...Chapter 1 What is social psychology? LEARNING OUTCOMES When you have finished studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1 Outline the main differences between experimental and critical approaches to social psychology. 2 Describe the three main ‘metaphysical battles’ between them. 3 Trace the origins of social psychology through the work of William McDougall and William James, and the contributions made by Völkerpsychologie and crowd psychology. 4 Describe the two contrasting images of ‘the person’ in social psychology. 5 Identify the roots of and describe the historical development of both experimental and critical social psychology. 6 Describe the main elements of Modernism and Postmodernism, and how these relate to contemporary social psychology. 7 Explain how these two approaches are different, and why they cannot be integrated. Introduction On a March night in 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked by a maniac as she came home from work at 3 A.M. Thirty-eight of her Kew Gardens neighbors came to their windows when she cried out in terror – but no one came to her assistance. Even though the attack, which resulted in her death, lasted more than half an hour, no one even so much as called the police. . . . The thirty-eight witnesses to Kitty 3 4 FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES Genovese’s murder did not merely look at the scene once and then ignore it. Instead they continued to stare out, fascinated, distressed, unwilling to act but unable...
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...Social Psychology is branch of psychology which has long history and its relatively young in the field of science community. Social psychology is somewhat misunderstood because of the fact that some believe it overlaps with clinical and sociology due to personal development and mental well being of individual. It can be said that social psychology has different branches and field for example, Forensic psychology is the subfield of social psychology that deals with the searches of mind and behavior of criminals in collaboration with judicial and law enforcement system. Stanford prison experiment was the major experiment conducted for the purpose of social psychology. Social Psychology Defined Social psychology is defined as the branch of psychology that deals with the scientific study of “how people think about one another, influence others and relate to others” (Meyers,2010). For example, how a person looks the world, he or she devises the situation and how individuals look at each other is social psychology. According to Allport, (1985), “Social psychology is the discipline which uses scientific methods to explain the behavior of individuals, their thoughts and feeling, also how behavior influences individuals by the actual or imaginative presence of others”. When it comes ...
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...Social psychology is the scientific study of the way individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context. Social psychology often emphasizes the power of the situation in affecting people. Social psychology can be distinguished from other disciplines, including sociology, clinical psychology, personality psychology, and cognitive psychology; however, social psychology overlaps with each of these disciplines as well. Social psychology may at first appear to be common sense, but common sense often makes contradictory claims, and many of the findings in social psychology would not be predicted by common sense. A wide range of research methods are used in psychology. These methods vary by the sources of information that are drawn on, how that information is sampled, and the types of instruments that are used in data collection. Methods also vary by whether they collect qualitative data, quantitative data or both. Qualitative psychological research is where the research findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures. Quantitative psychological research is where the research findings result from mathematical modeling and statistical estimation or statistical inference. Since qualitative information can be handled as such statistically, the distinction relates to method, rather than the topic studied. There are three main types of psychological research: 1. Correlational research In statistics, dependence is any statistical relationship between...
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...DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGY: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CRITICALLY LOOK AT DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES? . The term development is very broad and multi-dimensional that it is a topic dealt with in almost every discipline. Psychology is also a multi-dimensional discipline, and when encompassing development it constructs a field of study known as developmental psychology. The main focus of this area is on human growth throughout the lifespan. Originally, developmental psychology was concerned with infants and children, but the field has since expanded to include adolescence, adult development and aging. This is due to the fact that although childhood is obviously a time of tremendous change, people also continue to grow and develop during the early adult, middle age, and senior years. Inclusive in this field are related topics such as child development, intellectual development, cognitive development, and the aging process. In simpler terms then, developmental psychology is defined as the scientific study of age-related changes that occur in human beings cross different domains over the course of life. The direct focus of developmental psychology on human growth involves thorough observation and examination in order to be able to categorise and label a being. This marking of belonging to a certain group is another transformation underwent...
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...Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology studies our mental processes or cognitions. These mental processes that cognitive psychologists focus on include memory, perception, thinking and language. The main concern of cognitive psychology is how information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing directs how we behave. Strengths of COGNITIVE approach Example from Core Study 1 High levels of control in laboratory conditions Baron-Cohen they were able to select participants with the desired characteristics and maintain a standard procedure. By controlling variables, cause and effect can be established, in this case the effect that autism and AS have on theory on mind skills 2 May be able to help those with cognitive problems and may lead to practical applications for teaching/treatment For example the study by Loftus and palmer offers us an insight into the factors that can affect the reliability of eyewitness testimony, in particular the use of leading questions in interviews which can distort a witness’s memory of an event. This could prove vital for police questioning techniques. 3 Increases our understanding of cognitive abilities For example, Baron-Cohen’s study, he has demonstrated how autistic people are not able to conceive of what other people are feeling as easily as non-autistic people i.e. not capable of ‘mind reading’. This is shown because the autistic/AS participants scored less well on the eye task than the non-autistic sample...
