Chapter # 1

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, intentions,
and goals are constructed within a social context by the actual or imagined interactions with
others.

It, therefore, looks at human behavior as influenced by other people and the conditions under
which social behavior and feelings occur. Baron, Byrne, and Suls (1989) define social
psychology as “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual
behavior in social situations”

Topics examined in social psychology include the self-concept, social cognition, attribution
theory, social influence, group processes, prejudice and discrimination, interpersonal processes,
aggression, attitudes, and stereotypes.

Today, researchers and academics examine nearly every aspect of human existence through a
psychological lens. The American Psychological Association (APA) lists 15 subfields of
psychology, including clinical psychology, brain and cognitive psychology, developmental
psychology, and quantitative psychology.

Social psychology is the study of how individual or group behavior is influenced by the presence
and behavior of others.

The APA defines social psychology as “the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and
actions are affected” by other people, whether “actual, imagined, or symbolically represented.”
In essence, even just imagining another person watching you influences how you will process
information, behave, and react — and this is something social psychologists strive to understand.

The Origins of the Social Psychology Field

Psychology as a field of scientific exploration remains relatively new, yet its importance as a
discipline is clear from the well-known names and concepts of early 20th-century research into
human behavior: Pavlov and his salivating dog, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and Jung’s
archetypes of the unconscious.

These and other researchers wanted to uncover how human perceptions — of oneself, of others,
and of the world at large — influence behavior. As the field of psychology matured, researchers
began to focus on specialized aspects of the mind and behavior. This gave rise to subcategories
of psychology, including social psychology.
Social psychology has been a formal discipline since the turn of the 20th century. An early study
in 1898 of “social facilitation” by Indiana University psychology researcher Norman Triplett
sought to explain why bicycle racers seemed to exceed their solo performances when they
competed directly against others.

Later experiments sought to explain how and why certain artists and performers seemed to shine
in front of an audience, while others faltered. During World War II, researchers conducted
studies into the effects of propaganda on the behavior of entire populations.

Social Psychologist

Social psychology professionals, such as social psychologists, seek to understand the complex
interplay between social factors and human behavior. Specific areas of study include:

 Group dynamics and attitudes

 Interpersonal relationships
 Implicit bias and prejudice
 Criminal activity

Social psychologists use a variety of research methods, including experiments, surveys, and
observations, to study human behavior in social contexts. They apply their findings to a wide
range of fields, including business, law, education, healthcare, and public policy, to help solve
social problems and improve people’s lives.

Social Psychology vs. Sociology?

Those interested in what social psychology is should understand the difference between this field
and other academic disciplines. For example, social psychology and sociology are sometimes
confused. This is understandable, because both fields of study are broadly concerned with the
way human behavior shapes and is shaped by society.

The primary difference between the two is this: Social psychologists study individuals within a
group; sociologists study groups of people.

As early as 1924, when both fields of study were just beginning to reach academic maturity,
University of Missouri researcher Charles A. Ellwood sought to simplify the difference between
the two.

According to Ellwood: Sociology is “the science of the origin, development, structure, and
functioning of groups.”

Social psychology is “the study of the [individual psychological] origins involved in the
development, structure, and functioning of social groups.”
Examples of Social Psychology Topics of Today

Early social psychologists concerned themselves with internal and external influences on
individual behavior. British-born psychologist William McDougall’s 1908 publication, “An
Introduction to Social Psychology,” focused on human instinct as the driving force behind social
interactions.

More topics crowded under the social psychology umbrella with the 1920s work of brothers
Floyd Henry Allport and Gordon Willard Allport. The Allports are credited with applying
rigorous scientific theory and experimentation techniques to social psychology research.

This dynamic duo also conducted important studies into the development of attitudes, religious
beliefs, and many other topics.

Social Psychology Examples

What social psychology is focused on is studying changes over time. Social psychology research
has touched on nearly every facet of human personality in an attempt to understand the
psychological influence of perception and human interaction. Of the topics currently being
researched in social psychology, examples include:

 Leadership — What personality traits define a leader? What is the role of a leader within
a group? How do leaders exercise influence on groups and individuals?
 Aggression — How is aggressive behavior defined? What triggers habitual aggressive
behavior? What role does aggression play in self-preservation?
 Social perception — How does an individual develop self-perception? How is self-
perception shaped by environmental factors? What is the difference between the
existential self and the categorical self?
 Group behavior — What characteristics do groups share? How many people constitute a
group? What dictates the structure of a group? Why do individuals gravitate to a
particular group?
 Nonverbal behavior — What nonlinguistic actions communicate thought or meaning?
How are nonverbal cues developed and interpreted? What emotions do facial expressions,
hand gestures, and other nonverbal behaviors communicate?
 Conformity — What prompts individuals to change their perceptions to match that of a
group or another person? How does an individual decide to accept influence from another
or a group? What is the difference between outward conformity and internal conformity?
 Prejudice — What causes someone to harbor prejudice against a member of a different
social group? What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination? How are
stereotypes used to build perceptions?
Principles

Social psychology operates on several foundational assumptions. These fundamental beliefs

provide a framework for theories, research, and interpretations.

