Lecture Notes PSYC1009A (Semester 2, Block 4) - Social Psychology
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Course
PSYC1009A (PSYC1009A)
Institution
University Of The Witwatersrand (wits)
Semester 2, Block 4 of PSYC1009A delves into the study of how an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the presence and actions of others.
Topics covered in Notes:
Introduction to social psychology and groups, intergroup relations, group membership and social identi...
Block Four - Lecturer: Ms Boledi Tladi (boledi.tladi@wits.ac.za) – PSYC1009A
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Social psychology is the sub-discipline of psychology that deals with the ways in which
individuals and groups interact as social beings in various contexts.
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND GROUPS
Week 1
Social psychology is the sub-discipline of psychology that deals with the ways in which
individuals and groups interact as social beings in various contexts.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY (SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT)
• Social Sciences and Humanities are about trying to make sense of and explain social
and human phenomena through producing and analysing stories (narratives).
• Defining the field of inquiry
o Disciplinary location usually determines how we apprehend and make sense
of narratives
o Disciplinary location also plays an important part in the kinds of questions that
are asked and the answers that they are looking for.
• The roots and influence of social psychology
o Has its roots in both psychological and sociological thinking
o Ross (1908) and McDougall (1908) are acknowledged as marking the
beginning of social psychology as a substantive sub-discipline in psychology –
other authors have stressed the sub-disciplines roots to also exist in economics,
philosophy, political science, history, education, and law.
• According to Foster (1991, p.6) the dominant orientation in social psychology is
entrenched in and gives substance to ideological positions that valorise notions of
what has been termed ‘self-contained individualism’.
o Positivistic orientation
o Experimental research (i.e., Stanley Milgram – Obedience)
• In the late 1960s, European psychologists began to question the focus on
individualism and experimental research and the neglect of the ‘social’ of social
psychology.
o Given that humans are social beings and that psychology is the study of
human behaviour, it is safe to say that psychology is always social.
• According to Baron and Byrne (1997, p.6) social psychology is ‘the scientific field that
seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behaviour and thought in
social situations.
,Block Four - Lecturer: Ms Boledi Tladi (boledi.tladi@wits.ac.za) – PSYC1009A
o No particular focus or approach to social psychology, but rather to engage
specifically with particular social phenomena that influence, and are
influenced by, human behaviour in the South African and global context.
o Groups and Social Identity
o Poverty & Ethnicity
o Gender & Sex
o Health Psychology
GROUP CONCEPTS
Humans are social beings.
• We express our social nature through groups and being a member of a group.
• We are influenced by the groups we belong to as interacting and participating in
them are a fundamental part of our lives.
• The lone individual: the single man and woman who have no connection to other
men and women is an extraordinarily rare human being. However, this does not
suggest that a human being is not capable of surviving short periods alone, just that
very few people seek or enjoy the challenges of solitude.
REASONS BEHIND BELONGING TO A GROUP
• Groups are not always consciously made as they naturally fulfil basic and intertwined
human needs that cannot be satisfied by individuals alone such as:
o Companionship
o Survival and security (our ancestors would partake in-group experiences for
hunting and defense)
o Affiliation and status (Membership can provide individuals with social status or
security)
o Achievement (have the capability to achieve more than individuals acting
alone)
• Groups influence the individuals’ self-esteem and self-concept and are an important
source of social support
• Groups create a space for the pooling of resources and collective problem solving
GROUP DEFINITIONS
Currently, no universal definition describes what constitutes a group. The few common
requirements that contribute to the recognition of individuals as a "group":
• Interdependence among individuals
• There is social interaction between the individuals
,Block Four - Lecturer: Ms Boledi Tladi (boledi.tladi@wits.ac.za) – PSYC1009A
• Perception within the group (all members of the collective must agree they are in-
group.)
• Commonality of purpose (All the members have a common goal.)
• Favoritism (members of the same group (in-group) tend to be positively prejudiced
toward other members and tend to discriminate in their favor.)
There are many definitions of groups:
• There are subjective, objective, and combined definitions.
o An objective approach: a collection of people to be a group based on
perceptions of common characteristics by an outsider
▪ Entitativity: the extent a group is perceived as a coherent whole. How
close is the group’s bond?
▪ Common - identity groups: members are linked to the group as a
whole. Does not necessarily imply direct (face-to-face) interaction
between members (i.e., Nationality).
▪ In common–bound groups: members are linked to each other (i.e.,
Entrants of the Comrades Marathon)
o A subjective approach: considering people to be a group when they
perceive or consider themselves as a group
• While group definitions based on objective and subjective factors do not necessarily
indicate a person’s interaction with other group members. The interaction is the basis
of what is called a social group.
o Baron et al. define a group as ‘people who believe that they are bonded
together in a coherent unit of some sort.’
o The most important characteristics of groups have been defined as:
▪ interdependence,
▪ interaction and
▪ Mutual influence between group members.
There are different ways of classifying social groups:
• In-groups and out-groups
o In-group: a group to which people belong (loyalty)
o Out-group: a group to which people do not belong to
• Primary groups (small with direct interaction) e.g. A family
• Secondary groups (weak ties and short duration) e.g. A sports team or a University
Class
• Reference groups (that inform our values, attitudes, self-image, and behaviours but
are not formally a part of). E.g. A political group (ANC, DA, EFF, or even SRC)
, Block Four - Lecturer: Ms Boledi Tladi (boledi.tladi@wits.ac.za) – PSYC1009A
CHARACTERISTIC S OF SMALL GROUPS
Social groups share the following characteristics:
• A purpose for existing (to fulfil needs/ tasks/ goals)
• Group norms, which are unwritten social rules about appropriate behaviour and can
be either prescriptive (recommending certain behaviours) or proscriptive (forbidding
certain behaviours)
o Group "values" are goals or ideas that serve as guiding principles for the
group. Like norms, values may be communicated either explicitly or on an ad
hoc basis. Values can serve as a rallying point for the team. However, some
values, such as conformity, can also be dysfunctional and lead to poor
decisions by the team.
• Roles, which can be task- or relationship-oriented and are either assigned or taken on
informally
• A communication network, which structures information flow
• Levels of status, which are either ascribed (involuntary) or achieved (voluntarily
worked for)
• Cohesiveness which can be how close a group is and how effective they are at
completing tasks
THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT
• The Stanford prison experiment was a social psychology experiment that attempted
to investigate the psychological effects of perceived power, focusing on the struggle
between prisoners and prison officers.
o The research group was led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo using
college students at Stanford University on the days of August 14–20, 1971.
• In the study, volunteers were assigned to be either "guards" or "prisoners" by the flip of
a coin, in a mock prison, with Zimbardo himself serving as the superintendent. Several
"prisoners" left mid-experiment, and the whole experiment was abandoned after six
days.
• Purpose of the study:
o Zimbardo and his colleagues (1973) were interested in finding out whether the
brutality reported among guards in American prisons was due to the sadistic
personalities of the guards (i.e., dispositional) or had more to do with the
prison environment (i.e., situational).
• What lessons on human behaviour can we learn from this experiment?
o The Stanford prison experiment is a powerful demonstration of the influence of
roles in group behaviour in a particular environment.
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