Content Summary: Introduction to Social Psychology Assignment
Esther Kinder
Content Summary: Introduction to Social Psychology Assignment
Introduction
Social psychology is a rapidly growing field. This module covered several chapters
and studies on social psychology and its application. Kassin's chapters looked at what is social
psychology and how it can be applied in the research world. Chadee's chapter looked at the
existing types of categorization theories. The different published studies looked at how a
research article should be read and interpreted as well as how very famous studies (Milgrams
and Haney et al.) would change or not in today's society. In this paper, the power of social
context, social psychology then, and now, social categorization, as well as research guidelines
will be considered.
Body
The Power of Social Context
Social psychology is a fairly recent scientific field that studies “how individuals think,
feel, and behave in a social context” (Kassin, Fein, & Maskus, 2017). It is easy to think that
this field is irrelevant as it relies on a lot of common sense. However, common sense is not
always right. The study of women’s GPA in a male-dominated environment (Engineering
school) can be a good example (Walton et al. 2015). In this study, common sense would
assume that women would perform worse than men in a male-dominated field because of
some unchangeable reasons. However, the results showed that the women’s performances
were mainly related to their perception of the environment. They performed almost as well as
men when they were told that struggling at the beginning of the semester was normal for
everyone. This is a good example that common sense is sometimes wrong. It also
demonstrates the power social context can have on one’s behavior, perception, and
performance.==
Talking about performance, the first social psychology research article ever published
looked at cyclists’ performance in various contexts. It found that, in contrast with performing
alone against the clock, performance improved when the participants were in a social context
(Triplett, 1897–1898). Another study looking at the performance of a simple task (pulling a
rope) in different social contexts showed the opposite (Ringelmann, 1913). These two results
are not necessarily opposite but could raise some social psychological questions such as:
What about the two social contexts (cycling and rope pulling) influenced the performance in
one way or the other?
Social psychology is therefore a very important field that allows the study of how and
why people behave in a certain social context.=
Social psychology, then and now
Content Summary: Introduction to Social Psychology Assignment
Esther Kinder
When the Second World War and all its atrocities happened, the world turned to social
psychology to try to get answers to the questions of how and why humans could perform such
cruel and inhumane acts. Milgrams’s teacher/student (Milgram, 1963) and Standford’s prison
(Haney et al. 1973) experiments are some of the most famous experiments ever conducted in
the field. It showed the “individual’s vulnerability to the destructive commands of authority”
(Kassin et al, 2017).=
Nowadays, with all the past knowledge and changing mentalities, it could be thought
that people would never replicate the kind of behavior that was observed during World War
II. Burger, J.M, in 2009, and Bartels in 2019 tried answering this question by replicating
Milgram’s and Haney's et al. experiments respectively. Unlike the primary experiments, these
new experiments included ethical measures. Ethical measures should include institutional
review boards to have several experts approve of the experiment, informed consent and as
little deception as possible to make sure that the participants won’t have bad surprises, and
debriefing to clarify any parts of the experiment that weren’t clear or to help the participant
process. These ethical guidelines kept Burger and Bartels from reproducing the exact
experiments. However, enough information was able to be gathered to prove that people’s
behavior would not be different nowadays than in Milgram’s or Hanley et al.’s time.
Individuals often battle between the “need to be right and the need to feel good about
themselves” (Kassin et al, 2017), and this can explain many observed social behaviors.
Social Categorization
Nowadays, a lot of studies focus on trying to understand the automatic versus
controllable nature of some psychological processes, stereotypes being one of them (Kassin et
al, 2017). This can also be called social categorization (Chadee, 2011). There used to be two
main theories of social categorization: the self-categorization theory and the social cognition
accounts theory. The first focuses on social identities and group memberships to see how they
view themselves and others (Turner et al, 1987), and the latest states that cognitive structures
(like stereotypes) are totally independent of the context (Fiske, 1980).=
Later on, it was discovered that categories are more diverse and that multiple
categories can be used at the same time. It gave rise to the multiple social categorization
theory (Crisp et al, 2001).=
The importance of context and motivation in determining categorization emerged as
well (Smith et Semin, 2007). Today, a diversity-driven social categorization theory is mostly
used. The exposure to challenges and the need to provide effortful conflict resolution (Tadmor
et Tetlock, 2006) produces a learned, flexible approach to categorization (Turner, 2009).