 Individual and Society Interplay: Social psychologists assume an interplay exists

between individual minds and the broader social context. An individual’s thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are continuously shaped by social interactions, and in turn,
individuals influence the societies they are a part of.
 Behavior is Contextual: One core assumption is that behavior can vary significantly
based on the situation or context. While personal traits and dispositions matter, the
circumstances or social environment often play a decisive role in determining behavior.
 Objective Reality is Difficult to Attain: Our perceptions of reality are influenced by
personal beliefs, societal norms, and past experiences. Therefore, our understanding of
“reality” is subjective and can be biased or distorted.
 Social Reality is Constructed: Social psychologists believe that individuals actively
construct their social world. Through processes like social categorization, attribution, and
cognitive biases, people create their understanding of others and societal norms.
 People are Social Beings with a Need to Belong: A fundamental assumption is the
inherent social nature of humans. People have an innate need to connect with others, form
relationships, and belong to groups. This need influences a wide range of behaviors and
emotions.
 Attitudes Influence Behavior: While this might seem straightforward, it’s a
foundational belief that our attitudes (combinations of beliefs and feelings) can and often
do drive our actions. However, it’s also understood that this relationship can be complex
and bidirectional.
 People Desire Cognitive Consistency: This is the belief that people are motivated to
maintain consistency in their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Cognitive dissonance
theory, which posits that people feel discomfort when holding conflicting beliefs and are
motivated to resolve this, is based on this assumption.
 People are Motivated to See Themselves in a Positive Light: The self plays a central
role in social psychology. It’s assumed that individuals are generally motivated to
maintain and enhance a positive self-view.
 Behavior Can be Predicted and Understood: An underlying assumption of any science,
including social psychology, is that phenomena (in this case, human behavior in social
contexts) can be studied, understood, predicted, and potentially influenced.
 Cultural and Biological Factors are Integral: Though earlier social psychology might
have been criticized for neglecting these factors, contemporary social psychology
acknowledges the roles of both biology (genes, hormones, brain processes) and culture
(norms, values, traditions) in shaping social behavior.
Scope

The scope of social psychology is vast, reflecting the myriad ways social factors intertwine with
individual cognition and behavior. Its principles and findings resonate in virtually every area of
human interaction, making it a vital field for understanding and improving the human
experience.

1. Interpersonal Relationships: This covers attraction, love, jealousy, friendship, and

group dynamics. Understanding how and why relationships form and the factors that
contribute to their maintenance or dissolution is central to this domain.
2. Attitude Formation and Change: How do individuals form opinions and attitudes?
What methods can effectively change them? This scope includes the study of persuasion,
propaganda, and cognitive dissonance.
3. Social Cognition: This examines how people process, store, and apply information about
others. Areas include social perception, heuristics, stereotypes, and attribution theories.
4. Social Influence: The study of conformity, compliance, obedience, and the myriad ways
individuals influence one another falls within this domain.
5. Group Dynamics: This entails studying group behavior, intergroup relations, group
decision-making processes, leadership, and more. Concepts like groupthink and group
polarization emerge from this area.
6. Prejudice and Discrimination: Understanding the roots of bias, racism, sexism, and
other forms of prejudice, as well as exploring interventions to reduce them, is a
significant focus.
7. Self and Identity: Investigating self-concept, self-esteem, self-presentation, and the
social construction of identity are all part of this realm.
8. Prosocial Behavior and Altruism: Why do individuals sometimes help others, even at a
cost to themselves? This area delves into the motivations and conditions that foster
cooperative and altruistic behavior.
9. Aggression: From understanding the underlying causes of aggressive behavior to
studying societal factors that exacerbate or mitigate aggression, this topic seeks to dissect
the nature of hostile actions.
10. Cultural and Cross-cultural Dimensions: As societies become more interconnected,
understanding cultural influences on behavior, cognition, and emotion is crucial. This
area compares and contrasts behaviors across different cultures and societal groups.
11. Environmental and Applied Settings: Social psychology principles find application in
health psychology, environmental behavior, organizational behavior, consumer behavior,
and more.
12. Social Issues: Social psychologists might study the impact of societal structures on
individual behavior, exploring topics like poverty, urban stress, and crime.
13. Education: Principles of social psychology enhance teaching methods, address issues of
classroom dynamics, and promote effective learning.
14. Media and Technology: In the digital age, understanding the effects of media
consumption, the dynamics of online communication, and the formation of online
communities is increasingly relevant.
15. Law: Insights from social psychology inform areas such as jury decision-making,
eyewitness testimony, and legal procedures.
 16. Health: Concepts from social psychology are employed to promote health behaviors,
understand doctor-patient dynamics, and tackle issues like addiction.

