Module 1 - Introduction to Social Psychology (Autosaved).docx

MODULE  – 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY: 

the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context

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the mental characteristics or attitude of a person or group

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Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychology is a multifaceted multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.

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According to Gordon Allport (1954) social psychology is best defined as the discipline that uses scientific methods in “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”. beings”.

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Myers and Spencer (2006) define social psychology as the “scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another”.

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Barron and Byrne (2007) defined social psychology as “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and cause of individual behaviour and thought in social situations”.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:

Social psychology is the study of how people think about, influence and relate to others. It emerged at the interface of psychology and sociology in the early 20 th  century. While Psychology analyses the nature of humans, sociology analyses the nature of society. Social psychology on the other hand, analyses the nature and the relation of man to society. The sphere of social psychology is social and its focus is individual. It is the study of individual in social situation. This social situation can be person to person interaction, person to group interaction and a group related to another group. A social psychologist uses scientific methods to study how we perceive peoples and social events, how do we influence others and get influenced, social relation and communication and group dynamics. HOW DID SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOP?

Early philosophers recognized that other people can have impact on individual behavior. Likewise, philosophers continued to theorize about the workings of the human mind, but the development of social psychology took place after the emergence of the science of psychology. The experimental investigation of related issues began in North America, Britain, and France, as researchers began to systematically measure how behavior is influenced by the presence of others. As German domination spread across Europe in 1930’s, a number of psychologists fled Europe to settle in North America. Trained in Gestalt theory, these psychologists and researchers from Europe interacted with American behaviorists, anthropologists and they soon developed techniques to perform realistic studies of complex social influences in the laboratory. During the 1950s and 1960s, social psychology grew and flourished, moving toward an integrated theoretical understanding of social and cognitive processes. Further, social-‐psychological social-‐psychological theory was applied to

important applied problems. Research contributions during this period laid the foundations of key topics within social psychology such as self-‐esteem, self-‐esteem, prejudice and stereotyping, conformity, persuasion and attitude change, impression formation, interpersonal attraction and intimate relationships and intergroup relations

NATURE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: It’s Scientific Nature : 

For many students, the word science means physics, chemistry biology, genetics, etc.

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They and many others would wonder whether social psychology is science.

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To understand the scientific nature of social psychology, we need to understand what we mean by science. In reality science is not a label l abel for certain fields of advanced studies in natural sciences.

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It has set of values and methodology. Accuracy, objectivity, skepticism, and open-mindedness are the values of science.

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The data collection, analysis and inferences are drawn in most error-free manner.

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The collection of data and interpretation is as free as possible from the human biases. Only those scientific conclusions are accepted that have been proved time and again. The views are open to change, no matter how strong they are.

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The principles that are determinants of science are Empiricism; Objectivity; Parsimony; Parsimony; and Converging evidence.

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Empiricism means human experience, so the scientific enquiry should be human experience and not beyond and without it. Parsimony means simple explanations are preferred over complex (also known as Occam’s Rezor).

Considering all these parameters, science differs from the non science. WHAT ARE THE CORE CONCERNS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?

There are four core concerns, or major themes, within social psychology: 1) The impact that one individual has on other; 2) The impact that a group has on its individual members; 3) The impact that individual members have on the groups to which they belong; and 4) The impact that one group has on another group. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CONCEPTS:

Understanding social psychology can be useful for many reasons. First, we can better understand how groups impact our choices and actions. Additionally, it also allows us to gain a greater appreciation for how our social perceptions affect our interactions with other people. There are some basic aspects of social behavior that play a large role in our actions and how we see ourselves. 1.Social behavior is goal-oriented.

Our interactions serve goals or fulfill needs. Some common goals or needs include the need for social ties, the desire to understand ourselves and others, the wish to gain or maintain status or protection, and the need to

attract companions. The way people behave is often driven by the desire to fulfill these needs. People seek friends and romantic partners, strive to gain social status, and attempt to understand the motivations that guide other people's behaviors. 2. The interaction between the individual and the situation helps determine the outcome.

