Transcript Introducing Social Psychology

Introducing
Social Psychology
Definition of Social Psychology
• Social psychology is… the scientific study of
HOW OTHER PEOPLE INFLUENCE OUR
– Affect
– Behavior
– Cognition
– Physiology/biology
• influenced by the real, imagined, or implied
presence of other people.
What do we mean by “influence”?
Social Influence
The effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other
people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior.
• Perceiving information – five senses
• Processing information – construals
Example – Jurors in a legal trial
Example – Norms
What do we mean by “situation”?
Comparison to… common sense:
False • Opposites attract.
True • Everyone dreams.
True • If told to do it, most people will shock someone
almost to death.
False • Blind people have a more sensitive sense of hearing
and touch.
True • Animals process information in the same way that
people do.
False • A well-trained psychology can determine a person’s
hidden problems by analyzing their dreams.
False • Playing classical music for a young infant will result
in an increase in IQ.
Comparison to… philosophy
• The creativity and analytical thinking of philosophers
are a major part of the foundation of contemporary
psychology.
• But what happens when philosophers disagree?
Comparison to… personality psychology
• When trying to explain social behavior, personality
psychologists generally focus on individual
differences—the aspects of people’s personalities
that make them different from others.
Comparison to… sociology
• The level of analysis reflects another
difference between the disciplines:
• Psychology – study of individuals in social situations
• Sociology – broad, economic, political, and historical
factors that influence a given society
In what ways does the situation and
the person interact?
1. Different persons respond differently to the
same situation
2. Different situations prime different parts of
the person
3. Situations choose the person
4. Persons choose their situations
5. Persons change the situation
6. Situations change the person
Goals!
• Goals, motives, objectives, desires, wants,
needs, etc
• At a given moment, various intersecting
motives underlie our thoughts and behaviors.
• Influence how we perceive and process
information (construals)
• Fundamental and universal set of motives
Goals!
Goals!
• Over the years, social psychologists have
found that two of these motives are of primary
importance:
– The need to feel good about ourselves,
– The need to be accurate.
What happen when in conflict?