Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology

09.02.2012Chapter 1Introducing Social PsychologySocial Psychology• “Is the scientific investigation of how thethoughts, feelings, and behaviors ofindividuals are influenced by the actual,imagined, or implied presence of others”(G. W. Allport, 1954).Social Psychology• “Is the scientific investigation of how thethoughts, feelings, and behaviors ofindividuals are influenced by the actual,imagined, or implied presence of others”1

09.02.2012“ABCs of Social Psychology”• Affect• Emotions, feelings, and mood• Behavior• Verbal and nonverbal action• Cognition• Thought, sensation, perception, processing, and memorySocial Psychology• “Is the scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelingsand behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual,imagined, or implied presence of others”• Philosophy ?• Folk Wisdom /Common sense?Social Psychology• “Is the scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelingsand behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual,imagined, or implied presence of others”• What is “scientific investigation”? How different is it fromother ways of knowing?• A set of procedures used to gather, analyze, and interpretinformation.• Systematic, empirical, objective, logical, testable (falsifiable)• (Mainstream) Social psychology is an experimentallybased science.2

09.02.2012Social Psychology• “Is the scientific investigation of howthe thoughts, feelings and behaviors ofindividuals are influenced by theactual, imagined, or implied presenceof others”• Who is this “others”?At the heart of social psychologyis social influence:• Humans are social animals whose behavior is both influencedby (are products of) and influences (produces) the socialenvironment• Dynamic relation between the social and environment• Individuals is a combination of both social and cognitiveprocesses• Individuals construe situations, or construct own realitiesWhat are other disciplines that studyhuman beings?• Within the Social Sciences?• Within Psychology?3

09.02.2012Effects• Actions and characteristicsof others• Cognitive processes• Environmental variables• Cultural context• Biological factorsLevel of explanationExample: Studying prejudice• A sociologist - may study how American prejudice towardsJapanese has changed since WWII• A clinical ψist – may test various therapies for people withantisocial personalities who exhibit great degrees of prejudice• A personality ψist – may develop a questionnaire to identifymen who are very high or low in degree of prejudice towardswomen• A social ψist – manipulate exposure to a member of somecategory of people (e.g. Elderly) and measure the thoughts andconcepts that are cognitively oriented (social –cognitive ψ) ormanipulate various kinds of contact between individuals ofdifferent groups and examine the effects of these manipulationson the degree of prejudice exhibited.Important Themes in Social Psychology1. The power of the situation (social influence)2. The subjective “construction” of realitythe impact of a situation depends upon personal and subjectivemeaningRather than the objective characteristics of the situation- socialpsychologists are interested in people’s construal of their socialenvironment.3. Interplay of motivational and cognitive factorsmotivational – wishes, desires, hopescognitive – the way our minds work4. Applicable to important social issues4

09.02.2012Social behavior is the result of the complex interactionbetween the person and the situation• Person :• typically refers to all of the characteristics that theperson carries into a social situation. Includes physicalattributes, attitudes, beliefs, preferences, andpsychological traits.• Situation:• focus on events outside the person. These include bothtemporary features such as environmental demands andlong-laA Brief History of Social Psychology[Social] ψ has a long past, but only a shorthistory• Essentially a 20 th century field• ‘Social psychology’ as a term came into common usage aroundthe turn of the 20th century.• 90% of social psychologists who had ever lived were still alive in1979 (Cartright in Brehm, et al, 2005)• In contrast: Personality ψ - Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers are alllong dead.• Why “long past”?5

09.02.2012[Social] ψ has a long past, but only a shorthistory• Essentially a 20 th century field• ‘Social psychology’ as a term came into common usage aroundthe turn of the 20th century.• 90% of social psychologists who had ever lived were still alive in1979 (Cartright in Brehm, et al, 2005)• In contrast: Personality ψ - Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers are alllong dead.• Social psychology is interested in old issues• Do individuals perceive reality accurately?• Are people capable of free will, or is behavior is determined?• Are the basic instincts of humans good or evil?Birth and Infancy: 1880s – 1920s• 1875 - W. Wundt (Germany) & W. James (in the US) establishthe first psychology experiments• 1880s-1900s – European scholars were influential• 1898 - First social ψ Experiment by N. Triplett• How social factors effected bicycle riding? (Social Facilitation)• 1908- First textbooks contained the phrase “social psychology”in their titles by McDougall & Ross• 1924 – most influential textbook by Floyd Allport• Accepted as the “rise of experimentation in social ψ”1930s - social ψ began to grow as a solid field• Kurt Lewin “Father of Social Psy” (1890-1947)• B(ehavior) = P(erson)+ S (ituation)• Muzafer Sherif• Norm formation studies• WW2 and Post war era• Sparked much research (e.g. authoritarian personality,conformity, obedience, persuasion, group dynamics)• Practical applications (e.g. communication, propaganda)• Brain drain from Germany (mainly to the U.S)6

09.02.2012More history• 50s - 60s: social influence• Festinger, Asch, Milgram, Darley & Latane• European researchers regained importance• Studied group dynamics, decision making, etc.• 70s: cognitive revolution• Attribution, interpersonal perception, biases &heuristics• 80s: social cognition is on the rise.• Also social identity, persuasion and new topics like love andrelationships, evolutionary psychology• 90’s decade of the brainContemporary Themes in SocialPsychology• Social Cognition• Biology and the Brain• Focus on Self• Focus on ConflictSocial Psychologyand Social ProblemsSocial psychological theories about human behaviorhave been applied to a range of contemporaryproblems, including:• prejudice• energy shortages• AIDS• unhealthy habits• violence in schools7

09.02.2012Why People Study SocialPsychology• Curiosity About People• Experimental Philosophy• Making the World Better• Applied Research• Social Psychology is FunHow Much of SocialPsychology Is True?• Self-Correcting Nature of Science• Replication• Reliance on Student Samples• Cultural Relativity• Western cultures dominate social psychologyresearch• Cultural differences may be substantial andimportantResources:• Scholarly Journals• Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP)• Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB)• Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (JESP)• Psych Bull, Psych Review, PSPR, AESP• Not google! / But googlescholar• Societies• Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP)• Society of Experimental Social Psychologists (SESP)• www.socialpsychology.org• In-mind.org8