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Midterm Exam Study Guide - Social Psychology | PSYC 304, Study notes of Social Psychology

Midterm Exam Study Guide Material Type: Notes; Professor: Berry; Class: Social Psychology; Subject: Psychology; University: Christopher Newport University; Term: Fall 2010;

Typology: Study notes

2009/2010

Uploaded on 12/08/2010

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Chapter One
Nature of Reality:
-dynamic, unfinished, and always in the making.
-Dewey asserted reality has multiple natures and possibilities and is open to many
interpretations.
-an object may possess a variety of possible meanings. Its meaning becomes shaped and
reshaped in the course of its interaction with other things particulary with “human knowers”.
(beer can example: given to you full at a party means fun. Empty on the floor left over means
sloppy roommate.)
Nature of the Human Knower:
-saw the worlds of mind and matter as vitally linked through human action.
-knowing is a process of “doing and making” according to Peirce and Dewey that we
engage in when we need to transform objects into objects of knowledge.
-we process the meaning of objects through our practical skills,symbolic abilities, and
manipulative powers. Basically, we give meanings to things based on how we respond to them.
Why does Mead think significant symbols are important?
1. Allow us to exchange shared meanings with others and communicate effectively with
them.
2. Enable us to anticipate how others are likely to act in a situation and to coordinate our
actions with theirs. (pg. 5)
Significant Symbols: A word or gesture that has a shared meaning to an individual and others;
that is, it calls forth the same response in the person using it as it does in others.
What are the eight implicit assumptions of symbolic interactionism (starting p 9):
1. Human beings are unique creatures because of their ability to use symbols.
2. People become distinctively human through interaction
3. People are conscious, self-reflective beings who shape their own behavior
4. People are purposive creatures who act in and towad situations
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Chapter One Nature of Reality: -dynamic, unfinished, and always in the making. -Dewey asserted reality has multiple natures and possibilities and is open to many interpretations. -an object may possess a variety of possible meanings. Its meaning becomes shaped and reshaped in the course of its interaction with other things particulary with “human knowers”. (beer can example: given to you full at a party means fun. Empty on the floor left over means sloppy roommate.) Nature of the Human Knower: -saw the worlds of mind and matter as vitally linked through human action. -knowing is a process of “doing and making” according to Peirce and Dewey that we engage in when we need to transform objects into objects of knowledge. -we process the meaning of objects through our practical skills,symbolic abilities, and manipulative powers. Basically, we give meanings to things based on how we respond to them. Why does Mead think significant symbols are important?

  1. Allow us to exchange shared meanings with others and communicate effectively with them.
  2. Enable us to anticipate how others are likely to act in a situation and to coordinate our actions with theirs. (pg. 5) Significant Symbols: A word or gesture that has a shared meaning to an individual and others; that is, it calls forth the same response in the person using it as it does in others. What are the eight implicit assumptions of symbolic interactionism (starting p 9):
  3. Human beings are unique creatures because of their ability to use symbols.
  4. People become distinctively human through interaction
  5. People are conscious, self-reflective beings who shape their own behavior
  6. People are purposive creatures who act in and towad situations
  1. Society consists of people engaging in symbolic interaction
  2. Emotions are central in meaning,behavior, and the self
  3. The “social act” should be the fundamental unit of social psychological analysis
  4. Sociological methods should enable researchers to grasp people’s meaning Symbolic Interactionism: A theoretical perspective that emphasizes how people interpret, act toward, and thereby give meaning to objects, events, and situations around them. This perspective highlights how human meanings and actions arise out of the social processes of interpretation, communication, and role taking. Chapter Two Naturalistic Inquiry: -focuses on people's behavior in natural social settings and advocates the use of informal and unobtrusive techniques to acquire a first-hand understanding of this behavior. -2 key phases: exploration-reseracher familiarizes themselves with a topic of concern by becoming immersed in a specific social world (ex-gangs. Researcher would follow around gang members and take notes) Inspection- close evaluation of whatever concepts or elements are used for analysis. Examining the empirical instances covered by a given concept in a number of different ways observing them from multiple angles. Grounded Theory: A methodological approach commonly used by interactionist researchers to collect, inspect, and analyze data. When guided by this approach, researchers engage in the process of collecting and analyzing data simultaneously, working back and forth between these processes to develop theoretical explanations of the data they are gathering. In doing so, researchers take part in open and focused coding, memo writing, theoretical sampling, and creating and linking theoretical categories. Autoethnography: An emerging research method used b some symbolic interactionists. It consists of an “introspective” form of ethnography that makes study of the “self” central to sociological understanding. Those who practice autoethnography believe that deeper social psychological understanding can emerge from a self-reflexive and sociologically informed reading of one’s own life. Dramaturgical Theory: A social psychological perspective that studies human behavior and social interaction in terms of the analogy of the theater. This perspective is closely related to

