SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
Social Psychology according to Gordon Allport: “Scientific investigation of how the
thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others.”
Social psychology today:
Focuses on how people are similar
Draws on knowledge in evolutionary biology and neurosciences
Investigates how people think about, relate to, influence and are affected by
others
Three streams of research
1) Social thinking
o The social world we perceive is subjective
o We construe our own reality even though we behave the same
o Ex: job stress is received differently for everybody
2) Social influence
o The social context influences our behavior (we are influenced by others)
o Ex: if one person yawns you will likely yawn too, people follow fashion
trends from other people, …
3) Social relations
o How is cooperation achieved and conflict resolved
o Cooperation requires trust, how do you know if you can trust someone?
o Everybody can win or everybody can lose the decision you make will be
based on the outcome
Social psychology is a science because it aims to formulate theories following
the scientific method is it objective?
Facts can be objective but a collection of facts is not more a science than bricks a
house meaning: facts are not enough
The challenge is use the facts to build a theory the theory can only be as good
as the facts itself
Social psychology requires theories that explain why those facts occur
Nothing is more practical than a good theory a good theory:
Is able to explain a wide range of phenomena
Allows predictions which may confirm or negate the theory
May be adapted when the observations don’t match the theory
Is a source of new research ideas
Generates applications
Why does psychology need science? What to humans need to watch out for?
1) The subjective nature of perception:
o You see what you expect
2) The naturalistic fallacy:
o Bridging “what is” to “what ought to be”
1
, o The error of turning a descriptive claim “people behave like X” to a
prescriptive or moral claim, “therefore X is good and justified” jumping
to conclusions
3) The hindsight bias: “I knew it all along”
o Explains why social psychology is NOT just common sense
o Ex: “opposites attract” or “bird of a feather flock together”
o After you know the results of a study it feels obvious but before the study it
was not predictable common sense is often right, but after the fact
o Thinking that “we knew it all along” is a form of self-deception
o This bias makes people underestimate the value of scientific research
which is why we need science to shift reality from illusion and genuine
predictions from hindsight
“Wise men make proverbs and fools believe them” the quote means that proverbs
sound wise, but they are not reliable knowledge
They are created by “wise men” (people who phrase things nicely)
But “fools” (people who don’t think critically) treat them as universal truths
Paradox: “Fools make proverbs and wise men believe them” shows that’s
proverbs are so flexible and vague that you can flip then around and still sound
wise
Learning about the social world using the scientific method
Inductive: start with observation and come up with a theory problem: you
can’t observe everything, you might miss out on something
Deductive: you start with a theory (knowledge base) and then you make a
hypothesis and draw data that does or does not confirm the theory
CORRELATION STUDIES
Advantages of correlational studies: easy to conduct in naturalistic settings and plot
(regression lines), very powerful predictive tool
Disadvantages:
Don’t know direction (see M&T p. 6 self-esteem & achievements of kids)
Over-interpretations (see patterns where there aren’t, ignore regression to the
mean)
Example: Operationalize variables
Socio-economic status: length of pillar – X-axis (high, medium, low)
Longevity: year of death – year of birth – Y-axis
Results: the higher the pillar the longer they live
o Poor women don’t live long (probably during giving
birth)
o The data is wrong centred, people are only included
that are already dead it doesn’t say anything about
today because you stop analysing that at a certain
point
Correlation is NOT the same as causality
2
,Experimental method: searching for cause and effect
Ex: interaction effects
o Room temperature might be a moderating
variable indicating an interaction
o Two independent variables: noise & temperature
o Dependent variable: learning
Examples of REAL interaction effects between chemicals and conditions/individual
differences:
A genetic variant of the MAO (Monoamine Oxidase) enzyme leads to violent
behaviour only when it coincides with abuse in childhood
Hormone oxytocin boosts trusting behavior in economic game only for people with
low dispositional trust
Advantages of controlled experiments
Dissociate cause and effect (“X” caused “Y”)
Isolate effect of one particular variable
o You can test one specific factor without other things interfering
Unravel interaction effects
o Experiments can show how two variables work together (ex of the MAO
enzyme above)
Disadvantage:
Often difficult to generalize to real-life settings
o Low ecological validity: experiments often happen in artificial setting so it
may not reflect real life
Conducted with homogeneous populations
o WEIRD – populations
o Results may not generalize to other cultures or age groups
Replication problems
o Some famous findings fail to repeat when other researches try the same
experiment
3
, SOCIAL THINKING
STUDYING THE SELF (AND OTHERS) IN A SOCIAL WORLD
HOW DO WE COME TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS AND ONE-SELF
UNDERSTANDING OTHERS
We understand others by imitating them, this is called the chameleon effect
Mirror neurons allow us to feel what others feel
Vitorio Gallese: “Embodied simulation: from mirror neuron systems to interpersonal
relations“
By means of embodied simulation we do not just see an action, an emotion, or a
sensation. Side by side with the sensory description of the observed social stimuli,
internal representations of the body states associated with actions, emotions, and
sensations are evoked in the observer, as if he/she would be doing a similar action
or experiencing a similar emotion or sensation.
Implications of mirror neurons, it contributes to
Learning through imitation
Empathy: understanding feelings of others
Theory of mind: understanding intentions of others
UNDERSTANDING ONE-SELF
Our self-concept develops from learning in a social context. We obtain feedback for the
things we try out. This affects our future perceptions, choices, and behavior.
Exercise: Think of 5 words that describe you and how it is that you came to think about
yourself this way
Our self-concept is utterly important to us
Self-referencing effect
Spotlight effect
Illusion of transparency
Yet we are often poor at predicting our own behavior
Ethics and virtues
Professional competence
College entrance examinations
Driving ability
4
INTRODUCTION
Social Psychology according to Gordon Allport: “Scientific investigation of how the
thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others.”
