Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition Chapter 1

1. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1

2. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Roots of social influence As far as we know, Aristotle was the first to formulate principles of social influence Empirical Evidence That which can be observed and measured Human Behavior & Relationships Nothing has meaning/value except in human relationships

3. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Definition of social psychology The influence that people have upon the beliefs and behavior of others

4. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Concerns of social psychology How are people influenced? Why do people accept influence? What variables increase and decrease the effectiveness of social influence? Is the effect permanent or transitory? Do the same principles apply to everyone?

5. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Amateur psychologists All human beings interact with other human beings Human beings naturally develop hypotheses about social behavior We �test� these hypotheses to our own satisfaction

6. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Hindsight bias This is the tendency to overestimate our ability to predict events, once we know the outcome Everyone is susceptible to this bias

7. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Professional psychologists Scientific research applies more rigor and impartiality to tests of hypotheses Research often demonstrates things we already �know� to be true However, when carefully investigated, some things we �know� turn out not to be true

8. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Controlled experimentation Professional psychologists have a big advantage They can conduct experiments which control events And draw conclusions based on precise data

9. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 SCIENTIFIC METHOD

10. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Descriptive Studies: Establishing the Facts Case Studies Observational Studies Tests Surveys

11. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Case Studies A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated.

12. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1

13. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Tests Standardize: To develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test. Norms: Established standards of performance. Reliability: Consistency of scores derived from a test. Validity: The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.

14. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1

15. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Fig171

16. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Surveys Survey: Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions. Representative Sample: A group of subjects, selected from a population, which matches the population on important characteristics.

17. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1

18. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Types of Correlations Positive correlation: Increases in one variable are associated with increases in the other; decreases are likewise associated Negative correlation: Increases in one variable are associated with decreases in the other Figure 1.02 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Figure 1.02 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

19. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 The Experiment: Hunting for Causes Experimental Variables Experimental and Control Conditions Experimenter Effects Advantages and Limitations of Experiments

20. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Experimental Variables Independent Variable: A variable that an experimenter manipulates. Dependent Variable: A variable than an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.

21. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1

22. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Experiments Experiment: A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another.

23. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Situational effects Sometimes these situations elicit behavior that appears abnormal We conclude that the abnormal behavior is a result of situational pressures, not a deviant personality

24. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Susceptibility We tend to underestimate our own susceptibility to situational factors This impacts on our thinking about social problems, such as racism

25. Aronson, The Social Animal, Ninth Edition � Chapter 1 Situational variables are key In order to have a functional approach to social problems, it is of paramount importance to understand the impact of situational variables that produce destructive behavior