social psychology 2003 Flashcards
Humans are … social
Environment has …. effect on socialization eg. SES, country
Our interactions with others shape our ….
innately
large
behaviour (change beh in dif situ)
diference between Personality psychologists and Social psychologists ?
- assess stable traits over time
- examine environmental influences
whats more predictive personality or social psychologists
maybe social (enviro)
Defining social psychology
The scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others
Social vs cognitive processes
Social processes
Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the people around us, the groups to which we belong, the teachings of our parents, and our culture
Cognitive processes
Our memories, perceptions, **thoughts, and emotions guide our understanding **of the world and our actions
Sociologists
1. PREFERRED
METHODS
2. FOCUS OF
OBSERVATIONS
3. EXAMPLE: THE STUDY
OF AGGRESSION
Surveys, demographic
patterns of data
Group-level behaviors
and social expectations
Group characteristics of aggressive behavior
Anthropologists
1. PREFERRED
METHODS
2. FOCUS OF
OBSERVATIONS
3. EXAMPLE: THE STUDY
OF AGGRESSION
Detailed observations of people in a given culture
A discrete group of
people over time
Cultural habits of
aggression within a
discrete setting
Clinical
psychologists
1. PREFERRED
METHODS
2. FOCUS OF
OBSERVATIONS
3. EXAMPLE: THE STUDY
OF AGGRESSION
Therapeutic interviews
and tests
Individuals who have
problematic thoughts or behaviors
Individual and
interpersonal causes of
aggression
Social
psychologists
1. PREFERRED
METHODS
2. FOCUS OF
OBSERVATIONS
3. EXAMPLE: THE STUDY
OF AGGRESSION
Controlled experiments
and observations
Everyday people in
individual or group
settings
Experiments testing the causes and control of
aggression
Early breakthroughs
of social psych
Wilhem Wundt’s Völkerpsychologie (1900-1920)
Norman Triplett’s social facilitation experiment (1897)
First textbooks published in 1908
William McDougall (cofounder of BPS)
Edward Ross, but they were a sociologist and American (eww)
who Published a textbook in 1924
Emphasizing importance of experimentation
what did it argue
Floyd Henry Allport
…the best way to understand groups was by studying the individual, not the group itself (sets us apart from sociology)
brother= gordon allport
in the 1920’s psychology was dominated by…. by….
behaviourism…watson and skinner
(what was observed)
then Social psychologists recognized the importance of people’s ….
thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, etc.
Hitler’s rise motivated many psychologists to flee to U.S leading to…
Brought other theoretical influences
Gestalt and anti-behaviorist psychologists who emphasized cognition
Shifted focus of research
Persuasion techniques during wartime
Authoritarianism
Discoveries of atrocities post-WW2
Kurt Lewin
Emigrated from… to … in…
Behaviour as … of individual and environment
Died young, but ….
such as….
Emigrated from Germany to US in 1933
Behaviour as function of individual and environment
Died young, but trained several notable social psychologists
…. Leon Festinger (cognitive dissonance)
Stanley Schachter (physiology and emotion)
Several more (see chapter 2)
After WW2…
Emphasis on …
Discoveries of …
why…
how groups impact individual behavior
atrocities (violent acts) post-WW2… why?
Social influence and conformity
Bean estimation experiment (Jenness, 1932)
Auto-kinetic effect experiment (Sherif, 1935)
Line study (Asch, 1956)
Milgram’s obedience studies (1960s)
asked…
Could a person be pressured by others into committing an immoral act, such as hurting a stranger?
Stanford Prison Study (1971) by…
participants were…
the G became… P became…
behav changed on their….
Philip Zimbardo
…randomly assigned to be a prisoner or guard
aggressive, submissive
… expectations of that societal role
Social cognition (1970s - 1990s)
Emphasis of cognitive processes and theory
Less reliance on reactionary studies replicating social phenomena
Attribution of behaviors
Automatic versus controlled processes
Motivation and emotion regulation
Introduction of ethical review boards
Advanced statistical analyses introduced
Present day
Interdisciplinary and applied approaches
Emphasis of neuroscience methods
Importance of cultural differences
Use of online recruitment for diverse samples
Use of virtual reality (work in progress)
Advanced statistical analyses
Replication issues of classic paradigms
Open science practices
Social psychology tends to follow recent events
1. ww2 atrocities…
2. kitty genovese murder…
3. 911 attacks
4. civil rights mov…
5. rise of femanism…
6. police shootings…
(conformity/obedience)
(bystander effect)
(Muslim/Arab prejudice)
(stigma and intergroup conflict)
(sexism and stereotype threat)
(racism and weapon misidentification)
Social psychologists value diversity
Began with Western heteronormative standpoint (White dudes)
Culture influences the individual
Importance of intersectionality
We are a combination of ethnicities, religions, sexualities, etc.
Diversifying research is essential to understanding human behavior
Is behavior shaped more by biological factors (“nature”) or by environmental factors (“nurture”)?
Behavior is influenced by both in varying degrees
Some view this as a false dichotomy
How can we explain why good people do bad things?
Interested in justifications or explanations, not what is good or bad
Behavior is often shaped by our environment and context
Why do humans live in groups?
Humans as social animals
Evolutionary perspective
Harm of group decisions
Embedded cultural norms
Why do stereotypes and prejudices exist and persist?
Relationship between stereotypes and instincts
Automatic processes and use of heuristics
