introducion + history of psychology

Question 1

social psychology - definition

Answer 1

scientific study of how people think about (the self, social beliefs + attitudes) , relate (agression, helping,attraction) and influence one another (small group projects, social identity and categorizing)

Question 2

History of psychology

Answer 2

1898 - first social psychology experiment
1800- important contributions to social psychological theorizing were given both in european + north american scholars from different disciplines including philosophy, economics and psychological.

Question 3

Adam smith

Answer 3

Influenced some modern day thinking on the self

Question 4

Gestalt psychology

Answer 4

A holistic theory of mind + brain that focuses on how these actively structure our perceptions + impressions. Suggests that ones need to look at comprehensive situation to fully understand human conscious experience. Examples (K.koffka, W.kohler, K.lewin)

Question 5

Wundt - folk psychology ‘Volkerpsychologie’

Answer 5

also called mass psychology - psychology of the people –> people belonging to same social group tend to think in the same way (collective beliefs, norms and values)

Question 6

positivism

Answer 6

Comte - claims social phenomena can be studied by using the same method as natural science (since there are general laws, existing in all sciences)
Aim of researchers is to reveal them by ‘positivistic’ methods
positivism = thinks true knowledge can be achieved through perception and empirical investigation

Question 7

First social psychological experiment

Answer 7

social facilitation

Question 8

Behaviorism

Answer 8

stimulus –> response

Question 9

W. james

Answer 9

Founder of north american psychology
HIS principle of psychology= ‘social self’, recognition a man gets from his mates
‘a man can have as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him and carry an image on him in their mind’

Question 10

crisis in social psyhology

Answer 10

2 characteristics:

1. social psychology over reliance on experimental methods at the expense of more naturalistic approaches (observation + interviewing)
2. excessive emphasis on individual as individuals rather than part of complex social, historical and political context

Question 11

Cognitivism

Answer 11

A theory of learning. The idea is that learning is a conscious, rational process. People learn by making models, maps and frameworks in their mind. ~ is the opposite of behaviorism.

Question 12

Levels of explanation (doise, 1976)

Answer 12

1. intERgroup (ideological)
2. intRAgroup (social role or position)
   IntERpersonal
   IntRApersonal

Question 13

Social identity theory - Tajfel

Answer 13

He used experiments to investigate how identity + behaviour are influenced by social groups to which one belongs

Question 14

Moscovici : “ HOW do we see world as social”

Answer 14

Looked at role of language in constructing + communicating human beings - collective ways of understanding the social world as embodied in social representations theory

Question 15

Critical social psychology

Answer 15

A movement promoting social psychology that:

1. recognizes own political, social + historical situatedness
2. pursuses social change and reform

Question 16

Social psychology - human values

Answer 16

social psychologist values penetrate their work in ways both obvious and subtle:

• choice of research method
• as object of social psychological analysis
• psychological concepts contain values
• subjective aspects of science

Question 17

implicit values

Answer 17

NOT bad, they are natural and inevitable

Question 18

Scientific approach means

Answer 18

1. recognize our values
2. make them explicit
3. use systematic observation, empirical data, experimentation to check ideas against reality