Social Psychology Read online

  SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

  A complete introduction

  Dr Paul Seager

  To Holly, with all my love as always.

  To Mum, Dad and Nikki, thanks for all your love and support over the years. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  Contents

  Introduction

  What is social psychology?

  A brief history of social psychology

  The aim of this book

  Summary

  1 Doing research in social psychology

  The scientific method

  Experimental methods

  Non-experimental methods

  Types of validity

  Ethics

  Summary

  2 The Self

  Understanding the Self

  Self-knowledge

  Self-esteem

  The effect of culture on identity

  Self-regulation

  Summary

  3 Attributions

  Heider’s (1958) naïve scientist theory

  Jones and Davis (1965) theory of correspondent inference

  Kelley’s (1967) co-variation model

  Biases in attributions

  Summary

  4 Social cognition

  Social categorization

  Cognitive heuristics

  Why do we fall prey to judgemental heuristics?

  Can we quash stereotypes once they are activated?

  Summary

  5 Interpersonal attraction: liking and loving

  Why are relationships important?

  Factors affecting friendship formation and liking

  Theories of relationship formation and maintenance

  Love

  The breakdown of relationships

  Summary

  6 Social influence: conformity and obedience

  Conformity

  Obedience

  Summary

  7 Attitudes and persuasion

  What is an attitude?

  Differing aspects of an attitude

  Measuring attitudes

  Do attitudes predict behaviour?

  Changing attitudes – persuasion

  Summary

  8 Prosocial behaviour

  Defining and studying prosocial behaviour

  Approaches to explain why people help

  The cognitive model of helping behaviour

  The bystander-calculus model

  Individual differences in helping behaviour

  Applying the research

  Summary

  9 Aggression

  Defining and measuring aggression

  Biological explanations for aggression

  Social learning explanations for aggression

  Mediating factors in aggression

  The role of the media

  Reducing aggression

  Summary

  10 An introduction to groups

  What is a group?

  Why do individuals join a group?

  Forming a group

  Joining an existing group

  Group cohesiveness

  Group norms

  Group roles

  Summary

  11 Group processes

  Audience effects and social facilitation

  Steiner’s task taxonomy

  Social loafing

  Group decision making

  Groupthink

  Summary

  12 Leadership

  Defining leadership

  Leadership as power

  Characteristics of a leader

  Behavioural styles of a leader

  Situational effects on leadership

  Contingency theories of leadership

  Leadership emergence theories

  Summary

  13 Prejudice

  What is prejudice?

  Specific types of prejudice: racism

  Measuring prejudice

  Individual personality traits and prejudice

  Intergroup explanations of prejudice

  Reducing prejudice

  Summary

  14 Intergroup relations

  Investigating intergroup conflict

  The minimal group paradigm

  Causes and explanations of intergroup conflict

  Improving intergroup relations

  Summary

  15 Social psychology in action

  The legal system

  Health

  Everyday life

  Answers

  References

  Introduction

  When asked the question, ‘What is social psychology?’ many people’s initial response is along the lines of, ‘Oh, it’s just common sense, isn’t it?’. Certainly many students perceive social psychology to be the easy option in their academic year. As a social psychologist, I can tell you that both of these views are not true – and here are the reasons why.

  First, what exactly is common sense? If common sense is defined by collective wisdom, then we should turn perhaps to proverbs to give us a view on the world. For example, ‘Opposites attract’ would tell us about interpersonal relationships, and ‘Many hands make light work’ would give us insight into group behaviour. But wait, I hear you cry, what about ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ contradicting our first common sense pearl of wisdom, and ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ as a counterpoint for the second. And this is exactly my point: common sense can be very contradictory at times, and may simply be one person’s point of view.

  It is often the case that we may only remember the time we met a happy couple who seemed to be opposite in every way, but have forgotten the countless times that we encountered happy couples that were very alike. Of course, there is no doubting that some of the areas dealt with by social psychology do seem obvious to us now, but my counter-argument here would be that this is only because social psychologists have done their job so well in the past, by investigating areas of interest and giving some definitive answers through the application of good research.

  To address the second issue, with regard to students’ views of social psychology, it is probably because the topics covered by social psychology are so linked to us as individuals. Take any chapter in this book, and it is likely that each of us will have had a personal experience related to it. This closeness can lead us to believe that we understand it completely, and this in turn may lead us to conclude that we don’t need to work any further at understanding it; we simply use our personal views and experiences to explain the topic (and heaven knows I’ve read many exam scripts over the years that have done just that). However, social psychologists work very hard to give an objective (as opposed to subjective) view of the social world, and this involves using a number of different research methods to address some tricky issues. Many students don’t appreciate the amount of work required to tackle the subjects that comprise social psychology.

