Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology Aronson Social Psychology

Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Power. Point Presentation Prepared By Fred W. Whitford Montana State University Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Chapter Outline I. What is Social Psychology? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? Social influence is the effect that words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? Social Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? Other people can influence us either through direct attempts at persuasion, or more indirectly through their presence and the transmission of cultural values. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? • The Power of Social Interpretation Social psychology is distinct from other social sciences because of its emphasis on people’s construals, or personal interpretations. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? • How Else Can We Understand Social Influence? We can understand social influence through journalists, instant experts, and social critics. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? • How Else Can We Understand Social Influence? Social psychology is distinct from philosophy because it is an empirical field. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? • Social Psychology Compared with Personality Psychology Individual differences are defined as the aspects of people’s personalities that make them different from other people. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

What is Social Psychology? • Social Psychology Compared with Other Social Sciences Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Chapter Outline II. The Power of Social Influence Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The Power of Social Influence • Understanding the Power of Social Influence People are prone to the fundamental attribution error, the tendency to overestimate the role of traits and underestimate the role of the situation in determining people’s behavior. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The Power of Social Influence Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The Power of Social Influence • The Subjectivity of the Social Situation Behaviorism is a school of psychology maintaining that to understand human behavior, one need only consider the reinforcing properties of the environment. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

The Power of Social Influence • The Subjectivity of the Social Situation Gestalt Psychology is a school of psychology stressing the importance of studying the subjective way in which objects appear in people’s minds, rather than the objective, physical attributes of the object. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Chapter Outline III. Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Where Construals Come From • The Self-Esteem Approach: The Need to Feel Good about Ourselves Self-esteem is a person’s evaluation of their own self-worth. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Where Construals Come From • The Social Cognition Approach: The Need to Be Accurate Social Cognition is how people think about themselves and the social world. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Chapter Outline IV. Social Psychology and Social Problems Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Social Psychology and Social Problems Whereas social psychologists are often motivated by curiosity to study social behavior, they are also motivated by the desire to help resolve social problems. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Social Psychology and Social Problems Example: Social psychologists have contributed important insights to AIDS education and prevention. Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What do social psychologists study scientifically? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What are some examples of social influence? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What is contained in a person’s construal of the world? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions Although they may share the same questions, what advantages does social psychology have over folk wisdom and philosophy in answering these questions? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What do sociologists study? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions Which branch of psychology studies how individual differences between people explain their behavior? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What are some examples of individual differences? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What is the fundamental attribution error? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What are some consequences of committing the fundamental attribution error? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions According to behaviorism, what do we need to consider to understand human behavior? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What has Gestalt psychology contributed to social psychology? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Study Questions What is the relationship between people’s motive to be accurate and their expectations about the social world? What can result from people’s expectations? Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.