An Introduction to Social Psychology
Description
In the 7th edition of An Introduction to Social Psychology, students will discover a wealth of tools to help them understand the theories and fundamental knowledge in the ever-evolving field of social psychology. With contributions leading psychologists, this feature-rich edition includes Theory Boxes, Research Close-ups, and Lab Boxes to help cement students' understanding of the study material.
This essential study guide has been engaging and educating students on social psychology theories and research for over 34 years. For students entering into the world of social psychology for the first time, this book covers foundational topics, such as:
* The history of social psychology throughout Europe
* Updated research methods and newly developed theories
* In-depth looks at social cognition, aggression, prosocial behavior, and relationships
* Strategies for changing attitude and behavior
* Critical study materials for multiple-choice testing
The combination of traditional academic study with cohesion of topics, accessibility of material, and pedagogy in this 7th edition makes it a definitive resource for both instructors and beginning psychology students alike.
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Persons
MILES HEWSTONE is Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford. He has (co)authored 3 books, edited 25 books, and has published over 250 articles relating to the study of social psychology. He has been awarded the Presidents' Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychological Knowledge (2001) and the Kurt Lewin Medal for Distinguished Research Achievement (2005). He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
WOLFGANG STROEBE has taught social psychology in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands. He is currently Emeritus Professor, Utrecht University and visiting professor at the University of Groningen. He has authored and co-authored multiple books and numerous scientific articles on social and health psychology. He has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Louvain (Belgium), the Tajfel Award for lifelong contributions to European Social Science, and the lifetime achievement award of the German Psychological Association.
Content
Notes on Contributors xvii
Preface to Seventh Edition xx
Guided Tour xxiii
Accompanying Online Resources for Instructors and Students xxix
Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology 1
Wolfgang Stroebe and Miles Hewstone
Introduction 2
Some classic studies 2
A Definition of Social Psychology 5
The core characteristics of social psychology 5
The Unique Perspective of Social Psychology 7
The study of the individual and the social 7
A Brief History of Social Psychology 11
The beginning 11
The early years 15
The years of expansion 17
Social Psychology In Europe 20
The Two Crises of Social Psychology 22
The first crisis of social psychology 22
The second crisis of social psychology 25
Why crises can be good for a field 28
Recent Developments In Social Psychology 29
Chapter Summary 32
Key Terms 33
Note 33
Suggestions For Further Reading 33
Chapter 2 Research Methods in Social Psychology 35
Andrew G. Livingstone and Antony S. R. Manstead
Introduction 36
Summary 38
Research Strategies 38
Experiments and quasi-experiments 40
Survey research 42
Qualitative approaches 44
Summary 47
A Closer Look At Experimentation In Social
Psychology 48
Features of the social psychological experiment 48
Experimental designs 51
Threats to validity in experimental research 56
Problems with experimentation 62
Summary 64
Data Collection Methods 64
Observational methods 65
Self-report methods 67
Implicit and physiological methods 68
'Big data': Social media and online behaviour as a source of data 70
Choosing a method 70
Social neuroscience 71
Summary 71
Chapter Summary 72
Key Terms 73
Suggestions For Further Reading 74
Chapter 3 Social Perception and Attribution 75
Brian Parkinson
Introduction 76
Social Perception 77
Summary 81
Attribution Theory 81
Correspondent inference theory 82
Covariation theory 85
Access To Covariation Information 87
Knowledge, expectation and covariation 89
Learning about causation using covariation and causal power 90
Attributions and achievement 91
Attribution and depression 92
Misattribution of arousal 95
Attributional biases 99
Explaining intentional behaviour 111
The naive scientist metaphor 112
Attributions as discourse 114
Summary 114
Social Perception and Social Reality 115
Automatic and Controlled Social Perception 116
Chapter Summary 117
Key Terms 118
Suggestions For Further Reading 119
Chapter 4 Social Cognition 120
Roland Deutsch and Jenny Roth
