I.

Introduction
Our

lives are connected by a thousand

invinsible threads- Herman Melville.

Social Psychology Scientific study of

feelings, thoughts and behavior of
individuals in social situations.
Meaning of the definition:
refers to how an individual relates to
social context he/she lives in.
(everyday interaction with others)...

Or an individual actively contrue/

interpret social situations. - one
responds not because of the
environment he is in, but based on how
he sees/interprets a situation. e.g.
happily married couple against
unhappily married couple.

a person is influenced by the social

environment. ( social influences shape
our behavior). - power of the situation

herefore, social psychology

seeks to understand and explain
how thoughts, feelings and
behaviors of indivuduals are
influenced by the actual,
imagined or implied presence of
others.

Social Psychology's Big Ideas

a.We

construct our social reality.

-Humans have an irresistible urge to

explain behavior, to attribute it to some
cause and therefore to make it seem orderly,
predictable and controllable.
- People react differently to situations
because they think differently.

- People view situations based on their

beliefs and values.

b. Our social intuitions are often

powerful but sometimes perilous.
- Instant intuitions shape our fears,
impressions and relationships.

c. Social influences shape our behavior.

- Our attitudes and behavior are
shaped by external social forces. ex.
Culture

Social Psychology is the

scientific study of:
Social Thinking

How we perceive ourselves and

others

What we believe

Judgments we make

Our attitudes

Social influence

Culture

Pressures to conform

Persuasions

Groups of people

Social relations

Prejudice

Aggression

Attraction and intimacy

Helping

III. Social Thinking

A.The Self in the Social World
Factors that influence the interplay between
the sense of self and the social world.

Spotlight effect The belief that others

are paying attention to our appearance and
behavior than they really are. (example).
Illusion of transparency The illusion that
our concealed emotions leak out and can
be easily read by others. (example).

Therefore, this is concerned with

the impression we make on
others, we tend to believe that
others are paying more attention
to us than they are. We also tend
to believe that our emotions are
more ovious than they are.

Social surroundings affect our

self awareness.

- when we are the only member of

our race, gender or nationality
in a group, we notice how we
differ and how others are
reacting to our difference.

Self-interest colors our social

judgment.

- when problems arise in a

group/relationship one usually
attributes responsibility to
others. Or when things go well
one attributes it to himself.

Self-concern motivates our

social behavior.

- In hopes of making positive

impression, we agonize about
our apperance.

Social relationships help define

our sense of self.

In our varied relationships, we

have varying selves. We may be
one self with mom, with friends
or our teacher.
*** our ideas and feelings about
ourselves affect how we
respond to others....

and others help shape our sense

of self.

Self-concept: Who am I?

Understand how, and how

accurately, we know ourselves
and what determines our selfconcept.
I am ______ (what 5 answers
might you give?). Your answers
provide a glimpse of your selfconcept.

The most important aspect of

yourself is your self.
Self-concept: what we know and
believe about ourselves.

Elements of self concept

Self- schema- beliefs about

self...

that organize and guide the

processing of self-relevant
information.

These are mental templates by

which we organize our worlds.
e.g. fashionista part of your
schema....

You will be more concerned

about make-up, clothes or
anything related to fashion.

Possible selves- images of

what we dream of or dread
becoming in the future.

Such possible selves motivate...

us with a vision of the life we

long for or to avoid the one we
dread.

Development of the social self

1. The roles we play ( in everyday life) e.g. student, boyfriend

etc.

2.The social identities we form...

Your sense of who you are

contains not just your personal
identity( your sense of your
personal attributes) but your
social identity.

e.g. when we are part of a small

group, surrounded by a larger...

we are often conscious of our

social identity. But when our
social group is the majority, we
think less about it. e.g. social
identity: ilokano, catholic etc.
3.Comparison we make with
others...

Social comparison- evaluating

one's abilities and opinions by
comparing oneself to others.

4.Successes and failures

- successful in a task one feels
more competent.

5.How others perceive/judge us

influence how we see
ourselves.

- how others perceive us

influence how we see
ourselves.- The looking Glass
Self: Sociologist Charles H.
Cooley (1902)

Significant others
judgment/opinion is important in
developing self-concept.

6.Culture defines self

- Individualism and collectivism
are cultures that emphasized
individuality and sociality.

Individualist & Collectivist

Culture
Collectivism
Individualism
Giving priority
The concept
to the goals of
of giving
one's
groups
priority to
(often
one's
one's own
extended
goals over
family/work
group goals
group....
and defining...

ones identity in
terms of
personal
attributes
rather than
group
identification.

And defining
one's identity
accordingly.

Individualist
culture
emphasizes
that people
are
independent
from the
group.

Emphasizes
interdependen
ce among
people.
Self is defined
in terms of
primary....

Self is defined Ingroup or

relationships.
as an
independent Example of
collectives/gr
identity.
oups
such
as
A person
family, tribe,
must clearly
work group
articulate....
etc.