To fully understand why people do the things that they do, it is essential to look at individual characteristics, the situation and context, and the interaction between these two variables. In many instances, in stances, people behave very differently depending upon the situation. For example, someone who is normally quiet and reserved might become much more outgoing when placed in some type of leadership role. Another example is how people sometimes behavior differently in groups than they would if they were by themselves. Environmental and situational variables play an important role and have a strong influence on our behavior. 3. People spend a great deal of time considering social situations.

Our social interactions help form our self-concept and perception. One method of forming self-concept is through the reflected appraisal process in which we imagine how other people see us. Another method is through the social comparison process whereby we consider how we compare to other people in our peer group. Sometimes we engage in upward social comparison where we rate ourselves against people who are better off than us in some way. In other instances, we might engage in downward social comparison where we contrast our own abilities to those of others who are less capable. 4. We also analyze and explain the behavior of those around us.

One common phenomenon is the expectation confirmation, confirmation, where we tend to ignore unexpected attributes and look for evidence that confirms our preexisting beliefs about others. This helps simplify our worldview, but it also skews our perception and can contribute to stereotyping. For example, if you expect people to behave in a certain way, you might look for examples that confirm your belief while at the same time ignoring evidence that conflicts with your existing opinions. 5. We often believe that a person's behavior is a good indicator of their personality.

Another influence on our perceptions of other people can be explained by the theory of correspondent inferences. This occurs when we infer that the actions and behaviors of others correspond to their intentions and personalities. For example, if we see a woman helping an elderly person cross the street, we might assume that she is a kind-hearted person. While behavior can be informative in some instances, especially when the person's actions are intentional, it can also be misleading. If we have limited interaction with someone, the behavior we see may be atypical or caused by the specific situation rather than by the person's overriding dispositional characteristics. In the

previous example, the woman might only be helping the elderly person because she has been employed to do so instead of out of the kindness of her heart. SCOPE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups, and behaviors in three general ways: 1) It tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other(s). This includes social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like trust, power, and persuasion). It deals with questions like: How do small group dynamics impact cognition and emotional states? How do social groups control or contribute to behaviour, emotion, or attitudes of the i ndividual members? How does the group impact the individual? How does the individual operate within the social group? It tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviours have upon the behaviour of groups. How does persuasion work to change group behaviour, emotion or attitudes? 2) Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviours have upon the behaviour of groups. This includes looking at things like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. It looks at questions like: What are the reasons behind conformity, diversity, and deviance? 3) Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as behavioural entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon another group. It asks questions like: What makes some groups hostile to one another and others neutral or civil? Do groups behave in a different way than an individual outside the group? In European textbooks there is also fourth level called the “ideological” level. It studies the societal forces that influence the human psyche. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

Three levels of analysis Three different levels of analysis have been recognised which tell us about the differences in the approach of various social sciences. 1) Societal Level Analysis The goal of societal analysis is to identify links between broad social forces and general patterns of social behaviours. Social behaviour from this viewpoint is explained by factors like economic hard times, class conflicts etc. This analytical approach is adopted by sociologists, economists and political scientists. These scholars attempt to understand general patterns of social behaviours, such as homicide rates, voting behaviours and consumer spending. To study violence in urban areas, social scientists might identify relationships between rates of crime and factors such as poverty, immigration or industrialisation.

2) Individual Level Analysis This level of analysis is used by clinical and personality psychologists who explain behaviour in terms of a person’s unique personality characteristics and life history.  history.  According to this viewpoint, with the help of personality traits and motives the reasons of people’s behaviour can be explained. explained. Individual differences in childhood experiences, ability, motivation and personality are emphasised. At this level of analysis, violent crimes will be explained in terms of unique histories and characteristics of the criminal. 3) Interpersonal Level Analysis The focus of a social psychologist lies on a person’s current social situation. The constituents The constituents of social situation are— are— the other people, their attitudes and behaviours and their relationship to the individual. This emphasis is based on the idea, idea, ‘change the social context, individual will change’. To understand the violent crime, social psychologist might consider the inter-personal relations. One social explanation suggests that frustrating situations make people angry and increase their tendency to act aggressively.