Psychology 324 – Chapter 1
Introducing Social Psychology
INTRODUCTION TO social psychology
DEFINING SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Social psychology: scientific investigation of how thoughts, feelings and behaviour are induced by the
actual, imagined or implied presence of others.
• Social psychologists study behaviour as it can be observed and measured can explain behaviour.
• Behaviour: refers to what people actually do that can be objectively measured.
e.g. raising an eyebrow, the way you dress, kissing, driving or a quizzical smile.
Behaviour is publicly verifiable.
Serves a communicative function ➜ what a behaviour means depends on:
Motives, goals and perspectives.
Cultural background.
• Social psychologists are also interested in feelings, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, intentions and goals.
• Known as unobservable processes that form the psychological dimension of behaviour.
• They map psychological aspects of behaviour onto fundamental cognitive processes and structures in the
mind and to neuro-chemical processes in the brain.
WHY IS IT KNOWN AS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
• Deal with how people are affected by other people who are physically/imagined/implied to be present.
• The influence of implied presence is more complex ➜ address fundamental social nature of humans.
• Thought is based on implied presence ➜ internalised private activity occurring when we are alone.
• e.g. we know not to litter even if no one is watching due to internalised social norms that tell us not to.
• This type of norm implies the presence of other people and influences behaviour even in their absence.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IS A SCIENCE
• Social psychology is a science as it uses the scientific method to construct and test theories.
• Uses concepts of dissonance, attitude, categorisation and identity to explain psychological phenomena.
• Science: method for studying nature involving collecting data to test various hypotheses.
• Scientific method dictates a theory to be true if it is logical and makes sense.
• Validity of a theory is based on its correspondences with fact.
• Theory: set of interrelated concepts and principles that explain a phenomenon.
• Social psychologists construct theories from data/previous theories and then conduct research to test it.
• Data: publicly verifiable observations.
Notes by JS Jensen
, Psychology 324 – Chapter 1
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY & ITS CLOSE NEIGHBOURS
• Social psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology concerned with explaining human behaviour.
• Differs from individual psychological in that is explains social behaviour.
• Concerned with face-to-face interaction between individuals or among members of a group.
• General psychology focuses on people’s reactions to stimuli that do not have to be social.
• Close scientific neighbours include economic, sociology, social anthropology, sociolinguistics etc.
• Social psychology draws on a number of subdisciplines of general psychology.
• Linked to social anthropology and sociology ➜ study of groups and group behaviour.
• Differences between sociology, social anthropology and social psychology:
Sociology is a social science emphasis is on the group as a whole and not just the individual.
Social psychology is a behavioural science.
Social anthropology focuses on ‘exotic societies’.
• Overlap with economics ➜ economic behaviour is not rational because people are influenced by others.
• Social psychology focuses on and is influenced by research in various areas.
TOPICS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Defining social psychology can be done in terms of what social psychologists study.
• e.g. sexism, racism, social categories, intergroup relations, attitudes, impression, decision-making etc.
• e.g. romance, family, love, sex, prosocial behaviour, identity, emotion, attraction, friendship etc.
• One problem of defining it this way is that it does not properly differentiate it from other disciplines.
• What makes social psychology distinct is a combination of:
What it studies.
How it studies it.
What level of explanation is sought.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• Social psychology employs the scientific method to study social behaviour.
• Method distinguishes science from other approaches to knowledge.
• Main difference with social psychology is that it studies human social behaviour.
• Science involves the formulation of hypotheses.
• Hypotheses: empirically testable predictions about what co-occurs with what or what causes what.
• Empirical tests can falsify hypotheses but does not prove them.
Notes by JS Jensen
, Psychology 324 – Chapter 1
• If a hypothesis is supported ➜ confidence in its veracity increases generate a finely tuned hypothesis.
• Important feature of hypotheses of the scientific method is replication.
• Replication guards against fraud.
• Alternative to science is dogma or rationalism ➜ something is true because it is believed to be true.
• Valid knowledge is acquire by pure reason and grounded in faith and conviction.
• Dogma and rationalisation still exist as alternative paths to knowledge regardless of science.
• Social psychology has an array of different methods to conduct empirical tests of hypotheses.
• 2 broad types of method: experimental and non-experimental ➜ each have advantages and limitations.
1. Nature of the chosen hypothesis under investigation.
2. Resources available for doing the research e.g. time, money, research, participants.
3. Method ethics.
• Confidence in validity of a hypothesis is enhanced if the hypothesis has been confirmed numerous times.
• Methodological pluralism helps minimise the chance of finding an artefact of a particular method.
• Replication by different research teams avoids confirmation bias.
• Confirmation bias: tendency to seek, interpret and create information that verifies causes of an event.
EXPERIMENTAL & NON-EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
Experimental methods
EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
• Experiment: hypothesis test in which something is done to see its effect on something else.
• Causal experimentation is a common and important way that people learn about their world.
• Powerful method ➜ allows the identification of cause of events gain control over learning.
• Systematic experimentation is the most important research method in science.
• Experimentation involves intervention in the form of manipulation of one or more independent variables.
• Resultant measurement of the effect of the treatment of one or more dependent variables.
• Independent variable:
Features of a situation that change on their own.
Can be manipulated by the experimenter to have varying effects on the dependent variable.
Researcher predicts these dimensions and effects can vary.
Also known as predictor variables ➜ though to predict the outcome of a dependent variable.
• Dependent variable:
Variables that change due to changes in the independent variable.
Researcher hypothesises outcomes that vary as a result of various independent variables.
Also known as outcome variables.
Notes by JS Jensen
, Psychology 324 – Chapter 1
• Confounding (in relation to variables):
Two or more independent variables covary.
Researcher hypothesises outcomes in a way that is impossible to determine what caused effect.
CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT
• Requires an experimental group (experimental condition) and a control group (control condition).
• One experimental condition:
Participants exposed to the independent variable.
Dependent variable measures the effect of exposure to the independent variable.
• Control condition is where participants are not exposed to an independent variable.
• Ensure participants are similar in age, ethnicity, gender and scores on dependent variables.
• match participants across different conditions.
EXAMPLE OF AN EXPERIMENT WITH ONE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITION & ONE CONTROL CONDITION
• Aim: determine whether forming a study group will increase academic achievement in an exam.
Experimental group: studying in a group.
Control group: studying alone.
Independent variable: whether or not the individual studies in a group or alone.
Dependent variable: academic achievement in the exam.
• Academic achievement is compared with the hypothesis.
• participants in the experimental group performed slightly better than those in the control group.
EXAMPLE OF AN EXPERIMENT WITH TWO EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS & ONE CONTROL CONDITION
• Aim: determine whether forming a study group will increase academic achievement in an exam.
Experimental group A: studying with one partner.
Experimental group B: studying with a group.
Control group: studying alone.
Independent variable: studying with a single partner (group A) vs. studying in a group (group B).
Dependent variable: academic achievement in the exam.
Confounding: ensure that unmeasured influences do not impact the dependent variable.
Conditions must be identical in all respect excluding those of the independent variable.
• Intention of experiment: testing whether the size of the study group influences academic achievement.
• Ensure participants are similar in age, ethnicity, gender and scores on dependent variables.
Notes by JS Jensen
