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STUDY GUIDE FOR PSYC 3301 FINAL EXAM
As you review Chapters 1 - 11, narrow your focus to these concepts. Know their definitions, draw parallels between concepts and try to think of real-world examples of each. Chapter 1: Introduction to the social psychology of everyday life · Gordon Allport and definition of social psychology: Gordon Allport: most prominent social psychologist from the U.S. He proposed that social psychology attempts to explain the ways in which the thoughts, feelings and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, Imagined or implied presence of other human beings. Social Psycology: concerned with the lives of human beings- our inner experiences and outer interactions with others, and how these are woven together across various domains to create everyday lives. - involves the study of how people grow and live within material, social, cultural and historical context - seeks to understand the actions and relationships of human beings within the context of societal systems and their everyday lives. · WEIRD research samples- Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic research participants: scholars discuss ideas, develop theories, conduct and share research and engage in activities to address social problems. · Minority world (dominant)-): Is used in this book instead of the problematic terms ‘developed countries’ or first world. It is important to note that much of social psychology in the minority-world is focused on events and situations that disrupt everyday life. · Majority world (non-dominant)-): Instead of ‘developing countries’ or third world to signal that the vast majority of the world’s population live in contexts that are often referred to as developing countries. The reality is that people of color are the majority globally despite often being disempowered. · Socialization: the process by which we learn to live in the social world around us especially through our primary contacts; also refers to how we learn who we are and where we belong
· Subject-object relations: reflects how people and things are interconnected and constructed · Habitus- socially ingrained habits: socially ingrained habits- Comprises the accumulated understandings and practices that are internalized by persons as appropriate for particular circumstances. · Praxis: A useful concept her is praxis, which refers to putting theory and research into practice. Another term that is important for those of you with a practical bent to understand is ‘action research’ · Key themes from the book : o 1. The complex and interconnected nature of the self, which manifests inside heads/bodies and human relations and in places and objects. This orientation takes us out beyond limiting notions of an enclosed independent individual with fixed traits who reasons and behaves in predictable ways. Instead, we present a dynamic and socially, politically and economically situated vision of people. ▪ 2. The importance of context in shaping people. This does not simply mean considering individuals within their environments. It involves conceptualizing people in ways that are entwined within, and inseparable from, the everyday contexts of their lives. After all, people and contexts are mutually constitutive. ▪ 3. The importance of history, culture and place in shaping communities and orienting social psychology is threaded throughout the book. Chapter 2: Histories of social psychology · · Looking-glass self: Charles Horton Cooley proposed that self and society are twin born. Cooley introduced the concept of a ‘looking glass self’ to illustrate that it is through interactions with other people that each of us develops and comes to know ourselves. · The psychology of urban crowds: Social transformations, popular culture and social control. From Le Bon’s outsider perspective as an aristocrat studying the lower classes, individuals become ‘submerged’ in and lost themselves to a mob mentality. The assumption was that
psychology is to improve the human condition, and he thought an individualistic approach was poorly suited to such work. · Physical crowds vs. psychological crowds: Crowds can be seen as society in action, as expressions of intergroup politics and as entities for the promotion of rights for marginalized groups. ▪ Physical: are constituted by groups of people who do not see themselves as part of something bigger. Think of people on a packed commuter train who are behaving as individuals in not making eye contact and in avoiding interactions with each other. ▪ Psychological: encompass a sense of affiliation, social identity or shared purposed among such clusters of people. An example would be All Black’s fans watching New Zealand thrash Australia in a game of rugby. · Re-pluralizing psychology: Is associated with the crisis in social psychology and the development of liberation and indigenous psychologies. · The crisis in social psychology-issues with experimental methods in social psychology- Not everyone agreed with these criticisms of experimental psychology. Zajonc was particularly critical of what he called an ‘anti-scientific’ attitude being expressed towards experimentation. He argued that critics series of colonization, endemic poverty and socio-economic exclude misapprehending the nature of experimental research. For Zajonc, the issue is not the extent to which a research strategy reflects or reproduces social reality. The issue is whether the experimental procedures employed can provide insights into the essence of phenomena central to social psychological processes. · Liberation social psychology- LSP was initially developed in the context of Latin American societies with historions. LSP also took shape in response to decolonizing movements in the Global South, which sought to respond to the injustices of colonization and socio-economic oppression. Liberation psychologies were developed to resist the psychologizing of social problems as primarily the results of individual dispositions Looking-glass self
