Soc3332: Understanding Social Psychological Theory – Lecture for Week 2
“In science, a theory is not just a guess. It’s a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for observations…The theory of gravity is based on principles of physics, has been tested many times, and has been supported by many observations.” (Baumeister & Bushman, 2017).
So according to your e-text, a theory is a “set of interrelated hypotheses or propositions concerning a phenomenon or set of phenomenon.” Consider the recent phenomenon of the #me too movement. What theory might explain why some women decided to whistle-blow against pervasive sexual harassment by powerful men in various industries? What individual and situational factors helped to spawn the #me too movement as discussed in the 2017 Time Person of the Year article on the Silence Breakers? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/12/06/times-person-of-the-year-the-silence-breakers-for-speaking-out-against-sexual-harassment/?utm_term=.35d0a10de396
Now let’s review the highlight the key aspects of a good theory.
e-Text Chapter 1 Key Points to Remember (Gruman et al, 2017)
· To maintain a scientific mindset, we need to hold scientific values (Chapter1), set scientific goals, and follow a scientific process. The five steps are: observation, theory development using induction (specific cases to general rules), deduction (general theory leads to specific outcomes, predictions or hypotheses), hypothesis-testing, and theoretical interventions/application of knowledge.
· Social psychology theories provide 3 functions – Organization, Direction/Hypothesis-Testing, and Guide for Interventions.
· Evaluation Characteristics of Theories are: Scope, Range, Testability, and Parsimony.
· Scope = how many behaviors does this theory attempt to explain?
· Range =are the theoretical predictions universal or only for select subgroup or special population?
· Testability = can the theory be refuted or disproved?
· Parsimony = can the theory be explained or described simplistically or with very few terms?
· You will use these criteria to evaluate the theories presented in each chapter moving forward.
· Cognitive Dissonance Theory is a mid-level theory by Leon Festinger that claims humans are motivated to maintain consistency among cognitions (thoughts, attitudes, knowledge, or values). “The theory organizes what we know about human inconsistency in such a way that we are lead to some non-obvious conclusions about the relationship between attitudes and behaviors.” Pay close attention to Figure 2.2 on p. 34.
· For example, if you watched and liked Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore, or Charlie Rose, how would you reconcile the news about how they treated women as covered in the news or court transcripts? Cognitive Dissonance Theory suggests that inconsistency in cognitions (e.g., “I like him” vs. “He did some bad things, he is a predator”) would lead a person to change one or more of those inconsistent beliefs to maintain consistency. To resolve the dissonance, or psychological distress over inconsistency, either you change your viewpoint – create more negative attitudes about the person based on the negative news revelations or maintain your belief about the person as positive (e.g., Roy Moore case), defend your original thought and discount the sexual allegations as just a liberal smear campaign, misinformation, rumor, or false accusation.
· Theory of Planned Behavior is a mid-level theory (includes theory of reasoned action) by Ajzen suggests that attempts to do a behavior is preceded by behavioral intentions, which are predicted by subjective norms, perceptions of control, and attitudes. This theory has clear organization, direction, and intervention.
Another Perspective of Social Psychology Theory
In their textbook called “Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and managing social problems”, Steg, Buunk, and Rothengatter (2008) describe the three functions of social psychological theory are to provide: (1) understanding of a phenomenon or problem, (2) solutions to social problems and (3) evaluation methods to determine if the solutions were successful. Steg et al. (2008) also provide a great list of commonly used terms that are similar to the term theory.
· Theory is an organized set of principles and testable hypotheses that describes, explains and predicts observed events. Some sample social thinking theories are attribution theory, cognitive dissonance theory, and theory of planned behavior. Some social influence theories are obedience, compliance, and elaboration likelihood model. Some social relations theories are ingroup/outgroup biases, prejudice, discrimination, contact theory, prosocial behavior. Application of theories lead to tools or interventions change social appraisals, promote specific behaviors, or improve social relations (Steg et al., 2008).
· Principles describe a specific process and are integrated into a theory. Example: compatibility principle is integrated within the Theory of Planned Behavior.
· Models are frameworks that integrate theories and principles and describe multiple causal processes. Example: The Elaboration Likelihood Model.
Deductive (theory-oriented) vs. Inductive (problem-oriented) Approaches. While basic social psychologists tend to follow the deductive approach (begin with a big theory and examining possible small specific applications to various social behaviors), Applied social psychologists tend to follow the inductive approach (begin small with social problem or specifics and then examine how multiple theories can be used to explain the social phenomenon). Both basic and applied social psychologists find ways of testing theories, use scientific methods, and address science goals (Steg et al., 2008).
Conclusion
A Theory is an organized set of principles with testable hypotheses that describes, explains and predicts social behaviors. Social psychology theories provide Organization, Direction and Guide for Interventions. Theories can be evaluated in terms of their scope, range, testability, and parsimony. In applied social psychology there are social thinking, social influence, and social relations theories, principles, or models that lead to real interventions. Both basic and applied social psychologists find ways of testing theories, use scientific methods, and address science goals. Applied social psychologists focused more on the inductive approach (problem-oriented).