Person's goal is
one's goals.
defined
Personal goals
according to
more
one's
social
important than
roles,
goals
of
goals of the
the in group
ingroup.
more important
than one's
own...

goals.
Norm is to
remain part of
the
ingroup(family
Little is
etc.)
expected from
Members are...
the person.
Norm is to be
independent
from one's
family etc.

expected to
maintain close
interdependent
relationship.

Much is
expected from
the person.

The Family as Central to Fil.

Collectivist Culture

-Family is the prototype of all

social relationships.
- the person gives priority to the
goals of the family/group.
- members are linked to the
family through strong and...

The Family as Central to Fil.

Collectivist Culture

-Family is the prototype of all

social relationships.
- the person gives priority to the
goals of the family/group.
- members are linked to the
family through strong and...

-obey parental authority.

-status is determined by one's

position in the family.
The family is basic to the life of
the filipinos. It is the center of
their universe. Most of what they
do, what they think, and what
they...

idealize, are first learned within

the confines of the family(Jocano)

Family as Agent of Socialization

Socialization is the process of

learning from others.
e.g. roles to play in the family...

Ate- do ate roles... what are

expected from ate.

Social Influence

Area of social psychology that

studies the ways in which
people alter the thoughts,
feelings, attitudes and behavior
of others in a particular
direction.

Behavioral consequences of
social influence

Conformity- a change in
behavior/belief
- change oneself in order to fit
in or to go along with the
people around you.

to accord with others.

(accord means to agree, to

bring in harmony, to be
consistent.)
Kinds of conformity

a. compliance- conformity that

involves publicly acting in....

ccord with an implied or explicit

request but privately
disagreeing.

ex. Putting on a nectie or a dress

tho' privately one dislikes it.
One complies to: 1. reap a reward
2. avoid

b. obedience- acting in accord

with a direct order.
Compliance due to an explicit
command.
c. acceptance- conformity that
involves both acting and
believing in accord with social
pressure.

sincere, inward conformity.

- genuinely believed in what the

group says.
ex. Drink milk like others do,
bec. you believe that milk is
nutritious.

Studies about Conformity

Muzafer Sherif (1935,1937)

In the experiment, participants sits in a

very dark room. Then 15ft. Infront-light
appears- at first nothing happens, then
after a few seconds the light moves
erratically then disappears.
Participants must guess how far the...

the

light moves. Since it is dark, you have no

way of knowing the distance, but answer just
the same. When asked how far it moved, you
give an uncertain answer of 6inches. The
experimenter repeats the same procedure,
next participant says 10inches.. this goes on
and the succeeding participants give varied
answers.

The next day, you returned, joined by 2

others with the same experience....

light disappears, one of the two gives 1 inch

as to how far the ligth moves, the other one
gives 2inches- you (surprise look) says
6inches. The succeeding experiment gave
the same result/answer. Participants gave
estimate of how far the light moved.
But, in reality the light never moved. What
they saw was just an optical illusion:
Autokinetic illusion. Auto(self),
Kinetic(motion): the apparent movement...

of a stationary point of light in the dark.

(no group pressure at all)

Asch, Solomon (group pressure)

std. line

comparison line

1 2 3

there

are 7 participants. 4 participants gave

the wrong answer in cohoot with the
experimenter.

Result: even if you know they are wrong you

conform to their answers.

Stanley Milgram Obedience Experiment

(1960)

Effect of Punishment on Learning

participants: learner, experimenter,
confederate- an accomplice of the
experimenter.
Electric shock: 15volts-450volts

prod 1- please continue

prod 2- the experiment requires that ..

you continue
Prod 3- it is absolutely essential for you to
continue
Prod 4- you have no choice, go on

Cont. every wrong answer, elec. shock is given

Act out for high voltage shock
prod

Learner
experi.

electric charge

teacher

Social Influence in the Context of the Filipino Family

Social Expectations and Norms

Expectations: Conformity & Obedience to
authority
1. older siblings should help other members of the
family. (younger siblings)economics

2. everything one does. Does it to please his

parents.
3. make use of familism: norms of collective
support, allegiance, obligations to the family

4. treat elders with respect and obedience.

5. always follow our parents advise.
6. spend more time with the family,always
help your family. Sacrifice personal interest
for the good of the family.

V. Social Relation
A. Kaibigan, kabarkada, kaeskuwela
Friend someone not a relation with
whom you enjoy a close and mutual
affection.
Factors that help initiate
friendship/attraction
1. proximity- geographical nearness.
(propinquity)
- also known as functional distance

V. Social Relation
A. Kaibigan, kabarkada, kaeskuwela
Friend someone not a relation with
whom you enjoy a close and mutual
affection.
Factors that help initiate
friendship/attraction
1. proximity- geographical nearness.
(propinquity)
- also known as functional distance

- proximity predicts/kindles liking

the more one is close/near to someone the more

it enables him to interact with that someone &
explore similarities.
the more you are exposed to someone the more
you tend to like him.

