VL1 - Introduction

• defining Social psychology Social psychology is defined as the scientific study of the way in which people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people. Social psychologists are interested in understanding how and why the social environment shapes the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the individual.

the power of the Situation Individual behavior is powerfully influenced by the social environment, but many people don’t want to believe this.

the importance of explanation Social psychologists must contend with the fundamental attribution error, the tendency to explain our own and other people’s behavior entirely in terms of personality traits and to underestimate the power of social influence. But social psychologists have shown time and again that social and environmental situations are usually more powerful than personality differences in determining an individual’s behavior.

the importance of interpretation Social psychologists have shown that the relationship between individuals and situations is a two-way street, so it is important to understand not only how situations influence individuals, but how people perceive and interpret the social world and the behavior of others. These perceptions are more influential than objective aspects of the situation itself. The term construal refers to the world as it is interpreted by the individual.

The way in which an individual construes (perceives, comprehends, and interprets) a situation is largely shaped by two basic human motives: the need to feel good about ourselves and the need to be accurate. At times these two motives tug in opposite directions; for ex- ample, when an accurate view of how we acted in a situation would reveal that we behaved selfishly.

• the Self-esteem Motive: the need to feel Good about ourselves

• the Social cognition Motive: the need to be accurate

• the Self-esteem Motive: the need to feel Good about ourselves Most people have a strong need to see themselves as good, competent, and decent. People often distort their perception of the world to preserve their self-esteem.

• the Social cognition Motive: the need to be accurate Social cognition is the study of how human beings think about the world: how they select, interpret, remember, and use information to make judgments and decisions. Individuals are viewed as trying to gain accurate understandings so that they can make effective judgments and decisions that range from which cereal to eat to whom they marry. In actuality, individuals typically act on the basis of incomplete and inaccurately interpreted information.