SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
LECTURE | SECOND SEMESTER
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Social Psychology
It is the scientific study of how people think about, influence,
and relate to one another.
Scientific discipline that attempts to understand and explain
how thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced
by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
Social Psychology vs. Sociology _
Social psychology focuses more on individuals and uses more
experimentation.
Sociology is the study of people in groups and societies.
Social Psychology as a young science _ social group. Social psychologists are interested in the origins,
The first social psychology experiments were reported barely
more than a century ago (1898), and the first social psychology
texts did not appear until just before and after 1900 (Smith,
2005).
Not until the 1930s did social psychology assume its current
form. And not until World War II did it begin to emerge as the
vibrant field it is today.
Additional Information about Social Psychology _ people come to know and understand themselves? How do
Social psychology studies our thinking, influence, and
relationships by asking questions that have intrigued us all.
Some topics under Social Psychology are as follows:
Social Cognition.
Social cognition is concerned with the processing, storage,
and application of social information. This research area is
closely related to the field of cognitive psychology, a research
area focusing largely on the concept of schemas.
Schemas are our general ideas about the world, how things
are, and how things work.
These mental shortcuts allow us to function without
constantly stopping to interpret everything around us. We also
develop associations between related schemas, which play an
important role in the thought process and social behavior.
Attitudes and Attitude Change.
Another major research area in social psychology involves
the study of attitudes. Social psychologists are interested in
the components of attitudes, how attitudes develop, and how
attitudes change.
Researchers have identified three core components of
attitude: an affective component, a behavioral component,
and a cognitive component. Often referred to as the "ABCs of
attitude," these elements describe how we feel, behave, and
understand.
Violence and Aggression.
Social psychologists are interested in how and why people
engage in violence or act aggressively.
Research in this area looks at numerous factors that may
cause aggression including social variables and media
influences.
Researchers often look at the role social learning plays in
producing aggressive behaviors and actions.
Prosocial Behavior
Prosocial behaviors are those that involve helping and
cooperating. Researchers often look at why people help
others, as well as why they sometimes refuse to help or
cooperate.
The bystander effect is an example of a social phenomenon
in the subject area of prosocial behavior. The bystander effect,
or bystander apathy, is a social psychological theory that
states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim
when there are other people present.
Much of the research in the area of bystander effect was
prompted by the murder of a young woman named Kitty
Genovese. This case captured national attention when reports
revealed that neighbors had witnessed her attack and murder,
but failed to call the police for help.
Research inspired by the Genovese case produced a great
deal of information on prosocial behavior and how and why
people choose—or sometimes refuse—to help others.
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes exist in any
causes, and effects of these types of attitudes and social
categorizations. How does prejudice develop? Why are
stereotypes maintained in the face of contrary evidence?
These are only a few of the questions social psychologists seek
to answer.
Self and Social Identity
Our perceptions of social identities and ourselves are
another important research area in social psychology. How do
these self-perceptions affect our social interactions?
Social psychologists are interested in learning more about
how this inner life influences our outer lives and social world.
Self-awareness, self-esteem, self-concept, and self-
expression are only a few of the factors that influence our
social experience.
Group behavior
The behavior of groups is one of the largest research areas
in social psychology. Most people realize that groups tend to
behave differently than individuals. These group behaviors are
sometimes beneficial and positive, but can also be
detrimental and negative.
Social psychologists often look at topics such as group
dynamics, leadership, group decision making, conflicts,
cooperation, and group influence.
Social Influence
Social psychologists are also interested in the role that
social influence has on behavior and decision making. Topics
such as the psychology of persuasion, peer pressure,
conformity, and obedience are only a few of those studied in
this area of social psychology.
Research has helped reveal the power of social influence
and has uncovered ways to help people resist influence.
Interpersonal Relationship
Social relationships play a major role in shaping behavior,
attitudes, feelings, and thoughts. Social psychologists study
how these interpersonal relationships affect people by looking
at attachment, liking, love, and attraction. How close
relationships affect individuals, how important interpersonal
relationships are, and what causes attraction are only some of
the areas social psychologists look at in-depth.
Social psychology is the scientific study of social thinking,
social influence, and social relations.
Social thinking
How we perceive ourselves and others.
What we believe.
Judgments we make.
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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
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Our attitudes.
Social Influence
Culture.
Pressures to conform.
Persuasion.
Groups of people.
Social Relations
Prejudice.
Aggression.
Attraction and intimacy.
Helping.
Why do we need to study Social Psychology? _  Stresses the importance of unique experiences in family, school,
As social psychology studies the behavior of individuals and
groups, everyone deals with and communicates with different
community groups needs this science; to understand and guide
individuals and to study various responses within the community.
The individual in his daily life can explain his behavior and self-
behavior around him properly, understanding the interaction and
harmony that takes place between the individual, among others.
Thus, the understanding of social and cultural being, which in
turn determines the expected behavioral patterns in different
social attitudes, in addition to this science, gives the individual the
ability to differentiate between people, the possibility of accepting
a certain category and move away from another category.
Theoretical Foundations _ beliefs to interpret the event) or accommodated (which involves
Sociocultural Perspective.
Viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in
influences from larger social groups.
The view that a person’s prejudices, preferences, and political
persuasions are affected by factors such as nationality, social
class, and current historical trends.
Social norms. Rules and expectations appropriate for social
behavior.
Culture. The beliefs, customs, habits, and language are shared
by the people living in a particular time and place.
 Stresses the importance of social norms and culture.
 Proposes that children learn behavior through problem-solving
interactions with other children and adults. Through these
interactions, they learn the values and norms of their society.
 Social psychologists using this perspective might look at how
cultural norms and social influence impact social behavior. When
