PSYC1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Perception, Social Cognition, Naturalistic Observation
19 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L1 - Intro to social psychology
What is it
• Social psychology
o Scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of people
influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others
o Studies effect of social variables on individual behaviour
o Study of group and intergroup phenomena
o Links affective states (feelings and emotions), behaviour (the way they act) and their
cognition (thought processes) to their social world
o Want to predict what people will do and when, but also why
• Social cognition
o Process by which people select, interpret and remember social information
• Social perception
o Process by which people come to understand and categorise the behaviours of others
• Social interaction
o Process by which people interact with each other
Screen clipping taken: 7/06/2017 8:33 PM
Studying social behaviour
• Person perspective
o Features or characteristics that individuals carry into social situations
o e.g. personality traits
• Situational perspective
o Environmental events or circumstances outside the person
• Interaction between person and situation
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Social cognition: process by which people select, interpret and remember social information. Social perception: process by which people come to understand and categorise the behaviours of others. Social interaction: process by which people interact with each other. Studying social behaviour: person perspective, features or characteristics that individuals carry into social situations, e. g. personality traits. Situational perspective: environmental events or circumstances outside the person. Descriptive methods (non- experimental: attempt to measure or. Naturalistic observation record thoughts, feelings or behaviours in their natural state: useful in determining association between variables ie. correlation, observing behaviour as it unfolds in its natural setting, e. g. how many drivers stop at a stop sign. Archival studies: examining archives or public records of social behaviour, e. g. membership lists at exclusive country clubs to determine proportion of non-wasp members, media studies (public speeches) Surveys: asking people questions about their beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
