“There is nothing so practical as a good theory” - Kurt Lewin What is Social Psychology? Chapter 1

It is the question... Why? Why did he say that to me? Why didn’t I help, it would’ve only taken a minute? Why were they so cruel to me? Why am I so angry at him? Why did she turn me down when I asked her out? → What is Social Psychology?

It is also the data we collect to answer the “why” question Thoughts (cognitions) Feelings (attitudes) Behavior (observables) → What is Social Psychology? (Emphasis on data in answers questions about social behavior)

From the data we collect… we infer causality Within the individual (internal)  personality, previous life history Outside the individual (external)  other people, the environment → What is Social Psychology? (Determining the causes driving behavior)

What is Social Psychology? (Focus on the individual) Consider the previous “why” questions Why didn’t I help her when it would only have taken a minute? Why were they so cruel to me? Why did she turn me down when I asked her out? Differs from Sociology in the unit of analysis (the individual) not in the topics being studied (conformity, violence, love). Your reaction to the environment Your reaction to others Your reactions within a group →

What is Social Psychology? (Brief History) Ancients (Plato, Aristotle) Experimental analysis, not philosophical study ∙ Long-standing emphasis on experimentation ∙ Tripplet (1897) – experiment on social facilitation Early theoretical influences ∙ Biological influences (instinct, Darwin, Freud) = Person ∙ Behaviorism (reinforcement, Watson, Skinner) = Environment ∙ Considered competing influences (person, environment) ∙ Did one become more dominant since the time of Tripplet?

 Kurt Lewin ( his equation)  Foundational theorist in social psychology  Called for t h e integration of biological and environmental influences in our explanations of social behavior  B =  (P, E)  Cannot explain behavior (B) if we completely rule out either biological/person influences (P) or completely rule out environmental influences (E).  May help us not tip completely into one camp and fall prey to either biological or environmental reductionism in our explanations of social behavior. What is Social Psychology? (Brief History)

 Lewin: Field Theory  Life space (field)  The subjective environment each of us experiences at a given moment  Objective reality may be unknowable due to differences in our:  experiences  biology  needs and motives  future goals  reinforcement histories  Our life space is always changing due to the interaction of these influences.  Although our subjective present life space is knowable…  Our past is knowable only through the filter of our present. What is Social Psychology? (Brief History)

 Lewin: Field Theory (continued)  Each of us sees a different perception of the social world through the filter or our unique life space.  Therefore, perceptions may differ between people as a function of the differences between their unique life spaces.  Shares some characteristics with current social cognitive models of biased social information processing. What is Social Psychology? (Brief History) Image from Wolgang Wildgen, University of Bremen

What is Social Psychology? (Reaching into the future)  Moving closer to current social cognitive theory  The Lens Model was originally formulated to help explain perceptual judgments but can be adapted to explain social judgments.  Social judgments (Y s ) of reality (Y e ) are based upon cues (X i ) we have learned.  Our experiences also weight ( r s ) each cue in terms of its perceived importance.  Our weightings ( r s ) may not be congruent with the true importance of the cue ( r e )  These weightings may lead us to poor decisions if too incongruent with reality.  Another implication of the model is that each of us may perceive reality differently based upon our cue ratings.  Reminiscent of Field Theory

What is Social Psychology? (Reaching further into the future)  Social neuroscience  A blend of traditional social psychological, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology  Focus on how the social environment affect our biology and….  How our biology affects how we respond to the our social environment  Main biological influences  Neural systems  Endocrine system  Popular social psychological issues  Prejudice  Aggression  Liking and attraction  Attitude change  Schema theory and confirmation bias  Cognitive psychological theories in play  Information processing theory  Categorization  Attention

What is Social Psychology? (Reaching further into the future)  Social neuroscience (continued)  A blend of research methods  fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)  ERP (event-related potential )  EEG (electroencephalography)  Self-report scales  Overt behavior  Reaction Time (RT)  Error rates identifying stimuli  Gaze duration and location  Facial expressions  How does Social Neuroscience hearken back to Kurt Lewin’s thinking on what social psychology should use to explain behavior in our social world?