Unit 0 Flashcards
The science of the social side of life
What is the object of studies?
human beings
Do we agree with Gordons Statement that “The scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others.”
No
According to Allport, Behaviour is influenced by..
- motives
- goals
- perspective
- cultural background
-> actor and observer
+feelings, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, intentions, goals
What is Social Psychology?
The science that tries to understand the causes of social behaviour by focusing on the behaviour of individuals.
What is the definition of social psychology of the book?
the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings, and thoughts in social situations
what does social psychology investigate?
the ways in which our thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by the social environments in which we find ourselves—by other people or our thoughts about them.
The “Father” of Social Psychology
Gordon W. Allport
What other disciplines is social psychology related to?
Cognitive Psychology, Economics, Individual Psychology, Soziolinguistics/ Language/ Communication, Sociology, Social Anthropology
What are the 5 core characteristics of science?
- Accuracy
- Replicability
- Objectivity
- Skepticism
- Open-mindedness
What is accuracy? (5 core characteristics of science)
A commitment to gathering and evaluating information about the world in an as careful, precise, and error-free manner as possible
(NOT the same as watching people)
-> should be replicable
What is Replicability? (5 core characteristics of science)
The same “findings” will be obtained when someone else performs the experiment/observation
What is Objectivity (5 core characteristics of science)?
A commitment to obtain and evaluate information in a manner that is as free form bias as possible
What is Skepticism (5 core characteristics of science)?
A commitment to accepting findings as accurate only to the extent they have been verified over and over again. (again: important that it is replicable)
What is Open-mindedness (5 core characteristics of science)?
A commitment to change one’s views when evidence suggests that these views are inaccurate
-> revisions in assumptions about human nature
What are examples of changes in assumptions about human nature?
- role of groups in our well-being (how the groups and being separated by them influences us)
- non-conscious processes (not everything we do is a conscious choice)
- the framing of issues can affect attitudes and preferences
What does Bias mean?
Beliefs not founded in known facts (ex. confirmation bias and hindsight bias (- I knew it all along -)
What are examples for unconscious bias?
Tribalism, Stereotypes, Sexism, Prejudice, Discrimination, Racism
Can our own experience be considered a part of social psychology?
No, because it is unreliable and based on unique experiences
What does communication do according to Allport?
serves a purpose
How do social contexts, self-identities and experiences influence each other?
social contexts/experiences forms self-identities forms social behaviour - influences social contexts/experiences and so on. (Hamsterrad)
What does Social Psychology take into account?
Groups, culture, emotion, non-social factors (environment, information framing, biology, appearances)
What do Social psychologists examine?
How..
- groups influence social behaviour
- culture becomes internalized and affects individual preferences
- emotions and moods affect the decision made by the individual
What are nonsocial factors?
features of the environment, how the information we receive is framed
what affects our thought and behaviour?
“who we are”
what shapes social thought and behavior of individuals?
their actions, feelings, beliefs, memories and judgements
can other variables play a role in shaping social thought and behavior?
Yes
can we “ignore” others appearances when we try consciously to do so?
no, we behave differently depending on peoples appearances
which role plays cognitive process in social behavior?
a crucial role. example: you respond based upon your memories of the past
can aspects of the physical environment influence our feelings, thoughts and behavior?
Yes!
what are epigenetic processes?
operation of certain genes is turned on or off
-> environmental factors and social experiences can influence behavior through epigenetic processes
What do evolved psychological mechanisms do?
help (or once helped) us to deal with important problems relating to survival
-> humans possess large number of these mechanisms
which three basic components does the process of evolution involve?
variation, inheritance and selection
What does Variation refer to?
different organisms of the same species can evolve in different ways.
example: many human variations
What is Inheritance?
variations can be passed on to the next generation.
What does Selection refer to?
advantages that make the organism more electable to reproduce with
What does the Evolutionary Psychology Perspective state?
Variation (organisms vary in many ways) -> Inheritance (some of these variations are heritable) -> selection (variations that are adaptive become increasingly common in the population) = crucial outcome of evolution
what is the crucial outcome of evolution?
Over time, an isolated characteristic of an individual can become a characteristic of the species
2 groups of social psychologists
- those interested in social behavior
- those interested in social thought
What is social behavior? Name examples.
how people act in social situations (the way that people interact with one another, e.g.: communication, leadership, altruism, tradition, humor, etc..)
What is social thought?
how people attempt to make sense of the social world and to understand themselves and others (what we think in any social situation and the models we use, e.g.: bribing/gifting, leaving a tip, to ‘dress up’)
what are models we use in social situations?
automatic vs. controlled; neuroscience
what plays a key role in many aspects of social life?
emotions and moods
What do modern theories of Social Psychology (SP) integrate both?
social thought and social behavior
-> there is a complex interplay between them
what do we have to consider in order to understand how and why other people behave the way they do?
their thoughts, memory, intentions, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs.
what increases (affects) our tendency to help others?
positive emotions
Are relationships a fundamental part of life?
yes
what do relationships do in our social life? (good and bad)
- when they are successful they add to our happiness
- when they go wrong they can disrupt any other aspect of our lives and undermine our psychological health and wellbeing
what does SP seek to understand in relationships?
