Introduction to Social Psychology
Introduction to Social Psychology
• Objectives:
• Define social psychology and explain what it
does.
• Examine the methods that make social psychology
a science.
• Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content
domains
Social Psychology Defined
Social Psychology says that:
1. We construct our social reality
2. Social intuitions are very influential as it
affects a person’s perspectives, making it dangerous
as well.
3. Social influences shape our behavior.
Social Psychology Defined
4. Personal attitudes and dispositions also shape behavior.
How we view and deal with things molds our behavior.
5. Social behavior is biologically rooted. External forces or situations
are not the only factors that affect people’s behavior.
6. Social psychology’s principles are applicable in life
Social Psychology Defined
Summing Up: Social Psychology’s Big Ideas
• Social psychology is the scientific study of
how people think about, influence, and relate
to one another. Its central themes include
the following:
• How we construe our social worlds
• How our social intuitions guide and sometimes
deceive us
Social Psychology Defined
• How our social behavior is shaped
by other people, by our attitudes and
personalities, and by our biology
• How social psychology’s principles apply to our
everyday lives and to various other fields
of study
Social Psychology and Human Values
Examples of value judgments:
• Defining a good life.
• Psychological advice may also reflect the advice
giver’s personal values.
• Forming Concepts.
• Labeling
Research Methods in Social Psychology
Hypotheses Testing
• Because of social psychologists unending quest about
life, they tend to create a lot
of ideas formulated into theories and turn
it into an intelligent guess through making |
testable predictions or what we called a
hypothesis.
Research Methods in Social Psychology
For someone to be able to tell that they have found a useful theory, it must:
1. effectively summarize many observations, and
2. make clear predictions that we can use to confirm or modify the
theory, generate new exploration, and suggest practical applications.
CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
Social psychology has different kinds of studies
that can vary from a method (correlational/experimental)
or location (laboratory/field).
• Correlation and Causation – Correlations is the study of naturally
occurring relationships among variables
• Survey Research – This kind of study can be used to measure variables
such as time on social media, for instance.
CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
Representativeness indicates how closely the sample reflects the
population under study.
Random sampling, wherein every person in the population
being studied has an equal chance of
being included in the survey.
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
• There are just two things that are
crucial when it comes to this kind
of research; first is the manipulation of variables
and second is the random assignment in
a group.
• Control: Manipulating Variables
Independent variable is experimental factor that a
researcher manipulates.
Dependent variable is the variable being measured
• Random Assignment: The Great Equalizer –is the
process of assigning participants to the conditions
of an experiment such that all persons
have the same chance of being
in a given condition.
There are things that researchers dealing with experiments should do:
• Give/demand characteristics of the experiment to
the participants to give them a background
of the study for them to be aware of what is the research all about.
• Ensure informed consent.
• Deception is only allowed if needed and
justifiable
• Make sure participants and bystanders are safe
and comfortable.
• Make every information regarding participants confidential.
• At the end of the experiment, debrief participants.
Research Methods in Social Psychology
• Social psychologists systematize their ideas and findings
into theories
• Most social-psychological research is either correlational
or experimental
• When possible, social psychologists prefer to conduct
experiments that explore cause and effect.
• In creating experiments, social psychologists sometimes stage
situations that engage people’s emotions.
References
• Myers, G. (2012). Social Psychology (11th Edition) McGraw Hill Higher
Education.
• Myers, G. (2014). Exploring Social Psychology (7th Edition) McGraw Hill
Higher Education.