Example Theories
1. Allport (1920) – Social Facilitation
Allport introduced the notion that the presence of others (the social group) can facilitate
certain behavior. It was found that an audience would improve an actor’s performance in
well-learned/easy tasks but leads to a decrease in performance on newly learned/difficult
tasks due to social inhibition.
2. Bandura (1963) Social Learning Theory
Bandura introduced the notion that behavior in the social world could be modeled. Three
groups of children watched a video where an adult was aggressive towards a ‘bobo doll,’
and the adult was either just seen to be doing this, was rewarded by another adult for their
behavior, or was punished for it. Children who had seen the adult rewarded were found to
be more likely to copy such behavior.
3. Tajfel (1971) – Social Identity Theory
When divided into artificial (minimal) groups, prejudice results simply from the
awareness that there is an “out-group” (the other group).
When the boys were asked to allocate points to others (which might be converted into
rewards) who were either part of their own group or the out-group, they displayed a
strong in-group preference. That is, they allocated more points on the set task to boys
who they believed to be in the same group as themselves.

This can be accounted for by Tajfel & Turner’s social identity theory, which states that
individuals need to maintain a positive sense of personal and social identity: this is partly
achieved by emphasizing the desirability of one’s own group, focusing on distinctions
between other “lesser” groups.

4. Weiner (1986) – Attribution Theory

Weiner was interested in the attributions made for experiences of success and failure and
introduced the idea that we look for explanations of behavior in the social world.

He believed that these were made based on three areas: locus, which could be internal or
external; stability, which is whether the cause is stable or changes over time: and
controllability.

 Milgram (1963) – Shock Experiment

Participants were told that they were taking part in a study on learning but always acted as the
teacher when they were then responsible for going over paired associate learning tasks. When the
learner (a stooge) got the answer wrong, they were told by a scientist that they had to deliver an
electric shock. This did not actually happen, although the participant was unaware of this as they
had themselves a sample (real!) shock at the start of the experiment. They were encouraged to
increase the voltage given after each incorrect answer up to a maximum voltage, and it was
found that all participants gave shocks up to 300v, with 65 percent reaching the highest level of
450v. It seems that obedience is most likely to occur in an unfamiliar environment and in the
presence of an authority figure, especially when covert pressure is put upon people to obey. It is
also possible that it occurs because the participant felt that someone other than themselves was
responsible for their actions.

 Haney, Banks, Zimbardo (1973) – Stanford Prison Experiment

Volunteers took part in a simulation where they were randomly assigned the role of a prisoner or
guard and taken to a converted university basement resembling a prison environment. There was
some basic loss of rights for the prisoners, who were unexpectedly arrested, and given a uniform
and an identification number (they were therefore deindividuated). The study showed that
conformity to social roles occurred as part of the social interaction, as both groups displayed
more negative emotions, and hostility and dehumanization became apparent. Prisoners became
passive, whilst the guards assumed an active, brutal, and dominant role. Although normative and
informational social influence played a role here, deindividuation/the loss of a sense of
identity seemed most likely to lead to conformity. Both this and Milgram’s study introduced the
notion of social influence and the ways in which this could be observed/tested. Research in social
psychology involves a systematic exploration of how individuals think, feel, and behave in social
contexts. To undertake a comprehensive study, researchers should adhere to a structured process.
Below are the key steps involved

Research in Social Psychology

1. Define Research Question:

Begin by formulating a precise and measurable research question that addresses a specific aspect
of social psychology. This serves as the foundation for the entire study.

