week 2 slides Flashcards
what is social psychology?
- social psychology bridges the interests of psycholgoy (emphasis on the individual) and sociology (emphasis on social structure)
- “the systematic study of the nature and causes of human social behaviour”
- interested in what people do and why they do it
core concerns of soc psych
- the impact one individual has on another
- the impact that a group has on its individual members
- the impact that individual members have on the groups they belong to
- the impact that one group has on another group
- the impact of social context and social structure on groups and individuals
the impact one individual has on another
- people make a great impact on each other
- direct and explicit
- indirect and implicit
the impact that a group has on its individual members
- establishment of rules and norms
- norms are the informal rules that govern our behaviour
the impact that individual members have on the groups they belong to
-impact goes both ways (dynamic leaders can impact group)
the impact that one group has on another group
- groups impact groups
- area of research is intergroup conflict
the impact of social context and social structure on groups/individuals
-determines what is socially acceptable
5 theoretical perspectives
- symbolic interactionism
- group processes
- social structure and personality
- cognitive perspectives
- evolutionary theory
- symbolic interactionism
- developed by charles horton cooley and george herbert mead
- name coined by herbert blumer
- SI theorists understand the world as the product of the everyday interactions of people
Blumer’s SI Premises
- people act towards things based on the meaning those things have for them
- these meanings are derived through social interaction and are NOT inherent
- meanings can be modified and changed through social interaction
situated identity
- SI concept
- how we see ourselves in relation to others in a given social situation
- ex. I am a student she is a prof
role-taking
- SI concept
- when we imagine ourselves in the role of the person we are interacting with
- ex. you forgot to hand in an assignment and predict how the prof will react to get the best outcome
looking glass self
- SI concept
- how we percieve how others percieve us
- three elements:
- imagine how we appear to others
- imagine the other person’s reaction to our appearance
- respond with some sort of feeling (shame, pride, guilt, happiness)
- group processes
- the “group” as a social psychological entity
- what is a group?
- 2 or more people
- become an “us”
- dependence on one another
- rules, norms, roles, power structures
group process concepts (2)
- social exchange
- cost benefit ideology
- subjective - status
- the position that one holds in a society or group
- situationally dependent
- social structure and personality
what are social structures?
- relationships between groups of individuals
- ex. social class, religion, family, school, mass media…
4.cognitive perspectives
- emphasis placed on mental activities as determinants of social behaviour (problem solving, perception, judgement, memory)
- cognitive processes are an intervening factor between external stimuli and behavioural responses
cognitions
- cognitive perspectives concept
- mental processes of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses
cognitive structure
- cognitive perspectives concept
- cognitions as interrelated
- emphasis on how they are structured and the affect on behaviour and judgement
schemas
- cognitive perspectives concept
- a blueprint of people and things
- ex. gender roles
social identity theory
- cognitive perspectives concept
- tajfel and turner
- social structures guide our cognition
- must identify with the group
- ex. being a part of a hockey team
- evolutionary theory
- darwins theory of evolution
- social behaviour is linked to our genes
