UNIT-1 SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY
Sarthak Patidar (MA clinical PSY).
 What is Social Psychology
• 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” .
• 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.
• 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.
• Social Psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a
social context.
• Kurt Lewin is The Father of Social Psychology.
 Nature, Characteristics or Scope Of Social Psychology

1. First Characteristic of social psychology is that it is scientific in nature. Science, here, refers to two
things:
• Set of values.
• Methods that can be used to study a wide range of topics. It applies the scientific method of systematic
observation, experimentation, description, and measurement to the study of the human condition.
Set of values- The four core values of science that Social Psychology adopts are:
a) Accuracy: A commitment to gathering and evaluating information about the world (including social
behavior) in as careful, precise, and error-free a manner as possible. This enhances the research or
data to be testes scientifically as well as enhance replicability. This means that casual "people
watching" that each of us might do at a crowded event will not meet this definition.
b) Objectivity: A commitment to obtaining and evaluating such information in a manner that is as free
from bias as possible. This means that with causal "people watching" we may evaluate what we see
differently than others would, so our observations lack objectivity.
 Nature, Characteristics or Scope Of Social Psychology

c) Skepticism: Skepticism basically refers to doubt as to whether something is true or not. A

commitment to accepting findings as accurate only to the extent they have been verified over and
over again.
Here again you should notice the importance of replication where different investigators can re-
produce the procedure used by others and arrive at the same conceptual conclusions.
d) Open-Mindedness: A commitment to changing one's views- even those that are strongly held if
existing evidence suggests that these views are inaccurate. Social psychologists have produced so
much of meaningful research (such as the role of groups for our well-being) that have suggested
revisions in assumptions about human nature as previously seen.
Other Characteristics-
2. Social Psychology Focuses on the Behavior of Individuals: Social psychology typically focuses on
the psychology of the individual. Even when social psychologists study groups of people, they usually
emphasize the behavior of the individual in the group context. Social psychologist's major interest
lies in understanding just how social situations shape the actions of individuals.
 Nature, Characteristics or Scope Of Social Psychology

3. Social Psychology Seeks to Understand the Causes of Social Behavior: Social Psychologists are
primarily interested in understanding the many factors and conditions that shape the social thought
and behavior of individuals-their actions, feelings, feelings, beliefs, memories and judgements.
4. The Search for Basic Principles in a Changing Social World: One key goal of science is the
development of basic principles that are accurate regardless of when or where they are applied or
tested. Social psychologists seek to uncover the basic principles that govern social life. For instance,
they'd like to determine what factors influence attraction, helping, obedience, the attitudes we form,
and so on.
 Cause and Thought in Social Psychology?

▪ As Social psychology defined as the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes
of individual behavior and thought in social situations.
1) Social Psychology Focuses on the Behavior of Individuals.
2) Social Psychology Seeks to Understand the Causes of Social Behavior.
3) It Focus on Understanding thoughts and Behavior.
 Methods Used in Social Psychology
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)

How social psychologists attempt to answer questions about social behavior and social
thought. Since social psychology is scientific in orientation, they usually seek to
accomplish this task through systematic research.
• First, we describe basic methods of research in social psychology.
• Second, we consider the role of theory in such research.
1) Methods Used in Social Psychology- There are several methods used in social
psychology to Explain, Describe, and Predict social behaviors, thoughts and other
variables in social context and situations. These Methods include:
A) Observation Method.
B) Survey Method.
C) Experimental Method.
D) Correlational Method.
 Methods Used in Social Psychology
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)
A) Observation Method- ”A method of research in which behavior is systematically observed and
recorded”.
• One basic technique for studying social behavior involves systematic observation by carefully
observing behavior as it occurs. In a scientific field such as social psychology it is observation
accompanied by careful, accurate measurement of a particular behavior across people.
• For example, suppose that a social psychologist wanted to find out how frequently people touch
each other in different settings. The researcher could study this topic by going to shopping
malls, restaurants and bars, college campuses, and many other locations and observe, in those
settings, who touches whom, how they touch, and with what frequency. Such research would
be employing what is known as Naturalistic Observation—observation of people’s behavior in
natural settings.
• TYPES OF OBSERVATION- Naturalistic Observation, Participant, Non-Participant, and Structured
or Controlled Observation.
 Methods Used in Social Psychology
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)

