Psyc. 325 Social Psyc. 325 Social PsychologyPsychology

Instructor: Dr. Justin Instructor: Dr. Justin BuckinghamBuckingham

What is Social Psychology?What is Social Psychology?

The The scientificscientific study of how people study of how people think about, influence, and relate to think about, influence, and relate to one another.one another.

Social ThinkingSocial Thinking

How do we think about ourselves and How do we think about ourselves and others?others?

How do we form impressions of How do we form impressions of others?others?

How do our thoughts about ourselves How do our thoughts about ourselves and others influence behavior?and others influence behavior?

Social InfluenceSocial Influence

How do others influence our How do others influence our behavior?behavior?

How do we get others to change their How do we get others to change their opinions?opinions?

Social RelationsSocial Relations

What causes people to harm others?What causes people to harm others? What causes people to help others?What causes people to help others? How are friendships formed?How are friendships formed?

Contrasting Social Psychology Contrasting Social Psychology to other Fieldsto other Fields

InteractionismInteractionism: behavior is : behavior is produced by a combination produced by a combination of personal and situational of personal and situational factorsfactors

PersonalityPersonality SocialSocial

Emphasis on Emphasis on individual individual differencesdifferences

Emphasis on Emphasis on situationsituation

Contrasting Social Psychology Contrasting Social Psychology to other Fieldsto other Fields

SociologySociology Social PsychSocial Psych

Emphasis on Emphasis on group group behaviorbehavior

Emphasis on Emphasis on individual individual behaviorbehavior

Usually non-Usually non-experimentalexperimental

Often Often experimentalexperimental

Kurt Lewin’s Model of Social Kurt Lewin’s Model of Social Behavior (1936)Behavior (1936)

Behavior = Situation X Individual Behavior = Situation X Individual CharacteristicsCharacteristics

Situation = influences that are external to Situation = influences that are external to the individual.the individual.

Individual characteristics = influences that Individual characteristics = influences that are internal to the individual.are internal to the individual.

An Expanded Model of Social An Expanded Model of Social Behavior (Bordens & Horowitz, Behavior (Bordens & Horowitz,

2002)2002)Individual Characteristics

Social Perception and Cognition

Evaluation of the social situation

Intention to behave in

a certain way

Social behavior

Input from the social situation

Hindsight BiasHindsight Bias

The tendency to overestimate the The tendency to overestimate the extent to which you could have extent to which you could have predicted currently known outcomes.predicted currently known outcomes.