  So, having (hopefully) justified the existence of social psychologists, it begs the questions as to just what is social psychology.

  What is social psychology?

  One of the classic definitions of social psychology was given by Gordon Allport (1954a), who defined it as: ‘the attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings’ (p. 5). To be quite honest, definitions of social psychology don’t get too much better than this. It seems then that social psychology is all about the interaction with, and influence by, others. When talking of other human beings, this could mean a reference to individuals or groups, and groups certainly play an important part in European social psychology (see below).

  Social psychology is also about the context of the interactions, and the way in which the situation can influ
ence the behaviour of an individual. In this regard, it becomes clearer as to what social psychology isn’t, and this would be that it isn’t so much about the personality of individuals – certainly not according to Allport’s view.

  There will certainly be times throughout the book when we look at how personality characteristics might influence behaviour, such as leadership, but much of the time this is not the case (for instance, Milgram was more interested in the context in which an authority was situated, and less interested in how obedience was accounted for by individual differences – but we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here, though you could skip to Chapter 6 to learn more about Milgram if you really can’t wait). Typically, social psychologists view personality characteristics as moderators of behaviour rather than a sole cause.

  There can be no doubt that the field of social psychology has changed over the years, and is changing still, with other disciplines and theoretical perspectives, such as cognitive psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary theory, exerting some degree of influence on it. Whilst this book aims to give an overview of some of the more traditional areas covered by social psychology, by way of introduction to the topic, the reader should certainly be aware that the field is currently evolving, in much the same way as it has always done, as a brief historical survey of the field will show.

  A brief history of social psychology

  It is difficult to know exactly from where social psychology sprang originally: some say that the German scholars known as the ‘folk psychologists’ were an early influence with their idea of a collective mind. Others claim that Auguste Comte’s idea of using scientific principles to study social processes was also an influence. In all likelihood, there were probably a number of different factors that contributed to its birth. However, in terms of the earliest social psychology experiment, this distinction normally goes to Normal Triplett (1898), who conducted a study investigating what we would now refer to as ‘social facilitation’ (see Chapter 11 for more details).

  With regards to the first social psychological textbooks, some claim that 1908 is the key year. Textbooks by both Ross and McDougal are acknowledged by many as the first of their kind; however, others argue that their content bears very little resemblance to what we recognize today as being social psychology (which is likely a fair comment as McDougal’s text seems to be based in biology and, as Ross was a sociologist, his text focuses more on topics such as crowd behaviour and culture). A better claim to the first social psychology text probably comes from Floyd Allport who published his book Social Psychology in 1924. The book, which was a strong advocate of the experimental method, put forth an agenda for this emerging field of study.

  Experimental psychology facilities were being created in a number of American universities around the beginning of the twentieth century, following on from Wundt’s establishment of such a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879; it is likely that such facilities provided the breeding ground for social psychologists.

  Perhaps a little surprisingly, there was a quiet period of about twenty years for the discipline following the publication of Allport’s work, though this time frame probably marked the bedding-in of the topic. However, that’s not to say that important work wasn’t being conducted, as there are one or two key publications of note that emerged during this time (for example, a text by Sherif in 1936 detailing the use of the autokinetic effect to look at the formation and development of group norms and its effect on conformity – see Chapter 6). Nevertheless, it seems that the onset of the Second World War marked a turning point for social psychology.

  The war is generally credited for furthering the cause of social psychology on three fronts, though it was mainly in America that the benefits were felt initially. First, the military took an interest in what the field could tell them about, amongst other things, propaganda and its effects on morale. Attitude change was also high on the agenda, both on the front lines and the home front; for example, how could people be persuaded to make do with less as rationing began to take hold. Secondly, there was an influx of academics, both Jewish and non-Jewish to United States’ universities, and some of these went on to become highly influential figures in the field: for example Kurt Lewin, who went on to inspire a generation of social psychologists. Thirdly, people started to take an interest in important topics such as obedience and authoritarianism. For instance, why didn’t German soldiers just say ‘no’ when ordered to carry out atrocities? Was it the power of the situation, or was it the personality of the German people? Together, these three factors helped promote the importance of social psychology, and soon no university was without such a department.

