When reflecting on the first introduction unit, we learned that there were some events in history that led psychologists to begin researching how the social world can impact how we treat other people.

Directions: You need to respond to “four” out of the “six” questions, meaning you have a choice of which four questions to answer. Each response should be roughly 2-3 paragraphs in length (double-spaced). An answer is complete if you cover all of the parts of the question in a sufficient manner. You’re graded on content, which means that you need to have thoughtful answers and move beyond surface level. The questions require you to relate certain topics back to your own life and the social world. Each question is worth five points. Good luck and feel free to email me with questions.

1. When reflecting on the first introduction unit, we learned that there were some events in history that led psychologists to begin researching how the social world can impact how we treat other people. What events in history inspired this field and why? In addition, when thinking about what causes people to act in certain ways, what did we determine behavior is a function of? How can you understand the two components that make up behavior and why do we need to understand them (think of that fancy equation we bring up during every class)?
2. How can we use our understanding of schemas when trying to define what our self-concept is? When thinking of the self-concept, what helps structure our view of the self? How is this “cognitive” part of the self different from the emotional part, or our self-esteem? When trying to understand what we strive to do to maintain a good sense of self, how may our culture impact what things we gravitate toward? Please incorporate the Kim & Markus, 1999 study in your response.
3. Pick one study that we covered in this class so far (from either the book or the lectures) *Hint: there are studies within every single lecture and chapter*. Please describe the study that you found most interesting and why it stuck out to you. Within your answer, describe the question the researchers were interested in, the methods (what the researchers did), the sample (who was involved in the study), and the main results. You can use the details provided from both the textbook and the lecture. Lastly, describe what the overall finding is and why it is important for social psychology. Please remember to cite the authors and year it was published (hint: this is similar to the APA assignment you already had. You are not permitted to use the same study you previously used in this response).
4. Describe how our brain works and why we commonly refer to brain biases. In your response you may consider schemas, heuristics, and other cognitive biases we’ve learned throughout the semester. Describe how our brain works and why we need to use “energy savers” when processing information. In your answer, please elaborate on what this would mean for something like eye-witness testimony in trials. Please take a position on whether it is important to trust all eye-witness testimonies or not trust them (using evidence to support your response – hint: Loftus study & video on bb).
5. In our discussion on attitudes and persuasion, we discussed that sometimes when we want to understand our attitude toward something (an attitude object) we might look to our behavior as a guide. Please discuss the theory that this is based on and a study that describes how we may use our behavior to interpret how we feel toward something (hint: review final parts of lecture, including the article we discussed or the other studies we discussed).
6. Throughout the unit on “Perceiving Others”, we discussed how people make attributions of what causes others’ behavior, including our own behavior. Please describe the difference between making internal and external attributions of behavior. When trying to understand what causes us to fail at something, what attribution are we more likely to make? Do we make the same attributions for groups that we see ourselves as being a part of (groups that we love)? Do we make the same attributions when strangers do something wrong or fail at something? Please discuss the bias we hold when we make different attributions for ourselves and others and why this may be (hint: review lecture notes on internal and external attributions, the slides on biases, and make interpretations as to why we have this bias).