PSYCH 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Fundamental Attribution Error, Social Influence, Social Cognition
Document Summary
Psych 221 lecture 1 introduction to social psychology. Social: study of the way in which people"s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real/imagined presence of others: goal: identify universal principles that can make everyone susceptible to social influences. Social influence: how people"s real/imagined words and actions alters feelings, behavior, and thought. Fundamental attribution error: tendency to believe actions are due to dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors: maintains sense of security, consequences: oversimplifies complex world, decreases understanding of true cause, victim blaming. Social interpretation: how humans behave in given situations is not determined by the objective conditions of a situation but how they perceive it: construal: interpretation. Gestalt psychology: need to look at the whole, including how situational context and features shapes meaning (illusions shape interpretations: consequences of failing to appreciate different construals. Na ve realism: all of us see things as they really are; others must be biased. Self-esteem motive: need to feel good about ourselves.
