1. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited PSY 2110F SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY  Introduction  Blackboard  Course Outline  Questions

2. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Chapter 1: Introducing Social Psychology

3. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Chapter outline  What is social psychology?  Major themes in social psychology  Social psychology and human values  I knew it all along  Research methods 3

4. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited What is Social Psychology?  What is Psychology?  “The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes”  Utilizes the scientific method  Method: Systematic observations  Values: rigor, objectivity, open- mindedness  Talking, sleeping, running, eating, reading, aggression, reproductive behaviour  Judgments, sensory perceptions, feelings, memories  Why do we act and think the way that we do?  What are the causes of our behaviours, thoughts and feelings?

5. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited What is Social Psychology (cont’d)  Psychological Explanations of Behaviour  Perspectives  Levels of analysis  Biological Influences  Neuroscience  Evolution  Psychological Influences  Cognition  Learning  Psychodynamic  Socio-cultural Influences  Cultural background  Presence of others

6. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited What is Social Psychology (cont’d)  Social Psychology  The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another  Why do we act and think the way that we do…  …in social situations?  What are the causes of social behaviour?

7. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited What is Social Psychology (cont’d) Social behaviour or mental processes

8. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Social Psychology vs. Sociology  Social Psychology  Focuses on the behaviour of individuals  General focus of psychology  Sociology  Focuses on the behaviour of groups or societies  Culture  The ways of thinking, acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life  Language, food, art, rituals, gestures, dress  Government, economics, religion, military  Social stratification  Social Inequality  Economic, gender, racial  Share topics, but from different perspectives  Group vs. individual  Macro- vs. micro-oriented  E.g., violence  Sociology  Group differences  Males vs. females  High income vs. low income  Social Psychology  Causes (individual)  Situational/social factors  Personality, learning, biology  E.g., gender inequality  Sociology: societal differences in patriarchy  Social Psychology: Effects on sense of self

9. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Social Psychology vs. Personality Psychology  Social Psychology  Seeks to understand the causes of social thoughts, feelings and behaviours  Personality Psychology  Personality : our characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving  Descriptive  Trait theories  Individual differences  Causal  Psychodynamic  Humanistic  Social-cognitive  Social psychology focuses more on how other people affect our thoughts, feeling and actions  Personality psychology focuses more on individual differences  Again, share topics, but different perspectives  E.g., Task performance  Personality Psychology  Locus of control  Self-esteem  Social Psychology  Presence of others  E.g., Conformity  Personality Psychology  Openness  Neuroticism  Social Psychology  Presence of others

10. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Major Themes in Social Psychology 10

11. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Social Influences Shape Our Thoughts and Behaviour  Cultural Categories  Gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, religion  Syrian strikes  Beauty  Social justice  Equality vs. equity  Expressiveness  The self versus the family  Presence of Others  Task performance  Donations  Helping  Looting  Conformity, obedience

12. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Social Behaviour is Biologically Rooted  Behaviours are the result of evolution  Biologically predispositioned to think and act in particular ways  Provided advantages in survival and reproduction  Social behaviours are biologically rooted  Attraction  Aggression  Cooperation  But, nature and nurture

13. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Relating to Others is a Basic Need  We are social animals  Mehl & Pennebaker (2003)  Spend about 30% of our days talking  Lack of social contact or acceptance can have detrimental effects  Self-esteem  Self-concept  Depression/anxiety

14. Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited Social Intuitions: The Role of Unconscious Processes  Thinking (judgments, attitudes) operates on two levels  Automatic and Controlled Processes  Automatic  Unconscious  Fast  Parallel processing  Controlled  Conscious  Slow  Serial processing  We are keenly aware of what we think and how we behave  We infer why we think and why we behave the way we do  We attempt to provide logical justifications for our thoughts and behaviours  But we don’t know if our arguments are correct explanations for our thoughts  We are unaware of the factors that went into thoughts and behaviours  Unknown biases  E.g., stereotypes, attributions, motivations