1. Soc 319: Sociological Approaches to Social Psychology Tuesday January 20, 2009 What is Social Psychology?

2. Social psychology is the scientific and systematic study of the nature and causes of individual behavior, thoughts, and emotions in social settings. (Delamater & Myers, 2007)

3. What is Social Psych: Historical Perspectives “The science which studies the behavior of the individual in so far as his behavior stimulates other individuals or is itself a reaction to this behavior.” – F. H. Allport (1924) The scientific study of the ways in which “people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others.” – G. Allport (1985)

4. The “Three Faces” of Social Psychology Psychological SP: individual psychological processes as related to social stimuli; individual differences due to temperament/personality; experimental methods. Psychological sociology (or “social structure and personality” SSP): interplay between social structure and individual thoughts, behaviors, and emotions; survey methods. Symbolic interactionism: face-to-face interaction processes; participant observation and in-depth interviews.

5. I. Components of Social Psychology A. Components 1. Scientific and systematic study 2. Individual behavior 3. Thoughts and emotions 4. Determining nature and causes 5. Social settings

6. Can We Scientifically Study Thoughts & Feelings, Such as “Love”? How strong do you agree or disagree with the following? I would do almost anything for _______. (caring) I would greatly enjoy being confided in by ______. (intimacy) If I could never be with _____, I would feel miserable. (attachment). If ______ were feeling badly, my first duty would be to cheer him (her) up. (giving) I feel that I can confide in ______ about virtually everything. (intimacy) I think that _____ is unusually well-adjusted. I have great confidence in ______’s good judgment. I think that _____ is one of those people who quickly wins respect.

7. Determining “Cause” is not Easy… ? Obesity Low self- esteem

8. I. What is Social Psych (cont’d) 5. Social settings a. Impact of one individual on another individual b. Impact of a group on its members c. Impact of individual members on the group d. Impact of one group on another group