Social Psychology The scientific study of how we think feel and behave toward others and how our thoughts feelings and behaviors influence and are influenced by the other people in our lives Brief History Kurt Lewin father of social psychology Social Cognition an understanding of knowledge about how our social worlds develop and the influence of these knowledge structures on memory information processing attitudes and judgment how is human decision making flawed by both cognitive and motivational processes Social Neuroscience how our social behavior both influences and is influenced by the activities of our brain 1 Should be studied empirically based on the collection and analysis of data 2 Based on 5 factors a Person relationship between the person and the other people around him her b Situation people we interact with social groups we belong to i Social Influence The processes through which other people change our thoughts feelings and behaviors and through which we change theirs ii Culture A group of people normally living within the same geographical region who share a common set of social norms including religious and family values Individualism Cultural norms common in Western societies that focus primarily on self enhancement and independence 1 2 Collectivism Cultural norms that indicate that people should be more fundamentally connected with others and thus oriented toward interdependence c Cognition the mental activity of processing information and using that information in judgment thinking comes from cerebral cortex i Social Cognition cognition that relates to social activities and which helps us understand and predict the behavior of ourselves and others 1 Schema Knowledge that includes information about a person or group 2 Attitude Knowledge that includes an evaluation about a person or group d Behavior Interactions f Person social situation Lewin i Dependent on both the characteristics of the person the influence of the situation Person situation interaction ii Evolutionary Adaptation human nature is determined by evolution 1 Fitness The extent to which having a given characteristic helps the individual organism survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other members of the species who do not have the characteristic iii Social Exchange The sharing of goods services or emotions and other social rewards iv Reciprocal Altruism cooperate by giving benefits to those who are in need with the expectation of a return of benefits at a future time e Affect Feelings we experience as part of our everyday lives i Mood Positive or negative feelings that are in the background of our everyday ii Emotions brief but often intense mental and physiological feeling states more experiences specific form of affect 3 Fundamental Goals a Protecting and enhancing the self and the ingroup b Affiliating with accepting and beng accepted by others 4 Self Concern Protecting improving and enhancing the self and the Ingroup a Kin Selection Strategies that favor the reproductive success of their relatives sometimes even at a cost to their own survival In group The people we feel connected to who are familiar and similar to us b c Out group Those who we do not consider part of our in group 5 Other Concern Affiliating with accepting and being accepted by others Chapter 8 1 Social Support the approval assistance advice comfort and other aid that we receive from those with whom we have developed stable positive relationships including our families as well as romantic partners siblings friends and other acquaintances a Determined by biological evolutionary cultural and individual factors 2 Close Relationships Relationships between or among people that are characterized by loving caring commitment and intimacy Involve the incorporation of other into your own self concept a b Our self esteem is most determined by how much we feel accepted and valued by others Appreciation effects of support i People who feel that they have adequate social support report being happier and have also been found to have fewer psychological and health problems including criminal behavior eating disorders and mental illness In addition people who have adequate social support are also more physically healthy Direct effects of social support 3 Initial Support a Interpersonal Attraction Saying that we like or love someone represented by the strength of our liking or loving for the other person b Physical Attraction Universally society prefers a youthful face large round and widely spaced eyes a small nose and chin prominent cheekbones and a large forehead i Those with such characteristics receive more positive support less grief and are overall more well liked ii Associational learning makes us more inclined to associate with attractive people we feel that some of their attributes may rub off on us ultimately boosting our self esteem iii Physical Attractive Stereotype the tendency to perceive attractive people as having positive characteristics such as sociability and competence 1 Physically attractive people are seen as more dominant sexually warm mentally healthy intelligent and socially skilled than are physically unattractive people c Similarity Relationships are more likely to develop and be maintained to the extent that the partners share values and beliefs i Finding similarities with others makes us feel good and makes us feel that the other person will reciprocate our liking for them reward theory d Social Exchange Equity We tend to prefer people who seem to like us just as much as we like them another e Proximity People like each other more when they are in repeated contact with one i Mere Exposure We tend to prefer stimuli that we see more frequently 1 Evolution causes us to have an initial fear of the unknown but once they become familiar they produce a more positive affect 2 We prefer things that have an optimal level of familiarity f Arousal POLARIZES liking i When we are aroused everything seems more extreme 1 Passion strong feelings that are accompanied by increases in arousal and 2 Passionate Love The kind of love we experience when we are first getting sexual attraction to know a romantic partner 4 Close Relationships a Companionate Love Love based off of friendship mutual attraction common interests mutual respect and concern for each other s welfare b Reciprocal Self Disclosure The tendency to communicate frequently without fear of reprisal and in an accepting and empathetic manner i With this comes
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