1: Intro Flashcards
Definition
“Scientific field seeking to understanding nature and causes of individual behaviour in social situations.”
Key elements- how people think, feel and act around others and how these are influence by others.
5 factors that help understand behaviour
Social- other’s behaviour (eg. being watched).
Cognitive- memory and inferences.
Environmental- weather, physical characteristics etc.
Cultural- norms and social values (eg. racism, sexism etc).
Biological- evolution, genes (eg. explanations for agression).
Historical overview of social psychology
Early years (1900-1930s):
1900- emerged as separate field.
1901- BPS formed.
Period of youth (1940s-1960s):
Field expanded- group influences prompted by WW2.
1960s- number of social psychologists increased.
Maturing field (1970s-1990s):
New topics- attribution, gender differences, environmental psychology.
Focus on applying cognitive perspective.
Recent (2000-2010s):
Adoption of multicultural perspective.
Inter-disciplinary perspective; further application of social psychology to modern changing world.
Current topics: Technological impacts
Interpersonal perception- no cues to judge; can online relationships work?
Conflict and cooperation- behaviour potentially more deviant online; are video games prosocial or antisocial?
Conversation and communication- lack of non verbal communication.
Social influence- conformity (could Milgrim persuade participants via video link?).
Group processes- virtual groups; online decision making.
Identity and self perception- “web is a safe place to try out different roles” (Suler); multiple self portrayals.
Current topics: Social neuroscience
Biological basis of behaviour.
eg. prejudice, aggression, attraction etc.
Current topics: Global issues
eg. attitude and behaviour towards environment, sustainability, being healthy etc.
Research methods
Until late 70s research mainly done through lab studies.
Now many studies use qualitative methods (eg. focus groups, observations).