Introduction 121
Five Principles of Social Cognition 121
First principle: social phenomena can be explained by general cognitive processes 121
Second principle: social cognition is situated 132
Third principle: motivation shapes social cognition 140
Fourth principle: social cognition can be a special adaptation 145
Fifth principle: social phenomena are often caused by a mixture of general and more specifically social processes 155
Chapter Summary 158
Key Terms 160
Suggestions For Further Reading 160
Chapter 5 The Self 161
Carolyn C. Morf
Introduction 162
Where Self-Knowledge Comes From 163
Through our own observation: personal sources 164
Through the help of others: social sources 166
Experiencing a coherent self: autobiographical memories and the self as narrative 170
Summary 171
The Organizational Function of The Self: The Self As Mental Representation 172
The nature of the self-concept 172
Actual, ideal and possible selves 175
Implicit and explicit self-knowledge 176
The nature of self-esteem 176
The neural underpinnings of self-knowledge 185
Summary 186
The Motivational Functions of The Self 186
Know thyself: the self-assessment motive 187
Bigger, better, faster, stronger: the self-enhancement motive 187
The puzzle of low self-regard: self-verification 193
Why do we self-enhance? 197
The pros and cons of pursuing self-esteem 198
Summary 201
The Regulatory Functions of The Self: The Self In Control 201
Self-awareness theory 202
Self-regulation theory 202
The consequences of self-regulation 205
Autonomous self-regulation as a resource 206
Summary 207
Self Stability and Change 208
Chapter Summary 210
Key Terms 211
Suggestions For Further Reading 212
Chapter 6 Attitudes 213
Geoffrey Haddock and Gregory R. Maio
Introduction 214
What is An Attitude? 214
Summary 215
The Content of Attitudes 215
The cognitive component of attitudes 216
The affective component of attitudes 217
The behavioural component of attitudes 218
How related are the components of attitudes? 220
Summary 222
The Structure of Attitudes 222
Summary 224
Why Do We Hold Attitudes? 224
Object appraisal 226
Utilitarian versus value-expressive attitudes 227
Summary 229
Linking Attitude Content, Structure and Function 230
Content, structure, function and attitude strength 230
Summary 231
The Measurement of Attitudes 231
Explicit measures of attitudes 232
Issues relevant to the explicit measurement of attitudes 233
Implicit measures of attitudes 234
Are attitude measures reliable and valid? 238
Summary 238
Do Attitudes Predict Behaviour? 239
When do attitudes predict behaviour? 241
Do explicit and implicit measures of attitude predict different types of behaviour? 244
Models of attitude-behaviour relations 246
Summary 251
Chapter Summary 251
Key Terms 252
Suggestions For Further Reading 253
Chapter 7 Strategies of Attitude and Behaviour Change 254
Wolfgang Stroebe
Introduction 255
Persuasion 255
Theories of systematic processing 256
A dual-process theory of persuasion 260
The impact of persuasion on implicit measures of attitude 270
Incentive-Induced Attitude Change 272
Counter-attitudinal behaviour and attitude change 273
Some paradoxical effects of incentives and sanctions 277
Further limitations of the effectiveness of incentive-induced change 278
Summary 279
Advertising As Applied Persuasion 279
Is subliminal advertising possible? 280
Summary 289
Chapter Summary 290
Key Terms 291
Suggestions For Further Reading 291
Chapter 8 Social Influence 293
Miles Hewstone and Robin Martin
Introduction 294
Classic Evidence of Social Influence and The Power of Social Norms 295
The impact of social norms 295
Summary 302
Why Does Social Influence Occur? 302
Social comparison 304
Summary 305
Types of Social Influence 306
Inducing compliance 306
The influence of numerical majorities and minorities 308
Group decision-making 325
Obedience to authority 334
Summary 343
Chapter Summary 344
Key Terms 345
Suggestions For Further Reading 345
Chapter 9 Aggression 347
Barbara Krahé
Introduction 348
Definition and Measurement of Aggressive Behaviour 349
Observation of aggressive behaviour 351
Obtaining reports of aggressive behaviour 351
Summary 354
Theories of Aggression 354
Biological approaches 354
Psychological approaches 357
Summary 364
Personal and Situational Variables Affecting
Aggressive Behaviour 365
Individual differences in aggressive behaviour 365
Situational influences on aggressive behaviour 367
Summary 376
Aggression As A Social Problem 376
Intimate partner violence 377
Sexual aggression 380
Bullying in school and the workplace 381
Intergroup violence 384
Summary 388
Psychological Prevention and Intervention 388
Catharsis 389
Punishment 390
De-escalation through eliciting incompatible responses 390
