Social Psychology: Core Concepts and Emerging Trends - Key Vocabulary

The Social Psychology of Happiness

• Hedonic Happiness: Short-term pleasures (e.g., indulging in treats, engaging in sexual activity, shopping).
• Eudaimonic Happiness: Deeper life satisfaction linked to meaning and fulfillment.
• Positive Psychology: Investigates optimal human functioning and the good aspects of human nature.

The Nature of Happiness

• Subjective Well-Being (SWB): Comprises two elements:
  • Fluctuating short-term feelings (positive and negative).
  • Long-term life satisfaction.
• Subjective Nature: Both components depend on personal perceptions.

Predicting Happiness

• Affective Forecasting: Estimating future emotional responses to events.
• Durability Bias: Overestimating the duration of emotional reactions.
• Focalism: Overemphasis on the focal event while neglecting surrounding influences.
• Immune Neglect: Ignoring the ability to recover from setbacks.

Contextual Factors in Happiness

• Social Relationships: The need to belong enhances happiness. Quality of relationships (e.g., marriage) is more significant than the mere existence of relationships.
• Children: Having children may decrease relationship satisfaction.
• Wealth: Enhances happiness primarily for those with unmet basic needs; limited correlation at higher income levels due to adaptation.
  • Adaptation-Level Theory: Humans adapt to new circumstances, returning to previous happiness levels.
• Cultural Influences: Wealth correlations are stronger at the national level compared to personal wealth. Individualism vs. collectivism affects happiness levels, with individualistic societies generally reporting higher happiness.

Person Factors in Happiness

• Genetic Basis: Happiness levels tend to be stable, suggesting heritable traits.
• Personality Traits: Extraversion correlates positively with happiness; neuroticism correlates with unhappiness.

Benefits of Happiness

• Work Success: Happier individuals generally achieve more professional success.
• Social Perception: Happy individuals are often viewed as friendlier and warmer.
• Health Correlation: Happiness is associated with better mental and physical health.

Improving Happiness

• Sustainable Happiness Model: Small behavior and outlook adjustments can enhance happiness.
• Set Point: Individuals tend to return to a stable level of SWB following positive or negative life changes.
• Control of Happiness: Approximately 40% of overall happiness can be influenced.

The Social Psychology of Religion

• Religiousness: Involvement with religious practices and attitudes towards transcendental beings.
• Four “Bs” of Religiousness:
  • Beliefs: Understanding spiritual worlds.
  • Bonds: Emotional connections with others and the transcendent.
  • Behaviors: Living in accordance with religious principles.
  • Belonging: Identity within a religious community.

Religious Orientation**

• Intrinsic Orientation: Religion is valued for its own sake.
• Extrinsic Orientation: Religion serves external purposes like emotional support.
• Quest Orientation: Views religion as a journey to understand existential questions.

Functions of Religion

• Meaning Provision: Religions provide life purpose and meaning.
• Coping Resource: Individuals turn to religious practices during stressful times.

Origins of Religious Belief

• Evolutionary Perspectives: Religion may be a byproduct of psychological adaptations.
• Individual Experiences: Insecure childhood attachments might lead to a quest for secure relationships with the divine.
• Cultural Influences: Culture frames and influences religious beliefs, providing shared meaning and identity.

Prosociality and Prejudice

• Religious individuals often perceived as moral; intrinsic orientations promote altruistic behavior.
• The relationship between religiosity and prejudice can be complex, influenced by various factors.

Religion and Health

• Correlations seen between worship attendance and improved health outcomes, although causation is unclear.

Religion, Mental Health, and Happiness

• Characteristics: Religious individuals tend to show higher self-esteem, lower depression, and better stress management.
• Meaning and Self-Care: Religious beliefs can motivate self-care and enhance well-being.

The Social Psychology of Sustainability

• Factors of Societal Collapse: Includes ecological damage and climate change responses.
• Definition of Sustainability: Activities that can continue indefinitely without resources depleting.

Environmental Effects on Well-Being

• Natural environments can significantly enhance mental health through stress reduction and cognitive restoration.
• Biodiversity Correlation: Green spaces that foster biodiversity positively impact psychological well-being.

Social Dilemmas and Environmental Challenges

• Tragedy of the Commons: Individuals pursuing self-interests can harm group welfare.
• Types of Social Traps:
  • One-person Trap: Short-term self-interest harms long-term well-being.
  • Collective Trap: Rational individual decisions lead to group deterioration.

Tackling Sustainability Problems

• Three Components: Changing attitudes, creating new technologies, and restructuring urban landscapes.

Overcoming Barriers to Sustainability

• Steps include regulation, education, changing incentives, and norm-based approaches.