Social Psychology by David G. Myers 9th Edition Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? Social Psychology: the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another How individuals in general influence and affect one another In comparison, sociology studies groups while social psychology focuses on individuals Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Perspectives on Research in Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2008 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 Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

What Are Social Psychology’s Big Lessons? We construct our social reality We react to things differently because we think differently Example: We may or may not interpret someone’s reaction as hostile based on how we think There is an objective reality out there, but we always view it through the lens of our beliefs and values We explain people’s behaviors to suit our needs Our social intuitions are often powerful but sometimes perilous Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

What are Social Psychology’s Big Lessons? Social influences shape our behavior We are social animals, we long to connect, make bonds, and belong Culture can be very influential and can define who we are Whether you prefer a slim or voluptuous female can depend on when and where you live Whether you focus primarily on yourself or your family Any examples? Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

What are Social Psychology’s Big Lessons? Personal attitudes and dispositions also shape behavior Internal attitudes also matter, our inner attitudes affect our behavior Personality also affects behavior. Different people may react differently to the same situation Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

What Are Social Psychology’s Big Lessons? Social behavior is biologically rooted The interaction between nature and nurture makes us who we are. Social psychology’s principles are applicable to everyday life and other disciplines Makes visible the subtle influences that guide your thinking and acting How to get to know yourself and others better Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Social Psychology and Human Values Obvious ways in which values enter When you choose your research topics Values can influence what people are attracted to certain topics Not-so-obvious ways in which values enter The subjective aspects of science Science is not purely objective, it is interpreted Nature is interpreted Psychological concepts contain hidden values Psychologist’s values can influence the theories and judgments they support Psychologists can talk about people being adjusted or maladjusted, mature or immature, but these are all judgements Systematic observation and experimentation are needed to check our ideas against reality Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Is Social Psychology Simply “Common Sense”? Is psychology common sense? Does it just tell us what we already know? Studies: Better educated soldiers suffered more adjustment problems than less educated soldiers (intellectuals were less prepared for battle than those who were street smart) Southern Soldiers coped better with the hot south sea island climate than Northern Soldiers Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Is Social Psychology Simply 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 Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

How Do We Do Social Psychology? Forming and Testing Hypotheses Theory: An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events Hypothesis: A testable proposition that describes the relationship that may exist between events Research may take place in the field or in a laboratory Which do you think is better? Two primary research methods are correlational and experimental Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Correlational Research: Detecting Natural Associations Study naturally occurring relationships among variables Allow prediction; do NOT infer causation Ex. Children with high self esteem have high grades. Why? Changing one variable does not mean there will be changes in the other Survey Research: Random samples help obtain a representative group Unrepresentative samples Concerns: Order of questions Response options Framing (wording of questions) Examples? Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Understanding Correlations What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Experimental Research: Searching for Cause and Effect Control: Manipulating Variables Independent and Dependent Variables Independent Variable: what is manipulated Dependent Variable: what is being measured Random Assignment: all persons have the same chance of being in a condition (eliminates extraneous variables so that people in both conditions will average at about the same) To determine causation Control & Random Assignment Control – experimenter controls all variables (actively manipulates one or a few) Random Assignment – Ss have equal chance of being in either control or Experimental group these differ only in who gets treatment Concerns: Placebo Effects – effects due to study itself Ex: Ss given a sugar pill also have decreased depression because they expect to get better Demand Characteristics Ex: S’s modify behavior because they know they are being studied (Hawthorne effect) Solutions Single and double-blind procedures – neither subjects (nor experimenter) knows who gets experimental treatment. Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ethical Concerns Ethical Concerns: Mundane/Experimental Realism: the degree to which an experiment is superficially similar to everyday situations sometimes psychologists can venture into areas that engage intense thoughts or emotions This may not be important, it may be more important to have experimental realism (degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants) Deception: when participants are misinformed or misled about the study’s purpose or methods Demand Characteristics: cues in an experiment that tell the participant what kind of behavior is expected Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ethical Concerns Informed Consent: research participants must be told enough to enable them to choose whether they want to particpate Need to be truthful Protect participant information Protect participants and bystanders from harm Potential Harm: Consider that people may have come in feeling good Disclose potential harms Confidentiality: Disclose when confidentiality will be breached Keep all client records confidential How do you feel about confidentiality and breaching confidentiality? Debriefing: the post experimental explanation of the study to its participants. Usually discloses any deception and asks participants regarding their understanding and feelings. Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Understanding Experiments Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Two Methods of Doing Research: Correlational and Experimental Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Understanding Experiments What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Research Process What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2008 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 Design a Study Exercise   “Design a Group Study” Exercise Spend three minutes reviewing and modifying your own ideas. Get in groups of 6 (1 person is elected note taker/master organizer) Each person takes 1 – 2 minutes to present ideas to group (Organizer takes notes) Group discusses each idea AFTER all have been presented Decide on 1 study that is reasonable for group study (and doable) Develop idea further, focusing on the following: Develop a hypothesis Does this fit with any theory (personal or scientific) ask me for help here Identify population, samples, independent and dependent variables, Are measures valid? Can we determine reliability of measures? What are the benefits and costs of this method? Is this Ethical? What must you worry about (wording, third variables, placebo)? What can you conclude (scientifically speaking)? Why should anyone care about these results? Put on Post paper in the following format Introduction          i.      Background theory development          ii.      Hypothesis Methods          i.      Participants          ii.      Materials          iii.      Procedure Results         i.      What you expect (use a graph or table) Discussion         i.      Conclusions         ii.      Concerns         iii.      Implications Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.