Psych 101 Notes

Chapter 11: Social Psychology

Milgram’s Experiment by Stanley Milgram, 1963 @ Yale University: Teacher & Learner

Social Psych: study of effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behaviour and social interactions. Where thoughts, feelings, perceptions, motives and behaviour – influenced by interactions with others.

Understanding of behaviour within its social context (combi. of people, activities & interactions among people, setting, expectations (E(X)) and social norms.

• Power of social situations to control human behaviour. Minor features of social settings that create impact on feel/thought/actions

1. Our response: not only objective reality but subjective interpretation (personal perception i.e. what it means to us) Hence: same physical settings differ significantly from person to person.

2. The personal construction of a subjective social reality

a. Grasp e(x) and perceptions to understand attractive forces at work (friendship and romantic relationships) & repulsive forces (cause violence, prejudice, discrimination)

3. Who/What creates various situation and maintains them

 Gangs, cults, other settings that affect human behaviour

See: Social Psych has experimented by altering the situation to change subjective social reality -> promote the human condition

11.1 HOW DOES THE SOCIAL SITUATION AFFECT OUR BEHAVIOUR?

Situations can dominate personalities and override past history of learning, values, and beliefs – the influence is greatest when we’re enmeshed in new settings. It has a great psychological effect and maye cause us to do unordinary stuff that is immoral/unethical/illegal

We usually adapt our behaviour to the demands of the social situation, and in new or ambiguous situations, we take cues from the behaviours of others in the setting.

Situationism vs. Dispositonism

o S: (external) the view that environmental conditions may influence people’s behaviour as much more than their personal dispositions do, under some...