Chapter 3: Indigenous psychologies · · Meaning of indigenous: includes those who self-identify as being indigenous and whose claims of belonging are recognized by other groups. Criteria used to describe indigenous people include place, history, ethnicity and culture. · Indigenous psychologies- Nobody knows exactly how many indigenous civilizations there are in the world. A person can remain indigenous to a territory in which their culture and language developed even when residing away from this territory. This is an important point because many indigenous people have been forced to leave their own lands and are then denied their rights to these places and associated resources. · Fourth-world- a term used to refer to a subgroup of a population that faces social exclusion and stateless peoples. It is often associated with nomadic and hunter-gatherer peoples living outside advanced capitalist economic systems, even when they reside in nation-states with such systems. · Colonization - involves the invasion of an area by a new group leading to the subjugation and displacement of the existing indigenous people. Also refers to situations where the population of an area is subjugated by a new group. Colonization is often associated with genocide, which usually results from the actions of authoritarian governments or groups who dehumanize and seek to exterminate indigenous groups. · Cosmologies- These seek to explain the existence of the universe, our relationship to and purpose in it and what will become of us. Cosmologies answer the questions: Who am I? Where do I fit in? Where am I going? What are the important things to do? These questions engender meaning and purpose in life. · Acculturation- refers to processes by which a particular culture, or a minority group, comes to adopt the cultural knowledge, practices and language of another culture- usually that of a dominant group. · Enculturation - refers to how people come to learn and know the values, norms and requirements of their own surrounding culture and as a result are able to function within that culture.
example, indigenous psychologies- particularly those informed by Buddhism- draw on the notion of ‘dependent origination’, or the idea that everything is interlinked and stems from dependence on something else. · The dialogical self- The I is the self as knower and one’s sense of personal identity and continuity over time. The I is the part of the self that we recognize as ourselves. The me is the self as known or as seen and experienced by others. We all have as many me as there are people who recognize us. The me can shift across different interactions with different people. Chapter 4: Pro-social practices and critical humanism · Altruism- refers to unselfish acts through which people help alleviate suffering. These acts include the multitude of everyday acts whereby people engage in comforting, sharing, helping, showing concern, community service and cooperation. · ‘pure’ altruism- Encompasses acts of self-sacrifice and selflessness from which the actor relieves no personal reward. · Egoism- Freud 1920 proposed that people are never truly selfless because acts of altruism are, at their core, driven by egoism or self-interest/self-worth. · Mattering- Which entails a person’s sense that they can make a difference in the world. Mattering points to the importance of feeling and being valued, and the interrelatedness of people. · The selfish hypothesis- Argues that the sole function of altruistic behavior is as a means for ensuring the continuation of one’s genetic stock. · Sonder- The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own- populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness- an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
· Structuration theory- This theory views social life as an interconnected process, rather than viewing the individual actor and society as existing in separate spheres. Thus, structuration theory attempts to transcend hard boundaries between micro and macro systems, since people’s everyday actions both shape and are shaped by societal systems. · Humanistic psychology- Bridges psychology and the humanities with a core focus on understanding the experiences of human beings from their own lived vantage points. · Self-actualization- is presented as the highest level of development achieved by human beings who reach their full potential for flourishing. Maslow considered self-actualization to be a desire towards self-fulfillment and the process of becoming what one is able to become. It does not determines a person’s life. Instead, it provides motivation and drive to achieve ambitions and develop personal capacities. · Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, a gf nd self-actualization ● Physiological needs: such as water, and food, and basic functions such as gaining sufficient rest. ● Safety needs: gain a sense of comfort, shelter, security, and employment. ● Belongingness and love needs: This level includes strong affiliations with others, a sense of belonging and sexual intimacy. ● Esteem needs: revolve around gaining recognition of one’s achievements, competence and respect. · Positive psychology- is a recent and more individualistic manifestation of humanistic psychology and has many of the same limitations. · Humanistic and positive psychologies:
- Humanistic psychology has a long history shaped by the broader discipline and the desire of many psychologist to challenge the dominance of behaviourism.
