Introducing Social Psychology Chapter 1 What Is Social

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Introducing Social Psychology Chapter 1 What Is Social Psychology? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education.

Introducing Social Psychology Chapter 1 What Is Social Psychology? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Power of Social Interpretation Social psychology differs from sociology or anthropology: Copyright ©

The Power of Social Interpretation Social psychology differs from sociology or anthropology: Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

How Else Can We Understand Social Influence? • Journalists, Instant Experts, Social Critics •

How Else Can We Understand Social Influence? • Journalists, Instant Experts, Social Critics • Philosophy Social psychologists differ from these by Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social psychology is an experimentally based science. As scientists, our goal is to find

Social psychology is an experimentally based science. As scientists, our goal is to find objective answers to a wide array of important questions: Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology Compared with Personality Psychology • When trying to explain social behavior— how

Social Psychology Compared with Personality Psychology • When trying to explain social behavior— how an individual acts within a social context (in relation to others)—personality psychologists explain the behavior in terms of the person's individual character traits. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology Compared with Other Social Sciences The difference between social psychology and other

Social Psychology Compared with Other Social Sciences The difference between social psychology and other social sciences in level of analysis reflects another difference between the disciplines: what they are trying to explain. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology Compared with Sociology Level of analysis: • Social psychologists focus on the

Social Psychology Compared with Sociology Level of analysis: • Social psychologists focus on the individual in the context of a social situation. • Sociology looks toward society at large. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology Compared with Sociology What they are trying to explain: Copyright © 2010

Social Psychology Compared with Sociology What they are trying to explain: Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Power of Social Influence Fundamental attribution error: The tendency to explain our own

The Power of Social Influence Fundamental attribution error: The tendency to explain our own and other people’s behavior entirely in terms of personality traits, underestimating the power of social influence. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Underestimating the Power of Social Influence Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Underestimating the Power of Social Influence Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation • Human beings are sense making creatures, constantly

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation • Human beings are sense making creatures, constantly interpreting things. • How humans will behave in a given situations is not determined by the objective conditions of a situation but, rather how they perceive it (construal). Source of image: Microsoft Office Online. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation What exactly do we mean by the social

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation What exactly do we mean by the social situation? Behaviorism: Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation This emphasis on construal, the way people interpret

The Subjectivity of the Social Situation This emphasis on construal, the way people interpret the social situation, has its roots in an approach called Gestalt psychology. Gestalt Psychology Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives How an individual construes a situation is

Where Construals Come From: Basic Human Motives How an individual construes a situation is largely shaped by two basic human motives: Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Self-Esteem Approach: The Need to Feel Good About Ourselves Self-Esteem Source of image:

The Self-Esteem Approach: The Need to Feel Good About Ourselves Self-Esteem Source of image: Microsoft Office Online. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Justifying Past Behavior Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Justifying Past Behavior Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Suffering and Self-Justification Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Suffering and Self-Justification Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

The Social Cognition Approach: The Need to Be Accurate The social cognition perspective takes

The Social Cognition Approach: The Need to Be Accurate The social cognition perspective takes into account how human beings think about the world. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Cognition The social cognition perspective views people as amateur sleuths doing their best

Social Cognition The social cognition perspective views people as amateur sleuths doing their best to understand predict their social world. Social Cognition. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Expectations About the Social World • Our expectations can even change the nature of

Expectations About the Social World • Our expectations can even change the nature of the social world. • Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) found Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Expectations About the Social World How does such a self-fulfilling prophecy come about? Teaching

Expectations About the Social World How does such a self-fulfilling prophecy come about? Teaching expecting specific students to perform well often: • This, in turn, helps these students feel: • Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Additional Motives • biological drives • desire for rewards • need for control Copyright

Additional Motives • biological drives • desire for rewards • need for control Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology and Social Problems Why study social influence? 1. We are curious. 2.

Social Psychology and Social Problems Why study social influence? 1. We are curious. 2. Some social psychologists contribute to the solution of social problems. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology and Social Problems Social psychological theories about human behavior have been applied

Social Psychology and Social Problems Social psychological theories about human behavior have been applied to a range of contemporary problems, including: • prejudice • energy shortages • AIDS • unhealthy habits • violence in schools Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Psychology and Social Problems When recommending interventions to deal with serious social problems,

Social Psychology and Social Problems When recommending interventions to deal with serious social problems, it is imperative to act on the basis of scientifically grounded theories about human construal and behavior. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education. All rights reserved.