Chapter 1: The

revealing science of
social psychology

Learning Goals
Understand the foundations of social psychology
How do social psychologists conduct research?
How do social psychologists ensure the quality of their
research?
How does social psychology research differ across
cultures?
What are the ethical implications of social psychology
research?

Foundations of Social
Psychology

Defining Social Psychology

Psychology (general definition): scientific
study of human behavior and mental
functions
Focus on people as individual agents
Examples of this perspective in research
Personality
IQ
Mental illness

Defining Social Psychology

Social psychology: scientific study of how
individuals think, feel, and behave in a
social context

Defining Social Psychology

Social psychology: scientific study of how
individuals think, feel, and behave in a
social context
Scientific method: systematic observation,
description, and measurement

Defining Social Psychology

Social psychology: scientific study of how
individuals think, feel, and behave in a
social context
Individual is the primary focus

Defining Social Psychology

Social psychology: scientific study of how
individuals think, feel, and behave in a
social context
Face-to-face or virtual
Verbal or nonverbal
Imagined or real
Humans are prone to social influence even when
alone

Evolutionary Perspective
Social behavior is a consequence of evolutionary
adaptations

Cultural Perspective
Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by
culture
Humans give their own symbolic conception of reality, this is
culture

Existential Perspective
Cognitions, affect, and behaviors are influenced by
aspects of the human condition, such as the knowledge
of mortality, the desire for meaning, and personal
identity

Neuroscience Perspective

The study of neural processes that occur during social

judgment and behavior.
Brain waves, brain imaging, cardiovascular functioning

Four Core Assumptions of Social

Psychology
1. Behavior is a joint product of the person and the
situation
2. Behavior depends on a socially constructed view of
reality
3. Behavior is strongly influenced by our social cognition
4. The best way to understand social behavior is to use
the scientific method

1. Behavior is a joint product of the

person & situation
Personality dispositions and situational factors interact
to determine thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Focus centers on what types of situations lead
particular types of persons to behave in specific ways.
Takeaway: Behavior is determined by the
combined influence of specific aspects of the
person and the situation

2. Behavior depends on a socially

constructed view of reality
All human thoughts, feelings, and actions are socially
constructed.
Self-understanding involves social comparisons.
Takeaway: Virtually all human thoughts, feelings,
and actions involve other people and are social in
nature
My understanding of MY relationships with others
in the world influences my actions

3. Behavior is strongly influenced by

our social cognition
The way each individual understands other people, despite the
accuracy or inaccuracy of the understanding, has a powerful
influence on that individuals social behavior.

Takeaway: To understand behavior, we must learn how

people think about themselves and their social world
My understanding of YOUR relationships with others in
the world influences my actions

4. The best way to understand

social behavior is to use the
scientific method

The scientific method provides the basis for how social

psychologists accumulate knowledge regarding the
determinants of human thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Takeaway: The scientific method offers the best

route to accurately understanding social behavior

How do
psychologists
conduct research?

Explaining Behavior Harder than it

Seems
Nisbett & Wilson, 1977
People cannot reliably report on their own cognitive processes
Unaware of stimulus, response, and/or that the stimulus influenced
response

Scientific Method
R

ent
m
e
efin

Conclusion:
Insights about
what works,
gained from
analysis

Evaluation:
Assess the
outcome of
the
experiment

Theory:
Assumption
based on welltested and
accepted
hypotheses

Hypothesis:
Speculation
about how
something
might work

Experimentati
on:
Trial to test
hypothesis

Conceptual Variables vs.

Operational Definitions
Conceptual variables

Abstract and general

Researcher thinks up or
conceptualizes this variable
What the research truly wants to
measure
Example: intelligence

Operational definitions
Specific procedure for manipulating or
measuring a conceptual variable
Example: IQ

Types of Psychological Research

1. Correlational research
2. Experimental research
3. Meta-analysis

1. Correlational Research
Goal is to determine relations between variables.
How similar or distinct are two variables?
How well does one variable predict another variable?

Does not involve random assignment or conditions

1. Correlational Research
Correlation coefficient

1. Correlational Research
Advantages
Can assess associations between variables that
Cannot be manipulated or induced
Would be difficult or unethical to manipulate or induce

Offers freedom in settings in which the variables are measured

Disadvantages
Correlation causation
Self-selection

2. Experimental Research
Research that randomly assigns people to different
conditions, thus enabling researchers to make strong
inferences about how different conditions affect
behavior

2. Experimental Research
Key terms
Independent variable: Variable that is
manipulated, hypothesized to cause an
outcome

IV: Video game exposure (violent, educational, or none)

2. Experimental Research
Key terms
Dependent variable: Variable that is
measured, hypothesized to be affected by an IV

DV: Aggression

2. Experimental Research
Key terms
Random assignment: Assigning research
participants to different groups randomly

2. Experimental Research
Key terms
Control condition: Condition comparable to
the experimental condition in every way except
for that it lacks the one ingredient
hypothesized to produce the expected effect on
the DV

2. Experimental Research:
Laboratory Experiments
Advantages:
Conducted in settings in which environment can be controlled
Participants can be carefully studied
Control groups allow us to draw causal inferences with a good
degree of certainty

Disadvantage:
Can the causal inferences made from studying people in a
laboratory generalized to the real world?

2. Experimental Research:
Field Experiments
An experiment set up in the real world, often with
participants who are not aware that they are in a study
of any kind
Advantage:
People more likely to behave naturally in the real world than
they are in the lab

Disadvantage:
Less control than a laboratory study

3. Meta-Analysis
Set of statistical procedures for combining the results of
individual studies to measure the overall reliability and
strength of a particular effect

How can we discuss

the quality of an
experiment?

Internal Validity
Confidence that only the manipulated variable could
have produced the results

Threats to Internal Validity

Expectations
Experimenter expectancy
Experimenters expectations about
the results of an experiment affect
her/his behavior toward a
participant and thereby influence
the participants responses

Threats to Internal Validity

Expectations
Demand characteristics
Participants form an interpretation
of the purpose of the experiment
and unconsciously change their
behavior to fit that interpretation

External Validity
Experimental setup closely resembles real-life situations
so that results can safely be generalized to such
situations
Laboratory experiments often tradeoff an increase in
internal validity for a decrease in external validity

Realism
Mundane: Extent to which
the research setting
resembles the real-world
setting of interest
Experimental: Degree to
which the experimental
setting and procedures are
real and involving to the
participant

How does social

psychological research
differ across cultures?

Culture and Research Methods

Research findings in one culture do not necessarily
generalize to another
When research does not generalize across cultures, it can
reveal important differences between those cultures
Example: Attachment

Arnett, 2008
The neglected 95%. American Psychologist.
Psychological research focuses largely on Americans
Less than 5% of the population of the world

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

83% of samples were American of European descent in 2007

What are the ethical implications of

doing social psychological research?

Ethics in Social Psychology

Researchers have a moral and legal responsibility to
abide by ethical principles
Virtually every study now has to be evaluated for its
ethics by other people before the study can be
conducted
Human subjects research

The use of deception has caused particular concern in

social psychology

Deception in Experiments
Deception: Providing participants with false
information about experimental procedures
Can add to realism
Ethical issues

Confederates: People that act like they are

participants but really are working for experimenter

Current Policies and Procedures

Role of Institutional Review
Boards (IRBs)
Importance of informed
consent
Necessity for debriefing