PSY220H1 Lecture Notes - Asch Conformity Experiments, Solomon Asch, Ellen Langer
Document Summary
Social psychology is the study of how cognition, affect, and behaviour is influenced by others and what counts as influencing one another (e. g. , when we are influenced by people who aren"t present). There can be an implied or imagined presence of others. For example, social norms are rules that guide social interaction that we learn from others, but persist when these people disappear. Interpretations of events can also be based or influenced by the behaviour of those around you. If someone acts as in an emergency has occurred when someone trips on the sidewalk, chances are you will react similarly. How we feel about ourselves, how we compare ourselves to others, and how we appraise ourselves in comparison to others can be affected by individuals who are not actually present. In general, the implied or imagined presence of others can affect our behaviour (invisibility example).