Psychology 2070A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Floyd Henry Allport, Cognitive Psychology, Social Cognition

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2070A/B
• Professor: Alexa Clerke

Document Summary

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context. Social psychology applies the scientific method of systematic observation, description, and measurement to the study of the human condition. Social psychologists strive to establish general principles of attitude formation and change that apply in a variety of situations rather than exclusively to particular domains. Social psychology typically focuses on the psychology of the individual: even when social psychologists study groups of people, they usually emphasize the behaviour of the individual in the group context. What makes social psychology unique is its emphasis on the social nature of individuals. Example of how a researcher in the field. Measure how prejudice varies as a function of social or economic class. Test various therapies for people with antisocial personalities who exhibit great degrees of prejudice. Develop a questionnaire to identify men who are very high or low in degree of prejudice toward women.