1. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Social Psychology by David G. Myers 8 th Edition Introduction to Social Psychology

2. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What is Social Psychology? What is the difference between sociology and social psychology? How do our Values enter into the study of Social Psychology? What are the main areas of research today? 1. Social Thinking 2. Social Influence 3. Social Relations

3. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What Are Social Psychology’s Big Lessons? We construct our social reality Our social intuitions are often powerful but sometimes perilous Social influences shape our behavior Personal attitudes and dispositions also shape behavior Social behavior is also biological behavior Social psychology’s principles are applicable to everyday life and other disciplines

4. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Social Psychology: Related Disciplines & Levels of Explanation

5. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Social Psychology and Human Values Obvious ways in which values enter Not-so-obvious ways in which values enter –The subjective aspects of science –Psychological concepts contain hidden values –There is no bridge from “is” to “ought” Social psychology in three worlds

6. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Is Social Psychology Just “Common Sense”? Hindsight bias –The tendency to exaggerate, after learning an outcome, one’s ability to have foreseen it –the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

7. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. How Do We Do Social Psychology? Two General Categories of Studies 1.Correlational –Detecting Natural Associations –Observational Studies Naturalistic Laboratory –Surveys Questionnaires Interviews  Concerns of Correlational designs Question wording Third variables Social Desirability © David Young-Wolff / PhotoEdit

8. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Correlations

9. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. How Do We Do Social Psychology? Two General Categories of Studies 2.Experimental Designs –To determine causation –Control –Random Assignment –Concerns: –Placebo Effects –Demand Characteristics –Solutions –Single and double-blind procedures

10. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Experiments

11. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Things to Consider in Social Psychological Research Theory Hypothesis Population Sample Representative sample Random sample Random Assignment Blind Procedures Independent variable Dependent variable Survey Placebo Effects Third variables Causation Reliability Validity

12. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Supplemental Slides

13. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Perspectives on Research in Social Psychology

14. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process

15. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process

16. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Correlations

17. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Correlations

18. Introduction to Social Psychology Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Experiments