history of SP

Question 1

what is social psychology?

Answer 1

systematic study of the nature and causes for human social behaviour (DeLameter and Collett 2019)

the scientific study of reciprocal influnce of the individual and their social context (Manstead 1995)

Question 2

what are the 3 aspects of social thinking?

Answer 2

the self

social beliefs and social elements

attitudes and behaviour

Question 3

what are the 3 aspects of social influence?

Answer 3

genes, culture, and gender

conformity and obedience

persuasion

Question 4

what are the 3 aspects of social relations?

Answer 4

aggression

attraction and intimacy

helping

Question 5

what are the 3 aspects of people in groups?

Answer 5

small group influence

social categorisation and social identity

inter- group relations, conflict and prejudice

Question 6

when were the first social psychology experiments conducted?

Answer 6

late 1800’s

Question 7

what is rationalism?

Answer 7

the idea that the truth can be discovered through deduction and using the intellect, reasoning through to a conclusion

Question 8

what ideas did David Hume (UK) come up with?

Answer 8

1739: sympathy contributed to social conformity
1741: national traits were present

Question 9

what ideas did Adam Smith (UK) come up with?

Answer 9

1759: the people we become is shaped by our social interactions with others

Question 10

what ideas did Immanuel Kant (Germany) come up with?

Answer 10

1724- 1804: interested in feelings, how people manipulate each other, desire for power etc

thought these topics couldn’t be studied scientifically because they can’t be treated as physical objects

inspired the development of Gestalt psychology

Question 11

what is Gestalt psychology?

Answer 11

suggests that the mind constructs reality and orders the social world

Question 12

what ideas did Kurt Lewin (Germany) come up with?

Answer 12

1890- 1947: developed Gestalt psychology

thought social psychology should be about looking at the whole picture

wanted to tackle prejudice and improve inter-group relations

Question 13

what ideas did Johann Friedrich Herbart (Germany) come up with?

Answer 13

1776- 1841: founder of social psychology

influenced development of volkerpsychologie

social life important

people in same social groups have similar values and beliefs

“the human being is nothing outside of society”

influenced development of social psychology in Europe, UK and USA

Question 14

what is volkerpsychologie?

Answer 14

mass psychology, folk psychology, or psychology of the people

Question 15

what ideas did Auguste Comte (France) come up with?

Answer 15

1798- 1857: social psychology can be studied in the same way as natural sciences

encouraged positivist philosophy for social psychology

Question 16

what is positivism?

Answer 16

we can obtain knowledge through observations, scientific testing, and building evidence

Question 17

what is empiricism?

Answer 17

the philosophy that evidence should be observed by the senses rather than reasoning and rationalising

Question 18

what ideas did Wilhelm Wundt (Germany) come up with?

Answer 18

1832- 1920: father of psychology

influenced volkerpsychologie

opened first psychology lab at uni of Leipzig in 1879

experimented on thoughts/ feelings from a stimulus

Question 19

describe the first social psychology experiment

Answer 19

performed by Norman Triplett

observed people performed better on a task when competing against others

Question 20

William James (USA)

Answer 20

1842- 1910: father of american psychology

first to teach psychology in USA

created psychology lab at Harvard uni

environment had impact on behaviour, hated reductionism

Question 21

why was 1908 so important?

Answer 21

UK: William McDougall published intro to SP, focused on evolutionary theory and instincts

Europe: focused on membership pr groups, influence on group of behaviours

USA: Edward Ross published SP, focused on individuals, groups, and crowds, experimental labs, empiricism, psychology of individuals

Question 22

aspects of psychological social psychology (PSP)

Answer 22

America 
  Focus on the individual with social context second 
  Cognitive social psychology
  Biological and behavioural 
  Use of experimental methods 
  Milgram, Bandura, Asch, Sherif

Question 23

aspects of sociological social psychology (SSP)

Answer 23

Europe 
  Focus on social context and its influence on the   
  individual 
  Social constructionism 
  Use of qualitative methods 
  Tajfel, Foucault, Mead

Question 24

advantages of experimental/positivist research methods

Answer 24

Study of human behaviour as a science 
Test hypotheses
Falsify a hypothesis but not prove one 
Measurable and replicable
Objective
Universal and generalisable 
Control over variables
Quantitative analyses

Question 25

advantages of qualitative research methods

Answer 25

``` Field studies Case studies Studies of archives Subjective High ecological validity Analysis may be qualitative or quantitative ```

Question 26

disadvantages of experimental/ positivist research methods

Answer 26

``` Low on ecological validity Subject effects such as demand characteristics Experimenter effects Reductionist Ignores social context ```

Question 27

disadvantages of qualitative research methods

Answer 27

Not replicable Idiographic (focussed on individual, personal experience) Not easy to extrapolate Lack of control over data collection, environment Lack of objective perspective

Question 28

what were the 2 main criticisms for social psychology in the crisis of the 1960s and 1970s?

Answer 28

1) Positivist assumptions and use of experimental methods, reductionist explanations of human behaviour 2) Values steeped in individualism

Question 29

how did the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) deal with the crisis?

Answer 29

set up to establish social psychology as a discipline which takes into consideration not only individuals but their social groups, ideological values and social world that they live in. Focus on: How identity and behaviour are shaped by group memberships How language is used to communicate with others How we understand the world collectively

Question 30

what is social constructionism?

Answer 30

We construct our own realities through interactions with others, cognitive functions are a product of interaction with others

Question 31

what is discursive psychology?

Answer 31

Analyses text, talk and language. Our social world and positions we take in it are constructed through language, psychological experiences take place through our talk

Question 32

what is phenomenological psychology?

Answer 32

Focuses on our conscious experiences and how these experiences influence our sense of self and feelings about being in the world

Question 33

what is critical social psychology?

Answer 33

Explores the social, historical and ideological context research is conducted in (situatedness)

Question 34

what methods are used in critical social psychology?

Answer 34

Observations Interviews Narrative analysis Discourse analysis

Question 35

aspects of traditional experimental methods

Answer 35

Reduce complex human phenomena to measurable variables and simplistic categories Present ‘subjects’ as naive stimulus-response machines and society as invisible or constant Provides ‘knowledge’ which is technical and uncritical Ignores significant personal and contextual features of research Claims that social psychology is a science

Question 36

aspects of critical social psychology methods

Answer 36

Emphasize the variation, complexity and often contradictory qualities in human experience Situate individuals/participants within wider social contexts Offer knowledge that is partial, incomplete and critical Highlights personal and contextual elements within the research Doesn’t claim that psychology is a science, acknowledges it is subjective