Block 2 - Lecture 0 - Intro to social psychology

Question 1

What is social psychology?

Answer 1

• psychology of interpersonal behaviour
• the scientific study of the reciprocal influence of the individual and his or her social context

Question 2

How is social psych investigated?

Answer 2

• lab exp
• observations
• questionnaires
• interviews and focus groups

Question 3

What is a ‘WEIRD sample’?

Answer 3

W = western
E = educated
I = industrial
R = rich
D = democratic
- there is little representation of people who don’t fit this profile

Question 4

What is evolutionary psychology?

Answer 4

it explains the mind and behaviour in terms of natural selection where minor variations in the way we think and behave mean that some individuals are more suited to their environments

Question 5

What is cultural psychology?

Answer 5

• the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
• absolutism = idea that culture makes little or no difference for most psychological phenomena
• relativism = idea that psychological phenomena should only be viewed in the context of a specific culture