Social Psychology - Lectures 1-6, Sections 1-3

Autumn 2026

Social psychology

scientific attempt to explain how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of other humans

Observable v non observable - social psych definition

observable: behavior

non-observable: thoughts and feelings

measuring and studying behaviors that drive thoughts and feelings

social context - social psych definition

actual, imagined, or implied presence or absence of humans

individuals - social psych definition

intrinsic actions of the fundamental study of individual attitudes/beliefs and social world

social influence

persuasion, conformity, obedience

self-concept

knowing about yourself and that you exist as an individual - including past and future self (multidimensional as it considers interactions)

self-complexity

different and independent ways of thinking about themselves

self-concept clarity

beliefs about yourself is clearly defined

self-awareness

currently fixing attention to own self-concept

self-consciousness (private and public)

accessible self-concept because concern of being judged or observed

private: introspect about inner thoughts and feelings where behaviors are inner beliefs and values and success is personal accomplishments (Western)

public: tends to focus on outer public image and be aware of the extent to meet the standards set by others which lets opinion software others guide behaviors (East Asian)

self-awareness theory

focus our attention on ourselves as we tend to compare our current behavior against internal standards which causes discomfort if mismatch

self-discrepancy theory

we perceive a discrepancy between actual and ideal selves causing distress

self-schemas

cognitive aspects that organize about a person

more likely to act consistently to self-schemas, related information is processed more quickly and easily remembered, fluid (activated differently for different social contexts)

self-reference effect

relating to self-concept to help remember things (physical traits, personality, social identity)

deindividuation

loss of individual self-awareness and accountability in groups due to anonymity, suggestibility, or contagion where reduced self-observation leads to anti-normative or disinhibited behaviors

introspection (TST)

I am…

material/physical characteristics/possessions, spiritual/inner self, social identity

self-enhancement

majority think they are above average compared to others (especially if they are low scorers)

dysfunctional for decisions but good for self-esteem and to reduce negative emotions to achieve higher status

forced compliance study

thinking and defending an argument that they didn't support prior but became more in favor as they had to defend it

cognitive dissonance theory

tendency towards cognitive consistency, holding apparently incompatible or logically inconsistent thoughts produces cognitive dissonance and discomfort, rejected by reasoning with change of strength of belief or changing belief subconsciously to feel more comfortable

implication: conventional wisdom - change attitude to change behavior

social psychology study requirements

research question: specific and measurable

operationalization: how to put it into effect to be measured or tested

research design: correlational, experimental, observational

correlational research design

statistical analyses of relationships between variables by identifying relationships and how well one predicts the other

experimental research design

manipulation and control of variables to identify cause and effect (explanation)

observational research design

observing in natural settings without manipulation to study statistical association and patterns

dispositional attribution

how people explain the cause to their behavior as internal characteristics like ability, personality, mood, or effort

situational attribution

how people explain the cause to their behavior as external factors like environmental, other individuals, or situation

The intuitive scientist: Kelley's covariation model

making attributions based on how behaviors vary

consensus: do others also do this

distinctiveness: does not behave similarly across different situations

consistency: does the person always do this in this type of situation

The cognitive miser

rational and logical thinking requires effort and with limited attention and time, we look for any opportunity to avoid engaging in effortful thoughts

Fundamental Attribution Error

ted to overestimate dispositional attributions and underestimate situational attributions (tend to explain by their behaviors rather than the situation)

Actor-Observer Bias

tendency to see other's actions as dispositional but our own actions as situational

e.g. take credit for own success but blame the situation for failures

motivated tacticians

fundamental attribution error and actor-observer bias: self-serving attributions

stereotypes

generalization of beliefs that associate a group with certain traits (positive and negative)

stereotype attribution consequences

explanations based on group membership because of certain beliefs and explanations are to be consistent (behaviors are interpreted in the lens of the group)

stereotype evaluation/prejudice consequences

negative opinions because of the group

stereotype behavior and discrimination consequences

any action that results from beliefs about the group and can be changed if culture is presented

stereotype threat

knowing it exists can be burden to NOT confirm it because of the fear of performance that might confirm the negative stereotype (countering stereotype may feel like an evaluation)

explicit bias stereotype

speech or behaviors demonstrating conscious acknowledgment of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination

implicit bias stereotype

using the implicit association test to see which ideas get associated repeatedly to measure implicit bias, stereotype threat, social disability, social desirability, and cognitive control

implicit association test

objects or ideas become associated repeatedly to measure implicit bias, stereotype threat, social disability, social desirability, and cognitive control

prejudice

negative attitudes towards others because of their group membersip

discrimination

negative behaviors towards other because their membership

downstream behavioral influence

how intervention shifts actions or secondary behaviors later in the process

misattribution (of arousal)

cognitive error where a person mistakenly identifies the source of their physical senses, emotions, or behaviors

arousal: sped up heart

motivational bias

unconscious mental tendency where desires, needs, or personal goals warp their thinking, judgment, and evaluation of evidence

Mere Presence Effect - social facilitation

presence of others accentuates the dominant response (presence creates arousal and becomes more focused and thus performs better)

social facilitation: other people present causes one to to perform a task better

explanations for why heightened arousal is caused by the presence of others

evaluated apprehension: concern how they appear increases arousal

monitoring: others are unpredictable and increased vigilance increases arousal

distraction conflict: conflict between attending to others and completing the task is attentional conflict that causes arousal

social loafing

tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than individually due to diffusion of responsibility

can be decreased by smaller group size, small parts, peer evals, manager, mutual benefit of outcome

wisdom of crowds

predictable if aggregated together due to social influence so having no communication and independent opinions to later discuss

groupthink

decision-making bias to maintain group cohesiveness and solidarity being more important than considering facts

social identity theory

self-concept of being a member of a social group and the values/emotional significance attached to that membership

"cognitive" component: tendency to categorize contrast by exaggerating similarities within and differences between groups, requiring IV/DV

"motivation" component: identification within the in-group as "self" and out-group as "others", self-enhancement biases

minimal group experiments

minimal basis for creating in-group favoritism to show bias in resource allocation, trait judgments, trust, and cooperation

group identification consequences for social identity

in-group favoritism (increased liking) and intergroup conflict/out-group animosity (exaggerated differences and inferiority) that can be overcome by superordinate or mutual goal