1. Relationship Contexts Influence Almost Everything Harry T. Reis & Yan Ruan The University of Rochester

2. Social psychology is rightly championed for demonstrating how situations affect behavior. Lewin’s life space B = f (P, E) Classic experiments reveal “the power of the situation” -- Sherif, Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo

3. “(S)ituationists rely on the insights of scientific disciplines devoted to understanding how humans make sense of their world—including social psychology, social cognition, cognitive neuroscience, and related disciplines.”

4. A distinct niche in the explanatory hierarchy of disciplines Integrative, complex, “macro” system, outside-of-the- person explanations Elemental, “micro” system, inside-of- the-person explanations Political Science Economics Cultural Anthropology Sociology Neuroscience Physiology Biology Biochemistry situation person BEHAVIOR

5. But which aspects of the situation should we study? Social psychology deals with uniformities due to social causes, i.e., to mental contacts or mental interactions … [these are] social only in so far as it arises out of the interplay of minds. (Edward Alsworth Ross, 1908) Social psychologists regard their discipline as an attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings. (Gordon Allport, 1954) Roughly speaking, social psychology is concerned with the mental processes (or behavior) of persons insofar as these are determined by past or present interaction with other people … this is not a definition that excludes very much. (Roger Brown, 1965).

6. The scientific study of the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals in social situations. Social psychologists use scientific methods to study how we perceive people and social events, how we influence others, and the nature of human relationships. Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another.

7.  Prominent, perhaps predominant, focus of attention and thought.  Most goals and motives involve other persons, either as a target or as agents who facilitate or constrain the attainment of those goals.  “Emotions are brought into play most often by the actions of others, and, once aroused, emotions influence the course of interpersonal transactions.” (Ekman & Davidson, 1994)  Major factor in etiology and treatment of mental, physical disorders.  Relationship partners – and the ability to connect and collaborate – are significant resources and determinants of well-being at all life stages.  Social interactions and relationships play an increasingly significant role in understanding human evolution and the design of the human mind.  Nothing exerts a more profound impact on the development of the human organism than our interactions with caregivers. Which aspects of a situation make it social?

8. It’s not just that relationships are important; it’s that relationships change the psychological situation. Situational (external) cues Person factors Cue Processing: Attention Filtering Evaluation Meaning-making Organization Psychological situation Behavioral output Abridged (and oversimplified) from Rauthmann, Sherman, & Funder, 2015.

9. Embodied social cognition: Many biobehavioral systems have evolved to prepare us to act adaptively by regulating and coordinating interactions with others. These systems must account for predictions about how others will behave, and how our own actions will coordinate with their actions. Cue processing depends on relationship contexts Cue Processing: Attention Filtering Evaluation Meaning-making Organization  Percepts that are activated  Priming mental states  Socially shared knowledge  Outcome interdependence

10. Amy is walking down the hallway. She passes her boyfriend Max, who gives her a playful pat on the butt. Amy is walking down the hallway. She passes her boss Max, who gives her a playful pat on the butt. Amy is walking down the hallway. She passes a stranger, who gives her a playful pat on the butt.

11. The DIAMONDS Model (Rauthmann et al., 2014) DutyA job needs to be done IntellectSituation includes intellectual or cognitive stimuli AdversityBeing criticized MatingPotential sexual or romantic partners are present pOsitivitySituation is enjoyable NegativitySituation is anxiety-inducing DeceptionIt is possible to deceive someone SocialitySocial interaction is possible

12. Amy is walking down the hallway. She passes her (boyfriend/ boss/ a stranger) Max, who gives her a playful pat on the butt. * * *

13. Tasha calls her (best friend/ therapist/ person she went on a blind date with), Elaine, one afternoon with an urgent need to talk. * * * * * *

14. A young mother is about to cross a busy intersection. She suddenly notices a car about to hit (her child/ an unknown middle-aged man/ a police officer) crossing the street in front of her. * *

15. Anne runs out of gas on her drive home from work. She calls (her father/ a local garage mechanic/ her priest), who promptly picks her up and brings her to a nearby gas station to buy a canister of gas. * **

16. For social psychology to truly understand how situations affect behavior, we need to attend more closely to the relationship context: Who else is present (physically or symbolically) and who else is affected by, or has an effect on, present circumstances. The literature is replete with examples where the relationship context is inadequately recognized as a key moderating variable.

17. Self-Serving Bias in Attributions for Success and Failure Sedikides, Campbell, Reeder, & Elliot, JPSP, 1998 Self-Rated Personal Responsibility for Test Outcomes Relationship with Partner

18. Sex outside of romantic relationships, age 16-18 adolescent delinquency early adult delinquency.39.25 Sex in romantic relationships, age 16-18 adolescent delinquency early adult delinquency -.19 -.20 Adolescent Sexual Activity Harden & Mendle, J Youth & Adolescence, 2011

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