Ch 1 Introduction to Social Psychology January 9 2012 Social Psychology The scientific study of how people think about influence and relate to one another The attempt to discover the causes of human behavior by conducting scientific research Can we discover why people stereotype and are prejudiced Can we discover why someone is attracted to certain people over other people Social Psychology Beginnings Aristotle believed to be the first social psychologist Regarded people as inherently social Emphasized importance of environment or situational forces and that the person plays an active role you can influence the environment and the environment can influence you Sherif 1936 wrote The Psychology of Social Norms Provided systematic theoretical account of how social norms develop and the ways in which they influence people Social norms rules and standards that are understood by members of a group and that guide and or constrain social behavior without the force of laws If we violate them we are punished WWII influenced social psychologists to study groups individuals Dominated psychology for two decades Group Dynamics believed that social groups are our best arena to look at the influence of social forces on Newcomb 1943 looked at the impact of the social group on the individual Used Bennington College students liberal college in conservative town students graduated with more liberal views 1 Group can have strong impact on attitudes behavior and self image Late 60s and Early 70s Crisis of Confidence people s attitudes do not influence behavior as previously thought Social cognition became more important i e Self Serving Bias when something good happens to me it is because of something good about me when something bad happens to me I attribute the cause to an external force i e Fundamental Attribution Error when you see someone doing something you attribute their actions to their personal characteristics Today there are no apparent fads finally stopped jumping on the bandwagon The Field of Social Psychology Emphasizes Social Thinking We construct our own reality we usually perceive events in our favor Our social institutions are powerful sometimes dangerous i e heuristic mental shortcut example beautiful good cid 224 problem a beautiful flower can be poisonous i e availability heuristic when something is more accessible we think it happens more often example news heavily reports on plane crashes more than car crashes cid 224 problem we think flying is more dangerous than driving but that is untrue i e we think our memory and emotions can be trusted usually false example eye witness testimonies Attitudes shape and are shaped by our behavior Social Influence Social influences shape behavior i e where you live determines what you consider to be cold weather and therefore how you dress Dispositions shape behavior Social Relations i e when talking to a particular group you may automatically feel defensive Things about you will shape how people react to you and changes the environment 2 Social behavior is also biological behavior Applicability of Social Psychology Principles These are based on our everyday lives as well as major historical events Activity Results Anonymity releases intimacy people feel less vulnerable Social Psychology deemed as common sense because it is all around and is everyone s business cid 224 can actually be surprising Two contradictory criticisms 1 Trivial documents the obvious 2 Dangerous use it to manipulate people something turned out Hindsight bias the tendency to exaggerate after learning an outcome one s ability to have foreseen how 3 Ch 2 The Self January 18 2012 Affective Effects on Self Self focusing the extent to which attention is directed toward one self Can improve self insight more accurate in judging social feedback i e I think I am nice but are my actions really nice Spotlight effect we see ourselves on center stage we overestimate the extent to which people are paying attention to our appearance or behavior but people in reality do not care feel as if everyone is staring at you i e pimple on your face bad hair day tripping NOT examples getting arrested being on stage cid 224 people are looking at you Illusion of transparency tend to believe that our emotions leak out and can be easily read by others i e nervous giving a speech on stage and worried that the audience will notice your nervousness i e you like someone and you think you are being obvious about it by the way you act but the person actually does not get the message i e argument you feel like it is obvious you are upset Self Concept we process information about the social world A person s answer to the question Who am I Self concept organized collection of beliefs and feelings about oneself special framework that influences how i e temporary states hungry personality traits loud physical descriptions tall group identification FSU student others people s reaction to you How we acquire a self concept we are told by others see people who are similar to you compare yourself to Primarily through social interactions that begin with your immediate family and continue with the other people you meet throughout life i e you grew up in a sarcastic family so you think being sarcastic is normal and do not question it but when you meet other people they tell you that you are a sarcastic person Also defined as a schema mental template by which we organize our worlds Direct our behaviors i e redheads feisty temper cid 224 will influence how you behave around them Self schema contains beliefs about ourselves organize and process this self relevant information i e low self esteem cid 224 difficult to fit in pretty into your schema 4 Ch 2 The Self own schemas i e athletic smart skinny effects how we perceive social information only we ourselves can change our Possible selves who we might become ideal self or fear of who we might become i e dream like being like Eleanor Roosevelt or fearful of turning out like my mother Social identity social definition of who you are what groups you belong to the roles you play i e mother daughter student etc cid 224 we are connected to others Self and Culture Individualism give priority to one s own goals define yourself to be unique from group Western societies Collectivism give priorities to group s goals define yourself in terms of group goals Easter societies Your connection to others i e the role you play in society is more important than individual traits Cognitive
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