Chapter 1: INTRO
Social psychology: a science that studies that infuences of our situatonss ith specifc atenton to ho
e vie and afect on another
-our social behaviour varies not just ith the objectve situaton but ith ho e construe it
Major Themes in Social Psychology
Social Thinking: Social Infuences: Social Relatons:
. e construct our . Social infuences shape . Social behaviour is also
social reality behaviour biological behaviour
2. our social intuitons 2. Dispositons shape 2. Relatng to others is a
are often po erfuls behaviour (inner attudes
soietie dangerous basic need
afect behaviour
Applying Social Psychology:
. Social psychology’s
principles are applicable
to everyday life
Ho do Values afect Social Psychology?
-Obvious Ways:
Values dictate our research topics
Values difer not only across tie but also across culture
Values enter the picture as the object of social-psychological analysis
-Not-So-Obvious Ways:
The subjectve aspect of science
o Culture can afect the ay a psychologist interprets data or conducts testng
The hidden values in psychological concepts
o Psychologists o n values play an iiportant role in theories and judgeient
Foriing concepts: ie. are you high in self-esteei or defensiveness?
Labelling: ie. freedoi fghter vs. terrorists alfare vs. aid to the needy
Naturalistc fallacy: sliding froi a descriptons of what is to a
prescripton of what ought to be – ie. there is not “right” ay of sexual
practces there is only “ hat is”
Is Social Psychology Just Coiion Sense?
-social psychology faces t o contradictory critcisis: . That is it trivial because it docuients the
obvious. 2. Dangerous because its fndings could be used to ianipulate people.
, -this idea that it is obvious invokes the hindsight bias: the idea that things are iore obvious in
hindsight then beforehand
Research Methods
-Foriing and Testng Hypotheses:
-a theory is forieds hich then iiplies a testable predicton called a hypothesis
-you also have to turn theoretcal variables into actual things you can observe
(operationalizationn
-Correlatonal Research: Detectng Natural Associatons
-Correlaton vs. Causaton
-3 Causes for Correlatons: . A causes Bs 2. B causes As 3. C causes A & B
- hen correlatonal research is extended over tie it is called: Longitudinal
Research
-Survey Research:
-uses random sampling
-4 Potental biases for Survey Research
. Unrepresentatve Saiples
2. Order of the questons
3. Responses bias and social desirability
4. Wording of the questons
Experiiental Research: Searching for Cause and Efect:
-the difculty ith discerning cause and efect is that you have to create laboratory setngs for natural
events
-social psychologists’ experiient by constructng social situatons that siiulate iiportant features of
our daily lives – they do this by varying one or t o factors called independent variables
Correlatonal vs. Experiiental Research
-are early iaturing children iore confdent – correlatonal
-do students learn iore in online or classrooi courses – experiiental
-do school grades predict success – correlatonal
-does playing violent video gaies increase aggression – experiiental
Experiiental
Correlatonal
Advantages: can explore Disadvantages: soie
Advantages: often uses Disadvantages: cause and efect by iiportant variables
real- orld setngs causaton often controlling variables and cannot be studied
aibiguous by randoi assignient ith experiients
Social psychology: a science that studies that infuences of our situatonss ith specifc atenton to ho
e vie and afect on another
-our social behaviour varies not just ith the objectve situaton but ith ho e construe it
Major Themes in Social Psychology
Social Thinking: Social Infuences: Social Relatons:
. e construct our . Social infuences shape . Social behaviour is also
social reality behaviour biological behaviour
2. our social intuitons 2. Dispositons shape 2. Relatng to others is a
are often po erfuls behaviour (inner attudes
soietie dangerous basic need
afect behaviour
Applying Social Psychology:
. Social psychology’s
principles are applicable
to everyday life
Ho do Values afect Social Psychology?
-Obvious Ways:
Values dictate our research topics
Values difer not only across tie but also across culture
Values enter the picture as the object of social-psychological analysis
-Not-So-Obvious Ways:
The subjectve aspect of science
o Culture can afect the ay a psychologist interprets data or conducts testng
The hidden values in psychological concepts
o Psychologists o n values play an iiportant role in theories and judgeient
Foriing concepts: ie. are you high in self-esteei or defensiveness?
Labelling: ie. freedoi fghter vs. terrorists alfare vs. aid to the needy
Naturalistc fallacy: sliding froi a descriptons of what is to a
prescripton of what ought to be – ie. there is not “right” ay of sexual
practces there is only “ hat is”
Is Social Psychology Just Coiion Sense?
-social psychology faces t o contradictory critcisis: . That is it trivial because it docuients the
obvious. 2. Dangerous because its fndings could be used to ianipulate people.
, -this idea that it is obvious invokes the hindsight bias: the idea that things are iore obvious in
hindsight then beforehand
Research Methods
-Foriing and Testng Hypotheses:
-a theory is forieds hich then iiplies a testable predicton called a hypothesis
-you also have to turn theoretcal variables into actual things you can observe
(operationalizationn
-Correlatonal Research: Detectng Natural Associatons
-Correlaton vs. Causaton
-3 Causes for Correlatons: . A causes Bs 2. B causes As 3. C causes A & B
- hen correlatonal research is extended over tie it is called: Longitudinal
Research
-Survey Research:
-uses random sampling
-4 Potental biases for Survey Research
. Unrepresentatve Saiples
2. Order of the questons
3. Responses bias and social desirability
4. Wording of the questons
Experiiental Research: Searching for Cause and Efect:
-the difculty ith discerning cause and efect is that you have to create laboratory setngs for natural
events
-social psychologists’ experiient by constructng social situatons that siiulate iiportant features of
our daily lives – they do this by varying one or t o factors called independent variables
Correlatonal vs. Experiiental Research
-are early iaturing children iore confdent – correlatonal
-do students learn iore in online or classrooi courses – experiiental
-do school grades predict success – correlatonal
-does playing violent video gaies increase aggression – experiiental
Experiiental
Correlatonal
Advantages: can explore Disadvantages: soie
Advantages: often uses Disadvantages: cause and efect by iiportant variables
real- orld setngs causaton often controlling variables and cannot be studied
aibiguous by randoi assignient ith experiients
