Social psychology studies how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others. Self-concept is one's beliefs about themselves, and is shaped by factors like gender, race, and performance. An activity where students wrote about themselves changed their self-concepts and how they viewed peers. Intuition involves inner perceptions without reasoning, and can have powers but also perils if misused. Automatic thinking like schemas, expertise, and unconscious processes guide much of human behavior and decision-making. Memory encodes, stores, and retrieves information and is influenced by what we experience, see, and feel.

1. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Social psychology:
is the scientific approach that studies how people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior are
concerned with actual, imagined, or implied presence of other people.
Self concept
Self concept is the collection of beliefs about oneself that includes elements such as
academic performance, gender roles and sexuality and racial identity. Self concept often
answers the question of 'Who am I?'
Who am I?
The class was given an activity in class to write down who they are or rather who they
thought they were. This activity changed the concept they had of themselves and of their
peers.
People were shocked as they viewed themselves differently compared to how they were
viewed and viewed others. Others would often try to conceal their true self and adopted a
character trait which was often the exact opposite of how they felt.
Self knowledge
Self knowledge englobes, the knowing of self and the prediction of own behaviors and
feelings.
While it has been argued that the westerns often view themselves as individuals
compared to the others (Asia, Africa, central America) who viewed themselves as
members of a clan, religion or other group they identified themselves to, it cannot be
denied that both are nowadays conforming to one and same general opinion.
Individualism is taking over collectivism. Social is becoming personal whereas
conformity is fading to egotism. Our behavior is being predicted and influenced by the
media. Our sense of selves is becoming central to our lives, leading us to self serving
bias.
Self serving bias
The tendency to perceive oneself favorably
Researchers and scientists made surveys and experiments towards our prediction of how
events concerning us will result.
The answer was that we tend to predict those occurrence as happening much better than
in real life.
The class learned that self concept embodies: who they are, their gender, their feelings
and memories they experienced. That due to media the sense of collectivism is fading to
individualism and this lead to self serving bias.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

2. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Powers & Perils of intuition
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without interference and/or the use of reason.
Intuition is thus often conceived as a kind of inner perception, sometimes regarded as real
lucidity or understanding.
Thinking is divided into two parts: Controlled and automatic thinking.
Controlled thinking involved reflective, deliberate and conscious.In a way, controlled
thinking is used when we first encounter a situation we have never experienced and after
getting used to the situation, automatic thinking takes over.Automatic thinking may be
useful to individuals because it does not use a lot of mental effort to do a task, but
controlled thinking is considered necessary whenever an individual wants to plan ahead
for something, do things that are not part of his or her daily routines, or even make
decisions in certain situations.
Automatic thinking is the impulsive, effortless and unconscious thinking and decision
making process in our daily life. This lecture concentrates on automatic thinking.
Automatic thinking involves:
i)Schema, which are mental concepts intuitively guide our perception and interpretation.
Eg. Identifying ourselves to a group and thinking as a member of the group instead of an
individual
ii)Emotional reaction, occurs so rapidly that we do not have time for deliberate thinking.
Eg.Upon the news of an accident of someone dear to us, we automatically express the
sorrow and shock instead of thinking rationally of what can we do to help.
iii)Expertise, an act which we have gone so accustomed to that we do not need thinking
Eg. Waking up in the morning and rushing to the kitchen for coffee, we automatically
know where the sugar and coffee are.
iv)Unconscious thinking, consists of the processes in the mind that occur automatically
and are not available to introspection and includes thought processes, motivation and also
memory.
Constructing memories
Memory is the process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Encoding
allows information that is from the outside world to reach our senses in the forms of
chemical and physical stimuli. The memory is powerful and important as most the
thinking process, intuition and behavior is deeply influenced by it be it pleasant or not.
The mind is a chest and the memory is the treasure, but often to keep new treasures, the
chest let go of 'unnecessary' treasures. Furthermore the memories are not kept as exact
copies in our mind but are the remains of experiences, emotions, feelings and
expectations of the fragmented information.
The class was taught in this lecture the powers and perils of intuition which was closely
linked with thinking. The powers of the mind and the perils of it.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

3. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Vision:
Scientifically, it is the detection of light. Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum,
continuum of all frequencies of radiated energy.
In this lecture the class was taught how eyes captures and the receptors respond to it.
Eg.
Dark adaptation
Process in which the eyes become more sensitive to light in low illumination.
Light adaptation
Process whereby the eyes become less sensitive to light in high illumination.
Furthermore after learning the functions of the pupil, iris, cornea and lens, the class was
also taught how our eyes retained the information and our mind responded to it.
The colors we see everyday impacts on our mind as well as on our actions. Even the
location of where the color was placed could affect us.
Eg. Color placement and its effects
Red to be placed in the dining, it boost appetite.
Yellow, to be painted on the walls of the kitchen so as the increase your metabolism .
Moreover it is known that if the kitchen captures the natural morning light, the mood and
performance of the day will be increased.
Green should be in the bedroom as it promotes tranquility and relaxation.
Blue shall be the theme color of the office as it boost the working attitude and motivation
of the person.
Pink is not the color of the girls' rooms just because its their favourite color, but because
it is calming and warm.
Therefore placement of the color can help boost and enhance the function of the room
and also boost the performance of the persons using the room.
Even the color of the dress that a woman is wearing can affect how people view them
describes the research done by Wolfson (2000). A man will automatically feel more
attracted to a woman wearing red than a woman who is not. Is it a coincidence that
valentines day, lust or even red light district share that common feature?
Something that has two different meaning to the viewer will affect two different par of
the viewers brains, such as reversible figures which includes two drawings in one picture,
one will automatically be more evident to the viewer than the other. Assembling forms
and Subjective contours follow the same concept.
In this lecture the class learned the subconscious effect colors and light had on us and
how it could be used my the media and advertising industry to sell their product more
without the consumers realising what it is really happening. The mind is truly powerful a
student would say but also very weak if placed under the wrong hand and influence.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

4. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Attitude:
is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event is an
expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event.
Attitude can be positive or negative. The object of thoughts that involve attitude can be
social issues, groups, institutions, consumer product and people.
The 3 components of attitude are: cognitive (beliefs, ideas) , affective (emotions,
feelings) , behavioral (predisposition to act) .
Attitude can be changed and these are the factors that will help: source, message,
receiver.
Attitude is involved in learning but more precisely in the change of behavior.
Learning
The stimulus triggers a reaction and a response which will have a good/bad effect on the
behavior.
Skinner box experiment
is a chamber that contains a bar or key that an animal can press or manipulate in order to
obtain food or water as a type of reinforcement. The Skinner box also had a device that
recorded each response provided by the animal as well as the unique schedule of
reinforcement that the animal was assigned.
The reinforcers used in experiment can be:
Primary: Satisfy biological needs
Secondary: Satisfy conditioned reinforcement
Continuous
Intermittent partial reinforcement involves:
Ratio schedules and interval fixed.
Moreover there also exist positive reinforcement which involves that the action is
reinforced and encouraged through praise and rewards whereas negative reinforcement
which happens when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others
who are called models.
4 other steps involved in making someone learn
Attention: concentration of the mind
Retention: the act of remembering
Reproduction: the process of copying
Motivation: the act of being inspired
Eg. Aggressive behavior of children towards children
Either because they are victims or they learned it through media.
In this lecture the class learned that attitude can be changed and behavior can be
encourage or repressed through reinforcers.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

5. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Conformity and Group behavior
Conformity:
Is the doing and thinking as others: behavior or thought that is socially acceptable or
expected. It is the following of standard: compliance with a fixed standard, regulation, or
requirement.
To test how easily the human perception could be bent so as to conform and avoid being
the secluded one, the lecturer made us perform an experiment following Solomon Asch's
studies of conformity and group behavior. The experiment was to test whether the person
would follow the group or be the dissenter. It was proven that the person would be prone
to join the group. This is because they feel the need to fill of the secondary human need
which is to be part of a group to feel included and accepted.
Conformity leads to obedience.
Obedience:
The act of practice of being dutiful and submissive. So as to follow orders of someone
who is often the figure of authority. Obedience to a figure of authority means conforming
to the norms as explained in the Milgram experiment.
This experiment measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority
figure who instructed and ordered them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal
conscience. The experiment required a 'teacher' (who would follow orders and be the one
to administrate the electric shocks) , a 'learner' (is actually aware of the experiment and is
the one the electric shock is 'administrated' to) and an 'experimenter' ( the authority
figure). The original experiment was disguised to the teachers' eye so that they do not
know that they were actually the subject and no electric shock was given.
The result was that more than 65% of the participants were willing to continue the
experiment and follow the orders of the authority figure even though it clashed with their
conscience.
Group behavior:
Refers to when a group of persons interact among each other. A major reason to be part of
a group is that group membership often results in some form of need satisfaction on the
part of the individual such as:
Companionship
Survival and security
Affiliation and status
Power and control
Achievement
Along with group can come problems such as the Bystander effect, decrease of
productivity, social loafing. A group can also bring a wider field of expertise, ease to
solve logical problems and outperform individuals.
In this lecture the class was taught the need of the society to conform and be submissive
towards the authority figure, group behavior and the need to ben integrated.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

6. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Attraction and Close relationship
Attraction towards someone:
Is the feeling of being drawn to somebody by a certain feature or trait which one often
finds pleasant or rare.
What causes attraction?
Evolutionary needs:
The evolutionary needs is a major part of why someone is attracted to somebody else.
People are attracted to people they deem healthy and strong enough to bare their off
springs. This way their off springs survive nature and their lineage will continue.
Role of hormone:
Hormones are chemical compounds which are released in our body by glands at various
stages of life as per needs. They play a pivotal role in finding somebody attractive.
What increases attraction?
Proximity: The state, quality, sense, or fact of being near or next; closeness
Familiarity: The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are
peculiar to a specific person.
Similarity: The quality or condition of being similar; resemblance.
Looking at one of them, why is similarity so important in attraction?
It is in the human nature to think that someone like us will automatically get along with
us, our ideas, opinions and point of views. Those people similar to us will validate our
characteristics and beliefs making us feel better about ourselves.
The proximity and familiarity we have with somebody depends on our personal
characteristics, personality but also self disclosure. Self disclosure is the amount of
intimate information and feelings we share with somebody else.
Our personality is further divided into 5 components:
1) Openness- A personality that is sincere
2) Conscientiousness- in accordance with the dictates of conscience
3) Extrovert-ism- concerned more with external reality than inner feelings
4) Agreeableness- kind, sympathetic, cooperative, warm and considerate
5) Neuroticism- is the tendency to be in a negative state for long periods of time.
Relationship as a social exchange:
People will feel positive or negative about relationship, this depends on the perception of:
Rewards they receive from relationship
Cost they incur
Kind of relationship they deserve and probability that they could have a better
relationship with someone else.
The students were furthermore taught about the close romantic relationship and early
emotional development.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832

7. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Entry
Attraction and Close relationship
Attraction towards someone:
Is the feeling of being drawn to somebody by a certain feature or trait which one often
finds pleasant or rare.
What causes attraction?
Evolutionary needs:
The evolutionary needs is a major part of why someone is attracted to somebody else.
People are attracted to people they deem healthy and strong enough to bare their off
springs. This way their off springs survive nature and their lineage will continue.
Role of hormone:
Hormones are chemical compounds which are released in our body by glands at various
stages of life as per needs. They play a pivotal role in finding somebody attractive.
What increases attraction?
Proximity: The state, quality, sense, or fact of being near or next; closeness
Familiarity: The totality of qualities and traits, as of character or behavior, that are
peculiar to a specific person.
Similarity: The quality or condition of being similar; resemblance.
Looking at one of them, why is similarity so important in attraction?
It is in the human nature to think that someone like us will automatically get along with
us, our ideas, opinions and point of views. Those people similar to us will validate our
characteristics and beliefs making us feel better about ourselves.
The proximity and familiarity we have with somebody depends on our personal
characteristics, personality but also self disclosure. Self disclosure is the amount of
intimate information and feelings we share with somebody else.
Our personality is further divided into 5 components:
1) Openness- A personality that is sincere
2) Conscientiousness- in accordance with the dictates of conscience
3) Extrovert-ism- concerned more with external reality than inner feelings
4) Agreeableness- kind, sympathetic, cooperative, warm and considerate
5) Neuroticism- is the tendency to be in a negative state for long periods of time.
Relationship as a social exchange:
People will feel positive or negative about relationship, this depends on the perception of:
Rewards they receive from relationship
Cost they incur
Kind of relationship they deserve and probability that they could have a better
relationship with someone else.
The students were furthermore taught about the close romantic relationship and early
emotional development.
Kawthar Rashid Jeewa
FNBE 0413'
0314832