Research and Social Psychology
Nowadays, social psychology is gaining more attention in the research field.
Therefore, it is important to have clear guidelines on how research should be performed and
what is considered relevant or not. Research usually starts with a hypothesis, which is then
tested through experiments and then published as studies.=
Content Summary: Introduction to Social Psychology Assignment
Esther Kinder
The hypothesis is drowned from other studies, real-world reflection, or any other way
that could raise a question about a specific topic.
Experiments look for a cause and an effect. Correlation can be also observed which is
not a cause/effect observation but rather looks if two variables are related to each other.
Experiments have to be carefully planned and require two main characteristics: a “Control by
the experimenter and random assignment (and sampling) of participants to conditions”
(Kassin et al. 2017). This ensures that the different variables can be well isolated and tries to
prevent the experimenter expectancy effect. In an experiment, three variables can be
identified: The independent variable, the dependent variable, and the subject variable. The
independent variable is manipulated by the scientist to see if it has any effect. The dependent
variable is the observed variable. The main question asked is that if the independent variable
changes, will the dependent variable change too? The subject variable defines characteristics
of the participants that cannot be changed. Sex and age are good examples of subject
variables. Internal validity can then show the degree of certainty of the dependent variable’s
effect on the dependent variable.
If the hypothesis is proven right by experiment, it is important that it can be replicated
and peer-reviewed by other scientists and show similar results. In other words, its external
validity should be tested.=
After these steps, theories can be made. These theories should be “Precise, explain all
the relevant information, and generate research that can support or disconfirm them” (Kassin
et al. 2017).=
If the scientist does not want to use experiments, other types of studies are available.
For example, meta-analysis can be performed without conducting an experiment. In these
types of studies, data from one or several previous studies are taken and analyzed differently.=
Correlation studies are another way to do a study without using an experiment. They look at
how two variables might be related to one another. An important concept to keep in mind is
that as tempting as it could be, “Correlation does not mean causation” (Kassin, 2017).=
Today, behavioral genetics is a rapidly growing research field. It is more and more
known that genes have a strong influence on someone’s physical health, and mental health as
well as behavior are not excluded. This field promises to bring many new insights about
human behavior.
Conclusion
Social psychology is a growing field that helps to strengthen or debulck common
sense ideas. It also looks at how people behave depending on the social context.
Categorization looks at how people view themselves compared to others. Many studies such
as Milgram's or the Standford experiments have already brought many important insights to
the table and raised more questions. From these questions, new hypotheses can be formed.
These hypotheses can be tested through studies or experiments and then form theories.
Research is a field that structures the way scientists ask questions and test their ideas.=
Content Summary: Introduction to Social Psychology Assignment
Esther Kinder
References:
Bartels, J. (2019). Revisiting the Stanford prison experiment, again: Examining demand
characteristics in the guard orientation.=The Journal of Social Psychology,=159(6), 780-
790.
Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today?.=American
psychologist,=64(1), 1.
Chadee, D. (2011).=Theories in social psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Crisp, R. J., & Hewstone, M. (2001). Multiple categorization and implicit intergroup bias:
Differential category dominance and the positive–negative asymmetry effect. European
Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 45–62
Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison.
International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–97.
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2017).=Social psychology. Cengage Learning
publications.
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 67, 371–378.
Ringelmann, M. (1913). Recherches sur les moteurs animés: Travail de l’homme. Annales de
l’Institut National Agronomique, 2e série, tom XII, 1–40
Smith, E. R., & Semin, G. R. (2007). Situated social cognition. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 16, 132–135.
Triplett, N. (1897–1898). The dynamogenic factors in pacemaking and competition.
American Journal of Psychology, 9, 507–533.
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1987).
Rediscovering the social group: A self- categorization theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
Walton, G. M., Logel, C., Peach, J. M., Spencer, S. J., & Zanna, M. P. (2015). Two brief
interventions to mitigate a “chilly climate” transform women’s experience,
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