UNIT 1 Flashcards
(15 cards)
social psychology
The scientific study of the way individuals think, feel and behave in social context (implied/real).
A science that applies scientific method of systemic observation, description and measurement to study humans
two questions from your daily life that social psychologists are trying to answer
What brought my partner and I together
Why did they choose to not have kids
How is social psychology different from other social sciences such as sociology
Sociology classifies people in groups
Social psych focuses on individuals, social nature of the human animal, internal and external factors
Paychodynamic + environment
examples of common-sense sayings about human behaviours in social situations
FALSE ASSUMPTIONS
- physically attractive people lack smarts
- people will like an activity more if there is a large reward
- contact sports or violent video games releases aggression
- 2 heads are better than one or two many chefs spoil the soup
major periods in the history of social psychology
- 1880s-1920s birth/infancy
- 1913 Canada has 1st social psychology course taught in uni
- 1950s social psychology on the map
the birth and infancy of social psychology: founders, when it became a field
1880s-1920s
Mcdougal
Ross
Allport
They announced arrival of a new approach, Wrote 3 text books in psychology
Hitler had biggest impact creating a need to understand how people treat each other
main focus of social-psychological research from the 1930s to the 1950s
30s establishing base of theory studying public opinion, norms, prejudice, treatment of others
50s conformity and the self
Kurt Lewin’s contributions
- Fled nazi Germany 1930s
- Behavior= person+environment
- Internal and external factors of psyc
- advocated theory to be applied to everyday issues
- applies social psyc eg advertising
- research important
why the 1960s to the mid-1970s was a period of confidence and crisis for social psychology
It was a time of pluralism or a wider range of research methods.
Crisis was that they argued over the methods
Confidence higher quality research methods used and global involvement
Added international and multicultural aspects
ethical issues with experiments
How was the crisis in social psychology resolved in the mid-1970s to the 1990s
- implementation of ethical guidelines
- diversity of research methods
- shift toward applied methods (real world applications)
- utilized the crisis to create new framework and theory
Describe how emotion, motivation, and cognition perspectives are integrated in social-psychology research
emotion, motivation, and cognition constantly interact to shape how we perceive, judge, and act in social situations. Studying them together gives a fuller, more accurate picture of human behavior.
evolutionary perspectives in social-psychological research
Principles of evolution used to understanding behavior
Genetics affects behavior
genetic perspectives in social-psychological research
- how genetic variation contributes to individual differences in traits like aggression, empathy, risk-taking, and conformity
- genes influence how people respond to environments
- how certain social behaviors evolved to increase survival and reproductive success.
**Genetic perspectives don’t replace environmental explanations — they complement them.
culture
A system of beliefs, meanings, values, assumptions, institutions and practices shared by a large group of people and transferred from one generation to the next
what ways are new technologies changing social-psychological research
- Non-invasive imaging techniques allow us to see the brain at work
- Vr allows us to test the impossible
- Improved communication and access to research
- allows for incorporation of more social data/aspects eg social media
