SOCIAL PSYCH INTRO (Psych 201 - Chapter 1 - Spring 2014)

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST
1
Artist Song
1. Weezer
Perfect Situation
Power of the Situation
2 will.i.am
I Got It From My Mama
Nature vs. Nurture; Proximal vs. Distal Influences
4. Taylor Swift
I Knew You Were Trouble
Hindsight Bias
5. Bill Withers
Lean On Me
Collectivist Cultural Values
6. Haddaway
What Is Love?
Operationalizing Constructs
7 Notorious B.I.G.
Mo Money Mo Problems
Understanding Correlations

WELCOME!
Psychology 201: Intro to Social Psychology
Melanie B. Tannenbaum, M.A.
January 22, 2014

THIS WEEK
!
○ Who are you?
!
!
○ What will this class be like?
!
!
○ A brief introduction to Social Psychology

ON YOUR INDEX CARD...
○ Name
!
!
○ Year in school (freshman, sophomore, etc.)
!
!
○ College major & future plans
!
!
○ One defining and/or interesting fact about yourself!

ABOUT ME
○ Name: Melanie Tannenbaum
!
○ Year: I am a 5th
year Ph.D. candidate in social psychology
!
○ Background: I’m originally from NY; I graduated from
Duke in 2009. Here at UIUC, I study persuasion,
motivation, the effects of social class on political attitudes,
and whether or not “scare tactics” work to change behavior.
!
○ Interesting Fact: This isn’t all I teach! I’m also a group
fitness instructor; I teach PiYo (Pilates/Yoga) & Zumba.
I also like competing in Tough Mudders & Spartan Races ☺

SYLLABUS
I strongly encourage you
to come to class having
read the textbook...
!
...but lecture will
highlight important points
from the book.

SYLLABUS
There are 12 Psych 201
sections, and I only teach 2.
Exams are the same for all
sections. Other instructors
may highlight different
things in their classes.
!
I will do my best to make
sure I cover everything on the
exams, but I can’t guarantee
it. You should be comfortable
with the textbook material.

SYLLABUS
● Participation: Available in lecture only
○ Assessed using iClickers
○ There will be several iClicker questions during each class period; you
only have to answer one in order to receive credit, and any answer
(even an incorrect one) will count.
○ Please see me after class if you have issues with your iClicker on any
particular day (but this should not be frequent, please!)
!
● Extra Credit: Up to 3% added onto your final grade
○ If your final grade would be an 89, it would get bumped up to a 92
○ Psychology Subject Pool - 1% for each hour of participation up to 3%
○ For over ½ of the students last semester who did not participate in
studies, doing so would have made of a difference of at least ½ a letter
grade (and 2 people could have gone from a B+ to an A!)
○ Most people who did participate moved up at least ½ a letter grade

ICLICKERS
Please register your
iClicker on Compass 2G
and the iClicker website,
if possible!
!
Website:
http://www1.iclicker.com/
register-an-iclicker/

ICLICKERS
If you get a new iClicker
during the semester, or if
you have more than one
already, please register
all numbers, or else you
won’t get credit for your
participation!

PLEASE DO NOT...
○ Oversleep and miss your midterm or final exam
● ...especially if it is at 7 PM
!
!
○ Book a non-refundable flight the day before your exam
!
!
○ Forget the date and/or time and/or room of your exam

GRADES: WILL NOT BE ROUNDED UP
○ Yes, I mean it.
!
!
○ No, there are really no exceptions.
!
!
○ Even if you need a certain grade to graduate, remain a
student in good standing, not get yelled at by your
parents, etc...

!
!
I really want everyone to get an A in this class,
but earning the A is UP TO YOU.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:
Introduction and Methods

WHY TAKE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
○ Required
!
!
○ Recommended by a friend/classmate
!
!
○ Not at 8 AM

WHAT IF THIS CLASS COULD...
○ Impact your view of pop culture?
!
○ Change how you read literature, listen to music, or
understand current events?
!
○ Help you pursue your goals, change people’s
attitudes, or get someone to like you?

GIVE ME MY SODA!
Does it really matter how big our food/drink containers are?

WHEN WILL
YOU BE FULL?
WHEN I
REACH THE
BOTTOM.
WELL, GOOD
LUCK WITH
THAT.

WHEN WILL
YOU BE FULL?
WHEN I
REACH THE
BOTTOM.
WELL, GOOD
LUCK WITH
THAT.
75%

GIVE ME MY SODA!
Yes. People really will drink more soda if they have bigger containers.

GIVE ME PORN!
Does it really matter if the U.K. has an internet porn filter?

GIVE ME PORN!
Yes. Even if they can “opt out” of the filter...
...most people are probably too lazy to bother.