- Although humanistic psychology does consider individuals, it does not begin and end with individuals. Consequently, the self-actualized individual is one with a high sense of social connectedness and responsibility of others.
- Positive psychology has emerged out of clinical psychology as a more recent attempts to reimagine humanistic psychology in accordance with the North American understanding of the individual as the basic unit of analysis in psychology
- Discrimination refers to specific acts of unfair treatment towards certain groups of people that result from people’s prejudices. · Racism is a particularly prominent form of prejudice and discrimination. · Old school overt racism- refers to strategies such as explicit racial segregation, · Covert or symbolic racism- arise out of the denial of the continuing existence of discrimination in society, such as when certain ethnic groups are routinely passed over in the job application process. · Attitudes- Can be defined as a relatively consistent perspective on something, and this includes the evaluations a person holds regarding particular people, events or objects in the world. · Explicit attitudes- is expressed openly through the verbal or physical abuse. · Implicit attitudes- Are more the same ideas but not shown and more internal. · Attribution theory- considers how people attribute or explain causes of their own behavior and the behavior of other individuals, or groups. · Fundamental attribution error- This error occurs when observers attribute another person’s behavior solely to internal factors and ignore or downplay the influence of external factors. · Self-serving bias- which is linked to conformation bias, which occurs when people search for evidence to confirm their existing preconceptions and to avoid information that might contradict their existing attitudes about another person or group. · Just-world belief- The problematic contention that we all get what we deserve and deserve what we get. · Social representations theory- posits that people draw upon collective frameworks when interpreting their own experiences and the experiences of other people. · Anchoring- involves the integration of strange or new experiences with familiar categories. .. Accommodation: or the process of taking on new knowledge and connecting it with existing schema thereby expanding , transforming and reframing these schema. · Objectification- is the process of making something abstract easier to understand by connecting it to a concrete example. Trying to make sense of something a little vague.
Chapter 6: Social psychology and place · · Disneyfication- "describes the way in which the public face of cities is increasingly transformed to reflect a Disney theme park, which appears clean and pristine on the surface, but which hides the dirt, exclusion and exploitation within" Scholarship on the social psychology of place- is orientated primarily around how people shape the places in which they grow, work and live together, as well as how these very places are also shaped by human activity and relations. Place- can refer to a specific location an anchor point for personal or group identities, and the dimension of everyday life. Three approaches to place (Dixon & Durrheim, 2004): backdrop, container or activity setting
- Back drop: The first approach is to view place as simply a static backdrop for particular topics of scientific investigation. An example is research that takes people out of the context of their daily lives and into experimental settings that are considered inert in terms of external variables.
- Container: In the second approach, specific settings or places are compared for their impact on individual behavior and intergroup relations. Researchers might compare the attitudes of people in cities with those in rural areas regarding topics such as homelessness or immigration.
- Activity settings: Third, particular places are approached as either facilitating or inhibiting specific behaviors or interactions. Here psychologists might conduct research into the effects of open-plan office spaces on cooperation in the workplace. · Activity settings- are observable manifestations of social ecologies (interdependence of people and their environments and cultural practices). Activity settings includes both the features of the physical environment and subjective aspects, including rules, meanings, values and so forth, which shape what people do there. · Place-based identities- Draws on a broader collection of notions about the interconnected nature of human subjectivity and people’s experiences of connection to particular settings and groups who reside there. · Sense of place- refers to the meaning of a location for the people that dwell there. This sense of place is often a key component of people’s identities, particularly if the place has a strong emotional attachments for them.
