Chapter 1: The Mission and the Method
Social Psychology
Scientific study of how people affect and are affected by others.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
One idea:
1. Modern life makes people vulnerable to alienation & exploitation by giant social systems.
2. We learn who we are from other people & our interactions with them.
3. Modern humans act less on the basis of firm inner moral principles than on the basis of
following the crowd.
Two ideas that has a lasting influence on SP:
1. Gorden Allport’s observation in 1954, that attitudes were “the most distinctive &
indispensable concept.” (The study of attitudes dominated Social Psychology Research for
decades.)
2. Kurt Lewin’s formula that behaviour is a function of the person & situation knowing only
one kind of information without the other is an inadequate basis for predicting what will
happen.
WHAT DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS DO?
SP concerned with the effect of other people (real or imagined) on our thoughts, feelings &
behaviours.
3 Dimensions / Building blocks of SP = ABC Trait
A = Affect How people feel inside
SP interested =
o How people feel about themselves (self-
esteem)
o How they feel about others (prejudice)
o How they feel about various issues (attitudes)
B = Behaviour What people do, their actions
SP interested =
o All the various behaviours people engage in
o Joining groups, helping others, hurting others, loving others…
C = Cognition What people think about
SP interested =
o What people think about various problems & issues in social world (protecting the
environment)
, o What people think about themselves (self-concept)
o What they think about others (forming impressions)
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE IN THE WORLD
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SOCIAL SCIENTISTS Study people & societies in which they live.
Interested in how people relate to one another.
ANTHROPOLOGY Study of human culture.
Shared values, beliefs & practices of a group of people passed down
from one generation to another.
ECONOMICS Study of production, distribution & consumption of goods & services &
study of money.
HISTORY Study of past events.
POLITICAL SCIENCE Study of political organisations & institutions.
SOCIOLOGY Study of human societies & groups that form those societies.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY Study of human behaviour.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Focused on learned about what happens in the brain, nervous
(PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY, system & other aspects of the body.
NEUROSCIENCE)
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Branch of psychology that focuses on behaviour disorders &
other forms of mental illness, and how to treat them.
Focuses on “abnormal” behaviour, whereas social psychology
focuses on “normal” behaviour.
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Basic study of thought processes, such as how memory works
& what events people notices.
DEVELOPMENTAL Study of how people change across their lives, from conception
PSYCHOLOGY & birth to old age and death.
Study children
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY Focuses on important differences between individuals, as well
as inner processes.
HOW DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST ANSWER THEIR OWN QUESTIONS?
1. ACCUMULATED COMMON WISDOM
Science can find the right answers to almost everything that can be measured in a reliable &
valid manner.
SP have often had to justify their scientific studies by finding patterns that go against
common sense.
They can take ideas that everyone assumes to be true & find out which ones really are true,
as opposed to which ones are always false.
2. OVERVIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Science is a method for discovering truth, not a discipline.
The scientific method involves 5 basic steps:
Social Psychology
Scientific study of how people affect and are affected by others.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
One idea:
1. Modern life makes people vulnerable to alienation & exploitation by giant social systems.
2. We learn who we are from other people & our interactions with them.
3. Modern humans act less on the basis of firm inner moral principles than on the basis of
following the crowd.
Two ideas that has a lasting influence on SP:
1. Gorden Allport’s observation in 1954, that attitudes were “the most distinctive &
indispensable concept.” (The study of attitudes dominated Social Psychology Research for
decades.)
2. Kurt Lewin’s formula that behaviour is a function of the person & situation knowing only
one kind of information without the other is an inadequate basis for predicting what will
happen.
WHAT DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS DO?
SP concerned with the effect of other people (real or imagined) on our thoughts, feelings &
behaviours.
3 Dimensions / Building blocks of SP = ABC Trait
A = Affect How people feel inside
SP interested =
o How people feel about themselves (self-
esteem)
o How they feel about others (prejudice)
o How they feel about various issues (attitudes)
B = Behaviour What people do, their actions
SP interested =
o All the various behaviours people engage in
o Joining groups, helping others, hurting others, loving others…
C = Cognition What people think about
SP interested =
o What people think about various problems & issues in social world (protecting the
environment)
, o What people think about themselves (self-concept)
o What they think about others (forming impressions)
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE IN THE WORLD
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SOCIAL SCIENTISTS Study people & societies in which they live.
Interested in how people relate to one another.
ANTHROPOLOGY Study of human culture.
Shared values, beliefs & practices of a group of people passed down
from one generation to another.
ECONOMICS Study of production, distribution & consumption of goods & services &
study of money.
HISTORY Study of past events.
POLITICAL SCIENCE Study of political organisations & institutions.
SOCIOLOGY Study of human societies & groups that form those societies.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’S PLACE WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY Study of human behaviour.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Focused on learned about what happens in the brain, nervous
(PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY, system & other aspects of the body.
NEUROSCIENCE)
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Branch of psychology that focuses on behaviour disorders &
other forms of mental illness, and how to treat them.
Focuses on “abnormal” behaviour, whereas social psychology
focuses on “normal” behaviour.
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Basic study of thought processes, such as how memory works
& what events people notices.
DEVELOPMENTAL Study of how people change across their lives, from conception
PSYCHOLOGY & birth to old age and death.
Study children
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY Focuses on important differences between individuals, as well
as inner processes.
HOW DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST ANSWER THEIR OWN QUESTIONS?
1. ACCUMULATED COMMON WISDOM
Science can find the right answers to almost everything that can be measured in a reliable &
valid manner.
SP have often had to justify their scientific studies by finding patterns that go against
common sense.
They can take ideas that everyone assumes to be true & find out which ones really are true,
as opposed to which ones are always false.
2. OVERVIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Science is a method for discovering truth, not a discipline.
The scientific method involves 5 basic steps:
