PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

1/43

INTRODUCTION TOSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGYPsychology 220

University of Toronto

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

2/43

Instructor and TAs

Instructor:

Jennifer Fortune ([email protected])

Teaching Assistants:

Last Names A G: Lindsey Cary

([email protected])

Last Names H M: Susan Gillingham([email protected])

Last Names N Z: Marta Wnuczko

([email protected])

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

3/43

Course Goals & Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Explain how social psychologists think about and study

human behavior.

Discuss the body of knowledge and underlying principlesthat currently exist in the field.

Reflect upon the implications of social psychological

research for the situations we encounter in everyday life. Be a good consumer of research, and critically evaluate

scientific findings about social psychological issues.

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

4/43

Course Information

Meeting Times:

Mondays, 6:10 - 9:00pm Meeting Location: PB B150

Midterms in special testing rooms (TBA)

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

5/43

Textbook

Social Psychology Alive (1st

Canadian Edition) J. Olson, S.J. Breckler, & E.C.

Wiggins. (2008).

Used copies probablyavailable

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

6/43

Course Format

Lectures, videos, demonstrations.

Text book and supplementary readings. Overlap between lectures and readings will vary; if

you want to do well, you must come to class.

Grades based on:

Two non-cumulative term tests

Cumulative final exam

Five reflection assignments

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

7/43

Course Components

Components Content Date Weight

Term Test 1(75 multiple choice)Location: TBA

Material from lecture andreadings covered Sept 10- 24

Oct 1, 6:00 8:00pm

25%

Term Test 2

(75 multiple choice)Location: TBA

Material from lecture and

readings covered fromOct 15-29

Nov 5, 6:00

8:00pm

25%

Reflection Assignments*

(5)(worth 2% each)

Choice of 8 topics/formats Due by

midnight theThurs after they

are assigned

10%

Final Exam

(75 multiple choice)Location: TBA

Material from lecture and

readings covered fromSept 10 Dec 3

TBA

2 hours

40%

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

8/43

Term Test 1 (25%) Oct 1

Assigned readings in text, lecture, supplementary

articles, and videos from Sept 10 24.

2 hours (6:00 8:00pm).

75 multiple choice questions.

Testing rooms TBA

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

9/43

Term Test 2 (25%) Nov 5


articles, and videos from Oct 15 29.

2 hours (6:00 8:00pm).


Testing rooms TBA

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

10/43

Final Exam (40%)


articles and videos for the entire course (Sept 10 Dec 3).

2 hours

During Final Exam Period


Testing rooms TBA.

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

11/43

Reflection Assignments (2% each)

Allow for reflection upon and engagement with

course topics. May take various formats including:

500 word reflection papers

WorksheetsMini-labs

Will be introduced during each of the 8 lecture

days beginning on Sept 17. You are responsible for completing 5 of your choice

(for a total of 10%).

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

12/43


Due by midnight 3 days after they are assigned via

the Assignment section on the Blackboard site. Eg. Assignment given on a Monday will be due

Thursday

It is your responsibility to keep track of how manyassignments you have submitted.

Max 5 assignments- we wont mark extras

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

13/43


LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

There will be no opportunity to make up missedassignments.

If I do poorly on a reflection assignment, can I do

an extra one to make up for it? Do you take the

best 5?No. We will only mark your first 5 assignments.

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

14/43

Date Topic Readings

Sept 10 Introduction + Research Methods Olson Chap. 1 & 2

Sept 17Social CognitionReflection Assignment #1

Olson Chap. 3Supplementary Articles

Sept 24Social Perception + Person in SituationReflection Assignment #2

Olson Chap. 4 & 5Supplementary Articles

Oct 1 Test 1

Oct 8 No Class - Thanksgiving

Oct 15Attitudes & Attitude ChangeReflection Assignment #3


Oct 22 Stereotypes, Prejudice, and DiscriminationReflection Assignment #4


Oct 29Intra- & Inter-group RelationsReflection Assignment #5


Nov 5 Test 2

Nov 12 No Class Fall Break

Nov 19Conformity, Compliance and ObedienceReflection assignment #6


Nov 26Prosocial & Antisocial BehaviourReflection Assignment #7


Dec 3Emotion & Close RelationshipsReflection Assignment #8


8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

15/43

Course Website

UT Blackboard site (http://portal.utoronto.ca)

Includes: Lecture slides (posted with blanks - by midnight the

morning of the lecture)

Announcements

Supplementary articles

Course information (including syllabus) Assignment Uploader

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

16/43

Communication

Use your UTORmail account ONLY

Include the course code and a concise statement of purposein the subject line

E.g., PSY220: question about term test 1.

