Lecture 1. Chapter 1

Question 1

Define social Psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of the way peoples thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real of imagined presence of other people.

Question 2

What are the ABC’s of social psychology

Answer 2

Affect (feelings)

Behavior (actions)

Cognition (thoughts)

Question 3

How does social psych differ from sociology?

Answer 3

Social psych is about the individual and psychology processes. Sociology is more about society or groups of people.

Question 4

How does social psych differ from cognitive psych?

Answer 4

It focuses on the social interactions and how people impact eachother. Cognitive focuses on mental processes.

Question 5

How does social psych differ from clinical psych?

Answer 5

Social focuses on normal populations. Clinical is assessement and diagnosis of one individual in a clinical population.

Question 6

How does social psych differ from personality psych?

Answer 6

Social is interpersonal, personality is intrapersonal.

Question 7

What are the three pillars of psychology

Answer 7

Psychoanalysis (Freud), Behaviorism (Watson), Humanism (Existentialists, Maslow)

Question 8

Freud

Explain psychoanalytic theory

Answer 8

Human behaviour is directed by sexual and aggressive urges. These urges are unconcious until able to be adressed in a socially acceptable way.

Question 9

Freuds theory of the unconcious iceberg

Answer 9

Consists of the ID, ego and superego

Question 10

What is the Id

Answer 10

Unconcious, animal impulses. Drive to feel good like with sex, food, and pleasure.

Question 11

What is the superego

Answer 11

Internalized ideas about rights and wrongs. The most pro-social, wants to confirm to society and the morales we have built. Concious and unconcious.

Question 12

What is the ego

Answer 12

Torn between the two, try to create balance between them. Preconcious and concious.

Question 13

Explain Freud’s Intrapsychic Conflict

Answer 13

When the Id and superego clash, it results in psychological problems.

Question 14

What was Carl Jungs disagreements with Freud

3 disagreements

Answer 14

Did not agree with his libido theory, thought it went beyond sex and contributed to self-fullfilment and wellness. Differed on collective unconcious, thought that everyone was born with collective ideas. Believed in a valance of personality, where there is dark and light in everyone, which is not necessarily good or bad.

Question 15

What is Jungs persona theory

Answer 15

Beleived everyone wears masks, which are different archetypes like jock, artist, mother. Used as a social signal to show people how they can relate to us.

Question 16

Negative impacts of Jungs persona

Answer 16

Compromises parts of our personality as its used as a “self-cloak”, by hiding other parts of our personality.

Question 17

Explain behaviourism

Answer 17

Focus only on overt behaviour. Behaviour is shaped by experience: what is rewarded will continue to happen, what is punished will cease.

Question 18

Differ behaviourism from psychoanalytic theory

Answer 18

Behaviourism only focuses on observable behaviour, thinks that the unconcious should not be studied since it lacks scientific rigor.

Question 19

Watsons behaviourist theory

Answer 19

Beleived he could train any child to become anything. Thought behaviour was heavily impacted by social enviromenent.

Question 20

Explain humanism

Answer 20

Existence is a bummer, but the fact we are aware of that gives us a struggle for meaning, which elevates and unites us.

Question 21

What is the existentialist assumption

Answer 21

With awareness comes free will, and with that comes choices, which provides existential anxiety. The dillema of choice is overwhelming.

Question 22

What is the Humanistic assumption about the nature of people

Answer 22

People are inherently good, and only do bad things because of the environement they are in. When given the chance to face reality, people will move towards authenticity.

Question 23

Maslows heirachy of needs

5 categories

Answer 23

Deficit needs

1. Physiology
2. Safety

Being needs

3. Love & Belonging (Community connections, good with others).
4. Success & Esteem (Good with the self).
5. Self Actualization- less than 1% acheive

Question 24

Why did social psych emerge?

Answer 24

To answer the question of how nature and nurture interact to determine human behaviour.

Question 25

2nd insult to dignity

Answer 25

Darwin: We evolved/adapted from animals. Makes people lose their divinity.-> like Mesmer who thought he was some magician who could cure people with magnetism, he saw him self divinely.

Question 25

1st insult to dignity

Answer 25

Copernicus: People are not the center of the universe. People began to see themselves in a different way.

Question 26

3rd insult to dignity

Answer 26

Freud: Animal impulses drive people unconciously. Reason and free will therefor are not the essence of personality since we are driven by animal impulses.

Question 27

Explain the evolutionary theory of behaviour

Answer 27

Social behavior has evolved/adapted over time. Some behaviours that once helped us to survive we dont need anymore.

Question 28

Explain the cultural perspective

Answer 28

Focus on the influence of culture on thoughts, feelings and behavior. There is shared behaviour in groups. There are certain universals like art and tattoss that look different in each culture.

Question 29

Explain the existential perspective

Answer 29

Examines questions about human existence like meaning, death, and the core human motives. Believes there's deeper meaning that guide and shape behaviour.

Question 30

Explain the social neuroscience perspective

Answer 30

Focus on the neural processes that underlie decision making, social judgement, and behaviour. Brain, body connection. Uses tools like fMRI to observe.

Question 31

Explain the social cognitive perspective

Answer 31

How perception, memory, interpretation and action relate and operate under the views of the self and others. Looks at types of cognitive processes.

Question 32

Interactionist perspective

Answer 32

Behaviour is a result of personality and environement.

Question 33

Give 3 examples of the interactionist perspective

Answer 33

Stanford prison experiment (1/3 sadistic), voltage obedience(65%), and conformity experiment (37%), show that the situation and person matters.

Question 34

Explain the milgram experiment

Answer 34

Provoked by wondering why do bad things happen if people are inherently good? Tested obedeience, found that 65% of people gave a deadly shock, and 92% in certain situations. Reveals the interactionist perspective.

Question 35

Explain dispositions | 3 points, and how they are created

Answer 35

Ways of thinking, behavioural tendencies, and preferences that seem to stay similar across situations. Created from the genes we receive and the experiences we've had.

Question 36

Explain how behaviour is shaped by socially constructed views of reality

Answer 36

The ABCs are social in nature, so are informed by our views of the self and others. We are always interacting or thinking about people, as a result, our view of reality is shaped by people.

Question 37

Explain how behaviour is shaped by social cognitions

Answer 37

People's own understanding of the causes and consequences of other people's actions play an important role in determining their behavior

Question 38

Explain how the scientific method is the best tool to understand social behaviour

Answer 38

Emphasis on the scientific method, and especially the use of experiments, as a way of developing, testing, and refining theories to understand the determinants of social behavior. Best way to understand the causes and consequences of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of social life.