PS51005B: Psychology of the Person – Week 7 Lecture Notes: Introduction to Social Psychology (Goldsmiths BSc Psychology)

Year 1 -
Undergrad
PS51005B: The
Psychology of the Person


Introduction to Social Psychology

Session Aims
Define social psychology and its scope
Understand the development of the field
Distinguish between scientific and critical approaches
Examine levels of explanation in social psychology
Challenge the idea that psychology is ‘just common sense’



What is Social Psychology?

Social psychology is:
“The scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the real or
imagined presence of others.” — Aronson et al. (2018)

“The scientific investigation of how people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour are influenced by the actual, imagined
or implied presence of others.” — Hogg & Vaughan (2018)

“A branch of psychology dedicated to the study of how people think about, influence and relate to one another.” —
Sutton & Douglas (2013)




Levels of Explanation (Hogg & Vaughan, 2018)

Intrapersonal – Within the individual
Interpersonal – Between individuals
Positional – Group memberships
Ideological – Application to broader social issues