Central organized trait-trait that has the greatest impact on the overall impression we form. “warm” Social identity-mental category we use to locate a person in relation to others. Highlights similarities and differences. Chapter Four Socialization: An ongoing process of interaction through which we develop identities and acquire culture. Primary socialization refers to the process by which we learn to become mature, responsible members of their society. This learning takes place through the core social institutions, most particularly the family. Secondary socialization refers to the more specific, formal training that we experience throughout the course of our lives, such as learning an occupation. Through this training we become inducted into specific social groups or worlds and acquire selves within them. Looking-Glass Self: the notion that the self reflects the responses of others. More specifically, the self develops through a three step process: (1) imagining one’s appearance in the eyes of others, (2) imagining their judgment of that appearance, and (3) internalizing their perspectives and developing a corresponding self-image and self-feeling. Charles Horton Cooley originally coined this term.

. Similar to James’ “me” concept. -sense of self is completely dependent on social others. Without them you wouldn’t have a conscious concept of self. Sense of consequence is dependent on social others Role Taking: the process of assuming the perspective of others, or putting ourselves in their position. Three Stages of Mead’s Socialization Process (p 82-82): Interactionism

  1. The Preparatory Stage- immitation
  2. The Play Stage- imitation and modeling. Role playing. Identification of roles. Using information gathered from watching others and mimicking. (role playing mom and dad in a game of house)
  3. The Game Stage- winners and loster, use experience from play stage and bringing it into something of matter/worth. Testing your effectiveness. Gains importantce at

reflected self awareness stage- when you lose at something you have to reevaluate yourself to be more effective. Rites of Passage: rituals and ceremonies that accompany and help us to handle the changes in status we experience over the course of our lives. “the real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes”- Marcel Proust. – look for what you don’t see. Notice what most don’t notice. New perspective and asking questions. Bonus of understanding by combining things, use previous experiences into connecting into a larger pattern. Look at the case and apply it to the bigger picture- social psychology. Observation and analysis. Major Overarching Themes in Social Psychology: 1- contextualism: the study and recognition that individuals and groups of people are embedded in an active surrounding including culture, society, family, and environment. (look not only in foreground, but also in the background) 2- Interactionism: the study and recognition that individuals, groups of people, and the environment take part in; (a) mutual influence (relationships) (b) a natural transaction (exchanging words) of participation and consequence (learn, cry, happy) (c) bidirectional control (how you choose to dress) and counter-control, and/or (d) non-obvious joint influences that result in potentially profound effects (protesting wars/mixed gov’t)... (what you’ve done before, affects current mood/thoughts) 3- Cosistencyism: the working theoretical assumption that people and individuals prefer a consistent, predictable, familiar world, that this world includes their physical and mental worlds. (like the predictable, things the same & constant) Contextualists: Kurt Lewins’s Field Theory: larger pattern connects. Ex: farmer should care about health of consumer and not just plants. Are they out for just $ or do they care about us? Fritz Heider’s Thing and Medium: placement of thing in context. Ex: architects: placement of a window. Taking responsibility, looking into the filed and connecting pattern (not building school in the medium) Methodology: Induction: gathering facts, seeing clues to puzzle, noticing details about human being- analysis.