Theories in Social Theories in Social Psychology Madiha Anas Lecturer Department of Applied Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Beaconhouse National University
I I am a social scientist, Sarah. That means I can t explain electricity or anything like that, but if you ever want to know about people, I am your man.
ELEPHANT IN THE DARK ELEPHANT IN THE DARK Some Hindus have an elephant to show. No one here has ever seen an elephant. They bring it at night to a dark room. One by one, we go in the dark and come out saying how we experience the animal. One of us happens to touch the trunk. "A water-pipe kind of creature." Another, the ear. "A very strong, always moving back and forth, fan-animal." animal." Another, the leg. "I find it still, like a column on a temple." Another touches the curved back. "A leathery throne." Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk. "A rounded sword made of porcelain." He's proud of his description. Each of us touches one place and understands the whole in that way. w The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark are how the senses explore the reality of the elephant. If each of us held a candle there, and if we went in together, we w e could see it.... Rumi,, 13th Century Sufi poet, tr Coleman Barks
What is a theory? What is a theory? Social facts regularly occurring events or instances. For example, when two Pakistanis meet, they often hug each other. A social regularity to say Allah ka shukar hai kia haal hai?" hai" " when someone asks " Regardless of how one is feeling To note that approximately 50 percent of Pakistani marriages involve domestic violence is to state a social fact.
Theories explain Facts Theories explain Facts Often people can agree on facts but disagree about the causes for the facts. Theories explain why and how social facts occur. Address cause and effect. Since more than one theory could explain the identical social facts, explanations form the focus of a theory.
What s a good theory? What s a good theory? The theory is compelling. Intuitively the theory "seems right" so that people are motivated to test the theory Intuitively the theory "seems right" so that people are The theory is consistent with existing data. It not only explains existing knowledge, but extends it to It not only explains existing knowledge, but extends it to new applications. Most important, the theory is fruitful stimulates thought, the creation of alternative explanations
Theories in Social Psychology Theories in Social Psychology Role Theory Social Learning Theory Social Cognitive Theory Symbol Interactionist
Role Theory Role Theory I I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; A stage where every man must play a part, And mine is a sad one
Role Theory Role Theory I I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; A stage where every man must play a part, And mine is a sad one
Role Theory Role Theory Origin: theatrical conception: roles that actors play Does not consider individual determinants of behavior Personality Attitudes Motivation Explains behavior in terms of Roles Roles expectations Role skills
Role the functions a person performs when occupying a particular [position] within a particular social context (Shaw and Costanzo,, 1982, p. 296).
Norms Generalized expectations about behavior that are learned in the course of socialization Interaction between men and women Interaction between authority figures and subordinates
Role expectations Role expectations Assumptions of others about someone s behavior (expected behavior) Parvez Musharraf To his Wife To his banker To his Dog To his dentist
Role conflict Role conflict Interrole conflict: When a person holds several positions that make difficult demands Intrarole conflict: When a single role involves expectations that are difficult to manage
Contributions to Social Psychology Contributions to Social Psychology Contributions to Social Psychology s literature Role playing Role taking
Lieberman (1965) Lieberman (1965) Studied attitudes of factory workers towards union and management policies Over time workers who were promoted favored management policies workers who weren t promoted favored the union Change of roles = Change in attitude
Social Exchange Theory Social Exchange Theory Focuses on interactions between two people People seek out relationships that promise greater rewards than costs People avoid relationships whose costs exceed their rewards When a person perceives the costs of a relationship as outweighing the perceived benefits, then the theory predicts that the person will choose to leave the relationship.
Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory
Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory Psychological principles learning Central theme of learning theory Relationship between stimulus and response Conditioning
Learning A A relatively permanent change in behavior, brought about by experience. Robert Feldman (2002)
Stimulus-Response Model Stimulus Detectable change in the internal/external environment Detectable change in the internal/external Response Organism s response to the stimulus Some of our responses are reflexive, we learn the other responses.
Conditioning Learning by association. The tendency for our minds to assume that events occurring in close sequence are connected.
Classical Conditioning Pavlov noticed the dogs also salivated when they saw the assistant that fed them, which was not a reflexive response. Could they learn to salivate to other neutral stimuli?
Conditioning Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that automatically triggers a response without any conditioning. Unconditioned Response (UCR): The unlearned, automatic response to the UCS. UCS UCR Food Salivation
Classical Conditioning Classical Conditioning The dog learns to associate the sound of footsteps, and salivates a a non-reflexive response! CS CR Foot Steps Salivation Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that after association with the UCS triggers a Conditioned Response. Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the Conditioned Stimuli.
Stage 1 Stage 1 The dogs are first just sitting in their harnesses, doing nothing, then lab assistant brings in meat powder, and they start drooling. UCS-- meat powder UCR-- drool
Stage 2 Stage 2 Before bringing in the food, the lab assistant rings a bell. SO the bell rings, and then food comes. UCS-- meat powder UCR-- drooling CS-- tone of bell
Stage 3 Stage 3 Eventually, the lab assistant just rings the bell, to see what happens, and if learning has occurred, the dogs will drool to the sound of the bell. CS-- tone of bell CR-- drool
UCS----------------->UCR (food powder) --------------> (salivating) NS--------------->UCS----------------->UCR (bell)-->(food powder)----> (salivating) CS---------------------------------------->CR (bell)----------------------- >(salivating)
UCS------------------>UCR (onion juice) -----------------> (crying) NS --------------> UCS ----------------->UCR (whistle)-->(onion juice)------------> (crying) CS -------------------------------------->CR (whistle)----------------------------------> (crying)
Child approaches dog (a) and is frightened by it (b). Fear generalizes to other household pets (c) and later to virtually all furry animals (d).
Social Cognitive Perspective Social Cognitive Perspective a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention Interpreting remembering social experiences
Symbolic Interactionism A contemporary sociological theory based on the premise that the self and social reality emerge due to the meaningful communication among people through the use of symbols, such as, words or gestures. Studying symbolic interaction assists us in understanding human behavior.
George H. Mead George H. Mead Founder of modern symbolic interactionism,, but did not coin term Mind, Self, and Society published by his students after his death influenced Blumer (who coined the word Symbolic interaction )
The I and the Me The I and the Me The self has two parts The I is the unsocialized self Active, impulsive, unpredictable, initiates action The Me is the socialized self Judgmental, controlling, conforms to norms Imagine ourselves as others see us