2. Literature Review:
Conduct an exhaustive review of existing literature in the chosen field. This step provides a
comprehensive understanding of prior research, identifies gaps in knowledge, and informs the
development of hypotheses.
3. Formulate Hypotheses:
Based on insights from the literature review, construct clear and testable hypotheses. These
predictions articulate the expected relationships between variables and guide subsequent research
design.
4. Choose Research Design:
Select an appropriate research design aligned with the nature of the hypotheses. Experimental
designs involve manipulation, while correlational designs explore associations between variables
without manipulation.
5. Ethical Considerations:
Prioritize ethical considerations throughout the research process. This includes obtaining
informed consent from participants, protecting confidentiality, and ensuring their well-being
during and after the study.
6. Sampling:
Carefully choose a representative sample that reflects the population of interest. Consider
demographic factors to enhance the generalizability of findings.
7. Data Collection:
Employ suitable methods for data collection, such as surveys, experiments, observations, or
interviews. The chosen methods should align with the research design and facilitate the
measurement or manipulation of variables.
8. Variables:
Clearly define and operationalize variables, specifying how they will be measured or
manipulated. This precision enhances the reliability and validity of the study.
9. Data Analysis:
Choose appropriate statistical analyses to test the formulated hypotheses. Descriptive statistics
provide a summary, while inferential statistics assess relationships and differences.
10. Interpret Results:
- Thoroughly analyze and interpret the results of the statistical analyses. Discuss the implications
of findings in relation to the research question and existing literature, and acknowledge any
limitations.
11. Discussion and Conclusion:
- Summarize key findings, relate them back to the broader field of social psychology, and discuss
potential implications for theory and practical applications. Additionally, suggest avenues for
future research.
12. Prepare and Present:
- Compile the research into a comprehensive paper following the appropriate formatting
guidelines, such as the American Psychological Association (APA) style.
13. Peer Review:
- Submit the research paper to peer-reviewed journals for evaluation by experts in the field.
Address any feedback received and revise the manuscript accordingly.
14. Dissemination:
- Share the research findings through various channels, including conferences, publications, and
other relevant platforms, contributing to the broader scientific community.

 Ethical Considerations:

Conducting ethical research in social psychology involves navigating various challenges to

ensure the well-being of participants and the integrity of the study. Some common challenges
include:

1. Informed Consent:

 Challenge: Ensuring that participants fully understand the nature and purpose of the study
and voluntarily agree to participate.
 Solution: Provide clear, comprehensible information, allowing participants to ask
questions and obtain consent without coercion.

2. Deception:

 Challenge: Balancing the need for accurate data with the ethical concerns of deceiving
participants.

 Solution: Minimize deception where possible and thoroughly debrief participants

afterward, explaining the reasons for any deception and addressing concerns.

3. Privacy and Confidentiality:

 Challenge: Safeguarding participants' privacy and ensuring that their confidential

information is protected.

 Solution: Implement measures such as anonymizing data, using secure storage, and
clearly communicating confidentiality assurances.

4. Potential Harm:

 Challenge: Mitigating potential psychological or emotional harm to participants during or

after the study.

 Solution: Conduct a thorough risk assessment, provide appropriate support, and debrief
participants to address any negative effects.

5. Cultural Sensitivity:

 Challenge: Navigating cultural differences and ensuring that research is conducted

respectfully across diverse populations.

 Solution: Tailor research materials, procedures, and communication to be culturally

sensitive, and seek input from diverse perspectives during the research planning stage.

6. Power Dynamics:

 Challenge: Managing power differentials between researchers and participants, especially

in situations where vulnerable groups are involved.

 Solution: Foster open communication, establish a supportive research environment, and

be mindful of the potential impact of the researcher-participant relationship.

7. Voluntary Participation:
  Challenge: Ensuring that participation is truly voluntary and free from undue pressure or
coercion.

 Solution: Clearly communicate the voluntary nature of participation, provide an easy opt-
out option, and avoid offering incentives that could unduly influence participation.

8. Reproducibility and Transparency:

 Challenge: Maintaining transparency in research methods and ensuring the replicability

of studies.

 Solution: Clearly document research procedures, make data and methodology accessible
when possible, and adhere to principles of openness and transparency in reporting.

9. Dual Roles of Researchers:

 Challenge: Managing conflicts of interest and dual roles, such as when researchers have
responsibilities as both scientists and practitioners.

 Solution: Clearly delineate roles, disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and prioritize
the welfare of participants above other considerations.

10. Emerging Ethical Issues:

 Challenge: Addressing new ethical considerations arising from advances in technology,

social media, and evolving societal norms.

 Solution: Stay informed about ethical guidelines and emerging issues, regularly review
and update protocols, and seek ethical guidance from institutional review boards.

Researchers must stay vigilant and adaptable to address these challenges, ensuring that ethical
standards are maintained throughout the research process. Regular consultation with ethics
committees and adherence to established guidelines help researchers navigate these complexities
successfully.