Social environment and Behavior
University of Groningen, PSBE2-04, 2024
Chapter 1 - Introduction to Applied Social Psychology 1
Chapter 2 - The use of Theory in Applied Social Psychology 4
Chapter 3 - Applications of Social Psychology to Increase the Impact of Behavior-Focused
Intervention 8
Chapter 4 - The Dillemmatics Approach to Applied Research Design: A Case Study of
Violent Video Game Effects and Aggression 13
Chapter 5 - The Social Psychology of Consumer Behavior 17
Chapter 6 - Social Psychology and Development Aid 21
Chapter 7 - Social Psychology and Economic Behavior: Heuristics and Biases in
Decision-Making and Judgment 24
Chapter 8 - Applying Social Psychology to the Classroom 29
Chapter 9 - Social Psychology and Environmental problems 32
Chapter 10 - Social Psychology of Health and Illness 36
Chapter 11 - Social Psychology and Immigration: Relations between Immigrants and Host
Societies 40
Chapter 12 - Social Psychology and Mental Health 44
Chapter 13 - Explaining Crime Over the Course of Life 48
Chapter 14 - The Social Psychology of Organizations 51
Chapter 15 - Social Psychology and Political Behavior 54
Chapter 16 - Social Sport and Exercise Psychology 59
Chapter 17 - Social Psychology and Driving Behavior 64
,Chapter 1 - Introduction to Applied Social
Psychology
Social psychology = the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of
human behavior and thought in social situations, and the motivations, cognitions, and
emotions related to such behaviors.
→ behavior and thoughts related to helping, attraction, conflict, prejudice, self-esteem, group
processes and social exclusion
Applied scientists → focus on behavior that significantly contributes to a social problem
and where interventions would have the most impact in resolving these problems.
→ can also play role in evaluating effects of interventions
Applied social psychology = systematic application of social psychological constructs,
principles, theories, intervention techniques, research methods and research findings to
understand or ameliorate social problems.
Construct = a clearly defined individual (psychological) characteristic that is generally latent
and thus not directly observable, although it can be assessed through interviews or
questionnaires.
→ e.g. attitudes, values or injunctive norms
Principle = a statement of how a psychological process works; describe basic processes by
which humans think, feel, and act, e.g.:
● Foot-in-the-door technique (small initial request)
● Cognitive dissonance
● Availability heuristic
Theory = integrated set of principles that describes, explains, and predicts observed events.
→ provide explanations for our observations, and enable us to predict future events
2 differences between basic and applied social psychology:
1. Basic social psychologists are particularly interested in developing and testing
theories, while applied social psychologists focus on understanding and resolving
practical problems
2. Basic social psychologists tend to follow a deductive approach, whereas applied
social psychologists tend to follow an inductive approach.
Deductive approach = start with a particular theory and examine to what extent the theory
may be helpful in understanding various types of social behavior.
Inductive approach = start from a specific social problem and examine to what extent
various theories may help to understand this specific problem, and which theory provides the
best explanation of the particular behavior causing the problems.
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,Combining basic and applied studies → researchers learn how social problems may be
solved while at the same time contributing to theory building and testing.
Shelley Taylor and colleagues research on women with breast cancer:
1. downward comparisons were very prevalent among people facing a threat
2. such comparisons did not necessarily involve contact with others, but could take the
form of cognitively constructing others
3. these comparisons seemed to help women with breast cancer cope with their
disease by allowing them to feel better about themselves and their situation
Similarities between basic and applied social psychology:
1. Both are interested in developing and testing theories
2. Both use scientific methods
3. Both are motivated by the same goals of science
4. Both include similar factors predicting cognitions and behavior in their studies
Science refers to:
1. reliance on scientific methods
2. guidance by the core values of science
Scientific methods = methods that depend on empirical tests, thus the use of systematic
observations to evaluate propositions and ideas.
→ allow support or refutation & should be replicable
4 core values to qualify a study as scientific in nature:
1. Accuracy (gather and evaluate info that is carefully examined, precise, and as error
free as possible)
2. Objectivity (minimize bias in obtaining and evaluating data)
3. Skepticism (accept findings as accurate only to the extend that they’ve been verified
over and over again by the data)
4. Open-mindedness (accept evidence as valid, even if evidence is not consistent with
one’s initial beliefs and theories)
Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct by APA → refer to ethical
responsibilities of psychologists
→ e.g.:
● Deception (avoided when possible)
● Informed consent
● Invasion of privacy (privacy should be respected)
● Debriefing
Goals of science: description, prediction, causality and explanation
Description = identifying and specifying the details and nature of a phenomenon.
Prediction = enhances understanding of phenomena; requires knowing what factors are
systematically related to the phenomenon of interest.
Causality = finding out whether changes in one factor indeed causes changes in another
factor.
Explanation = implies the need to establish why a phenomenon or relationship occurs.
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, Basic and applied social psychologists take into account: individual, social, situational,
cultural and biological factors, as well as interactions between these factors.
Milgram experiment (Asch) → many normal, healthy people complied with experimenter’s
insistent directives to administer painful shocks to a learner.
Stanford prison experiment (Zimbardo) → demonstrates that personal identities, long
cherished values and morality may be seriously distorted as participants internalized situated
identities in their assigned roles as prisoners and guards, respectively.
Situational factors → e.g. population density may be a relevant factor in determining
helpful behavior; people in more sparsely populated cities appear to be more helpful
5 typical features of applied social psychology:
1. the role of personal values; we have to choose between different values of different
groups
2. the use of multiple theories, intervention techniques and research methods;
various factors may cause a particular social problem, and some theories may only
focus on a few factors
3. interdisciplinary research; integrates information, data, techniques, tools,
perspectives, concepts or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of
specialized knowledge.
4. field settings; applied social psychologists more likely to conduct research in natural
settings, however difficult to establish causation
5. social utility; knowledge and methods of social psychology can be highly useful in
achieving social goals; however, consider ratio of cost-effectiveness of interventions
Roles of applied social psychologists:
1. Researcher
a. study the antecedents of behavior that causes social problems
b. evaluate the effects of interventions on cognitions and behavior
c. evaluate effects of interventions on social problems and QoL
2. Consultant; assist individuals, groups, organizations or communities to resolve
particular problems they’re facing
3. Policy advisor; e.g. involved in policy making by public and governmental agencies
or business or civic organizations or advise policy changes
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