Doing Social Psychology Exploring Social Psychology by David G. Myers Doing Social Psychology Module 1 Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

BA 1201 Principles of Behavioral Sciences What is social psychology? Psychologists have shown that we are organized by our attachments (bağ). Sociologists have shown the power of social networks to affect individual behavior.

Jean-Paul Sartre “We cannot be distinguished from our situations, for they form us and decide our possibilities.”

Allport Social Psychology is an attempt to understand how the thought, feeling and the behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others

Social Psychological Questions How and what do people think of one another? How, and how much, do people influence one another? What shapes the way we relate to one another?

What Is Social Psychology? Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.

INTERPERSONAL TRUST Data collected between 1995-2009 period

What is science? It is a way of knowing that includes observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of things. Guesses-theories-facts

Forming and Testing Theories Theory-integrated set of principles Hypotheses-testable predictions - Test a theory - Direct research - Practical

A Good Theory… Effectively summarizes a wide range of observations Makes clear predictions

What Makes a Good Theory? Predictive Accuracy: Can it reliably predict behavior? Internal Coherence: Are there any logical inconsistencies between any of the theoretical ideas? Economy: Does it only contain what is necessary to explain the phenomenon in question? Fertility: Does it generate research and can it be used to explain a wide variety of social behavior? (Generalizability – Does it apply to many situations?)

Correlational Research: Detecting Natural Associations Correlational research asks whether two or more factors are naturally associated Experimental research manipulates some factor to see its effect on another

What does this chart reveal What does this chart reveal? Does more education generally cause higher family incomes?

WARNING!! It is important to remember that correlations show us a relationship between variables or factors, but not cause-effect relationships.

Experimental Research: Searching for Cause and Effect Independent variable Dependent variable

RANDOM ASSIGNMENT Randomizing allows us to assume that these “natural” differences will appear equally in both conditions, and so will not affect our results, when we compare measurements for our experimental and our control condition.

UM Study 52 nations representing 90% of world’s population Average sample size 1400 respondents

A simple experiment Population S’s Experimental Group Factors: A, B, C, D, E Population S’s Control Group Factors: A, B, C, D

Why randomize S’s assignment to the Experimental or the Control Group? Because different people may “naturally” have a variety of different reactions to Factor E. For example, some people may have a tendency to have powerful reactions to Factor E. Others may have a tendency to have no reaction at all to Factor E. This could affect the outcome of our experiment if all or most of one type of person was in the experimental condition, and few of the same type was in the control condition. By randomly assigning S’s to the experimental or the control condition, both types of people have an equal chance of being assigned to each condition.

Field Experiments Field experiments do not take place in a lab, but in natural settings. In natural settings, we cannot control the factors that may influence behavior as much as we can in the laboratory. So we have to be a bit cautious when interpreting field experiments.

We evaluate theories based on the evidence to support them. What is evidence? Evidence is data that we believe supports an argument, position, or interpretation of reality. Any good theory is based on reasonable evidence.

We often have disagreements, debates in science. Our obligation in science is to be as objective as we can, and to try to reduce our subjectivity as much as we can, in our experiments, observations and discussions. This requires what we call critical thinking—exploring the assumptions we take for granted and how they impact our work.

. What is objectivity?(nesnellik) “being true to the object” What is subjectivity?(öznellik) It is the distortion of objects that is involved in our sensing them and representing them as mental images. Subjectivity is involved every time we perceive reality and every time we communicate.

The Ethics of Experimentation Mundane realism Experimental realism

Ethical Principles Informed consent Be truthful Protect Confidentiality Debrief

Website visit: http://socialnomics.net/2012/06/07/the-10-biggest-research-scandals-in-academic-history/

Smoking and conformity ScienceDaily (Jan Smoking and conformity ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2009) - New research reveals the brain activity that underlies our tendency to "follow the crowd." The study, published by Cell Press in the January 15th issue of the journal Neuron, provides intriguing insight into how human behavior can be guided by the perceived behavior of other individuals. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090114124109.htm