chapter 1 introduction to social psychology. chapter outline i. what is social psychology?

Chapter 1Chapter 1Chapter 1Chapter 1

Introduction to Introduction to Social PsychologySocial Psychology

Chapter OutlineChapter Outline

I. What is Social Psychology?

What is Social Psychology?What is Social Psychology?

• Social Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people.


• Other people can influence us either through direct attempts at persuasion, or more indirectly through their presence and the transmission of cultural values.


• Social psychology is distinct from other social sciences because of its emphasis on people’s construals, or personal interpretations.


• Social psychology is distinct from folk wisdom and philosophy because it is an empirical field.


II. The Power of Social Influence

The Power of Social InfluenceThe Power of Social Influence

• People are prone to the fundamental attribution error, the tendency to overestimate the role of traits and underestimate the role of the situation in determining people’s behavior.

The Power of Social InfluenceThe Power of Social Influence

• This tendency can make people resistant to social psychological explanations

A. Underestimating the power of social influence

B. The Subjectivity of the Social Situation

1. The influence of Behaviorism

2. The contributions of Gestalt psychology


III. Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives

Where Construals Come FromWhere Construals Come From

• Social psychologists have found that two motives are of primary importance in determining our construals: the need to be accurate and the need to feel good about ourselves.

Where Construals Come From Where Construals Come From

• Leon Festinger realized that it is when these two motives pull us in opposite directions that we can learn the most about people’s thoughts and behaviors.

A. The Self-Esteem Approach

B. The Social Cognition Approach

C. Other motives


IV. Social Psychology and Social Problems

Social Psychology and Social ProblemsSocial Psychology and Social Problems

• Whereas social psychologists are often motivated by curiosity to study social behavior, they are also motivated by the desire to help resolve social problems.

Social Psychology and Social ProblemsSocial Psychology and Social Problems

• Example: Social psychologists have contributed important insights to AIDS education and prevention.

Study QuestionsStudy Questions

What do social psychologists study scientifically?


What are some examples of social influence?


What is contained in a person’s construal of the world?


Although they may share the same questions, what advantages does social psychology have over folk wisdom and philosophy in answering these questions?


What do sociologists study?


Which branch of psychology studies how individual differences between people explain their behavior?


What are some examples of individual differences?


What is the fundamental attribution error?


What are some consequences of committing the fundamental attribution error?


According to behaviorism, what do we need to consider to understand human behavior?


What has Gestalt psychology contributed to social psychology?


What are the two basic motives that help to form people’s construals?


Why do people engage in self-justification and what are some of its consequences?


What is an assumption of the social cognition approach? What interferes with the accuracy of people’s construals, according to this approach?


What is the relationship between people’s motive to be accurate and their expectations about the social world? What can result from people’s expectations?

chapter 1 introduction to social psychology. chapter outline i. what is social psychology?

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