Introduction to Social & Organizational Psychology – Key Vocabulary

Opening & Context

• Clip of the protest song “From Little Things, Big Things Grow / Little Things” played to frame themes of colonisation, genocide, sovereignty & truth-telling.

  • Lyrics emphasise: ongoing war since Captain Cook, Australia’s unacknowledged genocide, Vincent Lingiari’s fight, rhetoric “always was & will be Aboriginal land.”

  • Sets tone for later discussion of psychology’s uncomfortable history & the importance of acknowledging Indigenous perspectives.

Acknowledgement of Country

• Lecturer (Dr Hema Preya Selvanathan) formally acknowledges Traditional Owners, their custodianship, ancestors & descendants.

• Re-asserts that sovereignty was never ceded; lecture held on Aboriginal land.

Lecturer Introduction

• Name: Hemopriya (Hema) Selvanathan

  • No family surnames in Tamil culture; “Selvanathan” is her father’s first name.

  • Born & raised in Malaysia; ethnic Tamil diaspora worldwide.

  • Preferred address: “Hema” or “Dr Hema.”

• Role & Affiliations

  • Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology.

  • Research groups: Social Identity & Groups Network (SIGN) + Centre for Research in Social Psychology (CRiSP).

• Contact protocol: email/appointments; best for urgent matters is face-to-face after lectures.

Teaching Team & Administration

• Tutors: Elise, Eva, Jess, Mike – handle tutorial queries, research-report coaching, media-diary feedback.

• School admin staff (Level 3, McElwain building) handle timetable changes, extensions, general admin.

Course Logistics

• Course code: PSYC 02/1940 – Introduction to Social & Organisational Psychology.

• Semester structure

  • Lectures: Fridays 14{:}00{-}16{:}00 (live, recorded automatically).

  • Tutorials: Mon/Tue/Thu (start Week 2; 9 total).

  • Location switched to earlier slot (14{:}00) after lecturer’s negotiation with timetabling.

• Learning platform: Blackboard Ultra

  • Announcements, lecture slides (posted ≥1 day prior), recordings, tutorial slides, assessment submission.

  • First-time Ultra users encouraged to report missing links/errors.

Support/Interaction Channels

• Padlet (single link/QR for semester)

  • Weekly supplementary readings/resources.

  • Q&A board during/after lectures; students may answer peers.

• In-lecture etiquette

  • Arrive on time, minimise distractions, but phones used for QR polls.

  • Mid-lecture 5-min break to decompress & ask questions.

Assessment Overview

• Bullet reference slide provided; details below:

1. Class Activities – 15\%

• 20 activities total (11 lecture + 9 tutorial).

• Short-answer questions on Ultra; password announced in class.

• Each worth 1 point → best 15 count (can drop 5 for any reason).

• Missed session? Alternative online task opens post-lecture, due within 7 days.

2. Media Diary – 10\%

• Purpose: apply weekly theories to real-world media (film, news, TikTok, ads, etc.).

• 10 entries (Weeks 2-11 topics).

• Template provided; progressive completion encouraged for tutorial feedback.

• Final upload via Turnitin at semester end.

3. Research Report – 35\%

• Word limit: 2{,}000 (concise scientific style).

• Cohort designs & collects data on an assigned topic (revealed Week 2 tutorials).

• Individual write-up; continuous tutorial support.

• Due Week 10 (Turnitin).

4. Final Exam – 40\%

• 80 MCQs \times 0.5 mark = 40 marks.

• Covers Weeks 1-12 lecture content only.

• Duration 120\,\text{min}; centrally timetabled (date TBA).

• Week 13 revision + practice exam.

Weekly Schedule Snapshot

• Week 1: Course intro & methods (current lecture)

• Week 2-12: Core topics (see later “Content Roadmap”).

• Weeks 6 & 10: No tutorials (therefore no tutorial activity).

Student Expectations

• \approx10 hours/week commitment (lecture, tutorial, readings, assessment work).

• Attend/stream lectures, participate in tutorials, complete tasks on time.

• Communicate early if struggling; aim to have fun exploring social psychology.

Core Content – Introduction to Social Psychology

Definition & Scope

• Scientific study of cognitions (thoughts), affect (feelings), behaviours within social context.

• Gordon Allport’s classic definition: thoughts, feelings & behaviours influenced by the real, imagined or implied presence of others.

• Example origin research: Norman Triplett (1898) – cyclists & social facilitation.

Upcoming Topic Roadmap

1. The Self – self-concepts, self-biases.

2. Social Cognition – impression formation, heuristics.
   3-4. Attitudes & Attitude Change – formation, persuasion models.