Social psychology today:
Focuses on how people are similar
Draws on knowledge in evolutionary biology and neurosciences
Investigates how people think about, relate to, influence and are affected by
others
Three streams of research
1) Social thinking
o The social world we perceive is subjective
o We construe our own reality even though we behave the same
o Ex: job stress is received differently for everybody
2) Social influence
o The social context influences our behavior (we are influenced by others)
o Ex: if one person yawns you will likely yawn too, people follow fashion
trends from other people, …
3) Social relations
o How is cooperation achieved and conflict resolved
o Cooperation requires trust, how do you know if you can trust someone?
o Everybody can win or everybody can lose the decision you make will be
based on the outcome
Social psychology is a science because it aims to formulate theories following
the scientific method is it objective?
Facts can be objective but a collection of facts is not more a science than bricks a
house meaning: facts are not enough
The challenge is use the facts to build a theory the theory can only be as good
as the facts itself
Social psychology requires theories that explain why those facts occur
Nothing is more practical than a good theory a good theory:
Is able to explain a wide range of phenomena
Allows predictions which may confirm or negate the theory
May be adapted when the observations don’t match the theory
Is a source of new research ideas
Generates applications
Why does psychology need science? What to humans need to watch out for?
1) The subjective nature of perception:
o You see what you expect
2) The naturalistic fallacy:
o Bridging “what is” to “what ought to be”
1
, o The error of turning a descriptive claim “people behave like X” to a
prescriptive or moral claim, “therefore X is good and justified” jumping
to conclusions
3) The hindsight bias: “I knew it all along”
o Explains why social psychology is NOT just common sense
o Ex: “opposites attract” or “bird of a feather flock together”
o After you know the results of a study it feels obvious but before the study it
was not predictable common sense is often right, but after the fact
o Thinking that “we knew it all along” is a form of self-deception
o This bias makes people underestimate the value of scientific research
which is why we need science to shift reality from illusion and genuine
predictions from hindsight
“Wise men make proverbs and fools believe them” the quote means that proverbs
sound wise, but they are not reliable knowledge
They are created by “wise men” (people who phrase things nicely)
But “fools” (people who don’t think critically) treat them as universal truths
Paradox: “Fools make proverbs and wise men believe them” shows that’s
proverbs are so flexible and vague that you can flip then around and still sound
wise
Learning about the social world using the scientific method
Inductive: start with observation and come up with a theory problem: you
can’t observe everything, you might miss out on something
Deductive: you start with a theory (knowledge base) and then you make a
hypothesis and draw data that does or does not confirm the theory
CORRELATION STUDIES
Advantages of correlational studies: easy to conduct in naturalistic settings and plot
(regression lines), very powerful predictive tool
Disadvantages:
Don’t know direction (see M&T p. 6 self-esteem & achievements of kids)
Over-interpretations (see patterns where there aren’t, ignore regression to the
mean)
Example: Operationalize variables
Socio-economic status: length of pillar – X-axis (high, medium, low)
Longevity: year of death – year of birth – Y-axis
Results: the higher the pillar the longer they live
o Poor women don’t live long (probably during giving
birth)
o The data is wrong centred, people are only included
that are already dead it doesn’t say anything about
today because you stop analysing that at a certain
point
Correlation is NOT the same as causality
2
,Experimental method: searching for cause and effect
Ex: interaction effects
o Room temperature might be a moderating
variable indicating an interaction
o Two independent variables: noise & temperature
o Dependent variable: learning
Examples of REAL interaction effects between chemicals and conditions/individual
differences:
A genetic variant of the MAO (Monoamine Oxidase) enzyme leads to violent
behaviour only when it coincides with abuse in childhood
Hormone oxytocin boosts trusting behavior in economic game only for people with
low dispositional trust
Advantages of controlled experiments
Dissociate cause and effect (“X” caused “Y”)
Isolate effect of one particular variable
o You can test one specific factor without other things interfering
Unravel interaction effects
o Experiments can show how two variables work together (ex of the MAO
enzyme above)
Disadvantage:
Often difficult to generalize to real-life settings
o Low ecological validity: experiments often happen in artificial setting so it
may not reflect real life
Conducted with homogeneous populations
o WEIRD – populations
o Results may not generalize to other cultures or age groups
Replication problems
o Some famous findings fail to repeat when other researches try the same
experiment
3
, SOCIAL THINKING
STUDYING THE SELF (AND OTHERS) IN A SOCIAL WORLD
HOW DO WE COME TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS AND ONE-SELF
UNDERSTANDING OTHERS
We understand others by imitating them, this is called the chameleon effect
Mirror neurons allow us to feel what others feel
Vitorio Gallese: “Embodied simulation: from mirror neuron systems to interpersonal
relations“
By means of embodied simulation we do not just see an action, an emotion, or a
sensation. Side by side with the sensory description of the observed social stimuli,
internal representations of the body states associated with actions, emotions, and
sensations are evoked in the observer, as if he/she would be doing a similar action
or experiencing a similar emotion or sensation.
Implications of mirror neurons, it contributes to
Learning through imitation
Empathy: understanding feelings of others
Theory of mind: understanding intentions of others
UNDERSTANDING ONE-SELF
Our self-concept develops from learning in a social context. We obtain feedback for the
things we try out. This affects our future perceptions, choices, and behavior.
Exercise: Think of 5 words that describe you and how it is that you came to think about
yourself this way
Our self-concept is utterly important to us
Self-referencing effect
Spotlight effect
Illusion of transparency
Yet we are often poor at predicting our own behavior
Ethics and virtues
Professional competence
College entrance examinations
Driving ability
4