  But where was European social psychology in all of this? Well, there were certainly a number of European academics who played an important role in helping the field to develop pre-war. For example, Hugo Munsterberg played a key role in introducing social psychology into the legal arena, as well as influencing a number of other individuals, such as Floyd Allport (see above). However, by the end of the war there was very little in the way of a European social psychological movement.

  Whilst America tried to revive the field in Europe after the war, it was probably more in the way of self-interest (in an attempt to prevent the spread of Communism to places like Britain) than altruism. Certainly European social psychology remained a fractured movement into the 1960s, with any links being mainly via American scientists rather than directly with each other. However, slowly but surely, a European movement began to emerge, and one which was moving in a slightly different direction to that of their transatlantic cousins: whilst America was interested in a more ‘individual’ focus, investigating areas such as interpersonal factors, the Europeans, perhaps as a direct consequence of the post-war rebuilding effort going on across the continent, were more interested in groups and intergroup processes.

  To a certain extent, these differences persist in the present, and this is perhaps evidenced by the way that this book devotes a number of chapters to group processes and intergroup relationships (a trend that may not be found in some North American texts). The likes of Henri Tajfel and Serge Moscovici were important players in the development of the European social psychology agenda in the 1960s, which led to the formation of what is currently known as the European Association of Social Psychology. Today, there is a flourishing social psychology culture on both sides of the Atlantic.

  ‘The Second World War proved to be something of an intellectual watershed for theory and research into intergroup relations. The publication of Dollard et al.’s (1939) Frustration and Aggression and Adorno et al.’s (1950) The Authoritarian Personality were enormously influential in kindling social psychologists’ interest in the factors that determine the attitudes and behavior of members of one group toward those of another.’

  (Brewer & Brown, 1998, p. 554).

  The aim of this book

  This book aims to give you a glimpse into a new world. Imagine this book as the wardrobe into the Narnia-like world of social psychology. It will act as a starting place for your journey of exploration. Some of you may have been here before, but are now looking to explore the world more fully; but for some of you, this will be your first encounter with social psychology. You’ve probably picked up the book because you’re curious. And curiosity is an excellent trait for any budding social psychologist.

  This book will introduce you to many areas of social psychology. Chapter 1 will give you an overview of how social psychologists go about doing their research. Chapter 2 aims to take a look at the ‘self’. When embarking on a journey filled with individuals and groups, there’s no better place to start than at home – finding out about yourself, and what makes ‘you’ tick. Chapter 3 looks at how we make sense of the people around us; the attributions we make about others and their behaviour. Chapter 4 investigates why the decisions we make with regards to the world around us can sometimes be flawed, or, at the very least, not optimal. Welcome to the world of social cognition. Chapter 5 l
ooks at the relationships we build with others – from casual acquaintances, through friendship, to love – and what happens when they break down. Chapter 6 begins to look at how our actions can be influenced by other people, and Chapter 7 continues the theme by investigating the extent to which our attitudes guide our behaviour, and how those attitudes can be changed through persuasion techniques. Chapters 8 and 9 look at two opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of our social behaviour – why and when we might help other people (even in the most adverse of circumstances), and why and when we might behave aggressively towards others. Chapter 10 will be the starting point on your journey to explore groups: what they are and how they work. If you’ve ever thought about forming a group (perhaps a rock band, perhaps a neighbourhood watch group, or perhaps even a social psychology society), then this chapter should prove to be illuminating. Chapter 11 looks at some of the processes that go on within a group, and Chapter 12 looks at one specific component of groups – their leaders. Chapter 13 looks at the thorny issue of prejudice and how this can be propagated by group membership. The journey through all things ‘groups’ ends with Chapter 14 which looks at intergroup relationships, why they sometimes descend into conflict and ways that social psychologists have devised to reduce, and potentially resolve, such conflict. Chapter 15 reiterates the very applied nature of social psychology, a theme that has run through just about all of the chapters, and looks at how it impacts on the world on a daily basis.

  Each chapter provides you with a clear and concise introduction to each topic. It will define key terms as appropriate, and will give you a detailed look at a number of studies that have been conducted in the area. Some important names and dates are dropped in to give you a sense of when significant concepts were formalized and by who: it will also allow you to build a historical timeline of the development of different areas of social psychology. However, in order to avoid getting bogged down and bamboozled by a multitude of names and dates (which so many students do) and potentially missing the messages delivered by each chapter, not all studies or concepts are referenced (although there is a list of references at the back of the book for the quotes used in each chapter). However, it should be fairly straightforward – using the power of Google Scholar (or another academic search engine of your choice) – to follow up on these as you see fit.