Introduction to Social Psych What is the definition of social psychology a discipline that uses scientific methods in an attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts feelings and behaviors or individuals are influenced by the actual imagined or implied presences of others nThe scientific study of how people think about influence and relate to each other nWe are influenced by others and they are of us Kurt Lewin Field Theory B f p e What levels of analysis social psychology is primarily concerned with 3 ways cid 127 personality perspective emphasize on individual nFreud psychoanalytic theory resolve internal tension I d ego superego nBehavior is the result of the motivation to reduce tension defense learning perspective emphasize on environment nRooted In the behaviorist movement environment n Don t like idea of people being unique nEveryone will act the same in a situation nRespond to different stimuli nPavlov dogs nStimulus response pairings reward and punishment nObjective and programmatic cid 127 Not concerned with social interpretation social perspective emphasize on both nDescribe the psychological processes that determine systematic reaction to the environment nEmphasize interplay between subjective interpretation and objective environmental factors in determining behavior nDispositions vs situational History of social psychology 1940s after world war 2 to see what happened nKert Lewin father of Social psychology nRan from nazis nField theory behavior is a function of both the person and the environment nB f P E n60s 70s 80s computer blue nRise of social cognition nPresent day social psychology on the brain nSocial psychology incorporates many methodologies from many realms like neuroscience 1862 1894 Wilhelm Wundt physiological psychology and social or folk psychology 1895 1935 Normal Triplett first social psychology experiment winding a fishline in the presence of other children 1936 1945 formation of the SPSSI after the Great Depression Kurt Lewin a Jewish Refugee from Nazi Germany President of SPSSI end of WWII 1946 1966 Theodor Adorno authoritarian personality theory Stanley Milgrim Obedience experiments Leon Festinger cognitive dissonance thoughts ant actions to maintain cognitive consistency look at segregation and racism 1970 1984 Seeing the ethics of experiments Milgrim ethical treatment of humans cognitive psychology explaining social behavior cognitive revolution 1984 present growth and expansion of field look at different cultures social neuroscience