chapter 1 Flashcards
define Social Psychology
the science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to others
what may social thinking examine?
- how we perceive ourselves and others
- what we believe
- judgements we make
- our attitudes
what might social influence consider?
- culture and biology
- pressures to conform
- persuasion
- groups of people
what may social relations consider?
- helping
- agression
- attraction and intimacy
- prejudice
what is the difference between sociology an social psychology?
social psychology focuses more on individuals, , employing methods that more often use experimentation.
what is the different between personality psychology and social psychology?
social psychology focuses less on differences among individuals and more on how individuals, in general, view and affect one another.
what are the 4 major themes in social psychology?
1) social thinking
2) social influences
3) social relations
4) applying social psychology
describe what social thinking implies
- we construct our social reality
- our social intuitions are often powerful, sometimes perilous.
describe what social influences imply
- social influences shape behaviour
- dispositions shape behaviour
describe what social relations imply
- social behaviour is also biological behaviour
- relating to others is a basic need
describe applying social psychology.
- social psychology’s principles are applicable to everyday life
when someones behaviour is consistent and distinctive what do we attribute it to?
we attribute their behaviour to their personality
what do our intuitions shape?
Our fears, impressions, and relationships?
thinking, memory, and attitudes all operate on which two levels?
1) conscious and deliberate
2) nonconscious and automatic
“dual processing”
True or False?
Human beings, in particular, are remarkably good at predicting their behaviour and emotions.
False.
People often misread their thoughts and memories, and are bad at predicting how they may feel after time has passed.
true or false?
we think and speak in words we learned from others
true.
true or false?
your culture helps define your situation.
true.
true or false?
Similar situations will almost always affect different people the same way.
False.
Facing the same situation, different people may react differently, depending on how they perceive the world, themselves, and the situation.
what do evolutionary psychologists remind us?
our inherited human nature predisposes us to behave in ways that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce.
what do evolutionary psychologists ask?
how natural selection might predispose our actions and reactions when we are dating and mating, hating and hurting, caring and sharing
according to neuroscientists, what must we do to understand social behaviour?
we must consider under-the-skin (biological) and between-the-skin (social) influences
what do stress hormones affect?
how we feel and act
what does social ostracism do?
what does social support do?
- elevates blood pressure
- strengthens the disease fighting immune system
we are bio-psycho-organisms, what does that mean?
we reflect the interplay of our biological, psychological and social influences.
define culture
The enduring behaviours, ideas, attitudes, traditions, products and institution shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
define social representations
socially shared beliefs, widely held ideas and values, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies.
- our social representation help us make sense of the world
define naturalistic fallacy
the error in defining what is good in terms of what is observable
- ex: what’s typical is normal; what’s normal is good.
Where do values lie within social psychology?
- values lie hidden within our cultural definitions of mental health, our psychological advice for living, our concepts, and our psychological labels.
which two contradictory criticisms does social psychology face?
1) it is trivial because it documents the obvious
2) it is dangerous because its findings could be used to manipulate people
true or false?
it depends, but typically once we are paid to do something, we do not enjoy it as much.
True