8/17/2012. What Is Social Psychology? What Is Social Psychology? Chapter 1. Introducing Social Psychology

Transcription

1 Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology Slides prepared by JoNell Strough, Ph.D. & Philip Lemaster, M.A. West Virginia University What Is Social Psychology? At the heart of social psychology is social influence: We are all influenced by other people! What Is Social Psychology? It is the scientific study of the way in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. 1

2 Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by our immediate surroundings as well as by our cultural and family background. These students share a college identity but differ in ethnicity and religion. Source: Norbert Schwerin/The Image Works The Power of Social Interpretation Social psychology differs from sociology and anthropology because: It is less concerned with social situations in the objective sense It is more concerned with how people are influenced by their interpretation (construal) of social environments How Else Can We Understand Social Influence? Journalists, Instant Experts, Social Critics Philosophers Social psychologists differ by: developing explanations through experiments carefully manipulating the variables being studied 2

3 Philosophy vs. Social Psychology Philosophers Major source of insight about human nature Major foundation of contemporary psychology But what happens when philosophers disagree? Social psychologists Address many of the same questions as philosophers Attempt to answer questions scientifically Folk Wisdom Common sense knowledge Great deal to be learned But frequently in disagreement! Out of sight, out of mind or absence makes the heart grow fonder? Haste makes waste or he who hesitates is lost? Social Psychology: An experimentally-based science Goal: Find objective answers to important questions What are the factors that cause aggression? How might we reduce prejudice? What variables cause two people to like or love each other? Why do certain kinds of political advertisements work better than others? 3

4 Human Behavior Video Click on the screenshot to watch Dr. Feldman Barrett talk about the methods psychologists use to study aspects of human behavior. Back to Directory Social Psychology vs. Personality Psychology Personality psychologists Explain behavior in terms of a person's individual character traits Personality psychologists study qualities of the individual that might make a person shy, conventional, rebellious, and willing to wear a turquoise wig in public or a yellow shirt in a sea of blue. Social psychologists study the powerful role of social influence on how all of us behave. Source: Imagesource/Glow Images, Inc. 4

5 Social Psychology vs. Personality Psychology Social psychologists Explain social behavior in terms of the power of the social situation (as it is construed by the individual) to shape how one acts Social Psychology vs. Personality Psychology Personality Psychology Focus on individual differences Aspects of people s personalities that make them different from others Ignores the powerful role played by social influence Social Psychology vs. Other Social Sciences Difference in level of analysis Other social sciences concerned with how broad social, economic, political, and historical factors influence events in a given society Social psychologist the level of analysis is the individual in the context of a social situation 5

6 Social Psychology vs. Sociology Level of analysis Sociology Focus on society at large Social psychology Focus on the individual in the context of a social situation The people in this photo can be studied from a variety of perspectives: as individuals or as members of a family, a social class, an occupation, a culture, or a region. Sociologists study the group or institution; social psychologists study the influence of those groups and institutions on individual behavior. Source: Paul Chesley/National Geographic Stock Social Psychology vs. Sociology Goal of social psychology Identify universal properties of human nature that make everyone susceptible to social influence, regardless of social class or culture 6

7 Social Psychology vs. Sociology Goal of sociology Identify why a particular society or group within a society produces behavior (e.g., aggression) in its members Major difference sociology looks toward society at large rather than the individual The Power of Social Influence Fundamental attribution error The tendency to explain our own and other people s behavior entirely in terms of personality traits Underestimating the power of social influence Underestimating the Power of Social Influence When we underestimate the power of social influence, we gain a feeling of false security. Increases personal vulnerability to possibly destructive social influence lulls us into lowering our guard 7

8 Underestimating the Power of Social Influence By failing to fully appreciate the power of the situation, we tend to Oversimplify complex situations Decreases our understanding of the true causes Underestimating the Power of Social Influence Aspects of the social situation that may seem minor can have powerful effects Can overwhelm personality differences Subjectivity of the Social Situation We are constantly interpreting things How humans will behave in a given situations is not determined by the objective conditions of a situation but rather how they perceive it (construal). 8

9 Subjectivity of the Social Situation What exactly do we mean by the social situation? One strategy Identify the objective properties of the situation Document the behaviors that follow from these objective properties. Behaviorism: A school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behavior, one need consider only reinforcing effects of environment. Subjectivity of the Social Situation Behaviorism: an objective worldview Chooses not to deal with cognition, thinking, and feeling Thinks these concepts are too vague. Behaviorism ignores construals of the situation. Inadequate for understanding the social world! Look at the situation from the viewpoint of the people in it, to see how they construe the world around them Subjectivity of the Social Situation Emphasis on construal, the way people interpret the social situation, has its roots in Gestalt psychology Gestalt Psychology A school of psychology stressing the importance of studying the subjective way in which an object appears in people s minds (the gestalt or whole ) rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object. 9