Reasons why proximity influences attraction/liking

a. availability- we are likely to get attracted...

to people who are available we have more

opportunities to get to know them.

b. convenience the costs of getting to know

each other, in terms of time and effort are
relatively small when a person lives close by.
c. familiarity- the more we see someone, the
more familiar that person becomes.
Familiarity breeds comfort.

d.

predictability- as we become better

acquainted with others,we are better able to
predict how they would react.

e. expectation of continued interaction

people expect to interact more often, or not
whether they want to, with those living
nearest to them.
- Sociologists have found that most people
marry someone who lives in the same
neighborhood, or works at the same....

company or job or sits in the same class.

- Proximity also breeds hostility. Most assaults
and murders involve people living close
together.
2. Similarity- tendency to like other people
who are similar to us.
Birds of a feather flock together

ex. Same religion, race,values, interest etc.

Importance of similarity
1. it validates our own experiences
If he thinks the same way I do. I might be
right. Since most of us likes to be right this
provides a large Reward.
2. As similarity increases our confidence in
the correctness of our opinion increases.
Thus we tend tobe more favorably incline
with the person similar to us.

3. We tend to interact more closely with those

similar to us, thus becoming more familiar.

4. It provides cognitive consistency or

balance in people's thought, feelings and
social relationship.

Exception:

One limit to the attraction value of similarity

is, the people who have low opinion of
themselves are not attracted to others who
remind them of themselves.

ex. If you dont think much of yourself, then

someone similar to you may not seem all
that great.
Opposite attracts
Theory of complementarity popularly
supposed tendency in a relationship
between 2 people, for each to complete,
what is missing in the other.

- tendency

to like others who are different

from us.

- stresses differences rather than similarities

as basis of attraction.
Two reasons why opposite attracts
a. the person finds attraction mutually or
reciprocally rewarding because his needs
are expressed in behavior that is rewarding
to the other person....

ex. nurturance- dependence

b. persons are attracted to others who have
characteristics they once aspired to but were
prevented by circumstance from developing.
When is complementarity important?
- when people are engaged in short-term
interchanges and there is no clear....

understanding of what is supposed to be

done.

- when one desires to obtain new ideas.

The other person can give new interpretation
to the new idea.
Note: similarity is still preferred but
complementarity maybe an exception.

Theories of Friendship
Exchange Theory human
relationships, including friendships are
formed by a cost-benefit analysis where we
want to maximize benefits and minimize
costs.

1. Social

- consider rewards and costs in everything

we do. Eventhough we are not consciously
aware of what we are doing.
- Assumption: people by nature are
hedonistic.

Comparison level (CL)- refers to the minimum

benefit a person expects from a relationship- this
determines his/her satisfaction:
- if he gets more than the minimum =
satisfaction/stay

- if he gets less than the minimum =

disatisfaction
-But then, there is the comparison level for
alternatives (CLALT) (alternatives of choices)....

this refers to the alternatives of other

possible ties or to no relatinship at all
compared to the present one.
ex. person A is dissatisfied with the
relationship but the alternative is satisfying
= stay in the relationship, but if the
alternative is not satisfying = leave the
relationship.
Developed by: Homans, 1961)

2. Equity Theory a condition in which the

outcomes people receive from a relationship are
proportional to what they contribute to it. ( give
and take relationship)- (short term equity), ex. If I
lend you my notes should lend me your notes too.
etc.
But: equitable outcomes need not always be equal
outcomes.
- in long term equity people involved in long term
relationship are unconcerned...

with short term equity.

ex. If you lend money to your long time
friend, he can help you with other things
instead.
3. Balance Theory: Newcomb's Symmetry
Model or A-B-X Model
- the theory takes the perspective of person A
who is in network with person B, and object
X....

- this system considers the positive & negative

bonds that exist between person A and person B

and an attitudinal object X. X can be a tree, a bag
or issues like violence, another person, your class
subject etc.
- System refers to relationships. ex.
Friendship/romantic rel.
- Systems maybe either balanced(symmetrical) or
imbalanced(asymmetrical)

- people like symmetrical states rather than

asymmetrical ones.

- Human mind prefers a balanced state in a

relationship because this is rewarding, non
stressful and there is harmony.
ex. A & B are friend
Object X fastfood restaurant
Choice1- jollibee, Choice2 Mcdo....

( can be many X objects not just 1)

- the more A & B agrees, the more the
survival of the relationship.
4. Social Penetration Theory ( Altman & Taylor
1973).
- A kind of stage theory where a friendship is
believed to occur in stages.

- friends go through a process of selfdisclosure....

- getting

to know each other stage- talk about

the weather etc., then as the friendship
gets deeper then maybe the friends can
reveal something about themselves. As the
relationship develops, the friendship
penetrates deeper and deeper into a private
and personal matter.

Agression
Agression: physical/ verbal behavior intended to hurt
others.