A FEW QUESTIONS...
1. Your little sister wants to be an artist, but her art is
terrible. Your parents want you to encourage her by
telling her that her art is really good. You would be most
likely to change your mind and actually start to think her
art is really good if your parents gave you...
!
A) $5 for telling your sister that her art is good
B) $20 for telling your sister that her art is good
C) $100 for telling your sister that her art is good
D) No money for telling your sister that her art is good

A FEW QUESTIONS...
2. You’re getting married, and you want to make sure that
you and your spouse-to-be don’t get divorced. Research
tells us that there are four “dangerous behaviors” to avoid
in relationships, and by observing the presence (or
absence) of these behaviors during a 15-minute
interaction, we can predict whether or not a couple will
divorce. How accurate do you think these predictions are?
!
A) These behaviors predict divorce with 52% accuracy.
B) These behaviors predict divorce with 68% accuracy.
C) These behaviors predict divorce with 87% accuracy.
D) These behaviors predict divorce with 93% accuracy.

A FEW QUESTIONS...
3. UIUC is considering a pay-for-grades policy; students
would be paid $100 for every “A” they get each semester.
What do you think would be the effect of this policy?
!
A) Students would be more motivated to learn
B) Students would be less motivated to learn
C) Students would be more motivated at first, but
eventually be even less motivated than before the policy
D) Students would be less motivated at first, but
eventually be even more motivated than before the policy

A FEW QUESTIONS...
4. You want your friend to come to a party with you, but she
says that she is too shy to go to a big party. To convince her
to come along, you should challenge her by...
!
A) Reminding her that she liked the last party she went to
B) Telling her this would be a good chance to test that belief
C) Asking her to list 10 examples of times she was outgoing
D) Asking her to list 10 examples of times she was shy

You will learn about all of this (and more!)
in this class.

in this class.
Hindsight Bias
!
The tendency to see events
that have already occurred as
more predictable than they
really were.
!
“I knew it all along!”

in this class.
After you learn about a social
psychology finding, it might
seem “obvious.”
!
Remember that things are
not always so predictable
when you don’t already know
about them...this is why
studying social psychology is
so important! And I’m so
happy that you are here! ☺

CHAPTER 1 PLAN
!
○ Characterizing Social Psychology
!
!
○ 3 important themes
● Power of the Situation
● Construal
● Proximal vs. Distal Influences

WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
• The scientific study of how people’s thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the
actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
• Scientific Study
!
• Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviors
!
• Presence of Others

WHAT IS NOT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY?
○ Personality Psychology
● We tend to (though not always) focus on more fleeting,
environmental influences; they often focus on personality
traits or how people are consistent over time.
!
○ Cognitive Psychology
● We focus exclusively on social behavior; they often study
things like reading, language acquisition, etc.
!
○ Sociology/Anthropology
● We tend to focus more on individual behavior; they can
examine many of the same behaviors, but tend to look at
how these behaviors are displayed across an entire country,
culture, or society.

THE POWER OF THE SITUATION
○ Kurt Lewin
● Father of Social Psych
!
○ B = f (P, E)
● Behavior is a function of the
person and the environment
!
○ The situation is important,
not just personality!

SITUATION: PROXIMAL VS. DISTAL FORCES
○ Here & Now
!
○ Immediate Situation
○ Perceptions/Construal
!
○ Perceiving/reacting to
immediate situation
○ Removed In Time
!
○ Culture/Socialization
○ Evolution
!
○ Shapes behavior on a
broader scale
Proximal Distal

PROXIMAL FACTORS
ENVIRONMENTAL CUES
DEFAULTS PERCEIVED CONVENIENCE

PROXIMAL FACTORS
○ “Good Samaritan” Study
● Darley & Batson, 1973
!
○ Seminary Students
!
○ “You’ll be giving a speech across campus.”
!
!
○ ½: Prepare a speech on the “Good Samaritan” Parable
○ ½: Prepare a speech on a neutral topic
!
!
○ ½: “Oh no, you’re late! You have to rush there ASAP!”
○ ½: “Don’t worry, you have plenty of time!”

PROXIMAL FACTORS
On the way, they passed a man on the street
who clearly needed help.
!
Psychologists were spying from the side of the road.
Which group of people do you think were
most likely to stop and help him?

PERSONALITY?
Seminary students have dedicated their lives to
helping others...these are all very good people.
!
They should all stop to help!

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
The ones giving a speech on the Good Samaritan
literally had the idea of helping others right there at
the fronts of their minds... (it was primed)
!
They should be more likely to stop and help
others on the way to the speech!

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED...
0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
In A Hurry Not In A Hurry
Percentagewhostoppedtohelp
Time pressure was the
only thing that
mattered.

0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
Even seminary
students who were on
their way to give a
speech about the Good
Samaritan did not stop
to help if they were in a
hurry.

0%
15%
30%
45%
60%
The power of the
situation!!!