Summary 392
Chapter Summary 392
Key Terms 393
Suggestions For Further Reading 394
Chapter 10 Prosocial Behaviour 395
Mark Levine, Rachel Manning, and Richard Philpot
Introduction 396
Prosocial Behaviour, Helping and Altruism 398
Definitions 398
The altruism-egoism debate 399
Prosocial behaviours 403
Summary 404
Why People Don't Help 404
A decision-making model of bystander behaviour 406
Summary 412
Why People Do Help 412
The costs and rewards of helping 412
Groups, identity and prosocial behaviour 415
Helping outgroups 418
Social identity and the bystander effect 419
Social identity, emotion and bystander intervention 420
Summary 421
Issues In Researching Prosocial Behaviour 421
Violence and helping 422
Gender and helping 425
Long-term, sustained helping behaviours 426
Summary 430
Evolution, Genes and Helping 431
When helping is not self-interested 433
Summary 435
The Social Neuroscience of Helping 435
Summary 437
Helping In The Real World 437
Selfish vs. altruistic behaviour in life-threatening emergencies 438
Summary 442
Chapter Summary 442
Key Terms 443
Suggestions For Further Reading 444
Chapter 11 Attraction and Close Relationships 445
Johan C. Karremans and Catrin Finkenauer
Introduction 446
The Importance of Relationships 446
Relationships and psychological well-being 446
Relationships and physical well-being 447
The role of social support 448
The immediate effects of social exclusion 448
The need to belong 451
Attachment 451
Summary 456
Interpersonal Attraction 456
The benefits of physical attractiveness 456
What is beautiful is good 456
The features that determine physical attractiveness 457
Contextual influences on physical attractiveness 460
Psychological attraction 461
Proximity 462
Familiarity 463
Similarity 463
Underestimating the power of the situation 465
Summary 465
Romantic Relationships 465
Love 466
Relationship satisfaction and stability 466
Thoughts and behaviours that enhance relationship functioning 469
Summary 473
General Relationship Processes 474
Types of relationships 474
Disclosure 476
Perceived partner responsiveness 479
Relationship ending 481
Summary 482
Chapter Summary 482
Key Terms 484
Suggestions For Further Reading 484
Chapter 12 Group Dynamics 485
Bernard A. Nijstad
Introduction 486
The Phenomenology of Groups 486
Defining groups 486
Why groups? 487
Types of groups, entitativity and group functions 488
Consequences of entitativity 490
Summary 491
Individuals In Groups: Social Facilitation 493
Zajonc's drive theory 493
The role of evaluation 494
Distraction-conflict theory 495
Individuals In Groups: Group Socialization 497
Joining a group and group socialization: becoming a full member 498
Being in a group: maintenance and role negotiation 501
Leaving a group: divergence and exit 502
Summary 506
Group Development and Structure: The Group Level of Analysis 506
Group development 506
On being similar: norms, shared cognition and cohesion 509
On being different: status and roles 515
Summary 519
Groups In Their Environment: The Intergroup Level of Analysis 520
The intergroup context and the salience of group membership 520
The intergroup context, group perceptions and social influence 523
Summary 524
Chapter Summary 524
Key Terms 525
Suggestions For Further Reading 525
Chapter 13 Group Performance and Leadership 526
Stefan Schulz-Hardt and Felix C. Brodbeck
Introduction 527
Some Core Concepts: Actual Group Performance, Group Potential and Task Type 528
Actual and potential group performance 528
Basic types of group tasks and their implications for group potential 529
Summary 530
Process Losses Versus Process Gains In Group Performance 531
Types of process losses and process gains 531
Summary 540
Group Performance Management 540
Three basic principles of group performance management 540
Summary 549
Leadership 550
Approaches to the study of leadership 551
Leadership in groups: How can leadership help to improve group performance? 559
Summary 561
Chapter Summary 561
Key Terms 562
Notes 563
Suggestions For Further Reading 563
Chapter 14 Prejudice and Intergroup Relations 565
Russell Spears and Nicole Tausch
Introduction 566
Personality Approaches To Prejudice 569
The authoritarian personality 570
Prejudice and a desire for social dominance 571
Authoritarianism and social dominance orientation as ideologies 572
Summary 577
The Cognitive Approach To Prejudice 577
Outgroup homogeneity, stereotyping and prejudice 578
Developments and integration 579
Summary 581
Group Approaches To Prejudice 581
Intragroup processes, ingroup bias and prejudice 581
Intergroup explanations of prejudice and discrimination 582
The social identity explanation of ingroup bias 585
