User:Atcovi/Spring2024/Social Psychology/Ch. 1

This chapter consists of Chapters 1 - 1.5.


 * Humans are sociable human beings. Connecting with others is essential.
 * Social psychology: Branch of psychology that analyzes all aspects of our socialness.
 * "What differentiates social psychology from other social sciences is its focus on explaining influences on the individual’s thought and behavior."
 * "We believe that social psychological research informs us about how reforms can be made with the aim of improving people’s lives."

1.1 - What it Is & Isn't

 * Official definition of social psychology: "the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings, and thoughts in social situations".
 * Science is just having values and having the methods to measure things according to those values - so our social life can be measured scientifically. The question remains: "Does it adopt these values and methods?".

Core Values of Science

 * Accuracy [casual people-watching does not fit]
 * Objectivity
 * Skepticism [can we replicate these findings?]
 * Open-Mindedness

Our own experiences cannot be a valid form of science because our experiences are unique [not replicatable] and biased. We must analyze social thought/behavior in various settings and populations in order to get results that are closer to being conclusive and objective.


 * "Rather, we need scientific evidence about what most people do, whether they realize that they do so or not, and providing such evidence is, in essence, what social psychology is all about."

Students from a working-class background (stay at home, integrate with family) vs. a middle-class background (go out and find your own path) - how does university culture play a role in this?

SOCIAL CONTEXTS/EXPERIENCES --> SELF-IDENTITIES --> SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Social Psychology Understands Causes of Social Behavior

 * Variables that affect behavior: mood, emotions, actions, appearances.
 * Planning fallacy
 * Social cognition (the story of the late friend), environmental factors (weather, smell of the air), biological (early trauma after neurological system, epigenetic processes).

Evolutionary Psychological Perspective

 * Variation - Organisms vary in different ways.
 * Inheritance - Variations passed down generations.
 * Selection - Variations that pass the 'vibe check' are popular and are going to be used more often.

Do we mate with people with good looks (strong jawline, great hair) and great qualities (humour --> great intelligence)?

Despite the evolutionary perspective, we aren't "forced" to act because of our genetic disposals - it is to explain why we tend to act in certain ways. Of course, the standard for who is "good-looking" can change depending on the time-period.

The Search for Basic Principles in a Changing Social World

 * Despite our world having various cultures that may contradict one another, social psychology aims at revealing basic & common knowledge that can be shared across the entire world.

1.2 - Social Psychology: Advances at the Boundaries
Objective: Keeping up to date and seeing what social psychology is exploring.

1.2.1: Cognition and Behavior
Thought and behavior are tied, as opposed to what scientists believed earlier. We need to know how people think in order to know how they behave (or why).

1.2.2: Role of Emotion in Social Side of Life
Emotions affect our daily lives. For example, you would ask a favor from a friend/parent if they were in a good mood vs. a bad mood. Interest in this field has increased.

1.2.3: Importance of Social Relationships
Relationships can be the highlight of our lives or the worse thing that has ever happened to us. "Lovey-dovey" views are fine, but a grasp of reality is essential. Single people are actually just as happy as married people because being single allows them to connect to more people (no restrictions). The people who we hang out with not only make a portion of our identity but they also provide comfort during difficult times.

1.2.4: Social Neuroscience
Our brains are in constant activity. Recent innovations in medical technology, such as the employment of fMRI and PET scans, have allowed us to bridge the gap between complex neural events and psychological ones (feelings, thoughts). Social psychologists study activity in the brain (and possibly immune system as well) and their correlation with social processes.

Fair warning, though: neuroscience cannot explain every phenomenon of social behavior (such as group identities).

Example

 * 1) Mirror neurons and empathy: An empathy study conducted showed that people high in empathy showed more activity in the frontal operculum when showed social expressions.

1.2.5: The Role of Implicit (Nonconscious) Processes
Why do I dislike this person even though there is nothing to truly dislike? Sometimes we don't even know why we feel or do certain things. Our implicit processes do have an effect on us without us knowing and research into this has been extensive. Cite the gender bias example.

1.2.6: Taking Full Account of Social Diversity
In the US, diversity is a must to consider when looking at how people shape their identities and how their social thought and behavior play out. Social psychology has taken on a multicultural perspective since the 1960s.

