Welcome to Social Psychology 315

1. Welcome to Social Psychology 315

2. Social PsychologyDavid G. Myers, 7/ePSYC 315 Introduction/Chapter 1

3. Methodology (Chpt. 1) Self (Chpt. 2) Social Cognition/Perceptions (Chpt. 3) Attitudes (Chpt.4) Culture (Chpt. 5) Conformity (Chpt 6) Persuasion (Chpt. 7) Group Processes (Chpt. 8) Prejudice (Chpt. 9) Aggression (Chpt. 10) Interpersonal Attraction (Chpt. 11) Pro-social behavior (Chpt. 12) Social Psychology vs. Psychology 110? Depth!

4. Introductory courses: • “Laws”; generalized theories • A convenient, useful starting point • But in reality, human beings are much more complicated • There are few “psychological laws”, and almost none in social psychology • More advanced courses (including this one): • It’s all about boundary conditions, baby! • The conditions under which “psychological effect X” occurs, or doesn’t occur • Conformity • “Automaticity” of stereotypes and prejudice • Highly complex and sometimes controversial issues • e.g. Different bases of attraction for men and women • e.g. Video games and aggression

5. More musings on social psychology • Straightforward observations, reasonably straightforward forces, but complex dynamics between those forces. Longer looks reveal greater complexities Example from physics: • Commonly-used constructs: • Centrifugal force, Centripetal force, Gravity, Entropy • But there are a host of complexities having to do with the interrelations between these factors:

6. So too with human beings • Simple concepts… • Hunger • Desire to be thin • But complex interrelations among these processes • Self-regulation of food intake • Simple concepts… • Associative learning • Social desirability • But complex interrelations among these processes • Self-regulation of stereotyping

7. Actor – Observer Effect

8. OR……….. • Have you ever watched Jeopardy with someone, and after the answer is given that person says "I knew that one" or "That was an easy one"? • HINDSIGHT BIAS

9. OR………. • Have you ever been motivated to use a product or vote for a candidate as a result of watching a commercial?

10. What do we value?

11. what is social psychology?: socialpsychology scientific ^ The study of how people’s: • thoughts, • feelings, • and behaviors • are influenced by the: • actual, • implied, • or imagined presence of others

12. typical topics: socialpsychology methods prejudice self aggression Social cognition social psychology altruism attitudes relation- ships persuasion group influence

13. Let’s begin.

14. Methodology Hypotheses Choices in Methodological Approaches

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17. Hypothesis “A belief or assertion as to the causal relationship between two or more variables” Guns cause people to become violent. Pornography makes men rape women. Prejudice can be reduced by intergroup contact. Watching too much of “American Idol” can result in brain damage. A fundamental assumption in our field: Social problems (such as those above) can be studied empirically.“Let the data decide”

18. Where do hypotheses come from? • Current debates in our culture • Public, puzzling events • E.g. Kitty Genovese murder • Researcher’s own experiences

19. Methodological choices • The identical social problem can be studied in different ways • Choices reflect fundamental values held by scientist • Precision vs. Realism • Manipulating vs. observing • Four major “types”: experimental, archival, observational, correlational

20. I. The Classic Experimental (Logical Positivist) Approach • Borrows from the so-called “hard” sciences • Experimental method • Manipulation of variables • Emphasis on control, precision • Random assignment to condition • Usually focus on concrete (easily measurable, • quantifiable) ADVANTAGES VS. DISADVANTAGES???

21. I. Typical experimental designsrandom assignment to condition; measure everyone once, more or less at the same time II. Quasi-experimental design: less control, allows more noise into the system. Here are three different examples of a “pre vs. post” design X = a manipulation of some sort O = observation TIME

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23. Social Psychologists and logical positivism • Many social psychologists want both: • Precision of measurement, AND • Be able to focus on “messy” variables that are fairly difficult to define, let alone measure How?

24. Operational Definitions • Examples Abstract variable operational definition Self esteem questionnaire Happiness Facial muscles stereotypes Reaction time Note: some operational definitions are better than others—we shall return to this point.

25. “Tricks” (tools of the trade) used by experimental social psychologists • Hard to be completely realistic, but they can try to compensate by… • Use of confederates, “staging”, sometimes deception • Make psychological dynamics as real as possible (even though the setting may be artificial) • Best example: Milgram (1963) study!

26. If the experimental method is so great, why doesn’t everyone use it all the time?

27. Other methodologies • Observational and Archival • Correlational

28. 1. Observational methods • “hidden camera” or “behind the bushes” approaches • Ethnography and Case Studies • Archival analyses • Strengths vs. Weaknesses

29. Correlational • Often, through surveys • advantages • Main disadvantage: Correlation does not equal causation • Note: it is not the observation that is being challenged, it is the interpretation

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31. Interpretation of correlational designs are often made more difficult by “third variable” problems X Y Z

32. some examples of third-variable problems • Eating breakfast and academic performance • General diet and health • E.g. people who regularly eat broccoli are…. • Condom use and incidence of STDs (vs. diaphrams and contraceptive sponges) • Coffee and heart attacks • Sports cars and accident rates • People who watch public TV and frequency of sex.

33. Some famous goofs in methodology

34. 1936 presidential race • Franklin Delano Roosevelt vs. Alf Landon • Poll by Literary Digest (based on telephone surveys) predicts Landon will win • Affluent voters tended to be conservative, and affluent voters also more likely to have phones • Non-representative sample

35. History repeats itself in 1948 presidential electionSame problem—telephone polling

36. Exit polls in 2004 presidential election

37. Ethical Issues • Informed consent • Debriefing • Cost-benefit analysis