Check course documents first

Email the TA to which you have been assigned

Last Names A G: Lindsey Cary ([email protected]) Last Names H M: Susan Gillingham

([email protected])

Last Names N Z: Marta Wnuczko ([email protected])

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

17/43

Find two buddies!

Exchange contact information with two classmates

Help each other out by sharing class notes.

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

18/43

INTRODUCTION TOSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

LECTURE 1

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

19/43

What is Social Psychology?

The study of how individuals thoughts, feelings, andbehaviors are influenced by other people

4 key components of this definition:

Influenced by other people

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Individuals perspective

Scientific study

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

20/43

How Other People Affect Us

Other people affect how we interpret events

Other people affect how we feel about ourselves

Other people affect how we behave

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

21/43

Social Psychology: Just Common Sense?

Social psychology is sometimes subjected to the I knewit all along phenomenon.

many social psychological findings confirm intuitions

many other findings, however, disconfirm intuition

science trumps intuition

Hindsight appears clearer than it is hindsight bias: the inclination to see events that have

already occurred as being more predictable than they werebefore they took place

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

22/43

Contradictory proverbs

Birds of a feather flock together

Opposites attract

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy Idle hands are the devils playground

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Out of sight, out of mind

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

23/43

Social Psychology: Benefits

Being an informed citizen

using scientific findings to form strategies for dealingwith social problems and social issues

Applying social psychological knowledge health, business, politics, law, etc.

Understanding the influences on your own life

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

24/43

Social Psychology: Its Everywhere!

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

25/43

Brief History of Social Psychology

Earliest documented social psychology experiment:

social facilitation effect (Triplett, 1898)

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

26/43


Earliest documented social psychology

experiment: social facilitation effect(Triplett, 1898)

Bike racers faster against others than alone

Children wound fishing reel faster whentogether than when alone

Floyd Allport (1920s) main proponent of

experimental social psychology andauthor of one of the 1st textbooks on

social psychology

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

27/43


World War II:

European psychologists fleeing Nazioccupied Europe

Kurt Lewin

Known as the father of modernsocial psychology

Groundbreaking emphasis on the

role of individual AND environment

in producing behaviour

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

28/43


World War II:

The Nazi phenomenon and Holocaust beggedexplanation

Sparked much research on conformity, obedience,

prejudice, and aggression Nazi propaganda sparked interest in research on

persuasion

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

29/43

Video

The Power of the Situation

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

30/43

THE METHODS OF SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

31/43

Competing Proverbs31

Birds of a feather flock together vs Opposites

attract. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, vs

Idle hands are the devils playground.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder vs Out of

sight, out of mind.

Proverbs are often contradictory, but they may be a

good starting point for research.

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

32/43

The Science of Social Psychology32

1. State problem

2. Formulate hypothesis3. Design study & collect data

4. Test hypothesis with the data5. Communicate study results

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

33/43

Does absence make the heart grow

fonder? Hypothesis: romantic couples who are separated

will think more highly of one another than when theyare together.

Experiment:

Please write a description of yourboyfriend/girlfriend.

Independent variable: partner present or absent

Dependent variable: # of positive things written about

the partner.

33

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

34/43

Does absence make the heart grow

fonder? Result

people who were separated from their partner duringthe experiment wrote more positive comments than

people who were not separated from their partner.

Communicate results: Submit article to scholarly journal

34

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

35/43

The Science of Social Psychology35

Independent variable Dependent variable

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

36/43

Research Design36

Experiments

Researcher controls procedures Random assignment to conditions

Allows for conclusions about cause & effect

Quasi-experiments No random assignment

2 IVs: together/apart & men/women

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

37/43

Research Design37

Laboratory experiments

Field experiments

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

38/43

Non-experimental studies38

Correlational research

Sacrifices the ability to draw conclusions aboutcausality.

Correlations Relationship between two variables

have magnitude (correlation coefficient) and direction

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

39/43

Correlations39

Correlation coefficient

r = -.78

Direction ofthe correlation

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

40/43

Correlations40

Equal magnitude Different directions

r = -.78 r = +.78

H i l d i

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

41/43

How is temperature related to ice

cream sales?41 Two variables:

daily temperature Ice cream sales

What is the correlation between these two

variables? What does this mean?

.78

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

42/43

Correlations42

What can we conclude from a correlation?

What is the correlation between drowning and ice

cream sales?

What would a positive correlation mean?

Limits of correlations

8/10/2019 PSY220 2012F Lecture 1

43/43

Reflection Assignment

No reflection assignment this week- we will start

doing those next class.

Documents

PSY220 2012F Lecture 1