Social Psych

1. Social Psych vs. Individual Differences Approach

a. We tend to think that behavior is mostly influenced by individual differences
i. Individual approach
1. Internal process  out
2. Stable internal differences, no quick changes
ii. Social psychology
1. In certain situation most people act in a particular way
a. Situational
i. Important in determining behavior
2. Individual characteristics are overwhelmed by social situations
3. Bystander effect
a. The larger the number of people witnessing an emergency, the
less likely someone is to help/respond
4. Subtle changes can affect our behavior
2. Theoretical approaches
a. Role Theory
i. Sociology
ii. Particular contrast with the individual differences approach
iii. Most social behavior is a product of the roles that we take on at any given time
1. The student role
2. The sister role
3. The boss role
a. Shifting of gears as moving in and out of these different roles
b. Value is higher if playing the roles better
i. The higher the value the larger amount of flexibility a
given person has in their role
b. Learning emphasis
i. Reinforcement or reward of past behaviors
1. Rewards strengthen the response
2. Good/positive response  more likely to repeat behavior
a. Doesn’t take much to be reinforced
3. Direct reinforcement
4. Modeling on imitation
a. Seeing other people react a certain way to certain behavior
5. People tend to copy behavior that they see
c. Cognitive approach
i. Emphasizes the importance of mental processes
1. Bias in thought processes – confirmation bias
ii. Controlled vs. Automatic responses
1. Controlled – explicit
 2. Automatic – implicit
a. They can be conflicting
b. Doesn’t mean incorrect, can actually be very accurate (more
often than not it is)
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iii. 1/20 of a second can make judgments about facial features
1. The longer you think about it (controlled thinking)you can change ideas
2. 70% of winners from congressional elections were chosen based on
“competency” in 1/20th second flashes
d. Evolutionary theory
i. Social behavior is substantially a product of natural selection over the course of
evolution
ii. Biologically hardwired