PS1016 - Social Psychology PDF

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Lecture 1 – What is Social PsychologyLarson – paged teenagers & adults at random points during the day for a week, they wrote whether they were alone or with others. Both Adolescents & Adults are in the presence of others 70% of the time. Shows we are a social animal, Think feel and ...

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Lecture 1 – What is Social Psychology Larson – paged teenagers & adults at random points during the day for a week, they wrote whether they were alone or with others. Both Adolescents & Adults are in the presence of others 70% of the time. Shows we are a social animal, Think feel and behave in the company of others. Social Psychology can be defined: Allport – ‘’The scientific investigation of how the thoughts feelings and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual imagined or implied presence of others’’ Smith & Mackie – “The scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others’’ Scientific study = knowledge based on personal experience vs systematic knowledge gathering, objective and based on logical analysis. Scientific method Theory – set of propositions to describe certain phenomena Experimental research – random assignment of people into groups, variables are manipulated and measured. Science vs common sense Similar others (not opposites) tend to attract (Berscheid & Reis) - Similarity encourages positive interaction over common interests - Similar others validate beliefs and attitudes - Normative influence: imitate people However, you could also look for characteristics that compliment those that you do not have. Need for complementarity. E.g. if you are forgetful you will want someone who will remembers. Individuals – processes and individual behaviour Three levels of analysis Thoughts  Feelings  Behaviour Actual imagined or implied presence of others Bateson, Nettle & Roberts Under what circumstance would people donate money or not. Pair of eyes onto the box OR pictures of flowers Flowers – less donations Pair of eyes – more donations Someone else is watching you is sufficient to make it more likely for people to show prosocial motivation. 3x more paid. Social and cognitive processes Fundamental principles of SP:

People construct their own reality We believe that how we observe the world is how it really is, highly subjective as Cogntive rocesses = memories, perepctions, thoughts, emotions and motives Social processes = culture, socialisation E.g. two different football team supporters will have different opinions on the same game. Social influence pervades all social life – others influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviours whether they are present or not (Bateson, Nettle & Roberts eye study)  How an indivudal is linked to the social world.  Cognitive and social processes shape our experience of and reaction to the social world The POWER of the social situation. History of Social Psychology Social psych established as an empirical science – Triplett o Cyclists race faster when competing against others than alone o Presence of other people releases nervous energy o Children turned fishing reels faster when competing with another child than when alone o Competition increases effort and motivation = Social facilitation  Social facilitation is the tendency to perform better in the presence of others than when alone  BUT COULD ALSO BE Social inhibition: the tendency to perform worse in the presence of others than when alone Michaels – observed students playing pool against each other, observing them and classified them as high or low in ability o 4 confederates (pretend to be people who are part of the study) watched players closely during rounds of play. o Good players when they weren’t observed 71% but 80% when observed o Poor players when they weren’t observed 35% but 25% when observed Ability dictates whether social facilitation or inhibition occurs. Social facilitation is the tendency to perform better in the presence of others than when aloneOccurs when task is simple, or behaviour is well-learned Social inhibition is the tendency to perform worse in the presence of others than when alone Occurs when task is complex, or behaviour is not well-learned The role of arousal Zajonc = Dominate response becomes more likely WW2 – Influx of German psychologists in the US. Kurt Lewin – one condition talking about traditional cuts of meat another listening to the value of eating meat 30% tried eating meat after talking about positives of eating other meats 3% tried eating meat after lecture

Milgram – 65% gave full 450V shock. o Psychiatrists predicted that 1 in 1000 participants would go to the end o Results where unexpected as Psych majors assumed that only 1 or 2% of people would go to the end. o Majority of ethics where affected e.g. debriefing right to withdraw etc o Milgram - Normal people can lead to perform destructive acts when exposed to pressure from legitimate authority  Demonstrates the power of social situations Hannah Arendt ‘the banality of evil’ = perpetrators of evil act on banal (ordinary) motives History cont. 1950s – 60s = the boom of the foundation of modern Social Psychology 1970s – 80s = Gained knowledge, social cognition in US, “social” social psychology addresses social issues in Europe 1990s – 2000s = Social cognition, culture, emotion & social neuroscience 2010s = Reproducibility (crisis in what we thought we know about psych isn’t true, lead to a movement that is concerned with research being reproducible) Applications of social psychology o Health o Education e.g. how to stimulate learning o Law e.g. police inference, witness testimony’s o Environment e.g. climate change o Business e.g. teamwork o Advertising/behaviour change campaigns o Intergroup relations...