Sarah applied several social psychology concepts in reflecting on her dating experiences. For her first date with Jackson, her initial negative stereotype (concept 1) and first impression (concept 2) of him as a "flirty player" led to discomfort. However, through the experience she underwent cognitive accommodation (concept 3), changing her beliefs about white men. Intrinsic motivation (concept 4) drove her decision to go on another date with Jackson as she enjoyed being with him. On that date, her self-fulfilling prophecy (concept 5) of the date going badly caused awkward behavior when she acted consistently with her nervous beliefs. Later, counterfactual thinking (concept 6) led Sarah to imagine how the date could have turned out differently had

1. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
FINAL PROJECT
DATING EXPERIENCE

3. Stereotype
First Impression
Accommodation
Intrinsic Motivation
Self Fulfilling Prophecy
Counterfactual Thinking
Compassionate Love
CONCEPTS APPLIED

4. CONCEPT #1
STEREOTYPE

5. STEREOTYPE
➔ General belief about a
group of people
➔ Leads to social
categorisation
➔ Differs from prejudice
➔ Can be positive, negative
or neutral

6. STEREOTYPE
Sarah generalized all the
white guys as obnoxious
people who only know how
to party, drink and smoke
due to her negative
stereotype.

7. CONCEPT #2
FIRST
IMPRESSION

8. FIRST IMPRESSION
➔ Initial mental image
formed of someone
➔ First encounter
➔ Not deliberate but can be
instantaneous
➔ Can be formed within 10
seconds

9. FIRST IMPRESSION
Sarah’s first impression of
Jackson is that he is a flirty
player. She got pretty
annoyed and thought of him
as a “jerk” while Jackson
was only trying to have a
friendly chat with her.

10. CONCEPT #3
ACCOMMODATION

11. ACCOMMODATION
➔ Modification of existing schemas
➔ To accommodate new stimulus
➔ Happens when the existing
schema does not work and needs
to be changed
➔ If modification does not work, a
new schema will be formed.

12. ACCOMMODATION
Sarah who initially made
stereotypical judgement towards
the White guys had gone through a
cognitive accommodation when
she realized that some of them are
actually kind and friendly. The
beliefs that she used to have
towards the Whites have changed.

13. CONCEPT #4
INTRINSIC
MOTIVATION

14. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
➔ For the sake of enjoyment
➔ Driven by internal
rewards
➔ Leads us to be more fully
engaged
➔ Can be increased by
curiosity

15. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Sarah decided to go on a date
with Jackson because she was
driven by the intrinsic
motivation to be with someone
that she likes whereby she felt
happy having to meet up with
her partner.

16. CONCEPT #5
SELF-FULFILLING
PROPHECY

17. SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
➔ Belief that leads to their own
fulfilment
➔ Affect our behavior
➔ Behave in a manner
consistent with those beliefs
➔ Prediction or expectations
come true
THEIR PREDICTION COMES
TRUE WHEN BOTH OF THEM
KEEP ON THINKING THAT IT IS
GOING TO BE A BAD DATE.

18. SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY
Sarah was preoccupied with the
thoughts that she would screw up
the date. She caused her own
predictions to come true when
she was behaving pretty
awkward and making easy
conversation difficult.

19. CONCEPT #6
COUNTERFACTUAL
THINKING

20. COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING
➔ Thinking counter to the
fact
➔ Attempts to imagine
alternative outcomes of
past events
➔ Engaged in the thought of
“what might have been”
➔ Can impact our emotions
WHAT IF PHELPS DID NOT SMOKE
WEED, PROBABLY HE WILL NOT BE
BANNED FOR COMPETITION.

21. COUNTERFACTUAL THINKING
Sarah imagined how
things would have turned
out entirely different if
she was able to stay calm
and be natural.

22. CONCEPT #7
COMPASSIONATE
LOVE

23. COMPASSIONATE LOVE
➔ Affection that a person has for
someone whom their lives are
deeply intertwined
➔ Calm and stable
➔ Marked by deep sense of trust
➔ Characterized by shared values
and life experiences

24. COMPASSIONATE LOVE
Sarah and Jackson have
developed a calm and
stable relationship in
which their commitment
and love for each other
remain strong even after
20 years together.

25. THANK YOU