PSYC 1004: Introduction to Social Psychology

Lecture 1 Notes – Introduction to Social Psychology

Definitions of Social Psychology

Social Psychology is a scientific study of how the behaviour of an individual is influenced by and in turn influences the actions
of others in the social environment (Fisher, 1982).
An attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagined or implied presence of others (Allport, 1968)
Social Psychology is a scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings and
thought in social situations (Baron & Branscombe, 2014):

Social Psychology: A Scientific Discipline

Core values of a scientific field:
 Accuracy (careful, precise, error-free)
 Objectivity (free from bias)
 Skepticism (findings are accurate after being verified)
 Open-mindedness (change one’s views in light of new evidence)

Nature & Causes of Individual Behaviour and Thought

We cannot hope to understand how and why people behave in certain ways in social situations without considering their
thoughts, memories, intentions, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs.
The field’s major interest lies in understanding the factors that shape the actions and thoughts of individual in social settings.
Conditions that shape the social behaviour and social thought of individuals:
 Behaviour and Characteristics of Others (what others do/say).
 Cognitive Processes (memories, thoughts, judgments).
 Environmental Variables (impact of the physical world).
 Cultural context (social norms).
 Biological factors (aspects of genetic inheritance).
Psychologists have identified groups of fundamental motives or goals that drive behavior.
1. To establish social ties
2. TO understand ourselves and others
3. To gain and maintain status
4. To defend ourselves and those we value
5. To attract and retain mates

Person to Situation Interactions

 Different situations activate different parts of the self:
o We all have different parts to our personality. Based on the situation or circumstances we find ourselves in,
we choose to activate one or several of those different parts. (Transparent Self).

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 Each situation has different facets

o The social motives active in a given situation depend on what facet one is paying attention to. Because an
individual is limited in what they can process in any given time one can only focus on one or two aspects of
the situation as it occurs. (Party Situation).

 Responses may differ

o Not everyone responds in the same way to the same situation.

 People change their situations.

o Each time in individual enters the situation he or she has the potential to change it.

 People choose their situations.

o As individuals we select the environment in which we choose to interact.

 Situations change people.

o While people influence their situations, the reverse is also true.

 Situations choose people.

o Situation and individuals mutually shape and choose one another in a continuing cycle.

The Development of Social Psychology – Timeline

• 1859: Charles Darwin publishes On The Origin of Species

• 1878: Wilhelm Wundt establishes the first psychology laboratory
• 1890: William James publishes Principles of Psychology
• 1897: Norman Tripplett conducts the first social psychological experiment on Social Facilitation
• 1902: C.H. Cooley publishes his influential volume on Human Nature and The Social Order
• 1908: William McDougall and E.H Ross independently publish the first social psychology text
• 1913: Thorndike proposes the Law of Effect: people will continue to engage in behaviour that they are rewarded for,
and will cease behaviour that will result in punishment.
• 1918: W.I. Thomas & F. Znaniechi begins their work on attitudes.
• 1921: Morton Prince founds the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (which later becomes Journal of Abnormal Social
Psychology).
• 1924: Floyd Allport publishes his Social Psychology text.
• 1934: George Herbert Mead, a symbolic interactionist, publishes his work on the self.
• 1935: Muzafer Sherif uses the auto-kinetic effect to study social norms.
• 1936: George Gallup develops methods for public opinion polling.
• 1939: Kurt Lewin et al. investigate the leadership styles on group performance.
• 1946: Solomon Asch demonstrated the influence of cognitive set in impression formation.
• 1952: Solomon Asch demonstrates that individuals will conform to a majority when their beliefs are questioned.
• 1953: The Yale group under Carl Hovland publishes its finding s on persuasion and attitude change.
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• 1954: Leon Festinger formulates his Social Comparison Theory, suggesting that individuals compare themselves to
similar others in order to gain information on their abilities and beliefs.
• 1957: Leon Festinger proposes the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, a model of attitude change based on the principle
that individuals strive for consistency.
• 1958: Fritz Heider offered another consistency model in his book, The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, which
lays the foundation for attribution theory.
• 1963: Stanley Milgram reports the first in a series of studies on obedience to authority
• 1964: Leonard Berkowitz launches an influential series of edited books; Advance in Experimental Social Psychology
• 1970: Philip Zimbardo and his associates conduct the famous prison simulation study in the basement of Stanford
University’s Psychology Department
• 1980’s: Attribution theory gives way to a new emphasis on the “cognitive” aspects and social behaviour, and applied
social psychology continues to grow in importance.
• 1980’s Universal agreement within the discipline on the link behavior and cognition. How were behave is influenced
by thoughts, memories, intentions, emotions, attitudes and beliefs.
• 1990’s Ethical standards standings regulate research considering the objectives of research with the rights of research
participants
• 2000’s – present Social Neuroscience emerged with advancements in technology to uncover how social thought and
behavior is reflected in activity.

Contemporary Social Psychology

Present day social psychology is concerned with theoretical approaches, methods and investigation of contemporary issues.
Areas include:
• Interpersonal relations: How relationships develop, change, strengthen over time. The effects of ending a
relationship, attachment.
• Legal psychology: Research on witness credibility, jury selection, decision-making
• Leadership: Social characteristics of effective leaders, social identity and leadership
• HIV and AIDS: The social psychological consequences of HIV and AIDS stigmatization and discrimination
• Prejudice and Race Relations: The nature of prejudice. Prejudice and racial profiling. The link between racial prejudice
and stereotyping.
• Social Neuroscience: How are attitudes, emotions and social thoughts are represented in the brain.

Theoretical Perspectives in Social Psychology

Socio-cultural perspective
Searches for the causes of a social behavior based on influences from larger social groups. (Ross, 1908). Culture is the
beliefs, customs, habits and language shared by a people living in a particular time and place.

Evolutionary Perspective
(McDougall) searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological dispositions that helped our
ancestors survive and reproduce.

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The central focus here is similar to Charles Darwin's position of natural selection and adaptation. In this approach,
studying different societies and examining commonality is the crucial focus.

Social Learning Perspective (Allport, Hull)

Focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person’s social behaviors. Learning is a result of reward
and punishment paradigms. It can also be indirect through observation and imitation.
This theory assumes that habits learned early in life may be harder to change over time. Thus, patterns are
established early in life.

Socio-cognitive perspective
Focuses on the mental process involved in paying attention to, interpreting, judging and remembering social
experiences.
With this approach, how one interprets events, stores them in memory and later recalls them is the focus of study.

Required Reading
Social Psychology
Robert A. Baron * Nyla R. Branscombe
Chapter ONE
Social Psychology: The Science of the Social Side of Life