Exploring Social Psychology Perspectives

Sep 4, 2024

Introduction to Social Psychology

Overview

  • Introduction to social psychology as a field.
  • Two definitions:
    1. Scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to others.
    2. How people influence and are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others.
  • Importance of simulations and imagined interactions.

Guiding Principles in Social Psychology

  1. Theories in Social Psychology:

    • Theories are not guesses but are organized evidence that generates predictions.
    • Used to develop testable hypotheses.

  2. Social Behavior:

    • Goal-oriented; actions have intentionality.
    • Interaction between the person and the situation (construal).
    • Social psychologists evaluate behavior beyond personal construals.

Theoretical Perspectives in Social Psychology

  • Four major perspectives:
    1. Sociocultural
    2. Evolutionary
    3. Social Learning
    4. Social Cognitive

1. Sociocultural Perspective

  • Focus on culture: beliefs, customs, habits, language.
  • Emphasizes social norms:
    • Descriptive Norms: Common behaviors in situations.
    • Injunctive Norms: Approved/disapproved actions (moral component).
  • Cultural differences: Individualistic vs. Collectivistic cultures.

2. Evolutionary Perspective

  • Human behavior developed to enhance fitness, reproduction, and survival.
  • Natural selection and adaptation.
  • Error management (type one and two errors) and threat detection.
  • Examples: automatic recognition of anger, protective instincts.

3. Social Learning Perspective

  • Learning from past experiences, punishments, and rewards.
  • Conditioning (association with rewards/punishments).
  • Importance of family, school, peers, and religion.
  • Example: Bandura’s Bobo doll study (modeling behavior).

4. Social Cognitive Perspective

  • Focus on mental processes (attention, interpretation, memory).
  • Social information processing is selective.
  • Importance of social neuroscience (e.g., EEG, fMRI).

Conclusion

  • Theoretical perspectives are complementary, not competitive.
  • No single correct perspective; each provides a unique angle on behavior.
  • Encouragement to integrate multiple perspectives for a comprehensive understanding.
  • Note: If you have any questions, bring them to the next class discussion.