More extreme threats to the group 590
Integrative intergroup theories 592
Can emotions help to explain the variety and intensity of prejudice? 595
Summary 599
Psychological Interventions To Reduce Prejudice and Improve Intergroup Relations 600
The 'contact hypothesis' 600
Varying levels of categorization 606
Other prejudice-reduction techniques 610
The wider implications of prejudice reduction 613
Summary 615
Chapter Summary 616
Key Terms 617
Note 617
Suggestions For Further Reading 618
Chapter 15 Cultural Social Psychology 619
Peter B. Smith
Introduction 620
Culture and Cultural Differences 621
Defining culture 622
Nations as cultures 623
Measuring culture 623
Overcoming methodological challenges 627
Summary 630
Culture and Cognition 630
Summary 636
Culture and Self-Construal 636
Cross-cultural variation in self-enhancement 637
Self-construal as an explanation of cultural differences 640
Self-construal over time 640
Summary 642
Interpersonal Relations 643
Prosocial behaviour with strangers 643
Intimate relationships 644
Summary 645
Group Processes 646
Summary 649
Intergroup Relations and Prejudice 651
Contact and prejudice 654
Summary 655
Intercultural Relations 655
Migration and acculturation 657
Summary 663
Chapter Summary 663
Key Terms 664
Suggestions For Further Reading 664
Glossary 666
References 685
Name Index 792
Index 823
1
Introducing Social Psychology
Wolfgang Stroebe and Miles Hewstone
CHAPTER OUTLINE
- INTRODUCTION
- A DEFINITION OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
- THE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
- A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
- SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN EUROPE
- THE TWO CRISES OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
- RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
- CHAPTER SUMMARY
ROUTE MAP OF THE CHAPTER
Most textbooks introduce social psychology with examples of everyday experiences of social behaviour or even with a formal definition. We thought that a better way of familiarizing you with our discipline was to present some examples of classic studies. These should give you an impression of the research questions social psychologists address and of the methods they use to tackle these questions. Only then do we give a formal definition of social psychology and discuss the differences between social psychology and related areas. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the history of social psychology, which we trace from its starting years around 1900 until today. As our American colleagues like to point out, much of this history took place in the United States. However, as we Europeans like to point out, this development was strongly influenced by European researchers, even before the establishment of social psychology in Europe during the past four decades.
INTRODUCTION
Some classic studies
How do social psychologists go about addressing research questions?
A proper textbook of social psychology should begin with the discussion of accepted definitions of the discipline. The reason we deviate from this safe course of action is that, when we ourselves began studying social psychology, we found these definitions rather incomprehensible. However, once we had finished the social psychology course and knew something about the subject, we could finally appreciate why social psychologists defined their discipline the way they did. Because presenting the definitions at the end of the book did not make much sense either, we decided on a compromise. We will first give you some examples of classic social psychology research to show you how social psychologists go about their studies. Then, in the next section, we present and discuss some definitions.
In 1954, Muzafer Sherif, who was then Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Oklahoma (United States), conducted one of a series of classic studies with 11- to 12-year-old boys, who had been sent to a remote summer camp at Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma. None of the boys knew each other before the study. They were divided into two groups, who stayed in cabins far apart from each other and did not know of each other's existence. For one week, each of the groups enjoyed the typical summer camp life, engaging in fun activities like camping out, transporting canoes over rough terrain to the water, and playing various games. They had a great time. It is therefore not surprising that at the end of the week, group members had grown very fond of one another and the groups had developed strong group identities. Each chose a name for itself (the 'Rattlers' and the 'Eagles'), which they proudly displayed on shirts and flags.
