Module 10: Social Psychology
In this module, you learned how people’s behaviors can be altered by the presence or actions of others around them. To help apply what you have learned about social psychology, you will take on the role of a social psychologist, and observe the actions of people in a real-world setting. To do this, you need to observe a location or an event with a large crowd. Some options might include the following:
- Sporting event
- Concert
- School assembly
- Shopping mall
- Church or congregation of people
- Busy restaurant
The above list of settings names only a few examples. If you prefer, you may choose another location; however, be sure there is a substantial number of people interacting as individuals or as part of a group, or multiple groups.
After you have chosen your setting, carefully describe the location, including time, place, approximate number of people, and other important details. Then, describe the kinds of interactions you observe. Keep in mind that for any naturalistic observation, the key is to imagine you are a stranger who has suddenly stumbled into a novel land. For example, if you are describing a football game, imagine how someone who has never seen or heard of football would describe the scene. Make sure your observations are as vivid and concrete as possible. Your description should be between 200 and 300 words.
Next, review what you wrote for your observation, and determine how many of the terms from the social psychology module apply to what you witnessed. Explain the meaning of each term in your own words, and describe a specific example of how you witnessed the term. You may also highlight social psychology terms that you expected to see, but did not. In this case, clearly explain why you did not witness an example of the term in your naturalistic observation.
Reference the table below to view a list of the social psychology terms included in this module. You must incorporate a least five terms into your explanation.
aggression | door-in-the-face phenomenon | prejudice |
altruism | foot-in-the-door phenomenon | role |
attitude | frustration-aggression principle | self-disclosure |
attribution theory | fundamental attribution error | self-serving bias |
bystander effect | group polarization | situational attribution |
central route persuasion | groupthink | social facilitation |
cognitive dissonance | ingroup | social impairment |
companionate love | just-world phenomenon | social loafing |
conflict | mere exposure effect | social psychology |
conformity | outgroup | social reciprocity |
deindividuation | passionate love | stereotype |
discrimination | peripheral route persuasion | superordinate goals |
dispositional attribution |
Before you begin, access the Social Psychology Observation Rubric to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit. You may need to use resources outside of this course to complete the assignment. If so, please submit a Works Cited document.
Reflection
Take a moment to reflect on the following questions, then respond to them in a brief four-to-five sentence paragraph.
- What aspects of your chosen setting made it easier or more difficult to connect your observation to concepts from this module?
- Did people in your chosen setting display more pro-social behaviors, like altruism and cooperation, or more negative behaviors? Explain.
- If you could step back and observe your day-to-day interactions as if you were someone from a foreign land, what types of positive and negative aspects of your various groups might you discover?
Once you have completed your observation and reflection, please submit your work to the dropbox.
Once you have completed this module, please complete the module test.