Chapter 1: Intro to Social Psychology Part 2: Fri. Aug 27, 2010 (Basic Outline only)

History of Social Psych Early years: 1880s-1920s –Earliest finding related to social performance? Rise of research: 1930s-1950s –Influence of the wars Expansion: 1960s and 70s

Pluralism: 70s-90s –What was examined? Current era’s important influences – –Social cognition –Evolution –Cultural influences –Technology

Virtual Environment Research Examples from Jim Blascovich’s research group: –Risk-taking and conformity: –Immersive violent video games: –Eyewitness testimony:

Social Psychology and Values Our values influence our research. –Our choice of research topics –Our observations of people: Examples? Most social psych research comes from Western, industrialized cultures. How does that influence our theories?