PS270 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Social Representation, Naturalistic Fallacy, Hindsight Bias
Document Summary
Social psychology: is a science that studies the influences of our situations with special attention to how we view and affect one another. It is the scientific study of how people think about, influence and relate to one another. Social psychologists study attitudes and beliefs, conformity and independence, love and hate. Major themes in social psychology: social thinking: how we perceive others and ourselves; what we believe; judgements we make; our attitudes. We construct our social reality; our social intuitions are powerful, sometimes perilous: social influence: culture and biology; pressures to conform; persuasion; groups of people. Social influences shape behaviour; dispositions shape behaviour: social relations: helping; aggression; prejudice; attraction and intimacy. Social behaviour is also biological behaviour; relating to others is a basic need. Dual processing: thinking, memory, and attitudes all operate on two levels- one conscious and deliberate, the other unconscious and automatic. Our inner attitudes and personality dispositions also affect our behaviour.