considering something like aggression, for example, a person taking
this perspective would look at how people are socialized to behave
aggressively in certain situations.
Evolutionary Perspective
Searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and
psychological dispositions that helped our ancestors survive and
reproduce (genetics and inheritance).
Natural selection. The assumption that animals that have
characteristics that help them survive and reproduce will pass
those characteristics on to their offspring.
Adaptation. Characteristics that are well designed for survival
and reproduction in a particular environment.
 Argues that social behaviors are developed through genetics and
inheritance.
 Emphasizes the role of biology and gene transmission across
generations to explain current behavior.
 When looking at a social problem such as aggression, a
psychologist taking this perspective would consider how genetics and
evolutionary influences contributed to the development of the
behavior.
Social Learning Perspective
Focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a
person’s social behaviors.
Social behavior is driven by everyone’s personal experiences
with reward and punishment.
Emphasized the individual’s unique experiences in a particular
family, school, or peer group and have generally assumed that
habits learned early in life may be difficult to break.
community, etc.
 According to this viewpoint, we learn behaviors by observing and
mimicking the behavior of others.
 In our earlier example of aggression, someone taking the social
learning perspective would be interested in how people learn
aggressive behaviors from parents, peers, and even media influences.
Social Cognitive Perspective
A theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes
involved in paying attention to, interpreting, judging, and
remembering social experiences.
 Supports an information processing model of social behavior,
where we notice, interpret, and judge the behavior of others.
 New experiences can either be assimilated (using already held
changing existing beliefs in response to the event.)
 By understanding how information is processed, we can better
understand how patterns of thoughts impact behavior
Phenomenological Perspective (Kurt Lewin)
The view that social behavior is driven by a person’s subjective
interpretation of events in the environment.
The interaction between events in the situation and the person’s
interpretations.
A person’s interpretation of a situation was also related to his or
her goals at the time.
Social Constructivist view
The idea that people, including scientists, do not discover
reality but rather construct or invent it.
Five important concepts in Social Psychology _
Social behavior is goal-oriented.
 People interact with one another to achieve some goal or satisfy
some inner motivation.
 Our interactions serve goals or fulfill needs. Some common
goals or needs include the need for social ties, the desire to
understand ourselves and others, the wish to gain or maintain
status or protection, and the need to attract companions.
 The way people behave is often driven by the desire to fulfill
these needs. People seek friends and romantic partners, strive to
gain social status and attempt to understand the motivations that
guide other people's behaviors
Situations help determine outcomes.
 In many instances, people behave very differently depending
upon the situation. To fully understand why people do the things
they do, it is essential to look at individual characteristics, the
situation and its context, and the interactions among all these
variables.
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 For example, someone who is normally quiet and reserved might 6. Report the results.
become much more outgoing when placed in some type of
leadership role. Research Methods _
 Another example is how people sometimes behave differently in Descriptive Correlational Methods
groups than they would if they were by themselves. Environmental Naturalistic Observation
and situational variables play an important role and have a strong Case studies
influence on our behavior. Archives
 Social psychology allows us to gain a greater appreciation for Surveys
how our social perceptions affect our interactions with other Psychological Tests
people. Experimental Methods
Social situations form self-concept. Experiment
 Our social interactions help form our self-concept and our Field Experiment
perceptions. One method of forming self-concept is through the
reflected appraisal process, in which we imagine how other people Ethical Responsibilities in doing Social Psychological Research _
see us. Another method is through the social comparison process, Must avoid and restrict invasion of privacy among the
whereby we consider how we compare to other people in our peer participants.
group. Unwitting subjects are acceptable if they are left completely
 Sometimes we engage in upward social comparison where we anonymous.
rate ourselves against people who are better off than us in some Ensure the safety of the participants.
way. In other instances, we might engage in downward social
comparison where we contrast our own abilities to those of others Ethical Safeguards in Social Psychological Research _
who are less capable. Obtaining informed consent from research participants.
We analyze the behavior of others. Fully debriefing participants after the research is completed.
 One common phenomenon is the expectation confirmation, Evaluating the costs and benefits of the research procedures.
where we tend to ignore unexpected attributes and look for
evidence that confirms our preexisting beliefs about others. This REFERENCES:
Cherry, K. (2020, June 1). The 9 Major Research Areas in Social Psychology.
helps simplify our worldview, but it also skews our perception and Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/research-areas-in-
can contribute to stereotyping. social-psychology-2795913
 If you expect people to behave in a certain way, you might look Cherry, K. (2020, April 29). 5 Important Concepts in Social Psychology. Verywell
Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/things-you-should-know-
for examples that confirm your belief while at the same time about-social-psychology-2795903
ignoring evidence that conflicts with your existing opinions. Cherry, K. (2021, August 17). The major perspectives in social psychology.
Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-major-
We believe behavior reflects personality. perspectives-in-social-psychology-2795909
 Another influence on our perceptions of other people can be
explained by the theory of correspondent inferences. This occurs
when we infer that the actions and behaviors of others correspond
to their intentions and personalities.
 For example, if we see a woman helping an elderly person cross
the street, we might assume that she is kind-hearted. While
behavior can be informative, it can also be misleading.
 If we have limited interaction with someone, the behavior we
see may be atypical or caused by the specific situation rather than
by the person's overriding dispositional characteristics. In the
previous example, the woman might only be helping the elderly
person because she has been employed to do so instead of out of
the kindness of her heart.

Remember, learning more about social psychology can enrich your

understanding of yourself and the world around you. By learning more
about how people view others, how they behave in groups, and how
attitudes are formed, you can gain a greater appreciation for how social
relationships influence individual functioning.

Social Researches _
Steps in the process of Social Psychological Research
1. Select a topic and review past research.
2. Develop a theory and hypotheses.
3. Select a research method.
4. Collect the data.
5. Analyze the data.

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