PSY-2213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Psych, Leon Festinger, Social Comparison Theory
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It is: "the scientific study of how people"s thoughts, feelings, & behaviors are influenced by situational factors. More concerned with people"s interpretation of a situation. Focus on construal, but also evaluate whether construal differs from reality. : "people tend to think their actions are noticed much more than they actually are" (t-shirt & falling outside examples) "external, explain behavior in terms of situational factors" Why most people do most things in certain situations. Personality: "internal, explain behavior in terms of traits" Why person might act same way across many situations. But social psych focuses on situational influences like. More than you think. you think. (missile threat example) Kurt lewin - father of experimental social psychology. To feel good about ourselves, we must justify past behavior. People can put a slight spin on things to make themselves feel better. "i failed the exam because the professor talks too fast"