SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

What is Social psychology?

The study of social behaviors among individuals + groups

(Like how people think about, influence, and relate to eo)

What is Sociology?

The study of broad groups in society + the resulting changes + consequences to society over time

What 3 categories can Social psychology be split into?

The scientific study of:

• Social thinking

• Social imfluence

• Social relations

What 4 things does Social thinking consist of?

• How we perceive ourselves + others

• What we believe

• Judgements we make

• Our attitudes

What 4 things does Social influence consist of?

• Culture + Biology

• Pressure to conform

• Persuasion

• Groups of people

What 4 things does Social relations consist of?

• Helping

• Agression

• Attraction + intimacy

• Prejudice

What are the 3 Big ideas of Social thinking?

• We construct our social relaity

• Our social intuitions are powerful, sometimes perilous

• Attitudes shape, and are shaped by behavior

What are the 2 Big ideas of Social influences?

• Social influences shape behavior

• Dispositions shape behavior

What are the 2 Big ideas of Social relations?

• Social behavior is also biological behavior

• Feelings

• Feelings + actions toward people are sometimes negative + sometime not

What are 3 examples of where Social psych is applicable?

• Individualistic vs Collectivist societies

• Patriarchal vs Matriarchal society systems

• Judicial, governing, academic, institutional systems

Who is a Notable figure in social psychology in the 19th century?

• and what did he create?

Norman Triplett

• The Competition machine

What is Social facilitation?

• and who was it coined by?

The theory that in the presence of others, individuals preform better on tasks than if they were alone

• Floyd Henry Allport

What did Floyd Henry Allport (20th century) write?

• and what’s he considered?

the 1924 textbook social psych

• the father of social psych

What did Kurt Lewin (post WW2) do?

Him + his students studies (1947) group dynamics and said that → The whole of a group are greater than the individuals that make up the group

What may Social psychology research + theory have implications for?

Other branches of psych, because they all have intersect with each other

In which 3 places does Social psychology research begin to emerge in the 20th century?

• Germany

• Italy

• France

What are the 3 reasons Humans like to construct their own reality?

• We like to have order in our world

• We like predictable events

• We like to attribute behavior to some cause

According to research, what is based primarily on culture?

Differences like proffered body size in mates, definition of social justice, and wether you’re expressive or reserved

When did Social psych texts begin to appear?

Year 1900

What do people construct their behavior to be?

Predictable

In the 1970s, what did the Feminist movement influence social psychologists to study?

Gender + sexism

What do the principles of Social thinking, influences, and relations affect?

• and what do they have implications for?

Judicial procedures + Juror decisions

• Human health + well being

What do the principles of Social thinking, influences, and relations Influence?

Behaviors that’ll enable an environmentally sustainable human future

What are 3 Social conditions that led to studies within social psychology?

• 1940s → Fascism in Europe

• 1950s → look-alike fashions + intolerance to differing views

• 1960s → riots + rising crime rates

What 3 things Constitute culture?

• Ideas

• Attitudes

• Traditions

What are 2 Criticisms of Social psych?

• Dangerous, cuz it can be used to manipulate ppl

• Trivial, cuz it documents the obvious

What is Culture transmission?

Ideas, behaviors and traditions shared by ppl passed from one gen to the next

What do Correlational designs provide?

• and what cant Correlational research do?

Limited information about casual connections between events

• Establish cause + effect

What does Correlational research look at?

Natural associations

What do Experimental designs enable?

Researchers to examine causal connections but are limited

What does Experimental research look at?

Causal relations

What is a Theory?

An integrated set of principles/a scientfic shorthand that’s used to make predictions + explain events

What do the effects found in the Laboratory mirror?

The effects in the field

What 3 theories did Leon Festinger (post-ww2) create?

• Proximity effect,

• Social comparison,

• cognitive dissonance

What is the Proximity Effect?

People are more likely to develop friendships + relationships with people who are physically close to them.

What is Informal social communication?

The casual + spontaneous exchange of information + opinions between people in everyday social interactions.

What is Social Comparison Theory?