CHANNEL FACTORS
Situational circumstances that appear unimportant but
have great consequences for behavior, either facilitating it,
guiding it, or blocking it.
The size of the plate Being in a hurry

THE ROLE OF CONSTRUAL
CONSTRUAL
!
People’s interpretation and inferences about the stimuli or
situations they confront.
!
What is this symbol?

Many times, the actual situation itself is not as
important as how you interpret it.

○ What kind of experience do you expect when you sit
down to watch this movie?

● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bztYTkBiR0Q

!
!
○ What about this one?

● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmkVWuP_sO0

!
!
○ Context makes a difference!

!
!
!
Construals determine how we perceive and judge the world
around us & social situations
!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTVZheHPcNc

○ Schemas: Generalized knowledge about the physical and
social world, such as how to behave in certain situations
and with certain kinds of people.
!
!
○ Schemas make it easy to go into “auto-pilot” in most
situations – they are necessary for daily functioning.
!
!
○ Stereotypes are a specific type of schema; you can think
of schemas like “stereotypes, but not just for people.”

NORMAL BEHAVIOR.
○ Talk loudly with friends
!
○ Wear “going out” clothes
!
○ Hold a Solo cup
!
○ Take pictures
○ Sit quietly
!
○ Wear a backpack
!
○ Hold your laptop
!
○ Take notes
PARTY CLASS

NORMAL BEHAVIOR?
○ Talk loudly with friends
!
○ Wear “going out” clothes
!
○ Hold a Solo cup
!
○ Take pictures
○ Sit quietly
!
○ Wear a backpack
!
○ Hold your laptop
!
○ Take notes
CLASS PARTY

IMAGINE THAT THIS IS YOUR BRAIN...
Your conscious thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are just
the tip of the iceberg!
!
There is a lot that goes on
beneath the surface that you
don’t even realize.

And I know what you’re
thinking, but this doesn’t
necessarily mean things like
dream analysis, penis envy,
wanting to sleep with your Mom
and kill your Dad, psychic
energies, ESP... 
(although it can, I guess, if you’re
into that stuff.)

It just means that we might have
culturally learned attitudes that
we might not even endorse but
are still there in our brains
anyway, or automatic mental
schemas meaning that hearing a
certain word will activate related
concepts in our minds, or “gut
reactions” to situations that we
can’t control (though we can
control how we respond to
them)...and so on!

SUMMARY SO FAR
○ Proximal Factors
● Power Of The Situation
● Construal
● Channel Factors
!
○ What about distal factors?
● Broader aspects of culture, evolution, etc.
● Things that are not quite so immediate/obvious

WHO AM I?
○ Finish the sentence “I am...” a few times in your head.
!
!
○ Complete the sentences using self-descriptions that you
think best define who you are.
!
!
○ Think to yourself about what most of these sentences
look like before I switch to the next slide.

DID YOUR SENTENCES LOOK MORE LIKE...
○ I am intelligent.
!
○ I am artistic.
!
○ I am friendly.
!
○ I am charitable.
!
○ I am athletic.
○ I am a good daughter.
!
○ I am a brother.
!
○ I am a loyal friend.
!
○ I am a Tri Delt.
!
○ I am a UIUC student.
...this? ...or this?

COLLECTIVIST CULTURES
Asia, Africa,
South America
!
Define self in terms of
relationships and group
memberships.
!
“I am a good friend.”

INDIVIDUALIST CULTURES
USA, Canada,
Western Europe
!
Define self in terms of
unique traits,
attributes, and actions.
!
“I am friendly.”

IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
!
!
This is just one (admittedly big) way
in which cultures differ
!
!
Depending on culture, people may be more (or less) likely to
cooperate, assign different roles to men and women, or behave in
certain ways.

COLLECTIVISTS MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO...
!
!
Keep a secret to preserve the harmony of the group.
!
!
Work harder after failure to avoid bringing shame to one’s family.
!
!
Buy a car that is advertised by emphasizing the great times you’ll
have in it with your friends and family.

INDIVIDUALISTS MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO...
!
!
Tattle or whistleblow to get individual glory/save one’s own skin
!
!
Switch to a different task after failure to find something he/she is
personally good at.
!
!
Buy a car that is advertised by emphasizing how you’ll stand out
from the crowd and be seen as a trendsetter.

CHAPTER 1:  
MOST IMPORTANT POINTS
○ What is social psychology?
!
!
○ How is it different from
other disciplines?
!
!
○ What are construals? Why
are they so important?
○ What is a schema?
!
!
○ What was the main point of the
Good Samaritan study?
!
!
○ Is the situation important?
(Hint: Yes.)
!
○ What is the difference between
individualist and collectivist
cultures?

SOCIAL PSYCH INTRO (Psych 201 - Chapter 1 - Spring 2014)

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