knowt logo

Social Psychology: Introduction to the Science of Social Psychology

Social Psychology

  • The branch of psychological science mainly concerned with understanding how the presence of others affects our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

  • All about investigating the ways groups function, the costs and benefits of social status, the influences of culture, and all the psychological processes involving 2 or more people

  • Scientific study of how people think, feel, and behave, in a social context

  • Study of the person in the situation

3 Key Components

  • Scientific

    • Uses scientific methods to study social situations

      • Involve: systematic observation, measurement, description

  • Focuses on people’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors

    • Focuses on huge variety of topics

      • Affective: feelings, emotions

      • Behavioral: behaviors

      • Cognitive: thoughts, beliefs, attitudes

    • The individual person is the “unit of analysis” even when studying groups

  • “Limited” to social situations

    • But all situations have social components even when people are alone

    • Relevant when people’s thought, feelings or behaviors:

      • Focuses on other people

      • Are influenced by other people

    • Others don’t need to be present to affect our thoughts, feelings, behaviors

Sociology vs Social Psychology

  • Different fields of study

    • Psychologists study individuals

    • Social psychologists conduct lots of laboratory experiments

    • Sociologists tend to study societal groups or classes and they are much less likely to use experimental methods

    • Interests overlap: prejudice, violence, marriage, obedience

      • Sociology: culture of military obedience

      • Social Psychology: situational factors that influence obedience (can manipulate situations)

Clinical Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Clinical psychologists focus on treating people with thought and behavioral disorders

  • Social psychologists don’t conduct therapy

    • They study the ordinary ways that people think, feel, behave, and influence each other

Personality Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Personality psychologists study how different between people (traits) affect their behavior

  • Social psychologists study how situational factors affect behavior

    • Power of the situation

  • They complement each other particularly well

Interactionist Perspective

B = f(P x E)

wherein,

B = behavior

P = person/personality

E = environment

Cognitive Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Cognitive psychologists study how people think, learn, remember, and reason

  • Social psychologists study how these mental processes, as well, but in social situations

    • Social Cognition: how people reason in making a decision but has clear social factors involved

Social Psychology and Common Sense

  • Common sense may lead us astray

  • People are notorious for feeling as if they knew-it-all along, regardless of the final outcome [HINDSIGHT BIAS]

What is included in Social Psychology?

  • Most social psychology research topics fall into one or more of each of these areas:

    • Attraction

      • Can begin with first impressions, then extend to courtship and commitment

      • Involves the concepts of beauty, sex, and evolution

      • Might study stalker behavior

      • Might research divorce or remarriage

      • Might study changing standards of beauty across decades

      • Attractiveness is an evolutionary and biological process

      • Certain features are signals of health and reproductive fitness

        • Something especially important when scoping out strangers

      • People tend to be attracted not just to muscles and symmetrical faces but also to kindness and generosity

    • Attitudes

      • Opinions, feelings, and beliefs about a person, concept, or group

      • Stereotyping

        • A way of using information shortcuts about a group to effectively navigate social situations or make decisions

        • Information may or may not be correct

        • May be positive or negative

        • All people use stereotypes, because they are efficient and inescapable ways to deal with huge amounts of social information

        • Stereotypes do not apply to every member of the group

        • Can seem unfair to judge an individual based on perceived group norms

      • Prejudice

        • Refers to how a person feels about an individual based on their group membership

        • Can be positive or negative

      • Discrimination

        • Occurs when a person is biased against an individual, simply because of the individual’s membership in a social category

        • Would come when you act on the stereotype

      • Possible for people to change their attitudes and took more favorably on people they might otherwise avoid or be prejudiced against

    • Peace and Conflict

      • Research conflicts ranging from the small – such as a spat between lovers – to the large – such as wars between nations

      • Interested in the mental processes associated with conflict and reconciliation

      • Want to understand how emotions, thoughts, and sense of identity play into conflicts, as well as making up afterward

      • Culture of Honor

        • A cultural background that emphasizes personal or family reputation and social status

      • Social Influence

        • Heart and soul of social psychology

        • Conformity: benign persuaded to give up our own opinions and go along with the group

        • Obedience: following orders or requests from people in authority

        • Persuasion

          • Among the most researched topics

          • The act of delivering a particular message so that it influences a person’s behavior in a desired way

        • Reciprocity: giving a small gift puts people in the frame of mind to give a little something back

    • Social Cognition

      • The term for the way we think about the social world and how we perceive others

      • We are continually telling a story in our own minds about the people around us

      • Social Attribution: when we make educated guesses about the efforts or motives of others

        • “Attributing” their behavior to a particular cause

      • Fundamental Attribution Error

        • The consistent way we attribute people’s actions to personality traits while overlooking situational influences

        • Can include groups we belong to versus opposing groups

        • This mental process allows a person to maintain his or her own high self-esteem while dismissing the bad behavior of others

