109 What is Social Psychology?
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Define social psychology
- Describe situational versus dispositional influences on behaviour
- Describe the fundamental attribution error
- Explain actor-observer bias
- Describe self-serving bias
- Explain the just-world hypothesis
Social psychology examines how people affect one another, and it looks at the power of the situation. According to the American Psychological Association (n.d.), social psychologists “are interested in all aspects of personality and social interaction, exploring the influence of interpersonal and group relationships on human behaviour.” Throughout this chapter, we will examine how the presence of other individuals and groups of people impacts a person’s behaviours, thoughts, and feelings. Essentially, people will change their behaviour to align with the social situation at hand. If we are in a new situation or are unsure how to behave, we will take our cues from other individuals.
The field of social psychology studies topics at both the intra- and interpersonal levels. Intrapersonal topics (those that pertain to the individual) include emotions and attitudes, the self, and social cognition (the ways in which we think about ourselves and others). Interpersonal topics (those that pertain to dyads and groups) include helping behaviour (Figure SP.2), aggression, prejudice and discrimination, attraction and close relationships, and group processes and intergroup relationships.
Situational and Dispositional Influences on Behaviour
Behaviour is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behaviour over others. Situationism is the view that our behaviour and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behaviour is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958). An internal factor is an attribute of a person and includes personality traits and temperament. Social psychologists have tended to take the situationist perspective, whereas personality psychologists have promoted the dispositionist perspective. Modern approaches to social psychology, however, take both the situation and the individual into account when studying human behaviour (Fiske, Gilbert, & Lindzey, 2010). In fact, the field of social-personality psychology has emerged to study the complex interaction of internal and situational factors that affect human behaviour (Mischel, 1977; Richard, Bond, & Stokes-Zoota, 2003).
Fundamental Attribution Error
In the United States, the predominant culture tends to favour a dispositional approach in explaining human behaviour. Why do you think this is? We tend to think that people are in control of their own behaviours, and, therefore, any behaviour change must be due to something intern