Transcript Chapter 1 - semo.edu

Chapter 1
Introduction to
Social Psychology
Chapter Outline
I. What is Social Psychology?
What is Social Psychology?
• Social Psychology is defined as the
scientific study of the way in which
people’s thoughts, feelings, and
actions are influenced by the real or
imagined presence of other people.
What is Social Psychology?
• Other people can influence us either
through direct attempts at
persuasion, or more indirectly
through their presence and the
transmission of cultural values.
What is Social Psychology?
• Social psychology is distinct from
other social sciences because of its
emphasis on people’s construals, or
personal interpretations.
What is Social Psychology?
• Social psychology is distinct from
folk wisdom and philosophy because
it is an empirical field.
Chapter Outline
II. The Power of Social Influence
The Power of Social Influence
• People are prone to the fundamental
attribution error, the tendency to
overestimate the role of traits and
underestimate the role of the
situation in determining people’s
behavior.
The Power of Social Influence
• This tendency can make people resistant
to social psychological explanations
A. Underestimating the power of social influence
B. The Subjectivity of the Social Situation
1. The influence of Behaviorism
2. The contributions of Gestalt psychology
Chapter Outline
III. Where Construals Come From:
Basic Human Motives
Where Construals Come From
• Social psychologists have found that
two motives are of primary
importance in determining our
construals: the need to be accurate
and the need to feel good about
ourselves.
Where Construals Come From
• Leon Festinger realized that it is when
these two motives pull us in opposite
directions that we can learn the most
about people’s thoughts and behaviors.
A. The Self-Esteem Approach
B. The Social Cognition Approach
C. Other motives
Chapter Outline
IV. Social Psychology and Social
Problems
Social Psychology and Social Problems
• Whereas social psychologists are
often motivated by curiosity to study
social behavior, they are also
motivated by the desire to help
resolve social problems.
Social Psychology and Social Problems
• Example:
Social psychologists have
contributed important insights to
AIDS education and prevention.
Study Questions
What do social psychologists
study scientifically?
Study Questions
What are some examples of social
influence?
Study Questions
What is contained in a person’s
construal of the world?
Study Questions
Although they may share the same
questions, what advantages
does social psychology have
over folk wisdom and philosophy
in answering these questions?
Study Questions
What do sociologists study?
Study Questions
Which branch of psychology
studies how individual
differences between people
explain their behavior?
Study Questions
What are some examples of
individual differences?
Study Questions
What is the fundamental
attribution error?
Study Questions
What are some consequences of
committing the fundamental
attribution error?
Study Questions
According to behaviorism, what
do we need to consider to
understand human behavior?
Study Questions
What has Gestalt psychology
contributed to social
psychology?
Study Questions
What are the two basic motives
that help to form people’s
construals?
Study Questions
Why do people engage in selfjustification and what are some
of its consequences?
Study Questions
What is an assumption of the
social cognition approach?
What interferes with the
accuracy of people’s construals,
according to this approach?
Study Questions
What is the relationship between
people’s motive to be accurate
and their expectations about the
social world? What can result
from people’s expectations?