Psychology 171A Introduction to Social Psychology

1. Psychology 171AIntroduction to Social Psychology Course Instructor: Dr. Lorne Campbell TA: Etienne Lebel

2. Textbook • Breckler, S. J., Olson, J. M., & Wiggins, E. C. (2006). Social psychology alive. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

3. Class Website • http://vista.uwo.ca/webct

4. Course Objectives • At the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, findings, and methods in various areas of social psychology. The topics include the self, attitudes, social cognition, social relations, social influence, social motivation, personality, attraction, romantic relationships.

5. Evaluation • 3 tests • 2 tests during the course covering 3 chapters each • Final exam: covers the entire semester, with a special focus on the 4 most recently covered chapters • All test will be multiple choice

6. Will first cover chapters 1, 3, 4 and 9 • First test will be on October 5 • Will then cover chapters 6, 7, and 8 • Second test will be on November 2 • We will then cover chapters 12, 11, 10 and 14 • Final exam will be held during the fall examination period (date/time TBA)

7. Course Content • Lectures will cover some material from the textbook, and some material NOT in the textbook • You are required to view the video for each chapter, and some exam questions will be based on these videos • Material from the workbook is not required, but is very helpful • Online quizzes and experiments are also NOT required, but are very interesting and helpful

8. Make-up Exams • Tests must be written on the scheduled dates unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or compassionate reasons, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical certificate). A student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for any other reason, or who is unable to justify a claim, will be assigned a zero for that exam.

9. Office Hours • Dr. Campbell: Wednesdays 1-3pm, or by appointment • Feel free to approach me before class, during the class break, or after class • Etienne LeBel: Thursdays 1-2pm, or by appointment

10. Why Study Social Psychology? People are Social Beings • “We are by all odds the most persistently and obsessively social of all species, more dependent on each other than the famous social insects, and really, when you look at us, infinitely more imaginative and deft at social living.” -- Lewis Thomas

11. How can you tell if another person is attracted to you?

12. In most mammalian species, a female raises offspring with no help from the male. • Why are homo sapiens one of the rare exceptions?

14. What is Social Psychology • Social psychology –the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people

15. Scientific Description and Explanation • Social Psychology, like any science, involves: • Description –careful and reliable observation • Explanation –development of theories that connect and organize observations

16. Scientific Description and Explanation • Theories are scientific explanations that: • Connect and organize existing observations • Suggest fruitful paths for future research.

17. Major Theoretical Perspectives • Sociocultural • Evolutionary • Social Learning • Social Cognitive

18. Sociocultural • Socioculturalperspective –a theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences from larger social groups • E.g., norms within cultural groups, social class differences, nationality/ethnicity, fads

19. Evolutionary • Evolutionary perspective –a theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce

20. Evolutionary • What drives social behavior? • Genetic predispositions inherited from our ancestors that promoted their survival and reproduction, such as: • The tendency to automatically recognize an angry face • The tendency for mothers to feel protective of their children

21. Social Learning • Social learning perspective –a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person’s social behaviors

22. Social Learning • What drives social behavior? • Classically conditioned preferences • For example, the feeling of fear at sight of person who hit you. • Habits rewarded by other people • For example, a boy who fights frequently after his father praised him for winning fight with neighborhood bully.

23. Social Learning • What drives social behavior? • Imitating the rewarded behavior of others • For example, buying a gun after seeing a movie in which the hero wins true love after shooting half the people in his girlfriend’s neighborhood.

24. Social Cognitive • Social cognitiveperspective –a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences • E.g., self-enhancing biases

25. The study of social behavior • Hypothesis –a researcher’s prediction about what he or she will find

26. The study of social behavior • Descriptive methods involve attempts to measure or record behaviors, thoughts or feelings in their natural state. • Experimental methods involve attempts to manipulate social processes by varying some aspect of the situation.

27. Descriptive Methods • Social psychologists use five major types of descriptive methods • Naturalistic Observation • Case Studies • Archives • Surveys • Psychological Tests

28. Experiments • An experiment is a research method in which the researcher sets out to systematically manipulate one source of influence while holding others constant.

29. Experiments • Independent variable –the variable manipulated by the experimenter • Dependent variable –the variable measured by the experimenter

30. Experiments • Social psychologists use two major types of experimental methods: • Laboratory experiments • Field experiments

31. Experiments • Advantages: • Allows cause-effect conclusions • Allows control of extraneous variables • Disadvantages: • Artificial situations may not represent relevant events as they naturally unfold (subjects’ responses may not be natural, since they know they are being observed).

32. Enjoy the Class!