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Social Psych Module 1 - Lesson 1

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in relation to other people and how individuals are influenced by others. It examines the power of situations in affecting behavior. While social psychology overlaps with other fields like sociology and psychology, it can be distinguished by emphasizing how common sense is often contradictory and does not predict many social psychology findings. The field has grown since the early 1900s and now incorporates biological, evolutionary, sociocultural, and technological perspectives to understand human behavior on an international scale.

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125 views3 pages

Social Psych Module 1 - Lesson 1

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in relation to other people and how individuals are influenced by others. It examines the power of situations in affecting behavior. While social psychology overlaps with other fields like sociology and psychology, it can be distinguished by emphasizing how common sense is often contradictory and does not predict many social psychology findings. The field has grown since the early 1900s and now incorporates biological, evolutionary, sociocultural, and technological perspectives to understand human behavior on an international scale.

Uploaded by

Daphne
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Module I

MODULE I
Social Psychology

LESSON 1: What is Social Psychology?

Things you should accomplish!

1. Define social psychology. Identify the kinds of questions


that social psychologists try to answer.
2. Explain how social psychology differs from sociology and
other fields of psychology. Explain how social
psychological findings may be distinguished from
common sense.
3. Distinguish between social psychological perspective
approaches to understanding human behavior Define
social cognition. Summarize the increasing effort in
social psychology to develop an international and
multicultural perspective.
4. Explain how social psychology incorporates biological,
evolutionary, and sociocultural perspectives of human
behavior. Describe the role of new technologies such as,
PET and fMRI, on social behavior

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
 is the scientific study of the way individuals think, feel, and
behave in regard to other people and how individuals’ thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are affecte3d by other people.

often emphasizes the power of the situation in affecting people.

can be distinguished from other disciplines, including


sociology, clinical psychology, personality psychology, and cognitive
psychology, however, social psychology overlaps with each of these
disciplines as well.

 may at first appear to be common sense, but common sense


often makes contradictory claims and many of the findings in social
psychology would not be predicted by common sense.

HISTORY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY


 it has a relatively brief history.

Module I
Early social psychology began in the late 1800s with research
by Norman Triplett on how the presence of others affects performance,
and the field took root as several textbooks were written on social
psychology in the early 1900s.

From the 1930s to 1950s the field grew quickly as it tried to


understand the horrors of World War II and Nazi Germany. Kurt Lewin
was a particularly important figure who fled Nazi Germany for the
United States during this period.

 the 1960s and early 1970s saw a rise in confidence and


expansion of the field, but also a time of questioning and debate.

 the late 1970s to the 1990s saw the birth of a new subfield,
social cognition, and greater international and cultural perspectives in
social psychology.

MODERN ERA for SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY


 As we begin a new century it appears that there will be several
important new emphasis in social psychology.

The integration of emotion, motivation, and cognition,


biological and evolutionary perspectives, sociocultural perspectives,
and new technologies are all likely to shape the field in the near future.

KEY TERM EXERCISE: CONCEPTS YOU SHOULD KNOW


To help you better understand these concepts, rather than
just memorize them, write a definition for each term in
your own words.

Key Terms
1. social psychology
2. cross-cultural research
3. interactionist perspective
4. behavioral genetics
5. evolutionary psychology
6. social cognition
7. multicultural research
8. neuroscience

Module I

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