Lesson 1 & 2

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, intentions, and goals are constructed within a social context by actual or imagined interactions with others.

Scientific Inquiry

True in social psychology

The systematic process of studying how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others

Scientific inquiry

Applies scientific methods of systematic observation, description, and measurement

George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Introduced the concept that society has inevitable links with the development of the social mind. This led to the idea of a group mind, which is important in the study of social psychology

Lazarus & Steinthal

Wrote about Anglo-European influences in 1860. “Vollkerpsychologie” emerged, which focused on the idea of a collective mind

Wilhelm Wundt

Emphasized the idea that personality develops as a result of cultural and social influences, particularly through language, which serves as both a social output of the community and a tool for fostering certain social thought in the individual. He promoted the methodological study of language and its impact on social beings as a result

1880s - 1920s

The birth and infancy of social psychology

1908 and 1924

Began to shape the emerging field of social psychology. First Social Psychology Textbook

1930s - 1950s

World War A call for Action

Muzafer Sherif

His work laid foundation on far later studies of social influence

He demonstrated how group dynamics shape individual beliefs and how conflict and cooperation work in real-world social settings

Kurt Lewin

Father of modern social psychology

He pioneered experimental methods in social psychology and highlited the importance of environment and leadership in shaping behavior

1940 - 1950

Saw a burst of activity in social psychology, establishing its stance as major social science

Gordon Allport

First president of APA

Formed society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

1960s - Mid 1970s - Confidence and Crisis

Social Revolution

Stanley Milgram

His experiment demonstrated individual’s vulnerability to the destructive commands of authority

Interactionists perspective

Emphasizes that behavior is shaped by both personal traits and the social environment

End of Pluralism

During the 1970s, social psychologists started using diverse research methods and emphasizing human behavior within international and multicultural context

Sociocultural, Evolutionary, Behavioral, Phenomenological psychological, and Social Cognitive Perspective

Different Theoretical Foundations of Social Psychology

Sociocultural Perspective

Influence of society to the individual

Norms

Could start in an individuals and it influence by behavioral patterns

Culture

Collective norms cu

Culture Shock

Vulnerability to encounter

Implicit Personality Theory

Great norms and culture affect or establish our personality

Evolutionary perspective

Need to belong

Natural Selection

The ones who will survive are the ones who are able to adapt

The process where organisms with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce

Behavioral perspective

Focuses on observable behaviors and how they are influenced by the environment

Classical Conditioning

Theorize by Ivan Pavlov

Behavior could be learned through repetitive exposure

Operant Conditioning

Theorized by BF Skinner

Reinforcement

Certain behavior bring good outcome

Social Learning Theory

We imitate behavior from observing our environment

Phenomenological Perspective

Own experience, own meaning of experience

Social Constructivism

We construct our own social image based on our own experience

Person centered theory

Proposed by Carl Rogers

We create our own meaning of our own experiences

Self-actualization

Our capacity to reach our fullest potential

Social Cognitive Perspective

As social beings, we tend to absorb what other people tell us to do

We also have a tendency to go with the flow, yet have a mind of our own

Descriptive and Experimental

Types of research methods

Descriptive

A research methods aims to describe behavior without manipulating variables

Experimental

These involve manipulating variables to observe effects on behavior