Social Psychology text book notes- midterm
Chapter 1: Introducing Social Psychology
What is Social Psychology?
We are social beings
The Science of Social Behaviour
Social psychology= the science of social behaviour
It is a field dedicated to understanding the causes and consequences of social interactions between individuals or groups
Social Psychology: the scientific study of how individuals thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by other people
Four key aspects
Influenced by other people
Thoughts, feelings, behaviours
Individuals’ perspective
Scientific study
Influenced by Other People
Social psychology is the study of how other people affect us
People can influence us without having to be physically present
Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviours
Social psychologists are interested in how other people affect every aspect of individuals’ lives, including thoughts (cognitions) feelings (affect) and behaviours
They study how individuals process information about other people and how they store this information into memory
The ultimate goal of the science is to understand why various kinds of actions toward other people occur or do not occur
Individuals Perspective
Social psychologists take the perspective of individuals in a social setting, rather than focusing only on objective features of the situation
They believe that it is necessary to look at the world through the actor’s eyes to understand behaviour
To understand many social events, it is more important to know individual actors’ subjective perceptions of the situation than to know the settings objective features
Social Construal’s: a term used to refer to individuals’ perceptions of a situation and how they construe (perceive, interpret) the situation
Scientific Study
Social psychology is a science and like any science, it involves collecting data to test predictions
How Other People Affect Us
The key element of social psychology is that it investigates how individuals are influenced by other
What is Social Psychology?
We are social beings
The Science of Social Behaviour
Social psychology= the science of social behaviour
It is a field dedicated to understanding the causes and consequences of social interactions between individuals or groups
Social Psychology: the scientific study of how individuals thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by other people
Four key aspects
Influenced by other people
Thoughts, feelings, behaviours
Individuals’ perspective
Scientific study
Influenced by Other People
Social psychology is the study of how other people affect us
People can influence us without having to be physically present
Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviours
Social psychologists are interested in how other people affect every aspect of individuals’ lives, including thoughts (cognitions) feelings (affect) and behaviours
They study how individuals process information about other people and how they store this information into memory
The ultimate goal of the science is to understand why various kinds of actions toward other people occur or do not occur
Individuals Perspective
Social psychologists take the perspective of individuals in a social setting, rather than focusing only on objective features of the situation
They believe that it is necessary to look at the world through the actor’s eyes to understand behaviour
To understand many social events, it is more important to know individual actors’ subjective perceptions of the situation than to know the settings objective features
Social Construal’s: a term used to refer to individuals’ perceptions of a situation and how they construe (perceive, interpret) the situation
Scientific Study
Social psychology is a science and like any science, it involves collecting data to test predictions
How Other People Affect Us
The key element of social psychology is that it investigates how individuals are influenced by other