Introduction of social psychology Flashcards
What is social psychology
involves the use of scientific methods to explore the ways in which a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual imagines or implied presence of others
what are the broad themes in social psychology?
How individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are
influenced by other people – the SOCIAL influences.
How does the social world influences the individual?
one’s thoughts and feelings about the world
one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions toward other
people
one’s thoughts and feelings about oneself
one’s attitudes, values, and beliefs
How does the social world influences relationships?
-everyday interpersonal interactions
-close relationships
-helping others
-prejudice
-cultural influences
What are the 4 levels of understanding the individual-environment interaction?
Personality Psychology
1. Intra-individual -What happens within the
individual as a result of their interaction with the
social world
2. Inter- individual -How interpersonal relationships
are influenced by the interaction with others
3. Intra-group -Focuses on the dynamic within a
group
4. Inter-group -Focuses on the dynamic of the
interactions between social groups
Sociology
What are the 3 main focuses of social psych?
WHAT: study of affect, behaviour, and
cognition (the ABCs of social psychology)
WHAT: focus on situational forces,
especially other people
HOW: the use of scientific methods
What are the 2 fundamental axioms?
- People create their own reality (i.e, construral)
- Situations influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
Why do we emphasize the situation?
-We tend to overemphasize personality
-Explanations based solely on personality are incomplete
-We tend to underestimate the power of the situation
What is motives?
social behaviour that is goal-oriented
Deep motives may not be conscious
What are principles of social psychology?
-To establish social ties
-Groups provide rewards
-Define reality
-To understand ourselves and others
-Desire predictability and mastery
-To gain and maintain status
-To defend ourselves and those we value
-To attract and retain mates
What are the 4 main points of the theoretical frameworks?
-Self-esteem perspective
-Socio-cultural perspective
-Evolutionary perspective
-Socio-cognitive perspective
What purpose does the theoretical frameworks serve?
They frame research questions; they guide what is being investigated
What is the ‘self-esteem perspective’ purpose?
Look for the cause of behaviour within the individual (focus on affect/emotions)
What are some of the main points of ‘self-esteem perspective’?
-Focuses on how people evaluate their own self-worth
-The way we view ourselves influences the way we view the world
How does ‘self-esteem perspective’ influence one’s self?
- Strong focus on justifying our past behaviour
- We are motivated to maintain a positive picture of ourselves
-This influences our behaviour
What is the ‘socio-cultural perspective’ purpose?
Looks for the cause of behaviour within the culture or social environment
What are some of the main points of ‘socio-cultural perspective’? What are 3 examples of this?
Focuses on the effect from or within large social groups such as:
-Norms within cultural groups
-Social class differences
-Nationality/ethnicity
Define ‘social norms’
Rules and expectations for appropriate social behaviour
Define ‘culture’
Beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people
living in a particular time and place
What is the ‘socio-cognitive perspective’ purpose?
Looks for the cause of behaviour within a person’s cognitions
Present 3 classic social psychology experiments
-Milgram’s study on obedience
-Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment
-Daley and Latané’s by-standard effect
What is the main points of ‘socio-cognitive perspective’? What are 3 examples of this?
Focuses on how people think about the world:
-What we pay attention to
-How we interpret and judge social situations
-What we expect from a situation
-What we retrieve from memory
What is the ‘evolutionary perspective’ purpose?
Looks for the cause of behaviour within a person’s predispositions (biology, genetics, etc.)
Define ‘genetic disposition’
It is inherited from our
ancestors that promoted their survival and reproduction, such as the ability to automatically recognize an angry face