Introduction to Social Psychology Research/Ethical issues The Person and the Situation

1. Introduction to Social PsychologyResearch/Ethical issuesThe Person and the Situation Social Psychology Chapters 1 & 2 August 27, 2004 Class #1

2. What is Social Psychology? Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people Social Psychology, like any science, involves: Description:careful and reliable observation Explanation:Development of theories that connect and organize observations

3. Sociocultural Perspective Looks at the whats involved in large social groups such as: • norms within cultural groups • social class differences • nationality/ethnicity • Fads Social Norms rules and expectations for appropriate social behavior Culture beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people living in a particular time and place

4. Evolutionary Perspective • Genetic predispositions inherited from our ancestors • That promoted their survival and reproduction (such as) tendency to automatically recognize an angry face • Animals with features suited to demands of environment will survive better than those with less well-adapted features • In the same way, humans who are best suited to their environment will be most successful

5. Social Cognitive Perspective What we pay attention to How we interpret and judge social situations What we retrieve from memory (such as) People notice the behaviors of group members who are in a minority, and exaggerate the significance of the things they do

6. Ethical Issues in Social Psychology • Deception

7. Use of Deception • Milgram (1974) • Original study included 40 male college students as the participants • Several other versions were conducted by Stanley Milgram who was a professor at Yale University (approx. 1000 subjects overall)

12. Milgram (1974) • Did they realize it was a hoax? • No, film of the experiments clearly show that subjects were very uncomfortable – sweating, fidgeting, giggling nervously, etc.

13. Milgram (1974) • How many of the subjects went all the way and hit that final switch (450 volts) even after the learner had apparently passed out????

14. Ethical Implications Involved… • Implications of this???? • Would never be done today – considered unethical

15. American Psychological Association • Human Subjects Committee Research Review Board (APA) guidelines: • Use deception sparingly • Must be good reason and no other way to get meaningful results • Must obtain an informed consent from participants • Basically, they are agreeing to participate despite potential risks involved and that they can withdraw from the study at any time

16. American Psychological Association • Can not cause any permanent harm – physically or psychologically • Full debriefing – make sure subjects leave testing laboratory in the same mental state they arrived

17. Experimentation: The Scientific Method • Observations • Theories (pure speculation) • Hypotheses (best guesses –testable predictions)

18. It’s a Continuous Cycle

19. Variables:Dependent and Independent • DV = Variable (behavior) you are measuring • In my study: gambling tendencies • IV = variable or variables being manipulated • In my study: IV1 = athletic status IV2 = sex

20. Statistical Significance • When the difference observed between two groups is probably not due to chance factors • Common alpha levels (levels of significance) are set at .05 or .01 • Medical experiments often set theirs at .001

21. Main Effect and Interaction • Main Effect • Looking at one variable to see if there is an effect • Interaction • Seeing an effect only when combining more than one variable

22. Making sure things are consistent… • Reliability • Degree of consistency or repeatability • Interrater Reliability • When different observers witness a behavior is there agreement • Test-Retest Reliability • Experimenters will often retest people using either the same test or another form of it

23. Making sure things are meaningful… • Validity • Are we measuring what we intend to measure? • Internal Validity • Are we sure the independent variable caused the effect? • External Validity • Is the extent to which the results of a study can be applied to circumstances outside the specific research setting in which a particular study was carried out • Or in other words the extent to which the results can be applied to what is known as the real world

24. Is it the Person or is it the Situation?Or both??? • Internal and External influences: • Internal • Inner personality • External • Specific situational factors • What's more influential insofar as prediction of a person’s behavior is concerned?

25. Is it the Person or is it the Situation?Or both??? • To address this issue, we will be analyzing real-life and experimental examples all semester • Today’s example: • Subway Conductor

26. My error??? • Fundamental Attribution Error • Occurs when we overestimate someone’s personality as the cause of their behavior and underestimate social influences (the situation)

27. But maybe it is the person? • Personality psychologists believe that an individual tends to behave consistently across situations • Consistent patterns are seen • Individual differences are apparent no matter the situation

28. Different Persons Respond Differently to the Same Situation • Different people are attuned to different parts of a situation, and the same situation means different things to different people • If this is true, then is personality the more influential of the two

29. Another question??? • Does the person choose the situation or does the situation choose person?

30. Situations Choose the Person • Example: Athletic teams have slots for only so many players, so not everyone gets the experience of playing on the team

31. Persons Choose Their Situations • We choose situations that provide opportunities that fit with our personal characteristics • Example: If you are an introvert, a quiet evening at home might be more appealing than a crowded rock concert

32. Different Situations Prime Different Parts of the Person • Inside each one of us, there are different motives, memories, and feelings • Each of these is likely to be triggered by some situations more than others

33. Different Situations Prime Different Parts of the Person • Example: After watching a slapstick comedy that primes memories of innocent accidents, an ambiguous collision with a stranger may draw one reaction: • “Oops. How clumsy of me!” • But a blow-em-up action thriller may trigger your inner Rambo: • “Hey! How dare you bump into me!”

34. Persons Change The Situation • Sometimes people change situations to better achieve their goals… • A teacher will set up his or her class so that her students get along • Other times people change situations inadvertently… • Depressed college students may depress their roommates • (Joiner & Metalsky, 1996) (Strack & Coyne, 1983)

35. Situations Change the Person • You may be a different person after spending time in a situation… • Example • Two similar high school students may be very different after one spends four years in the military while the other is in a liberal arts college

36. Situations Change the Person • Socialization • The process through which a culture teaches its members about its beliefs, customs, habits, and language

37. The answer to the questions??? • Not yet… • We will primarily be looking at the effects of situational factors throughout the semester • We will critically attack these ideas • Maybe in December we will have some answers???