At the end of the week, each of the groups was told that there was another group in the vicinity. As though acceding to the boys' requests, the staff arranged tournaments of games (e.g., touch football, baseball, tug of war) between the groups. The winning team would receive a cup, and members of the winning team would each be given a new penknife. The tournament started in the spirit of good sportsmanship, but as it progressed, hostilities between the groups began to develop. 'Soon members of each group began to call their rivals "stinkers", "sneaks" and "cheats" . Near the end of this stage, the members of each group found the other group and its members so distasteful that they expressed strong preferences to have no further contact with them at all' (Sherif, 1967, p. 82). A recent book by Perry (2018) presents some fascinating background information on that study.
What was the point of all of this? What can tales about boys in a summer camp tell us about real life? The answer is, a great deal. These Robbers Cave studies actually mark a turning point in the study of prejudice (i.e., dislike for members of an outgroup), because they challenged the then dominant view of prejudice as either an outflow of a prejudiced personality disposition (authoritarian personality; see Chapter 14) or as the result of displaced frustration (scapegoat theory). There was no indication that these boys had prejudiced personalities or needed scapegoats to displace their aggression. And yet, they developed strong dislikes for the members of the other group (the 'stinkers' and 'sneaks'), because they were competing with them for some valued good that only one of the two groups could attain. Sherif interpreted these findings as support for his realistic conflict theory, which assumed that intergroup hostility and intergroup prejudice are usually the result of a conflict of interest between groups over valued commodities or opportunities. Goals were the central concept in Sherif's theory: he argued that when two groups were competing for the same goal, which only one could achieve, there would be intergroup hostility.
authoritarian personality personality syndrome characterized by a simplistic cognitive style, a rigid regard for social conventions, and submission to authority figures (associated with prejudice towards minority groups and susceptibility to Fascism).
scapegoat theory a theory which holds that prejudice is due to aggression that is displaced towards members of an outgroup (scapegoats), because the group or set of circumstances that was the source of frustration is not within reach.
realistic conflict theory a theory developed by Sherif which holds that conflict and competition between groups over valued resources can create intergroup hostility and prejudice.
Not surprising, you might say. After all, this is the reason why football supporters beat each other up every so often before and after games between their clubs. And yet, this is not the full story. Nearly two decades later, Henri Tajfel, then Professor of Social Psychology at Bristol University (United Kingdom), and colleagues conducted a series of studies that called into question the assumption that competitive goals are a necessary condition for the development of intergroup hostility (Tajfel, Billig, Bundy, & Flament, 1971). Participants in these studies were 14- to 15-year-old schoolboys, who all knew each other well and came to the psychology laboratory in groups of eight to participate in an experiment (see Chapter 2) on visual perception. Their task was to estimate the number of dots that were flashed onto a screen. After completion of this task, they were told that they would also participate in a second experiment and, for the ease of coding, would be divided on the basis of the dot estimates they had just made. Half the boys were then (randomly) assigned to the 'under-estimators' group, the other half to the 'over-estimators' group. (In later studies, boys were often divided on the basis of their alleged preference for paintings by Klee or Kandinsky, an equally irrelevant criterion for boys of that age.) The boys then had to assign rewards to other individuals in real money. They did not know the identity of the other individuals, but only their code numbers and their group membership.
experiment a method in which the researcher deliberately introduces some change into a setting to examine the consequences of that change.
This experimental procedure became known as the minimal group paradigm. These groups were minimal, because they were created using arbitrary criteria, involved no interaction between members of the two groups, and group members had no knowledge of who belonged to the group. And yet Tajfel could show that members of these groups displayed intergroup discrimination. When asked to divide money between a member of their own group and a member of the other group, most boys gave consistently more money to members of their own group than to members of the other group (see Chapter 14). These studies were again quite innovative, because they showed that intergroup conflict was not an essential cause of intergroup discrimination (or at least ingroup favouritism). Apparently, the mere fact of division into groups was sufficient to trigger discriminatory behaviour.
minimal group paradigm a set of experimental procedures designed to create groups based on essentially arbitrary criteria (with no interaction within or between them, and with no knowledge of who else belongs to each group) whose members show intergroup discrimination.
You might now believe that you have some idea of what social psychology is all about and how social psychologists conduct their research. You might also think...