Social Psychology: Introduction to the Science of Social Psychology

Social Psychology

  • The branch of psychological science mainly concerned with understanding how the presence of others affects our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

  • All about investigating the ways groups function, the costs and benefits of social status, the influences of culture, and all the psychological processes involving 2 or more people

  • Scientific study of how people think, feel, and behave, in a social context

  • Study of the person in the situation

3 Key Components

  • Scientific

    • Uses scientific methods to study social situations

      • Involve: systematic observation, measurement, description

  • Focuses on people’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors

    • Focuses on huge variety of topics

      • Affective: feelings, emotions

      • Behavioral: behaviors

      • Cognitive: thoughts, beliefs, attitudes

    • The individual person is the “unit of analysis” even when studying groups

  • “Limited” to social situations

    • But all situations have social components even when people are alone

    • Relevant when people’s thought, feelings or behaviors:

      • Focuses on other people

      • Are influenced by other people

    • Others don’t need to be present to affect our thoughts, feelings, behaviors

Sociology vs Social Psychology

  • Different fields of study

    • Psychologists study individuals

    • Social psychologists conduct lots of laboratory experiments

    • Sociologists tend to study societal groups or classes and they are much less likely to use experimental methods

    • Interests overlap: prejudice, violence, marriage, obedience

      • Sociology: culture of military obedience

      • Social Psychology: situational factors that influence obedience (can manipulate situations)

Clinical Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Clinical psychologists focus on treating people with thought and behavioral disorders

  • Social psychologists don’t conduct therapy

    • They study the ordinary ways that people think, feel, behave, and influence each other

Personality Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Personality psychologists study how different between people (traits) affect their behavior

  • Social psychologists study how situational factors affect behavior

    • Power of the situation

  • They complement each other particularly well

Interactionist Perspective

B = f(P x E)

wherein,

B = behavior

P = person/personality

E = environment

Cognitive Psychology vs Social Psychology

  • Cognitive psychologists study how people think, learn, remember, and reason

  • Social psychologists study how these mental processes, as well, but in social situations

    • Social Cognition: how people reason in making a decision but has clear social factors involved

Social Psychology and Common Sense

  • Common sense may lead us astray

  • People are notorious for feeling as if they knew-it-all along, regardless of the final outcome [HINDSIGHT BIAS]

What is included in Social Psychology?

  • Most social psychology research topics fall into one or more of each of these areas:

    • Attraction

      • Can begin with first impressions, then extend to courtship and commitment

      • Involves the concepts of beauty, sex, and evolution

      • Might study stalker behavior

      • Might research divorce or remarriage

      • Might study changing standards of beauty across decades

      • Attractiveness is an evolutionary and biological process

      • Certain features are signals of health and reproductive fitness

        • Something especially important when scoping out strangers

      • People tend to be attracted not just to muscles and symmetrical faces but also to kindness and generosity

    • Attitudes

      • Opinions, feelings, and beliefs about a person, concept, or group

      • Stereotyping

        • A way of using information shortcuts about a group to effectively navigate social situations or make decisions

        • Information may or may not be correct

        • May be positive or negative

        • All people use stereotypes, because they are efficient and inescapable ways to deal with huge amounts of social information

        • Stereotypes do not apply to every member of the group

        • Can seem unfair to judge an individual based on perceived group norms

      • Prejudice

        • Refers to how a person feels about an individual based on their group membership

        • Can be positive or negative

      • Discrimination

        • Occurs when a person is biased against an individual, simply because of the individual’s membership in a social category

        • Would come when you act on the stereotype

      • Possible for people to change their attitudes and took more favorably on people they might otherwise avoid or be prejudiced against

    • Peace and Conflict

      • Research conflicts ranging from the small – such as a spat between lovers – to the large – such as wars between nations

      • Interested in the mental processes associated with conflict and reconciliation

      • Want to understand how emotions, thoughts, and sense of identity play into conflicts, as well as making up afterward

      • Culture of Honor

        • A cultural background that emphasizes personal or family reputation and social status

      • Social Influence

        • Heart and soul of social psychology

        • Conformity: benign persuaded to give up our own opinions and go along with the group

        • Obedience: following orders or requests from people in authority

        • Persuasion

          • Among the most researched topics

          • The act of delivering a particular message so that it influences a person’s behavior in a desired way

        • Reciprocity: giving a small gift puts people in the frame of mind to give a little something back

    • Social Cognition

      • The term for the way we think about the social world and how we perceive others

      • We are continually telling a story in our own minds about the people around us

      • Social Attribution: when we make educated guesses about the efforts or motives of others

        • “Attributing” their behavior to a particular cause

      • Fundamental Attribution Error

        • The consistent way we attribute people’s actions to personality traits while overlooking situational influences

        • Can include groups we belong to versus opposing groups

        • This mental process allows a person to maintain his or her own high self-esteem while dismissing the bad behavior of others

robot