiness and pain. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” - Martin Luther King Jr. “Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you: You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.” - Bob Marley. It is about how we connect to people - invidual or group. “If you belong to no groups but decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half.” If you had any lingering doubts about the importance of the social side of life, perhaps you don’t anymore! Putnam Putnam summed up the importance of social connections. Thus, many people find the thought of a physically Social psychology part of psychology that studies isolated could be disturbing, what about being all aspects of our social existence. digitally disconnected from others? Social psychologists also investigate how groups Research shows that among college students the influence us? how the social context we find number of Facebook friends predicts life ourselves satisfaction (Manago, Taylor, & Greenfield, 2012). in affects the way we make decisions? and how we explain ourselves and the actions of other Social contact is a central aspect of our lives. In a people? very basic sense, it helps define who we are and the quality of our existence. How we think about ourselves is shaped by our relationships with other people, hence guides our social behavior. What make social psychology differences from other social sciences is its focus on explaining influences on the individual’s thought and behavior. What differentiates social psychology from the informal observations that we all make is its scientific nature. Social psychology is the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings, and thoughts in social situations. It investigates the ways in which our thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by our social environments.  SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS SCIENTIFIC IN NATURE What is Science? Fields that use equipment to study the physical world can be viewed as scientific. Some people think that the act of watching or observing is also a form of science. However, the term science actually refers to adherence to a set of basic values (accuracy, objectivity) and use of a set of methods to systematically examine any aspect of the world around us including the social side of life. Four core values that need to be adopted, thus to be considered as scientific in nature: 1 2 3 4 Accuracy: To gathering and Objectivity: A commitment Skepticism: A commitment Open-Mindedness: A evaluating information to obtain and evaluate to accept findings as commitment to changing (including social behavior) as information in a manner accurate only to the extent one’s views if existing careful, precise, and error- that is as free from bias as they have been verified evidence suggests that free a manner as possible. possible. over and over again. these views are inaccurate. Why adopt the scientific approach? Why don’t we rely on our own experience and intuition as a basis for drawing conclusions life? Our own experiences are unique and might not provide a solid foundation for answering general questions like “Why do people sometimes go along with the group eventhough they might disagree with what the group is doing?” “How can we know what other people are thinking or feeling?”  SOCIAL THOUGHT & SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Social psychologists are mainly interested in understanding the factors and conditions that influence and shape the social thought and behavior of individuals. In general there are five factors namely: § Actions and characteristics of others § Cognitive processes § Environmental variables § Cultural context § Biological factors Actions and characteristics of others Scenario 1 You are at a party and you notice that a very attractive person is smiling at you. In fact, this person is looking at you in a way that leaves little room for interpretation: That person is sending a clear signal saying “Hey, you look good!” Scenario 2 You return from class one day and as you approach the door to your dorm room you see a friend of yours is sitting on the floor looking very down. You stop to ask if she’s ok, and you see that she’s been crying. Actions and characteristics of others Scenario 1 You are at a party and you notice that a very attractive person is smiling at you. In fact, this person is looking at you in a way that leaves little room for interpretation: That person is sending a clear signal saying “Hey, you look good!” Scenario 2 You return from class one day and as you approach the door to your dorm room you see a friend of yours is sitting on the floor looking very down. You stop to ask if she’s ok, and you see that she’s been crying. Where we observe other people, and we respond to them, indicate that other people’s emotional expressions often have a powerful impact upon us. We are often affected by others people’s expression of emotions. Even though in one case the person is expressing positive emotion toward us and in the other the person is expressing negative feelings, in both these instances we may be motivated to approach the other person. We are also often affected by others’ appearance - people tend to behave differently towards attractive person than less attractive; towards old people, compared to same age group (McCall, 1997; Twenge & Manis, 1998). Research findings indicate that relying on others’ appearance as a guide to their characteristics is not always wrong - they can be relatively accurate, especially when we can observe others behaving spontaneously, rather than in posed photos (Nauman, Vazire, Rentfrow, & Gosling, 2009). Cognitive Processes Suppose that you have arranged to meet a friend, and this person is late. In fact, after 30 minutes you begin to suspect that your friend will never arrive. Finally, she or he does appear and says Statement 1 “Sorry... I forgot all about meeting you until a few minutes ago.” Statement 2 “I’m so sorry to be late.... There was a big accident, and the traffic was tied up for miles.” But if your friend is often late and has used this excuse before, you might feel suspicious. In contrast, if this is the first time your friend has been late, or if your friend has never used such excuse in the past, you may accept it as true. This reactions in this situation is depend upon your memories of your friend’s past behavior and your logical thinking about whether her or his explanation is really true. This situations display the crucial role played by cognitive processes in social behaviour - thinking long and hard about other people, what they are like? why they do what they do? how they might react to our behavior? Environmental Variables Do we become more irritable and aggressive when the weather is hot and steamy than when it is cooler and more comfortable? Does exposure to a pleasant smell in the air make people more helpful to others? Does simply seeing money such as a picture of a dollar bill interfere with our ability to enjoy small pleasures in life like the taste of chocolate? Research findings indicate that aspects of the physical environment can indeed influence our feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Biological Factors The perspective of biological factors play an important role in social behavior has been emphasized among those who take an evolutionary psychology perspective (Buss, 2004; Buss & Shackelford, 1997). This branch of psychology suggests that human, has been subject to the process of biological evolution throughout its history, hence we now possess a large number of evolved psychological mechanisms that help us to deal with important problems relating to survival. Process of evolution, involves three basic components: § Variation refers to the fact that organisms belonging to a given species vary in many different ways; § Inheritance refers to the fact that some of these variations can be passed from one generation to the nex. § Selection refers to the fact that some variations give the individuals an “edge” in terms of reproduction: They are more likely to survive, find mates, and pass these variations on to succeeding generations. Why do we find some people attractive? Due to the characteristics they show - symmetrical facial features; clear skin; shining hair - associated with “good genes,”. It indicates the people who possess them are healthy and vigorous and therefore good mates (Schmitt & Buss, 2001; Tesser & Martin, 1996). It is also suggested that we inherit tendencies in our actions due to our living environments. This perspective doesn’t suggest that we are driven by our genes to act in specific ways. Rather, it merely suggests that because of our genetic inheritance, we have tendencies to behave in certain ways that, atleast in the past, may have enhanced the chances that our ancestors would survive and pass their genes on to us. Tendencies, can be and often are overridden by cognitive factors and the effects of experience (Pettijohn & Jungeberg, 2004) Cultural Context Social psychologists recognize that cultures differ greatly Within a culture, how we interact with each other can and our social world is constantly changing. change across time due to the social media, and digital technology - people now meet potential romantic Example - cultures vary greatly with respect to when and partners in different ways than in the past. where people are expected to “dress up” rather than dress casually. While casual is acceptable in almost all Social psychologists believe that despite these contexts in the United States, more formal “dressy” changes, the same basic principles apply - physical attire is often expected in other cultures. attractiveness is still essential, even though what is deemed attractive may differ across time. Cultures differ tremendously, and this complicates the task of establishing general principles of social behavior and social thought. THANK YOU Khalid Zanudin Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak [email protected] +6012 3231 796