10 Gestalt Psychology Founded in Germany Early 20th century Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler, Max Wertheimer, and colleagues Late 1930s, several of these psychologists emigrated to the U.S. to escape Nazi regime Gestalt Psychology Among the émigrés was Kurt Lewin Founding father of modern experimental social psychology Applied Gestalt principles to social perception Stressed the importance of taking perspective of the people in any social situation to see how they construe social environment Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives Construals shaped by two basic human motives: 1. The need to be accepted 2. The need to feel good about ourselves Motives may tug in opposite directions 10

11 Research by social psychologists on construal shows why negotiation between nations can be so difficult: Each side thinks that it sees the issues clearly but that the other side is biased. Source: Shawn Thew/EPA/Newscom Some people would construe this demonstration as an act of moral protest against samesex marriage; others would construe it as an act of homophobia and prejudice. Each side is sure that they are right. Where do construals come from, and what are their consequences? Source: Rick Friedman/Corbis The Self-Esteem Approach: The Need to Feel Good About Ourselves Most people have a strong need to maintain reasonably high self-esteem. People will often distort the world in order to feel good about themselves instead of representing the world accurately. Self-Esteem People s evaluations of their own self-worth; the extent to which they view themselves as good, competent, and decent. 11

12 Justifying Past Behavior Acknowledging major deficiencies in ourselves is very difficult, even when the cost is seeing the world inaccurately Normal people can put a slightly different spin on the existing facts, one that puts us in the best possible light. Suffering and Self-Justification The more unpleasant the procedure the participants underwent to get into a group, the better they liked the group 1) Human beings are motivated to maintain a positive picture of themselves, in part by justifying their past behavior 2) Under certain conditions, this leads them to do things that at first glance might seem surprising or paradoxical Suffering and Self-Justification The more unpleasant the procedure the participants underwent to get into a group, the better they liked the group For example, they might prefer people and things for whom they have suffered to people and things they associate with ease and pleasure 12

13 These first-year students are being welcomed to their university by seniors who subject them to hazing. Doing silly or dangerous things as part of a hazing ritual may be, well, silly or dangerous. At the same time, it does build cohesiveness. Source: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom The Social Cognition Approach: The Need to Be Accurate Social cognition approach takes into account how people think about the world We try to gain accurate understandings so we can make effective judgments and decisions But we typically act on the basis of incompletely and inaccurately interpreted information Social Cognition The social cognition perspective views people as amateur sleuths doing their best to understand and predict their social world. Social Cognition How people think about themselves and the social world; how people select, interpret, remember, and use social information to make judgments and decisions. 13

14 Expectations About the Social World Our expectations can even change the nature of the social world Self-fulfilling prophecy Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) found that a teacher who expects certain students to do well may cause those students to do better Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Video Click this video to watch to Dr. Rosenthal talk about his classic study of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Back to Directory Expectations About the Social World How does such a self-fulfilling prophecy come about? Teaching expecting specific students to perform will often Pay more attention to them. Listen to them with more respect. Call on them more frequently. Encourage them. Try to teach them more challenging material. 14

15 Expectations About the Social World How does such a self-fulfilling prophecy come about? This, in turn, helps these students feel Happier. More respected. More motivated. Smarter. Additional Motives Biological drives Desire for rewards Need for control Social Psychology and Social Problems Why study social influence? 1. We are curious. 2. Some social psychologists contribute to the solution of social problems. 15

16 Social Psychology and Social Problems Social psychological theories about human behavior have been applied to a range of contemporary problems, including: Prejudice Energy shortages AIDS Unhealthy habits Violence in schools Social psychology can help us study social problems and find ways to solve them. Social psychologists might study whether children who watch violence on television become more aggressive themselves and, if so, what kind of intervention might be beneficial. Source: VILLEROT/ BSIP/Age Fotostock Social Psychology and Social Problems When recommending interventions, it is imperative to act on the basis of scientifically grounded theories 16

17 Summary & Review Empirical Basis Social Psychology v. Sociology Social Psychology v. Personality Psychology Social Psychology v. Folk Wisdom Historical Roots Motives that Guide Construals The Power of the Situation Applications: Social Problems 17