- how critical they are
- how they begin, change and end
- why some strengthen and deepen vs. why others weaken and end
Is it better to view one’s partner realistically or through ‘rose-colored glasses’?
it is good but ONLY if it is restrained by a healthy degree of reality
-> positivity and perceived similarity between partners contribute to happiness but accuracy does too
How can single people be as happy as those who marry?
- they tend do belong to multiple social groups
-> leads to better psychological well-being and living longer
What are new tools at our disposal to measure brain’s activity (i.e)?
- brain activity when doing certain activities
- heart rate or neural activity
- response latency when presented a stimuli or a choice
what are examples of what can be studied with the brain measurement tools?
aggression, altruism, prejudice, schemes, values, etc.
What are mirror neurons?
neurons in our brains that are activated during the observation and execution of actions
-> play key role in empathy!
What is empathy?
the capacity to experience, vicariously, the emotions and feelings of other people
-> does not include judgement and requires active listening (takes on nonverbal cues)
Where are mirror neurons located?
in the frontal operculum
Which aspects of social thought cannot be easily related to activity in specific areas of the brain?
attributions, group identities, reciprocity
how do social psychologists seek to accomplish to answer questions about social behavior and thought?
usually through systematic research
What is systematic observation?
carefully observing behavior as it occurs (NOT people watching)
-> accompanied by careful, accurate measurement of a particular behavior across people
naturalistic observation
observation of people’s behavior in natural settings
survey method
asking large numbers of persons to respond to questions about their attitudes or behavior
what is important for accurate results in survey methods?
sampling and wording are carefully addressed
What is correlation?
refers to a tendency for one event to be associated with changes in the other
what are changeable aspects referred to as?
variables, since they can take different values
The … the correlation between two variables, the more accurate the prediction can be made
stronger
What can correlations range from? What does it mean?
0 to -1.00 or +1.00
-> the greater the departure from 0, the stronger the correlation
-> positive numbers mean that as one variable increases, the other increases too
-> negative numbers mean that as one variable decreases, the other decreases too
What does the correlations method determine?
determination wether, and to what extend, different variables are related to each other
-> careful measurement, statistical test
does the correlation of two variables guarantee for a causally relation?
No.
-> cause-and-effect relationship
what is the experimental method for?
in order to attain the goal of explanation, experimentation is used
2 factors/variables in experimentation
- independent variable
- dependent variable
independent variable
the factor systematically varied by the researcher
What is the dependent variable?
aspect of behavior studied
What is meta-analysis?
a highly useful statistical technique that permits an assessment of how well findings replicate
What are Cognitive theories?
explanations of behaviors in terms of the way people actively interpret and represent their experiences and then plan action
What was one of the earliest social psychology’s cognitive theories?
Lewin’s theory coming from Koffka’s Gestalt psychology of the 1930s
Who was Lewin considered as?
the father of experimental social psychology
What did Lewin advocate for?
a ‘full cycle’ research
-> basic and applied research inform one another
What dominated SP during the ’50s and ’60s?
cognitive theories
what did cognitive theories assume?
cognitions about ourselves, our behavior and the world, produce an uncomfortable state of cognitive arousal that motivates us to resolve the cognitive conflict
What dominated Social Psychology in the ’70s?
attribution theories
What is attribution theories?
focus on how people explain the causes of their own and other people’s behavior, and the consequences of casual explanations
What has been the dominant perspective in SP since the 70’s?
Social cognition
What did Kurt Lewin say about understanding something?
“If you truly want to understand something, try to change it”
B = f (P/E)
Behavior is a function of both the person and the environment (system)
-Lewin 1936
What is the main statement of the Force Field Analysis by Kurt Lewin?
Driving forces have to be higher than restraining forces in order for change to happen
-> always both available
What does the Change management model of Lewin state?
Takes place in 3 stages
!. Unfreeze (preparing the desired change
2. Change (implementing the desired change)
3. Refreeze (Solidifying the desired change)
What is the Unfreezing part (Action Research - Lewin)?
Planning
- Preliminary analysis
- Gathering of data
- Feedback on the results
- Drawing up of action plan
-> overcome resistance and encourage willingness
What is the Changing part (Action Research - Lewin)?
Action
- Executing action plan
- Learning process
- Follow-up actions
-> create new condition if enough willingness
-> create new solutions and attitudes until new balance established
What is the Refreezing part (Action Research - Lewin)?
Results
- Changes in behavior
- Data gathering
- Measurement of results
-> solidify new attitudes, integrate new problem solving strategies, move on to next stage project
why is social behavior complex?
it has multiple causes
Which 2 categories did Lewin establish?
- situational
- individual
By what is a person’s perception of the world influenced?
by what he/she has to do in the situation
- individuals with different needs and tasks come to see same event in dissimilar ways
- social context can produce forces that control individuals actions
What is deception?
to withhold or conceal information about the purposes of a study from participants (because it can influence how they act)
-> not morally accepted