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...(Bierstedt, 1970. 3-28) Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behaviour. The subject matter of sociology is huge and complex, and the knowledge produced by sociological research is still imperfect in many ways. However, it has taught us a great deal about ourselves. (RotarTson, 1977 :3) No formal definition of sociology is very satisfactory. Short definitions don’t really define; long definitions are clumsy. Yet a definition of some sort is needed, and sociology is often defined as the scientific study of human social life.. Human beings behave differently from other animals. They have unique forms of group life; they pursue customs, develop institutions, and create values. Sociology applies scientific methods to the study of these phenomena in the research for scientific knowledge. Sociology concentrates its study upon the group life of human beings and the product of their group living. (HurTon and Chester 1984: 25-27) The sociologist is especially interested in the customs, traditions, and values which emerge from group living, and in the way group living is, in turn, affected by these customs, traditions, and values. Sociology is interested in the way groups interact with one another and in the processes and institutions which they have developed. Characteristics of Sociology Sociology is first of all a social science and not a natural science because it deals with the social universe not with the physical universe. In the second place, sociology is...
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...Social Psychology Paper Kimbaly Franzer PSY 555 June 21, 2015 David King Social Psychology Paper Social psychology is the given information of how individuals interact, learn, and develop his or her personality that is based upon their relationships that are developed over time. Social psychology is all about the way individual’s interaction within the world. Individuals get a better understanding he or she interacts with others and different situations that are based upon the actions of individuals and environment around them. Within the context of this paper, it will define social psychology; examine the conceptual foundations of social psychology and last analyzing the four characteristics of social psychology. The paper will also define what situationism and the role it plays within social psychology by explaining the five core social motives and explain how each effect social psychology. Social Psychology Defined Myer (2008) believed that social psychology is the study scientific on the effects of social and the process the way individuals influence and how individuals can relate to others. Individuals are able to influence each other by the way he or she acts, behaves, talks, and walks, which can influence an individual by affecting career choices and the way he or she talks. Bandura said it best: “Parents have an influence on his or her child’s behavior” (Bandura (1986). Individuals are shaped by their environment, individuals around them, and other events...
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...Calendar For SBS 338 (Social Psychology) Fridays – Ocean Hall 86B Spring 2015 Notes: This calendar is a week-by-week summary and is intended to be a general guide for both teaching and learning, hence, it is subject to modification. Assignments will be posted on a weekly basis. Students are required to refer to the iLearn cover pages for detailed instructions and links to all teaching and learning materials including all course deliverables (exams, article review and group project). Coupled with suggested learning materials students are expected to be self-directed in researching and reviewing other materials on iLearn. See also the “Readings” folder in order to access instructional readings materials for each exam. It is not recommended that students go beyond these materials. January 23 Meet. This is our first day of class. We will review the course syllabus, instructional strategies as well as all “deliverables” (exams/reviews/group presentations) and expectations (how to do well in this class and also how to be officially dropped for classroom disruption) found in Topic 0. Dr. Arias will present a lecture on the “Degrees of Degrees” and also the “It Factor” as a means of demonstrating the connectivity between one’s college education, and landing professional positions ranging from high tech corporations to non. 30 Meet. Dr. Arias will introduce and overview of social psychology by grounding theories and methods founded in social psychology to real life applications...
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...The Field of Psychology We humans are a strange species and our behavior is often inconsistent. Some of us smile when we're angry, others cry when we're happy. And all of us expect other people to figure out what in the world we are thinking. Not only are we different from other species, we're radically different from each other. Thankfully, our differences can be examined more easily through the lens of psychology—the science that tells us how the mind, brain, and body work together. This lesson introduces you to the field of psychology—its origins, history, key perspectives, research methods, issues, and current trends. This lesson presents the following topics: • What is Psychology? • The History of Psychology • Modern Psychology Perspectives • Types of Psychological Professionals • The Science of Psychology • Ethics of Psychological Research What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. • Behavior includes outward or obvious actions or reactions such as facial expressions or movement. These actions and reactions are sometimes referred to as body language. John wants to ask Susan for a date, and Susan wants him to ask her out. John worked up his courage, was about to ask her out when he walked by her desk, but Susan looked up with a frown on her face. Assuming that she was frowning at him, John walked quickly back to his own office. Susan, who had a horrible sinus...
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...Social Psychology Conshombia McArthur PSY 555 January 14, 2012 Dr. Newcomer According to Fiske, social psychology is the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings (2010, p. 4). Meaning that the actions of the individual are dictated to by the group and without the presence of the group one’s action might be different. The variant nuances unique to the individual are inhibited in an attempt to conform to the standards of the group. Social psychologists examine the interpersonal interactions of a person to develop an understanding about the human condition (Fiske, 2010, p. 35). With this being the case, how then an individual one measure thoughts, feelings, and behavior to prove a hypothesis? The ability to take a vague concept and transform it into a solidified and valid idea is the goal of many psychologists. Traditionally, social psychology has focused on the study of individuals. It assumes that complex social processes, behaviors, or attitudes can be explained by an analytical focus on the individual. The foundations for this individualist position were laid by Floyd Allport (1924) who dismissed the group as a meaningful level of analysis for social psychology. For instance, Allport claimed that “If we take care of the individual, psychologically speaking, then the groups will take care of themselves” (Allport, 1924, p.9). The...
