Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lecture Notes
2016-2017
Academic
Definition
Social psychology may be defined as
the science that seeks to understand
how people think about, feel about,
relate to, and influence one another.
Social psychology may be defined as
the science that studies the
influences of our situations, with
special attention to how we view and
affect one another.
Definition of Social
psychology
Nature of Social
Psychology cont.
Goal of Description
The goal of description entails
identifying and reporting the
details and nature of a
phenomenon, often
distinguishing between the
classes or types of the
phenomenon and
recording its frequency of
Goal of Prediction
The prediction form of understanding
requires knowing what factors are
systematically related (i.e.,
correlated) to the phenomenon of
interest.
Any significant relationship found
would represent an important insight
but does not indicate causality.
Goal of Determining
causality
Determining causality between two factors
means determining that changes in one
factor produce (i.e., cause) changes in the
other factor.
Note this: Just because two factors are
related does not necessarily mean that
they are causally related.
Identifying the cause(s) of phenomena is a
very important component of
understanding.
Goal of Explanation
Explanation pertains to establishing why
a phenomenon or relationship occurs.
We may understand that one factor
causes another factor without knowing
exactly why the effect occurs, hence the
need to explain the WHY.
Social psychologists focused on furthering
the understanding of one or more of the
following: how people think about, feel
about, relate to, and influence each other.
Thanks
Research Methods in
Social Psychology
Research Methods
Research often uncovers results that could
not have been predicted ahead of time.
Research is employed to test our
explanations about behaviour in a rigorous
manner.
CONCEPTUAL VARIABLES are the
characteristics that we are trying to
measure
AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION is the
particular method that we use to measure a
variable of interest.
Research Methods
Social psychologists test hypothesis
using:
the observational approach: describes
the correlational approach: explore
linkages
the experimental approach: explore
linkages
Observational Research
Observational research involves
making observations of behaviour
and recording those observations in
an objective manner to get a picture
of what is happening at time-t.
The observational approach involves
creating a type of snapshot of the
current state of affairs.
Correlational research
Correlational research test
hypotheses about the relationships
between two or more variables.
The research hypothesis in a
correlational design, is that there is
an association or a correlation
between the variables that are being
measured.
Experimental research
designs
Experimental research designs employ the
manipulation of a given situation or experience
for two or more groups of individuals who are
initially created to be equivalent, followed by a
measurement of the effect of that experience.
Factorial research designs are experimental
designs that have two or more independent
variables.
Ethics and Deception in Social Psychology
Experiments and Interpretation of Results
Thanks
SOCIAL COGNITION
SOCIAL COGNITION
The mental activity that relates to social
activities and helps us meet the goal of
understanding and predicting the
behaviour of ourselves and others.
The process of understanding or making
sense of people.
Social cognition involves learning
defined as the relatively permanent
change in knowledge that is acquired
through experience.
COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL
COGNITION
TWO KEY COMPONENTS:
MAKING ATTRIBUTION
BUILDING IMPRESSION
ATTRIBUTION
We make attributions about why people
act as they do.
Attribution Processes
Dispositions
Internal and External Attribution
Discounting, Augmentation and Subtractive
Rule
Covariance Principle:
Consensus, Distinctiveness and Consistency
Attribution Bias
Fundamental Attribution Error, Saliency Bias and
STIs
Attributions
We explain peoples behaviour observed
by making internal attributions, external
attributions, or a combination of the two.
We make Situational (External)
attributions when we explain behaviour
by focusing on factors in the observed
persons social environment.
Explaining behaviour by focusing on
factors within the person who has been
observed is an act of making internal
(dispositional) attributions.
Discounting, Augmentation
and Subtractive Rule
Discounting
EXAMPLES
Discounting, Augmentation
and Subtractive Rule
Augmentation
EXAMPLES
Discounting, Augmentation
and Subtractive Rule
Subtractive Rule
EXAMPLES
Covariance Principle
Consensus
Distinctiveness
Consistency
COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL
COGNITION
We build overall impression on the
basis of what we know or think we
know about them as individuals and
as members of groups.