· Culture shock- To refer to the anxiety and frustration that may ensue from immersion in a new culture following the process of cross-cultural relocation. · Acculturation- As ‘those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups. · Social identity theory- Originally developed by Henri Tajfel and John Turner, Is concerned with understanding the complex ways in which shared group identities are constructed within contexts of dominance and subjugation. Four elements of social identity theory: ● Categorization- First, People often place themselves and others into categories, such as footballer or online gamer, as a way of inferring things about the people who belong to such groups. ● · Identification- Second, people often associate with certain groups as a means of increasing their self-esteem or elevating their positive sense of self. ● · Social comparison- Third, people often compare their own groups with other groups in a manner that favors their own groups ● · Psychological distinctiveness- Fourth, people often desire an identity that is distinguishable from, and compares favorably with, other groups. · Contact zones- is used to refer to social settings where people with different cultural backgrounds encounter each other. These encounters can be shaped by respect for cultural similarities and differences. They can also be shaped by conflict, misunderstanding and disrespect. · Cultural hybridization- as a dynamic interplay of intercultural processes that can lead to a recombination of existing cultural practices and the formation of new practices. When cultures interact they not only influence each other, but can also create new hybridized contact zones that feature aspects of the various contributing cultures. · Intersectionality- introduced by Kimberle Crenshaw, to show how oppressive structures are interconnected and interact. If we take one of these strands, social class, we can acknowledge the range of research that highlights how there are distinct cultures associated with different groupings based on socio-economic status in society. Chapter 8: Work and livelihoods
· Work psychologists: the licensed area of psychological practice; group of applied social psychologist who are often located in Human Resource department inside large organizations and in smaller consultancy firms that provide external HR services · McDonaldization: the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world · McJobs: refer to low-paid, dead end position which are typically an entry point to the labor market for large numbers of young people · Working poverty: umbrella term for two main categories - vulnerable and precarious · Vulnerable work: characterized by workers who are self-employed without formal structured job, workers who work in small family businesses, and inadequate income, difficult work conditions, lack of fundamental employment rights · Precarious work: ‘the precariat’, a social class populated by people engaging in informal or formal jobs that are low-paid, part-time, short-term and casualized contracts, persistent insecurity and little chance to escape · Living wage: an income that enables people to live a decent quality of life that is sustainable · A living wage in action- effects of having a living wage · Sustainable livelihoods · Jobs that empower human flourishing across generations · Jobs that give expression to human agency and dignity Chapter 9: Health and illness · Health inequalities: the unjust and preventable differences in health between different population groups that are associated with the distribution of resources in society. · Health psychology: interdisciplinary field concerned with the application of psychological knowledge and techniques to health, illness and health care ● Clinical, public, community, organizational, and critical
Social comparisons: ● most people compare themselves with others. ● Develop their senses of fairness, in part, in accord with what they conclude from such comparisons. Relative deprivation which refers to situations where certain groups of people have a much lower level of resources compared to others in the same society. ● Refers to the sense that a person or group may develop when they face more hardship relative to other persons or groups with whom they compare themselves. ● Distinction between- Egoistic relative deprivation (comparisons with individuals) Fraternal relative deprivation (comparison with groups) · Cognitive consistency theories- "When people feel balanced, they are more likely to be content. If, on the other hand, people feel out of balance, this disequilibrium can contribute to feelings of anxiety, distress and injustice. Two theories have been advanced by social psychologists to explain this phenomenon: Balance theory and cognitive dissonance theory. These are known as cognitive consistency theories and although they are the most commonly discussed in relation to attitude formation, they have also been influential in the development of scholarship on social justice. · Balance theory- When people feel balanced, they are more likely to be content. If, on the other hand, people feel out of balance, this disequilibrium can contribute to feelings of anxiety, distress and injustice. Two theories have been advanced by social psychologists to explain this phenomenon: · Cognitive dissonance theory · Social exchange theory: concerned with the principles that govern the distribution
or allocation of goods. • It takes inspiration from earlier theories of social comparisons,
relative deprivation, and cognitive dissonance (Greenberg & Cohen, 1982; Folger, 1984; Törnblom, 1992).