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...Social Psychology Paper Christina Bacon Psych/555 April 4, 2016 Dr. Dobier Social Psychology Paper This paper will attempt to analyze the foundations of social psychology, and to do so this paper will explain what social psychology is, what the four characteristics of social psychology is and how they are addressed. Situationism will be discussed as well as what role it plays, and what the five social motives are and how they affect the field of psychology. Defining Social Psychology Firstly, the definition of social psychology is simply people influencing other people. It is the attempt, or rather the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of other people are shaped by the presence of others. For instance, public speaking, now most people have a significant reaction to speaking in front of others. Usually they are nervous and scared or they are confident and comfortable. The role of social psychology would be trying to explain the reason the individual feels that way. Another example would be a professor in front of his or her classroom, if the teacher asked their students to remove their shoes and throw them into a nearby receptacle, most if not all of the students would comply. The role of the social psychologist would be to try and explain the different reactions that the students felt (Fiske, 2010). Analyzing the four characteristics There are four characteristics of social psychology and they are broad scope, cultural...
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...includes scientific inquiry which means its recognizes humans of all societies and cultures who are in a constant rate of change and growth. The branches included are all the aspects of human growth, such as emotional, physical, social, intellectual and personality development. Charles Darwin was actually the first to be credited with conducting the first systematic study dealing with developmental psychology. This study of psychology also branches into sociology, education and health care because of its association, not only with the physical aspects, but with cognitive and social forms as well. Developmental psychology also plays an important role in numerous subjects such as anthropology, education, history, sociology and psychology. Those subjects apply to many careers pertaining to the study of human development. The three goals of developmental psychology are to describe, explain, and to optimize development. With developmental psychology comes tons of research. Majority of study begins with hypothesis. The goal of the research is to analyze the interested area and collect data needed to draw conclusions, which can then add to new or developing theories. Developmental psychologists work environments range from schools to nonprofit agencies and hospitals. Some also work in colleges and universities but those tend to focus more on research and teaching. The area of employment I will focus on is a clinical social worker. A clinical social worker is a professional...
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...Psy/400 Social Psychology Social Psychology Definition Lauren Davis Marinela Dushmani November 2, 2015 Introduction The things the author will discuss and cover in this paper are; the definition of social psychology, a brief history background of social psychology. The way social psychology differs from clinical psychology, general psychology, and sociology. Also the role of research in social psychology will be discussed. Define Social Psychology Social Psychology is a discipline that uses scientific method “to understand and explain ones thoughts, feelings, and behavior that are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human being” (Gordon Allport, 1985). The year social facilitation was introduced was 1800’s. After WW2 was when the research of social psychology began. The holocaust was what led the researchers to study the effects of social influence, conformity, and obedience. The US Government was interested to apply social psychology concepts to influence citizens. The Differences The way social psychology differs from Clinical Psychology, General Psychology, and Sociology are; Clinical Psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on diagnosing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Some of these disorders are learning disabilities, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. General Psychology is a term that refers to the entire science of psychology. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior...
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...of modern social psychology. It is therefore important to consider that social psychology cannot be traced back to one single source of origin. Hence, this is the reason why there are debates of what social psychology is. Gordon Allport described social psychology as the study an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which are influenced by the actual, imagines, or implied presence of others. As seen from this definition there is a direct link between social science and the individual psychology. Social psychology cannot be seen as a linear phenomenon. This is because social psychology has been derived from a combination of influences. The development of social psychology can be discussed in two different ways. Firstly, social psychology is argued to be found upon political movements and social philosophies in the United Stated of America. Secondly, it can be argued that social psychology has developed in response to social and political needs. There have been debates regarding whether social psychology should be dealt as a natural science or not. The ideology of natural science is very important as it affects the way the social psychologist deals with the situations. For example, if there are specific scientific objectives then the study can be laboratory based and use experimental procedures in order to gain knowledge. Psychologists who use this positivistic method are classified as experimental social psychologists. On the other hand, critical-social psychologists...
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...Social Psychology Defined Jackeline Rodriguez PSY/400 June 18th, 2014 Jacqueline Burnett-Brown Social Psychology Defined There are many different forms of psychology that have been discovered and have made their mark in the world of psychology and in science. In this paper, social psychology will be defined and further explain how social psychology is different from other forms of psychology, and provide insight into how and why research is needed in social psychology. Social psychology is the scientific study of the way that people think about one another and how people influence and relate to each other in a society (Myers, 2010). There are other factors that play a significant role in social psychology such as; how human behavior is impacted by other peoples’ thoughts, attitudes, personalities, cultural differences and our own human biology. Social psychology is more than how people interact and influence each other; it focuses on social thinking, social influence and social relations. The three subcategories cover self-perception, beliefs, judgment, culture, conformity, prejudice and aggression. Social psychology also studies how social intuitions can be misleading, deceive people and tamper with social worlds (Myers, 2010). There are many other forms of psychology that it can be quite easy to confuse one for another. For example social psychology and clinical psychology can easily be confused due to the fact that they both assess behavior. Thankfully there are...
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