People of various geographical locations have differing body standards. For example, East Asians prefer skinnier body types vs. Westerners. Americans report a difference in being treated due to their attractiveness, yet this is absent in Ghana.

1.3: How Social Psychologists Answer Questions They Ask
What do social psychologists do to obtain the answers for their questions?

1.3.1: Research Methods

 * 1) Systematic observations is where behavior is closely monitored and recorded using accurate measurements.
 * 2) Survey method is where people self-answer questions asked to them. Usually used to assess attitudes towards certain issues (IDF, for example). Benefits include a large sum of results & ease. Drawbacks include inaccurate sampling (error with representing a group of people) & wording could be a massive issue.
 * 3) Correlational method - "when a correlation exists, it is possible to predict one variable from information about the other variable". We can then make predictions. Correlations are measured between -1 and 1, with 0 meaning no correlation. Employs statistical tests. An example is the correlation between "competitive forgiveness" and the likelihood of each party to forgive/co-exist with one another [peacefully] (Israel and Palestine, for example). Another example in the text was the Facebook & idealized-self study, where it was found that the way Facebook users post about themselves is pretty accurate to their real-selves. Though, this has significant drawbacks (are Facebook users acting the way they are online and in-real life because of their online posts?).
 * 4) Experimental method is where the "why?" comes into play, something the correlational method severely lacks. This is where a certain variable of an experiment is intentionally changed in order to justify a reaction that happens towards the dependent variable. This is the most common method of scientific research. It is composed of two parts: the change, independent variable, and the effects played out on the dependent variable. Two important factors of authenticity for an experiment to be taken seriously is its employment of random assignment and constants. External validity, or taking place in the natural world vs. the lab, is also a point of concern. Being ethical is of utmost priority.

1.3.4: The Role of Mediating Variables
Mediating variables, variables that affect the IV and change in the DV, are what we want in order to dig deeper in why an IV changes a DV (example, beliefs and thoughts of the gamer who increases in aggression due to video game playing).

"Handling a gun increases aggression through testosterone". The gun is the IV, the aggression is the DV, and the testosterone is the mediating variable.

1.3.5: Meta Analysis
A meta analysis essentially checks the accuracy of a number of studies by seeing if its replicable. This is achieved due to an increase in sample size and reduction of error. They can also highlight gaps, biases, and errors. Moderators are factors that can change the direction or strength of the IV.

1.4: The Role of Theory in Social Psychology
Explain and describe... that's the motto.

The Theory-Making Process

 * 1) Theory is made with consistent evidence.
 * 2) Can be used as a springfield (armed with basic concepts and statements) to make predictions [hypotheses] about events we can see (such as racial prejudice and preventions for such).
 * 3) Results are proving the theory? We gon' trust it. If not? Then modification is needed.
 * 4) Either accepted or rejected. If accepted, further modifications can be implemented.

Don't Forget This!

 * 1) Theories are never necessarily proven, they are always in a state of modification.
 * 2) Research is always pursued in relation to the theory, not to prove the theory.

"A theory makes predictions about observable events, whereas a hypothesis tests predictions made."

1.5: The Quest for Knowledge and Rights of Individuals
Deception, withholding the scope/steps of a project from the participants, is UNIQUE to social psychological research. This is to ensure the information they recieve is as accurate as can be, because they know the participants' behavior will change if they find out the scope/steps of the project. Though, they are ethical counters that can/would be made. An example would be the emotional aspect of the experiment faced by particpants: getting upset over what seemed to be a real emergency.

All research must be ethical according to the Institutional Review Board.

2 Forms of Deception

 * 1) Withholding Information [passive deception]
 * 2) Misleading Information - Increased harmful effects for participants.

Safeguards to Protect from Deception

 * Deception should NOT be used to persuade people into taking a study.
 * Temporary deception is allowed if: informed consent is given, careful debriefing after the experiment. Participants are ok with temporary deception as long as its the only way & the benefits > cost.
 * FOR RESEARCHERS: Use deception when necessary and the only means, always be cautious, and the participants rights and body are in safe hands.