- Social exchange theory is premised on the assumption of people as selfish animals.
−Largely concerned with maximizing their own rewards and minimizing the costs of their interactions with others −Human beings are hedonistic and driven to pursue pleasure over pain −Individuals act with guile to maximize their own rewards and to minimize any costs to themselves often at the expense of others −It is argued that self-interest is natural, further legitimizing unjust socio-economic systems.
· Attribution theory: "theory considers how people attribute or explain causes
of their own behaviour and the behaviour of other individuals or groups "
· Belief in a just world · Equity theory · Creative maladjustment Chapter 11: Media and daily practice · Media · Media nexus · Historical periods in the development of media technologies
· Antiquity : "The first period stems from cave painting, sculpture and theatre
up until the advent of the printing press. This was a period when, for the most
part, elites maintained direct control of information."
· Renaissance: "The second period arose with the advent of printing and
lasted up until the 1700s. This period saw increased challenges to established
power among elites, as is epitomized by the religious conflicts of the
Reformation. Through the printing press greater numbers of people had the
opportunity to publish their own concerns, which led to improved self-governance
and greater tolerance for different beliefs. Several countries saw increased efforts
by the Church and ruling elites to reassert control over public discussions"
· Industrial revolution: "The third period stems from the early industrial age and
lasted until the 1800s. This period saw the emergence of many modern
nation-states and was associated with increased use of pamphlets, books,
away from a concern with unequal societal structures. It also means that those
who are benefiting most from the status quo are not called upon to address the
societal imbalances which lead to impoverishment of growing numbers of people"
· Mediapolis: " as a domain for technologically-mediated civic engagements. It
is a shared space in which contemporary public debates are held. "
· Social Learning Theory o Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll studies
· Two-step model of communication: "the two-step flow model of communication
(Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955) postulates that media information first reaches opinion
leaders, who are individuals who attend to media sources and emerging trends in
society. These leaders then pass on their interpretations of the messages to
other people in the community. Accordingly, such leaders can exert a personal
influence on the flow of ideas from the media to the public. These processes
should be familiar to those following issues such as the tactics reportedly used by
propagandists to influence the 2016 United States Presidential election and the
2016 European Union Membership (Brexit) referendum"
· Agenda setting: "r the power of the media to influence what issues are
prominent in public consciousness. This focus reflects the observation that
people often access ‘the news’ to find out what is going on around them (it is the
news after all). "
· Cultivation theory: "Cultivation theory was first developed by George Gerbner
and colleagues at a time of considerable concern among psychologists and
others regarding the potential impacts of exposure to media violence on the
behaviour of youth in particular. For example, Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and
Signorielli (1994) set out to examine the contributions of media, such as
television, on audience constructions of social reality. Gerbner’s initial research
focused specifically on the effects of television violence, although cultivation
theory has been expanded to examine how media more generally can contribute
to distorted audience perceptions of the world around them"
· Cultural indicators project: o Mean world syndrome
· Mainstreaming · Routine activity approach · Fundamedia attribution error · Role of prosumer Mean world syndrome : First coined in the 1970s by Dr George Gerbner, mean world syndrome revolves around the idea that we each develop a cognitive bias where, over time, we start to see the world as more dangerous than it actually is. Know how to respond to EACH of the following possible short response questions in 2-3 COMPLETE sentences. · Briefly define and explain the interconnected self. Then, mention and explain one of the concepts or theories related to the interconnected self. · Briefly explain what critical humanists seek to achieve. Then, mention and explain one key concept or theory related to critical humanism. · Briefly explain why migration is a topic of particular interest for social psychologists. Then, mention and explain one key concept or theory related to migration. · Briefly explain why consideration of place is important in social psychology. Then, mention and explain one of the concepts or theories related to place. · Briefly explain why colonization is of direct relevance to social psychology. Then, mention and explain one of the concepts or theories related to colonization. · Briefly define and explain social justice. Then, explain why some people are afforded fair treatment and other are excluded from fairness?