The idea that people evaluate their own abilities, opinions, and behaviors by comparing themselves to others.

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

The psychological discomfort that occurs when a person has conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.

What is the 1980s Replication Crisis?

A concern that many scientific findings cannot be reliably reproduced when researchers repeat the original studies, and that nothing is being empirically replicated

What is the Publisher phenomenon/ the Publish or perish?

• and why is it?

It’s how publishers want new studies + new findings

• because its very hard to perfectly replicate research across decades + different populations than on paper

What are 2 examples of Fraud in Social psych?

• Dietrich Staple (Social psychologist who fabricated numbers and got reported by his students)

• Louisa Masria (Director of division of neuroscience who manipulated images the FDA used)

To try and solve the fraud problem of 1980, what 5 things did psychologists do?

• Increase the reporting standards

• Reduce procedural bias in/from older works

• Increase the use of stricter adherence to P<.05 (Which is statistically significant)

• Reduce bias to observe accurate statistical effects across studies

• Use meta-analysis to compare statistical effects between research investigations

What is Risk of bias (ROB)?

The amount of bias in a study’s procedure and/or data analysis that could skew/make the findings

Does Risk of bias always mean research fraud?

No, Risk of bias can occur even when researchers are acting honestly + ethically.

What are the 2 reasons Research can have bias even without fraud?

Because:

• Research rarely goes perfectly

• Researchers can’t account for every single variable/deviation

Why can Participants' choices create empirical questions?

Because they have the ethical right to voluntarily participate in any aspect of a study which can affect the study's results.

When are the 3 times Risk of bias = Fraud?

• If Data analysis is ineffectively reported ( e.g., group averages aren’t reported, but the authors report a significant difference)

• Data is removed from analysis without empirical rationale

• Procedure is largely inconsistent between participants or groups

What does the WEIRD dilemma stand for?

• And what percentage of the global population is considered part of ‘W.E.I.R.D’?

• W – Western

• E – Educated

• I – Industrialized

• R – Rich

• D – Democratic

12%

What is the WEIRD dilemma?

How so much psychological research relies on participants from W.E.I.R.D populations, which doesn’t represent the global population.

What are the 5 R’s of Indigenous partnerships in Canadian research?

• Reciprocity (mutual benefit + exchange)

• Respect

• Relevance (relevant to the Indg community)

• Responsibility (to conduct research ethically + protect participants)

• Relationships (research should be built on trust, communication, collaboration)

What is Social psychology recognized as in the 21st century?

A pillar of understanding human behavior

What concepts are still referenced today in applied work?

Key concepts from seminal research (50s,60s,70s)

Why does Social behavior continue to evolve?

Because humans adapt their social behavior to changing environmental + societal demands → (eg, changing political climates, COVID-19 pandemic, social media)

What is Social media?

Technologies that facilitate the creation + sharing + aggregation of content through virtual communities + networks

How are Social identities captured in social media?

• and how is communication facilitated?

By profiles

• Thru text posts, comments, digital photos, videos, and/or other data that generates online interaction (e.g., polls, reactions, stickers)

What are the 5 ways that Social media differs from Old media?

It has greater:

• Reach

• Frequency

• Usability (easier to use)

• Relevancy (to society)

• Permanence (can be accessed anywhere0

What are the 7 parts of a Reference/Citation?

1) Authors

2) Year of publication

3) Title

4) Journal volume

5) Issue

6) Chapter

7)  Pages

What are the 6 things Research papers consist of?

• Abstract

• Introduction/Background

• Aims/Hypothesis

• Methodology

• Results

• Discussion

What is an Abstract in a research paper?

• and what does it usually NOT contain?

A 250-word, at-a-glance summary of the entire study, that can include key words

• All of the fine-grain details of a full study

What Findings does an Abstract typically report?

• and how can it be organized?

The most notable findings for the primary outcome.

• it can be split into sections or can be a general summary

What is the main purpose of the Introduction/Background section in a research paper?

• and what does 2 things does it typically contain?

It “sets the scene” for the research,

• A history of the problem/question + Points of controversy/debate among the literature