Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, behavior, and cognitive processes. It examines how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts. Social psychology specifically looks at how people's thoughts and behaviors are influenced by social factors and interactions with others. Some key topics in social psychology include social perception, social influence, and social relations. The goals of social psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and influence human behavior in social situations.

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UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

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What is Psychology?
Psyche: mind or soul
Logos/-ology: the study of ….
 The study of the mind

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Psychology is the study of…
How we perceive the world
How the mind works
How we behave
Why we do what we do
Why we feel the way we feel
Why we think as we think

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Definitions
 Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of
individuals and their mental processes.
Psychology is the scientific study of the way the
human mind works and how it influences behavior,
or the influence of a particular person's character
on their behavior.

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Science
 “Soft” or Inexact science:
difficult to establish strictly
measure criteria
e.g. sociology, psychology,
anthropology
 “Hard” or Exact science:
precise mathematical
description
e.g.: chemistry, physics,
biology

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 The scientific method is the orderly, analytical process
used in all sciences to analyze and solve problems.
 Set of procedures used for gathering and interpreting
objective information in a way that minimizes error and
yields dependable generalizations.
Scientific method

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Behavior is observable,
measureable action. It is the means
by which both animals and humans
adjust to their environment.
e.g. eating, speaking, laughing,
running, etc.
Mental Processes/ Cognition
refer to the private, internal
workings of the mind. It is not
directly observable.
e.g. planning, thinking,
dreaming, imagining, etc.

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Behavioral data defined:
 Behavioral data are reports of observations about
behavior and conditions under which they occur.
 Researchers choose an appropriate level of
analysis
 Measures of behavioral data must be objective

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Topics in Psychology
 Language and Perception
 Memory
 Dreams
 Love and Hate
 Morality
 Depression and Anxiety
 Happiness
 Human nature

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 The primary goal of psychology is to improve our
understanding of behavior (and cognition).
 The goals of the psychologist conducting basic research
are to describe, explain, predict, and influence mental
processes or behavior.
Goals of Psychology

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 Descriptions: describe what happened
 Explanations: look to explain “how behavior works”
and “why it occurs”
- Internal factors
- Genetic makeup, motivation, intelligence
- External factors
- Situational factors
Goals of Psychology

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 Prediction
- Scientific Prediction
Based on an understanding of the ways events relate to
one another
Suggest what mechanisms link those events to certain
predictors
- Casual Prediction:
Specifies conditions under which behaviors will change
 Control behavior: what factors influence this behavior
Goals of Psychology

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 Neuroscience perspective
 Developmental perspective
 Social perspective
 Cognitive perspective
 Evolutionary perspective
 Personality perspective
 Clinical perspective
 And many others
Sub-fields of Psychology

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Careers in Psychology

15. + Visual tests

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 Sour
 Candy
 Sugar
 Bitter
 Good
 Taste
 Tooth
 Nice
 Honey
 Soda
 Chocolate
 Hot
 Cake
 Touch
 Pie
Memory test

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“We cannot be distinguished from our situations, for
they form us and decide our possibilities”
Jean-Paul Sartre (1946)
Social Psychology

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What is Social Psychology?
Human behaviors in social contexts or
The influence of social processes on the way people
 Think
(thoughts, cognition)
 Feel
(feelings, emotions)
 Behave
(behaviors, actions)

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What is Social Psychology?
Definitions
The study of how people and groups interact.
 The scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or
implied presence of others.
 A branch of psychology concerned with the personality,
attitudes, motivations, and behavior of the individual or
group in the context of social interaction. It is the study of
how individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others.

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Three broad domains
 Social Perception
How we think about/ interpret others, e.g., attributions
 Social Influence
How we are influenced by others in terms of attributes
and behaviors/ the power of the situation,
e.g., conformity
 Social Relations
How we react with others in the social world, e.g., human
relationships

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Forms of social relations

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Forms of social influence

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 How do we explain people’s behaviors?
 How do we form our beliefs and attitudes?
 How does what we think affect what we do?
 How can attitudes be influenced and behaviors changed?
 How do we influence each other?
 How are we affected by pressures to conform and obey?
 How are we affected by group interaction?
 How do group affect our behaviors?
 What causes us to harm, help, and to fall in love?
 How can we transform aggression into compassion?

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Aspects of social behavior
 Social behavior is goal-oriented
e.g.: the need for social ties, the desire to understand
ourselves and others, the wish to gain or maintain status
or protection and the need to attract companions.
 The interaction between the individual and the
situation helps determine the outcome
e.g.: environmental and situational variables play an
important role and have a strong influence on our
behavior.

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 Behavior is a good indicator of one’s personality
The theory of correspondence and inferences explains
that the actions and behaviors of others correspond to
their intentions and personalities.
Studying social psychology can enrich our understanding
of ourselves and of the world around us. Continue
exploring this subject in the links below to enrich your
understanding of social behavior.
Aspects of social behavior

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Applications
 Business
 Health services
 Education
 Criminal Justice
 Politics
 Environment

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Sociology vs. Social Psychology
 Sociology tends to looks at social behavior and
influences at a very broad-based level. Sociologists are
interested in the institutions and cultures that influence
how people behave.
 While there are many similarities between the two,
While psychology and sociology both study similar
topics, they are looking at these topics from different
perspectives.

28. + Difference between sociology and social psychology
actually lies on what they study.
Sociology
is the study of
society as a
whole.
Social psychology
is the study of the
way society
affects the
thinking patterns
of people.

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Crosswords
1 B E L I E F
2 F E E L I N G
3 P S Y C H O L O G Y
4 P E R S O N A L I T Y
5 I N D I V I D U A L
6 S O C I E T Y
7 E N V I R O N M E N T
8 I N F L U E N C E
9 I N T E R A C T I O N