PSYC 308 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Human Behavior, Social Cognition, Social Forces
Document Summary
Social psychology: the scientific study of the causes and consequences of people"s thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding themselves and other people. An instinct-based view of human behavior: social behavior is the result of the same evolutionary processes that produce physical characteristics, such as body size and eye color. Behaviorism: behavior shaped by experience: john watson, behaviors followed by desirable outcomes would be likely to reoccur, whereas behaviors that are followed by undesirable outcomes would not. The emergence of modern social psychology: john dewey. Important determinants of human activity: unconscious + conscious processes: after wwii desire to understand society. 5 influential perspectives in social psychology: cognitive. Social cognition the way an individual understands his or her own social world. Underscores the effect of cultre on thinking and behavior: neuroscience study of neural processes that occur during social judgment and behavior. 4 core assumptions of social psychology: behavior = individual features of the person + specific aspects of the situation.
