SP3450 Week 1 Assignment 1: Social Psychology
Social Psychology
SP3450
Week 1 Assignment 1
By
Andrew Timmons
The social psychological theory I chose was sociocultural perspective. I learned this early on in High School. I noticed higher status being given to the guys who had cars to drive. So, early on I was motivated to get a job so I could buy a car. And the guys with the cooler cars were even more popular. There are many examples I could use to demonstrate this type of phenomenon in High School, but I believe this to be one of the most basic examples. One could easily argue this to be more of a socioeconomic status symbol but that would be getting ahead of ourselves. Personally, I find perspective to be one of the most important tools in psychology. The best
way to provide insight into an individuals’ point of view in my book is to try to understand his or her underlying motivations, and feelings. I use this technique almost daily in everyday life. The second social psychology theory I chose was the expectancy – value theory. Whenever I go to Lake Tahoe and gamble I like to play roulette. Arguably it’s the best odd in the house, red or black. My decision on which color to choose depends on how many times in a row red or black appears. For example, if black comes up three times in a row theirs a greater chance the next outcome will be red. So I wait for black to come up two times in a row and then bet black. The probability that black will come up a third time is good. The longer I watch and keep track of the patterns before placing the bet, the better my odds of winning.
SP3450
Week 1 Assignment 1
By
Andrew Timmons
The social psychological theory I chose was sociocultural perspective. I learned this early on in High School. I noticed higher status being given to the guys who had cars to drive. So, early on I was motivated to get a job so I could buy a car. And the guys with the cooler cars were even more popular. There are many examples I could use to demonstrate this type of phenomenon in High School, but I believe this to be one of the most basic examples. One could easily argue this to be more of a socioeconomic status symbol but that would be getting ahead of ourselves. Personally, I find perspective to be one of the most important tools in psychology. The best
way to provide insight into an individuals’ point of view in my book is to try to understand his or her underlying motivations, and feelings. I use this technique almost daily in everyday life. The second social psychology theory I chose was the expectancy – value theory. Whenever I go to Lake Tahoe and gamble I like to play roulette. Arguably it’s the best odd in the house, red or black. My decision on which color to choose depends on how many times in a row red or black appears. For example, if black comes up three times in a row theirs a greater chance the next outcome will be red. So I wait for black to come up two times in a row and then bet black. The probability that black will come up a third time is good. The longer I watch and keep track of the patterns before placing the bet, the better my odds of winning.