Transcript SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PSY220

social psychology
psy220
• Jonathan Freedman
• Sid smith 4029 Tuesday 11-12
• Raymond Marr
• Sid Smith 119 Wednesday 3-4
email
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
WEBSITE
http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/~freed/
psy220.htm
TEXTBOOK
• Social Psychology. Second Canadian
Edition by Aronson, Wilson, Akert and
Fehr.
requirements
• two terms tests (30% each)
– February 3 and March 16
• Final (40%)
• All half multiple-choice, half short essays
WHAT IS SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
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people live in a social world
they affect and are affected by each other
they affect and are affected by groups
examples are aggression - liking
attitudes
related disciplines
• sociology
• political science
• anthropology
• animal behavior
• personality psychology
What is Social Psychology?
Compared to Sociology
Social psychology shares with sociology an interest
in situational and societal influences on behaviour,
but focuses more on the psychological makeup of
individuals that renders them susceptible to social
influence.
What is Social Psychology?
Compared to Personality
Social psychology shares with personality
psychology an emphasis on the psychology of the
individual, but it emphasizes the psychological
processes shared by most people that make them
susceptible to social influence.
When trying to find explanations of social behaviour,
personality psychologists generally focus on
individual differences.
Individual differences are the aspects of people’s
personalities that make them different from other
people.
basic concerns
• self-esteem
– enhance
– protect
• cognitive needs
– understanding
– consistency
basic social processes
• acceptance - rejection
• deviancy
• social comparison
SOCIAL COMPARISON
THEORY
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LEON FESTINGER
EVALUATE BY COMPARISON
LEARN BY COMPARISON
COMPARE TO SIMILAR OTHERS
COMPARE WHEN UNCERTAIN