Week 1 Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is Social Psychology
The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations
What are situations
Actual, imagined or implied presence of others
Father of social psychology
Kurt Lewin
Field theory
People are constantly influenced by a field of social forces that push and pull them to act in certain ways
Channel factors
Situational circumstances that appear unimportant on the surface, but can have great consequences for behavior, either facilitating, blocking, or guiding behavior in a particular direction - i.e. time pressure
examples - tetanus shot & get out the vote
Fundamental attribution error
The tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions, and undermine the importance of situational influences
Construal
The interpretation of a stimulus or (social) situation
Schemas
Generalized knowledge about the world and how to behave in particular situations with different kinds of people
Automatic Processing
- Automatic, involuntary, unconscious, and relatively effortless
- Often based on emotional response
Controlled Processing
- Systematic, deliberate, conscious, and relatively effortful
- Based on some careful thinking; can override automatic responses
Unconscious Processing (Acting without Thinking)
Occurs when beliefs and behaviors are generated without our awareness of the underlying causes and processes
Universal vs Cultural
Universal: Evolution
- We possess certain traits and behavior because they helped our ancestors survive
Cultural: Cultural differences
-The expression of the same qualities/knowledge/behavior can differ by your social group
Naturalistic fallacy (universal)
The claim that the way things are is the way they should be - Biology is destiny
