Social Psychology Chapter 1 Questions and Answers – Study
Guide
Social psychology - Correct Answer -The scientific study of how people think about,
influence, and relate to each other.
Components of social psych - Correct Answer -Social thinking
Social influence
Social relations
Social thinking - Correct Answer -How we perceive ourselves and others, what we believe,
judgments we make, our attitudes.
Social influence - Correct Answer -Culture, pressures to conform, persuasion, groups of
people.
Social relations - Correct Answer -Prejudice, aggression, attraction and intimacy, helping.
AL port’s definition of social psychology - Correct Answer -The attempt to understand and
explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagined, or implied presence of others.
Feelings - Correct Answer -affect or emotion
Thoughts - Correct Answer -cognitions, beliefs
Behavior - Correct Answer -observable by others; very objective, not interpreted
Name some fields that are related to social psych - Correct Answer -economy, law,
philosophy, business, medicine, education, history, political science, sociology
Sociology - Correct Answer -The study of people in groups and societies
Explain the differences between sociology and social psych. - Correct Answer -Social psych
focuses more on individuals and there are more experiments.
Explain the differences between social psych and personality psych. - Correct Answer -Social
psych focuses less on individual differences.
Review some history of social psych. - Correct Answer -It is a young science, first
experiments were about a century ago. First texts emerged in the 1990's. It assumed its
current form in the 30's and became more vibrant after WWII. It expanded to Asia in the
70's.
1
, What are some questions asked by social psychologists about our thinking, influences, and
relationships? - Correct Answer -Does our social be depend more on the objective situations
we face or how we construe them?
Would people be cruel if ordered?
To help? Or to help oneself?
Does our social behavior depend more on the objective situations we face or how we
construe them? - Correct Answer -Studies show that social beliefs can be fulfilling. (See ch3)
Would people be cruel if ordered? - Correct Answer -Questions like this became a hot topic
following WWII when considering Nazi Germany. Milgram led experiments to suggest that
yes, people are cruel when ordered.
To help? Or to help oneself? - Correct Answer -Generally, we act to help ourselves.
Big ideas in social thinking - Correct Answer -We construct our own reality
Our social intuitions are powerful, sometimes perilous.
Attitudes shape, and are shaped by, behavior.
Big ideas in social thinking:
We construct our own reality - Correct Answer -We like explaining behavior. People think
differently, so they react differently.
For example, in a rough college football game, there was a brawl on the field. When students
were asked how many violations each school had, they said that the other school's team had
many more.
There is an objective truth, we just can't always see it.
How we construe the world, and ourselves, matters.
Big ideas in social thinking:
Our social intuitions are often powerful but sometimes perilous - Correct Answer -Instant
intuitions shape fears, impressions, and relationships.
The mind functions in two ways - this is the concept of dual processing. The extent of the
unconscious mind has only just been realized. This includes automatic processing, implicit
memory, heuristics, and spontaneous trait inference.
Intuition is huge and perilous. For example, the perceived danger of planes vs. cars. We also
tend to trust our memories more than we should.
Big ideas in social influences - Correct Answer -Social influences shape behavior
Dispositions shape behavior
Big ideas in social influences:
Social influences shape our behavior - Correct Answer -We respond to immediate contexts.
A situation may lead us to act in ways that oppose our attitudes.
For example, attitudes regarding same-sex relationships tend to vary based on where you
live, your education, age of peer group, and media.
Culture influences our values, promptness, expressiveness, formality...
According to Mel and Penne baker (2003), 30% of our time is spent in conversation.
2
Guide
Social psychology - Correct Answer -The scientific study of how people think about,
influence, and relate to each other.
Components of social psych - Correct Answer -Social thinking
Social influence
Social relations
Social thinking - Correct Answer -How we perceive ourselves and others, what we believe,
judgments we make, our attitudes.
Social influence - Correct Answer -Culture, pressures to conform, persuasion, groups of
people.
Social relations - Correct Answer -Prejudice, aggression, attraction and intimacy, helping.
AL port’s definition of social psychology - Correct Answer -The attempt to understand and
explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagined, or implied presence of others.
Feelings - Correct Answer -affect or emotion
Thoughts - Correct Answer -cognitions, beliefs
Behavior - Correct Answer -observable by others; very objective, not interpreted
Name some fields that are related to social psych - Correct Answer -economy, law,
philosophy, business, medicine, education, history, political science, sociology
Sociology - Correct Answer -The study of people in groups and societies
Explain the differences between sociology and social psych. - Correct Answer -Social psych
focuses more on individuals and there are more experiments.
Explain the differences between social psych and personality psych. - Correct Answer -Social
psych focuses less on individual differences.
Review some history of social psych. - Correct Answer -It is a young science, first
experiments were about a century ago. First texts emerged in the 1990's. It assumed its
current form in the 30's and became more vibrant after WWII. It expanded to Asia in the
70's.
1
, What are some questions asked by social psychologists about our thinking, influences, and
relationships? - Correct Answer -Does our social be depend more on the objective situations
we face or how we construe them?
Would people be cruel if ordered?
To help? Or to help oneself?
Does our social behavior depend more on the objective situations we face or how we
construe them? - Correct Answer -Studies show that social beliefs can be fulfilling. (See ch3)
Would people be cruel if ordered? - Correct Answer -Questions like this became a hot topic
following WWII when considering Nazi Germany. Milgram led experiments to suggest that
yes, people are cruel when ordered.
To help? Or to help oneself? - Correct Answer -Generally, we act to help ourselves.
Big ideas in social thinking - Correct Answer -We construct our own reality
Our social intuitions are powerful, sometimes perilous.
Attitudes shape, and are shaped by, behavior.
Big ideas in social thinking:
We construct our own reality - Correct Answer -We like explaining behavior. People think
differently, so they react differently.
For example, in a rough college football game, there was a brawl on the field. When students
were asked how many violations each school had, they said that the other school's team had
many more.
There is an objective truth, we just can't always see it.
How we construe the world, and ourselves, matters.
Big ideas in social thinking:
Our social intuitions are often powerful but sometimes perilous - Correct Answer -Instant
intuitions shape fears, impressions, and relationships.
The mind functions in two ways - this is the concept of dual processing. The extent of the
unconscious mind has only just been realized. This includes automatic processing, implicit
memory, heuristics, and spontaneous trait inference.
Intuition is huge and perilous. For example, the perceived danger of planes vs. cars. We also
tend to trust our memories more than we should.
Big ideas in social influences - Correct Answer -Social influences shape behavior
Dispositions shape behavior
Big ideas in social influences:
Social influences shape our behavior - Correct Answer -We respond to immediate contexts.
A situation may lead us to act in ways that oppose our attitudes.
For example, attitudes regarding same-sex relationships tend to vary based on where you
live, your education, age of peer group, and media.
Culture influences our values, promptness, expressiveness, formality...
According to Mel and Penne baker (2003), 30% of our time is spent in conversation.
2
