Chapter 1 - The Mission and the Method
• A Brief History of Social Psychology
• What Do Social Psychologists Do?
• Social Psychology’s Place in the World
• Why People Study Social Psychology
• How Do Social Psychologists Answer Their
Own Questions?
• How Much of Social Psychology is True?
The Mission and the Method
• Is it possible for human beings to live in
peace?
• How does the situation influence our
behavior?
• Can social psychology help us to understand
the complexity of human behavior?
A Brief History of Social Psychology
• Earliest Social Psychology Experiments
– Norman Triplett, 1897-1898
– Max Ringelmann, 1880s
• Introduction of Textbooks -1908
– Edward Ross (sociologist)
– William McDougall (psychologist)
A Brief History of Social Psychology
• Influences in Early 20th Century
– Gordon Allport
– Kurt Lewin
• Influences in 1950s and 1960s
– Behaviorism
– Freudian psychoanalysis
• Social Psychology as a Science
Contemporary Themes in Social Psychology
• Social Cognition
• Biology and the Brain
• Focus on Self
• Focus on Conflict
What Do Social Psychologists Do?
• Broad understanding of how human beings
think, act, and feel
• ABC Triad
• Personal and Situational Influences on ABC
• Use of the Scientific Method
Social Psychology’s Place in the World
• Within the Social Sciences
– Anthropology
– Economics
– History
– Political Science
– Sociology
– Psychology
Social Psychology’s Place in the World
• Within Psychology
– Biological Psychology
– Clinical Psychology
– Cognitive Psychology
– Developmental Psychology
– Personality Psychology
– Social Psychology
Why People Study Social Psychology
• Curiosity About People
• Experimental Philosophy
• Making the World Better
– Applied Research
• Fun and Fascinating
•
How Do Social Psychologists
Answer Their Own Questions?
Accumulated Common Wisdom
– Adages are often contradictory
– Poor method of discovering the truth
– May be a starting point for questions
Scientific Method
• State problem
• Formulate testable hypothesis
• Design study and collect data
• Test the hypothesis with the data
• Communicate study results
•
Food for Thought - Does Chicken Soup
Reduce Cold Symptoms?
Hypothesis
– Chicken soup reduces upper respiratory
inflammation
• Experiment
– Effect of chicken soup on white blood cells
(neutrophils)
– Independent variable: Chicken soup
– Dependent variable: Neutrophil counts
•
Food for Thought - Does Chicken Soup
Reduce Cold Symptoms?
Result:
– Chicken soup reduced neutrophil counts
– People were less congested after eating
chicken soup than before
• Communicate results
– Manuscript was published in scientific
journal Chest
Scientific Theories
• Constructs linked in some logical way
– Linked through observable variables
– Variables are operationally defined
• Scientific theory must be testable
Variables: Independent and Dependent
• Independent variable
– Observable event that causes person to do
something
– Manipulated versus individual difference
• Dependent variable (operational response)
– Observable behavior produced by the
person
Construct Validity
• Construct validity of the cause
– Independent variable - theoretical stimulus
• Construct validity of the effect
– Dependent variable – theoretical response
Research Design
• Experiment
– Researcher controls procedures
– Participants are randomly assigned
– Allows for statements of cause and effect
• Quasi-experiment
– No random assignment
Features of Experimental Studies
• Internal Validity
– Independent variable caused change in
dependent variable
• Confederate
– Person pretending to be a participant
Laboratory and Field Experiments
• Laboratory Experiments
– Experimental realism
– Mundane realism
• Field Experiments
• External validity
– Findings can be generalized
Nonexperimental Studies
• Correlational Approach
– No effect to control variables or random
assignment
• Correlation
– Relationship between two variables
– Correlation coefficient
• Weakness – does not prove causation
How Much of Social Psychology Is True?
• Self-Correcting Nature of Science
• Reliance on Student Samples
• Cultural Relativity
– Western cultures dominate social
psychology research
– Cultural differences may be substantial and
important