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Chapter 1
What is Social Psychology?
Defining Social Psychology
• The scientific study of how individuals think,
feel, and behave in social context.
– Such as…?
– We influence others and they influence us.
– The Great Lesson (which often separates SP from
the other disciplines).
Scientific Study
• Social psychology relies on the scientific
method.
• Scientific method involves:
– Systematic observation
– Description
– Measurement
– It does not involve anecdotal experiences or case
studies of individuals.
How Individuals Think, Feel, and
Behave
• Social psychology concerns a diverse set of
topics.
• Focus is on the psychology of the individual.
Social Context
• Emphasis is on the social nature of individuals.
– But, the “socialness” of social psychology varies.
• “Other people” do not have to be real or
present.
– Even the implied or imagined presence of others
can have important effects on individuals.
Social Psychological Questions
Social Psychological Questions
Social Psychology and Sociology
• How are they different?
– Sociology tends to focus on the group level.
– Social psychology tends to focus on the
individual level.
• How do the fields intersect?
– Often share the same training and publish in
the same journals.
– Both can help in understanding societal and
immediate factors that influence behavior.
Social Psychology and Related Fields
Social Psychology and Common Sense
• The “knew-it-all-along” phenomenon.
• Common sense seems to explain many social
psychological findings after the fact.
– But how does one distinguish common sense facts
from common sense myths?
• Unlike common sense, social psychology uses
the scientific method to put its theories to the
test.
A Call to Action: 1930s – 1950s
• Who had the most dramatic impact on social
psychology?
– Quite possibly Adolf Hitler!
– Why?
A Call to Action: 1930s – 1950s (cont’d)
• WWII prompted social psychologists to
examine the nature of prejudice, aggression,
and conformity
• In 1953, Gordon Allport published The Nature
of Prejudice
• Solomon Asch’s research on conformity
• Milgram’s famous obedience experiments
Social Psychology in a New Century
• Integrating emotion, motivation, and
cognition
• Biological and evolutionary perspectives
• Cultural perspectives
• New technologies
Integration of emotion, motivation, and
cognition
• Integration of “hot” and “cold” variables
concerning conflict of wanting to be right vs.
wanting to feel good about oneself
• Growing interest in distinguishing between
automatic vs. controllable processes, and
understanding dynamic between them
Biological and Evolutionary
Perspectives
• Social neuroscience
• Behavioral genetics
• Evolutionary psychology
Cultural Perspectives
• Defining “culture”
• Cross-cultural research
• Multicultural research
Other Interdisciplinary Approaches
• Behavioral economics
New Technologies
• Brain imaging technology and procedures
– positron emission tomography (PET)
– event-related potential (ERP)
– transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
– functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
• Internet