Social Psychology (Person & situation)

The person

features & characteristics individuals bring into social situations

physical, personality, attitudes/preferences, psychological traits, genetics/physiology, past learning experiences, can be temporary or permanent

the situation

events or circumstances outside the person

can be fleeting events in immediate environment, can be long-lasting

a major principle of social psychology

social behavior is a result of a continual interaction between the person and the situation

B=P*S (behavior = person x situation)

person-situation interactions

interpretations/perceptions of events can depend on personal traits (gender, whether you’re single, etc.)

person factors affect which situations we enter

situations might choose certain types of people (i.e., selection effects)

who is the person who enters a social situation?

motivation and goals (often shaped by needs), knowledge, feelings (attitudes, emotions and moods)

motivation

set of factors that initiate and direct behavior, usually toward some goal (1 energizes behavior and 2 directs it toward a goal)

motivation permits fulfillmet of:

biological needs, psychological needs, personal ambition

competence

people need to gain mastery and control of their own lives & their environment

autonomy

people need to feel in control of their own life, behaviors, and goals

relatedness

people need to experience a sense of belonging and connection with other people

attention

the process of consciously focusing on aspects of our environment or ourselves

attention is a limited resource

forms of knowledge

sensory memories, beliefs, explanations

knowldege consists of exemplars and schemas

exemplars

SPECIFIC examples of an episode, event, or person

exemplar = example (Avengers movies)

schema

mental representation that captures the general characteristics of an episode, even, or person

ex: superhero movies are “exciting and action packed”

how does knowledge influence social situations?

knowledge guides our expectations, knowledge directs our attention, knowledge influences how we interpret situations, knowledge directs how we behave

priming

the process of activating knowledge or goals (making them ready for use)

chronic accessibility

some knowledge is ready all of the time

3 types of feelings

attitudes, emotions, moods

attitudes

positive or negative evaluations

automatic attitudes (implicit)

gut-level, automatic, unconscious

deliberative attitudes (explicit)

require thought, effortful, can consciously access and report

emotions

positive or negative evaluations with

1. a physiological reaction

2. complex thoughts

moods

long-lasting; not directed toward anything particular