SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Key Terms Situationism Situationism – Scientific belief in the significance of the situation Dispositionalism Dispositionalism – The scientific belief in the importance of the personality

What is Social Psychology? The scientific attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, and implied presence of other human beings. (Gordon Allport)

The Social Psychology “Formula” Thoughts Feelings Behavior

History of Social Psychology Norman Triplett (1895)

History of Social Psychology William McDougall Edward Ross

Historical Roots of Social Psychology The Aftermath of World War II

Kurt Lewin The Father of Modern Social Psychology – Field Theory B = f (P, E)

Interactionism Emphasizes the combined effects of both the person and the situation on human behavior

The Social Psychology “Formula” Thoughts Feelings Behavior

Social Psychology The science of social influence The science of social influence Aims for a broad understanding of the social factors that influence how human beings think, act, and feel Aims for a broad understanding of the social factors that influence how human beings think, act, and feel The scientific study of how people affect and are affected by others The scientific study of how people affect and are affected by others

SOCIALPSYCHOLOGYSOCIALPSYCHOLOGY AnthropologyAnthropology SociologySociology EconomicsEconomics HistoryHistory PoliticalSciencePoliticalScience

The Level of Analysis Micro – small scale Macro – large scale

The Social Animal Aristotle – Proposed that we are inherently social Social Animal View Social Animal View – Animals that seek connections to others and prefer to live, work, and play with other members of their species

The Cultural Animal Roy Baumeister – Is a “social” animal enough? Cultural Animal View Cultural Animal View – Proposes that evolution shaped the human psyche so as to enable humans to create and take part in culture

Culture – A social system of shared meaning and shared progress

Culture: Shared Meaning Beliefs, practices, institutions, customs, myths, etc that has been built up by a group of humans and passed along from one generation to another

Culture: Shared Progress The Rachet Effect The Rachet Effect – Innovation + Preservation + Transmission = Progress Division of Labor Exchange of Good/Services

Culture system shared meaning progress – A social system of shared meaning and progress – Encompasses ideas and activities that satisfy people’s needs

The Social Psychology “Formula” Thoughts Feelings Behavior

Self-Interest vs. Social-Interest Nature says “GO;” Culture says “STOP” Dual (Co-existing) Motives