chapter 1: what is social psychology

Question 1

social psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of the effect of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others

Question 2

scientific study

Answer 2

systematically, seeking to avoid the misconceptions and distortions of common-sense knowledge

Question 3

effects of social and cognitive

Answer 3

social processes – the ways in which input from the people and groups around us affect our thoughts, feelings and actions
 Cognitive processes – the ways in which our memories, perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and motives influence our understanding of the world and guide our actions
 Defined separately, but in reality inextricably intertwined

Question 4

the way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others

Answer 4

cognitive and social processes affect individuals as they perceive, influence and relate to others

Question 5

what can X be in social psychology

Answer 5

impression of another person, ourselves, group members, social identity + attitude

Question 6

questions to pose in social psychology

Answer 6

o What is X?
o What information do we use to form X
o How do we form X (in a superficial way, with more or less capacity and multiple types of motivation)
o How do we ensure that X is consistent and positive or negative
o How can we change X, once formed?

Question 7

Ancient Greece social psychology

Answer 7

the study of the human condition is the domain of philosophy
o Plato – “crowd mind” – even the wisest individuals, if assembled into a crowd might become an irrational mob

Question 8

first study in social psychology, who, when, what

Answer 8

Triplett, 1898
o Swimmers and cyclists perform better when competing against their rivals than when practicing by themselves
o Asked school children to wind fishing line onto reels as quickly as possible, with and without others present – presence of other children improved performance
- But study 1880s – when people worked together to pull on a rope or push on a cart, they put less effort than when they were alone

Question 9

first two textbooks with the name social psychology

Answer 9

1908
o One of them – all social behaviour stems from innate tendencies or instincts
o Other – people are influenced by others, no matter if they’re present or not

Question 10

us social psychology early 20th century

Answer 10

North American psychologists – behaviouralist viewpoint – denied the scientific validity of explanations for behaviour that invoke mental events like thoughts, feelings, and emotions
- Most social psychologists resisted – accepted that the goal of science is to explain behaviour but the explanation had to take into account people’s thoughts and feelings
o People often hold divergent views of and react in different ways to the same object or idea – can only be explained by differences in individual’s attitudes, personality traits, impressions of others, group identifications, emotions, goals
o Stimulus can be both internal and external

Question 11

WWII social psychology

Answer 11

German psychologists moved to the US – Gestalt theory (understanding the rules underlying the organization of perception, took for granted the role of cognitive processes)
o The existence of Nazis – questions about prejudice
o Social psychologists asked to help with concrete problems – changing eating habits (food supply shortage), maintaining troop morale, improving the performance of aircraft and tank crews, teaching troops to resist enemy propaganda
o Found that establishing behaviour in a social context – more effective in changing what women fed their families than passive listening to lectures on the topic + soldier’s morale depended more on their interpretation of how they were doing compared to other enlisted men than on how well they were actually doing

Question 12

life space

Answer 12

subjective map of the individual’s current goals and their social environment

Question 13

Kurt Lewinall

Answer 13

behaviour depends on the individual’s life space (subjective map of the individual’s current goals and their social environment)
o People’s subjective interpretation of reality is the key determinant of other beliefs and behaviours
o Social influences structure those interpretations and behaviours
o Link between research aimed at understanding the underlying social and cognitive causes of behaviour and research aimed at solving important social problems
o “There is nothing so practical as a good theory

Question 14

50s and 60s social psychology

Answer 14

more university enrolments and government grants – research on self-esteem, prejudice and stereotyping, conformity, persuasion and attitude change, impression formation, interpersonal attraction and intimate relationships and intergroup relations

Question 15

70s and 80s social psychology

Answer 15

social psychologists in both the US and Europe – a set of reliable and repeatable findings – scientific maturity
- 70s and 80s – concepts from social psychology (attitudes, norms, beliefs) applied to new areas of study – personal relationships, aggression, altruism, stereotyping and discrimination

Question 16

late 20th century development

Answer 16

connections – people from China vs US gave different attributions, optical illusions – thought to be universal and basic

Question 17

evolutionary psychology

Answer 17

humans and other animals – evolved processes for solving specific problems that have recurred over evolutionary timespans – still affect our thoughts, feelings, behaviours

Question 18

embodiment perspective

Answer 18

people’s thoughts and judgements are intertwined with sensory experienced and bodily movement (mimicking and social behaviour)

Question 19

is social psychology theoretical or practical

Answer 19

no clear distinction between theoretical questions of scientific curiosity and the important phenomena that affect our daily lives
o All social-psychology research is relevant to social issues + basic and applied

Question 20

what are the two axioms of social psychology

Answer 20

people construct their own reality and social influences are pervasive

Question 21

construction of reality

Answer 21

• Construction of reality – the axiom that each person’s view of reality is a construction, shaped by cognitive processes (the ways our minds work) and by social processes (input from others either present or imagined)
• Cognitive processes – piece together fragments of information, draw inferences from them, try to weave them into a coherent whole
• Social processes – we’re influenced by and influence the views of others as we pursue agreement about the nature of reality

Question 22

pervasiveness of social influence

Answer 22

• Pervasiveness of social influence – the axion that other people influence virtually all of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, whether those others are physically present or not
• Our allegiances may be small-scale (families, teams, committees), large-scale (race, ethnicity, religion, gender, culture)
• Social influence is most profound when it’s least evident, sometimes it takes a shift in influence to notice it

Question 23

three motivational principles

Answer 23

1. Striving for mastery – the motivational principle that people seek to understand and predict events in the social world in order to obtain rewards
2. Seeking connectedness – the motivational principle that people seek support, liking, and acceptance from the people and groups they care about and value
3. Valuing “me and mine” – the motivational principle that people desire to see themselves and other people and groups connected to themselves in a positive light