Social Psychology

Chapter One

Introduction to Social Psychology

 Content
1. What is social psychology?
2. What are the three main research areas of
social psychology today?
3. What are social psychology’s big lessons?
4. What is the difference between sociology
and social psychology?
5. How do our values enter into the
study of social psychology?
6. Is social psychology just “common
sense”?
7. What are the two general categories of
studies of social psychology?
8. List the steps in the process of social
psychological research.
 What is Social Psychology?
It is a science that studies the influences
of our situations, with special attention to
how we view and affect one another: More
precisely said, it is the scientific study of
how people think about, influence, and
relate to one another. It does so by asking
questions that have intrigued us all.
What are the main areas of
research today?

Social Thinking
Social Influence
Social Relations
Social psychology is the
scientific study of…
Some Big Ideas in Social
Psychology
What is the difference between Sociology
and Social Psychology?

1. most sociologists study groups ， from

small to very large (societies and their
trends) ， most social psychologists study
average individuals—how one person at a
time thinks about others ， is influenced by
them ， relates to them ． These studies
include how groups affect individual people
and how an individual affects a group ．
2. Social psychologists rely much more
heavily on experiments in which they
manipulate a factor ， such as the
presence or absence of peer
influence ， to see its effect ．
The factors that sociologists study,
such as socioeconomic class ， are
typically difficult or unethical to
manipulate ．
Social Psychology and Human
Values
 Social representations
社会表征

Socially shared beliefs-widely held

ideas and values, including our
assumptions and cultural ideologies.
Our social representations help us
make sense of our world (p.9).
 Culture
文化
The enduring behaviors, ideas,
attitudes, and traditions shared by a
large group of people and transmitted
from one generation to the next (p.9).
 naturalistic fallacy
自然主义的谬论

• The error of defining what is good

in terms of what is observable .For
example, what is typical is normal,
what’s normal is good (p.10).
• Obvious ways in which values enter
• Not-so-obvious ways in which values
enter
– The subjective aspects of science
– Psychological concepts contain hidden
values
• Systematic observation and
experimentation are needed to check our
ideas against reality
Is Social Psychology Simply
“Common Sense”?
Hindsight bias

– The tendency to exaggerate, after learning

an outcome, one’s ability to have foreseen
how something turned out. Also Known as
– the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.
Is Social Psychology Simply
“Common Sense”?
Like many of life’s happenings, social
psychology’s findings sometimes seem
obvious. Experiments, however, reveal
that outcomes are more “obvious” after
the facts are known. The hindsight bias
often makes people overconfident
about the validity of their judgments
and predictions.
Research methods
 How Do We Do Social Psychology?
Forming and Testing Hypotheses
• Theory: An integrated set of principles that explain
and predict observed events.
• Hypothesis: A testable proposition that describes
the relationship that may exist between events.
• Research may take place in the field or in a
laboratory.
• Two primary research methods are: correlational
and experimental research.
Correlational Research:
• Study naturally occurring relationships
among variables.
• Allow prediction; do NOT infer causation
Survey Research:
• Random samples help obtain a
representative group
• Unrepresentative samples
Understanding Correlations
 Experimental Research:
Searching for Cause and Effect
Control: Manipulating Variables
– Independent and Dependent Variables
– Random Assignment
– Ethical Concerns:
– Mundane/Experimental Realism
– Deception
– Demand Characteristics
– Informed Consent
– Potential Harm
– Confidentiality
– Debriefing
Understanding Experiments
Two Methods of Doing Research:
Correlational and Experimental
 Things to Consider in Social
Psychological Research
• Theory
• Hypothesis
• Population
• Sample
• Representative sample
• Random sample
• Random assignment
• Blind procedures
• Independent variable
• Dependent variable
• Survey
• Placebo effects
• Third variables
• Causation
• Reliability
• Validity
Perspectives on Research in
Social Psychology
Perspectives on Research in
Social Psychology
The Research Process
The Research Process
Understanding Correlations
Understanding Correlations
 Understanding Experiments
• Concerns:
– Order of questions
– Response options
– Framing