Social environment and behavior lecture notes and notes of extra videos
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Course
Social environment and behaviour (PSBE204)
Institution
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RuG)
The summary contains all lecture notes of the second year course Social and environmental psychology. The notes were made in preparation of the exam in the study year 2021/2022, they contain all the figures and tables as used in the lecture. Additionally, all the extra video material is included in...
Discussed in the introduction lecture:
Course introduction
Applied social psychology
The broad idea of the course:
- How behavior influences societal problems and is influenced by context
- Apply theories to manage societal problems, understanding the effectiveness of
interventions
- The book: applied social psychology
- Videos posted on Nestor: new videos uploaded a week in advance, the videos
support the book and the sessions
- Sessions: learning from experts in their fields, online and live, some single sessions
and some double sessions
- Assignment
Problem analysis
Create a theory-driven analysis of a problem, based om evidence
Peer-review
Review the assignment of others
The full description is on Nestor
- Exam
Open book exam
Understanding the content and applying it
No facts that can be found in the book will be asked
40 questions with 3 choices
Content: the whole book and videos
- Final grade
Pass the assignment and the exam
The grade will be the exam grade
Quest lecture by Kees Keizer
- Structuring problems (theories)
- Focused on testing
- Designing supported interventions
Littering
A current project in Groningen, improving the littering situation in the municipality. Thus,
reduce the liter in the environment.
Structuring the problems
- What is the problem behavior?
See above for the introduction.
Everybody has a different perspective on what the problem actually is, therefore
be very specific
Try to be specific on what the wanted behavior is
- What are the main determinants of the problem behavior?
This is where theories come into place
, The theories help you to label a few determinants
Theory of planned behavior (TPB)
Theory of normative conduct
- Designing supported interventions
In groups: link a cause + potential intervention, to the various components of the theory
Extra video 1 – theories and problems
Problems in society:
- Education
- Immigration and integration
- Work
- Environmental
- Health
How can you campaign that smoking is bad for you?
- Media
- Advertisement and consumer
- Sport
- Transportation
Motivating individuals to use public transport
Psychology can potentially help in solving these problems. Problems are never easy, and do
not only involve psychological aspects. When working as a consultant, you are likely to work
with other fields as well.
Characterized by many aspects:
- Economical
- Historical
- Geographical and spatial
- Political
- Social psychological
For example, earthquakes in Groningen., reducing energy use by households.
,Social psychological aspects of a problem:
For example, bullying
- Behavior
Problem awareness, people might not be aware of the negative result one’s
behavior has
Attitudes, the people that bully don’t think you should be nice to everyone
Norms, people that bully think that it happens a lot around them, it’s normal
behavior
Values, the guiding principle of the one bullying might not overlap with ‘being
nice to people’. A value is a goal throughout life.
You can focus your intervention on one of these aspects.
Definitions
Social psychology: science that aims at understanding the nature and causes of human
behavior and cognitions in social situations
Applied social psychology: application of social psychological constructs, principles,
theories, intervention techniques, methods, or research results on understanding or solving
social problems. This also refers to theories, theories are merely the instruments that try to
help you to get a sense on why people do the things they do. Theories evolve, remember
this, theories are not truths.
- Construct: latent individual characteristic (not directly observable)
Behavior is directly observable
Examples: attitude, value, social norm, performance motivation
- Principle: a statement of how psychological process works
For example, cognitive dissonance (reduction)
For example, commitment – feeling of moral obligation. When we don’t follow-
up to this, if you don’t practice what you preach (social norm) people will see you
as less favorably. Therefore, you would see yourself as less favorable.
For example, compliance techniques:
Foot-in-the-door technique (freedman & Fraser)
First ask if you can place a large sign in garden
Secondly, go along with placing a small sign in window
In a follow-up people, when people had the small sign, would be asked if they
would now want the large sign. most of them answered yes due to consistency.
- Theory: integrated set of principles that describe, explains, and predicts observed
events.
Theories are testable
Difference between fundamental and applied social psychology
, Fundamental: Applied
- Focus on development and testing - Focus on understanding and
of theories solving social problems
- Deductive - Inductive
Deductive: you use the problem that you see in society as a way of testing your theory. It is
a narrow approach; you’re very focused on one theory.
Inductive: the problem is a starting point, and you use theories as a way of getting
explanations. It is a broad approach; you can use more theories. How would you pick a
theory? You choose the instrument that is most convenient for your problem, varies
theories have strengths and weaknesses and things for which they apply most/which
situations they apply most.
Similarities between fundamental and applied social psychology
Development and testing theories:
- Fundamental approach in applied research
- Applied research leading to fundamental knowledge.
What they observed led to a theory
The big similarity is the scientific methods: accuracy, objectivity, scepticism, open-
mindedness.
Factor influencing cognitions ad behavior
Individual: attitude, value
Social: opinions and behavior of others
Situational: physical environment
Cultural: shared opinions, perceptions, norms
Biological: genetic factors
Characteristics applied social psychology
1. Problem focused
Several theories, methods, interventions
2. Value orientated
3. Socially usable
Strong effects
Long term effects
4. Generalizable
Example: first year students
5. Interdisciplinary
6. Field focused
7. Client
Example: municipality, ministry
Quick results
Understandable
8. Cost-profit calculation
Example: mass media or customized information
9. Political realizable
10. ‘output’: science vs society
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