B) Survey Method- “A method of research in which a large number of people answer

questions about their attitudes or behavior”.
• Researchers ask large numbers of people to respond to questions about their attitudes
or behavior. Surveys are used for many purposes—to measure attitudes toward specific
issues such as smoking, to find out how voters feel about various political candidates, to
determine how people feel about members of different social groups, and even to
assess student reactions to professors.
• Surveys offer several advantages. Information can be gathered about thousands or even
hundreds of thousands of people with relative ease. In fact, surveys are now often
conducted online, through the Internet.
• Types Of Surveys- Online Survey, Telephonic Survey and Panel Survey.
 Methods Used in Social Psychology
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)

C) Experimental Method- “A method of research in which one or more factors (the independent variables)
are systematically changed to determine whether such variations affect one or more other factors
(dependent variables)”.
• An Experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested, an independent Variable
(The Cause) is manipulated in an experiment, and the Dependent variable (the Effect) is measured; any
extraneous variable is controlled.
• The social psychologists uses this method to explain the cause and effect relationship of social
phenomenon or variables.
• For Example- This method can be used to explain the question, Does exposure to violent video-games
increase the likelihood that people will aggress against others in various ways (e.g., verbally, physically,
spreading false rumors etc.). Participants in this experiment could be asked to play a violent or non-
violent video-games. After these experiences in the experiment, they would be placed in a situation
where they could, if they wished, aggress against another person.
 Methods Used in Social Psychology
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)
D) Correlational Method- “A method of research in which a scientist systematically
observes two or more variables to determine whether changes in one are accompanied by
changes in the other”.
• In this approach, social psychologists attempt to determine whether, and to what
extent, different variables are related to each other. This involves carefully measuring
each variable, and then performing appropriate statistical tests to determine whether
and to what degree the variables are correlated.
• There can be Positive, Negative and No correlation between the variables being tested.
• For Example- In a research Topic like- “Correlation Between Aggression And Loneliness
among Youth”. The Researcher can use psychometric tools to measure both the
variables (Aggression and Loneliness), Then find the Correlation values after using
appropriate method to find the values, to see the relationship between these variables.
 Role of Theory in Social Psychology.
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)

• “Theories are frameworks for explaining various events or processes. They play a key role in social
psychological research.”
• Theories both organize existing knowledge and make predictions about how various events or
processes will occur. Once a theory is formulated, hypotheses derived logically from it are tested
through careful research. If results agree with the predictions, confidence in the theory is increased.
If results disagree with such predictions, the theory may be modified or ultimately rejected as false.
• The procedure involved in building a theory-
1. On the basis of existing evidence, a theory that reflects this evidence is proposed.
2. This theory, which consists of basic concepts and statements about how these concepts are related,
helps to organize existing information and makes predictions of observable events. For instance, the
theory might predict the conditions under which individuals acquire racial prejudice.
3. These predictions, known as hypotheses, are then tested by actual research.
 Role of Theory in Social Psychology.
(How Social Psychologists Answer The Questions)

4. If results are consistent with the theory, confidence in its accuracy is increased. If they are not,
the theory is modified and further tests are conducted.
5. Ultimately, the theory is either accepted as accurate or rejected as inaccurate. Even if it is
accepted as accurate, however, the theory remains open to further refinement as improved
methods of research are developed and additional evidence relevant to the theory’s predictions is
obtained.
 REFERENCES
• Baron, R.A. Branscombe, N.R. (2012).Social Psychology. PEARSON.
• Amit Panwar (2022).Power Within Psychology Volume-1. Power Within Psychology.
THANK YOU