3. Social Influence – conformity, compliance.

4. Groups & Belonging – social identity, group benefits.
   7-8. Prejudice & Reduction – origins, interventions.

5. Pro- & Antisocial Behaviour – helping vs harming.

6. Wrongdoing & Forgiveness – perpetrator vs victim perspectives.

7. Love & Attraction – mate choice, relationship dynamics.

8. Organisational Links threaded through each week (workplace applications).

Social Psych vs “Common Sense”

• Hindsight bias → findings feel obvious after learning them.

• Common-sense pitfalls:

  • Too simple (e.g.

  • Pet lovers still eat meat → cognitive dissonance).

  • Contradictory sayings ("birds of a feather" vs "opposites attract").

  • Often incorrect (bystander effect: more onlookers ↓ helping).

  • Not universal; varies by culture/ideology.

• Scientific method provides systematic, testable, replicable knowledge.

Research Methodologies in Social Psychology

1. Experiments

• Manipulate independent variable (IV) → observe effect on dependent variable (DV).

• Random assignment essential for causal inference.

• Pros: strong internal validity; causal claims.

• Cons: ethics/feasibility limits; artificiality.

• Example: Shared Pain & Bonding (Bastian et al.)

  • IV: pain (ice-bucket + wall-sit) vs no-pain (lukewarm water + foot-switch).

  • DV: perceived closeness to fellow participants.

  • Result: Pain condition increased bonding.

2. Quasi-Experiments

• Naturally occurring groups (no random assignment) compared on DV.

• Causal inference limited (possible third-variable).

• Example: Autism & Face Recognition (face-in-food task)

  • Groups: ASD children vs typically developing.

  • DV: number of images before child reports “seeing a face.”

  • Finding: ASD group needed more facial‐like cues → slower recognition.

3. Correlational Designs

• Measure two continuous variables; compute correlation r.

  • Direction: r>0 positive; r<0 negative.

  • Magnitude: |r| indicates strength.

• Cannot establish causality (directionality & third-variable issues).

• Example: Intelligence \leftrightarrow Prejudice (Hodson/Busseri)

  • Hypothesis: Higher IQ \rightarrow lower prejudice.

  • Found significant negative correlation, but alternative explanations (e.g.
    multicultural exposure) possible.

• Research-report project this semester uses correlational method.

4. Qualitative Research

• Collect non-numerical data (interviews, focus groups, observation) → thematic analysis, theory building.

• Rich, contextualised insights; less generalisable; replication challenges.

• Example: Leadership in Malaysia’s Bersih Movement (Selvanathan & colleagues)

  • Interviewed movement leaders; identified themes of inclusive identity crafting → mobilisation across ethnic divides.

Philosophical Foundations & Critiques

Positivist / Empiricist Paradigm

• Assumptions: objective reality, detached neutral observer, value-free science.

• Dominant in psychology → preference for quantitative methods.

Historical Bias & Ethics

• Early statisticians/psychologists (e.g.
  Sir Francis Galton) advanced both key methods (correlation/regression) and eugenics ideology.

• IQ testing used to justify racial hierarchy, segregation & forced sterilisation.

• Example: Psychologist Henry Garrett testified for segregation (US 1950s).

• Black scholars (e.g.
  Horace Bonds 1927) exposed experimenter-race bias in testing.

WEIRD Problem

• \approx80\% of published participants are Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic.

• US samples dominate ≥60\% of Psych Science papers (2014-2018).

• Non-WEIRD or minority US samples usually flagged in titles ("special"), whereas white American samples rarely specified ⇒ implicit default norm.

• Consequences: Limited generalisability; potentially flawed universal claims.

Current & Future Directions

• Field growing more diverse (researchers & samples) yet change is slow.

• Journals beginning to prioritise inclusion, contextualised claims, multi-perspective frameworks.

• Students encouraged to critically evaluate sample, methodology & cultural positioning of any study.

Practical Take-Aways for This Course

• Only lecture content is examinable; tutorials aid assessment skills.

• Engage with Padlet Q&A & supplementary resources.

• Begin Media Diary early; seek tutor feedback.

• Research-report success hinges on understanding correlation logic & APA writing style.

• Reflect on positionality & ethics when interpreting research findings.

Closing & Next Steps

• Week 2 lecture: The Self (self-concepts, self-esteem, self-biases).

• Tutorials commence → receive project topic + media-diary guidance.

• Review today’s slides/recording; post any lingering questions on Padlet.

“From little things, big things grow” – theme reiterated: small actions (attendance, critical thinking) accumulate into deep understanding & societal impact.