Koinōnikī PSychología: Kyríarchoi Prosanatolismoí kai Efarmogés

Specific Foundation

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: Analyze how individuals perceive themselves and others through classical and contemporary advanced notions in social psychology. Relate basic research to applications of social psychology to social and psychological issues. Critically evaluate empirical studies, emphasizing research design, methodology, and validity of findings. Develop research ideas and formulate substantive questions in psychological science. Enhance their leadership and communication skills through structured discussions and presentations. Improve academic writing skills, particularly in writing literature reviews and research syntheses. This course will basically contribute to: (a) specialized and in-depth training in social psychology, its theoretical and epistemological orientations and fields of application b) specialized training of graduate students in the methods of social psychological research (c) training in the design, implementation and evaluation of applications and interventions in communities, structures and organisations.

Course Description This course provides an advanced exploration of key theories, concepts, and research in social psychology. It examines how individuals perceive themselves and others, the role of basic human motives in shaping social behavior, and the cognitive and cultural mechanisms underlying social perception and judgment. The course integrates classical and contemporary empirical research with real-world applications, emphasizing critical analysis, methodological rigor, and replicability in psychological science. Through discussions, written assignments, and structured presentations, students will enhance their ability to evaluate empirical studies, develop research ideas, and communicate psychological science effectively. Through case studies and discussions, students will integrate key concepts from the course and critically evaluate the impact of social psychological research beyond academia. Lecture Topics & Descriptions 1. The Beginnings: On Fritz Heider This session introduces the historical foundations of social psychology, focusing on Fritz Heider’s contributions to attribution theory and the ways people interpret causes of behavior. Malle, B.F. & Ickes, W. (2000). Fritz Heider: Philosopher and Psychologist. In G. A. Kimble & M. Wertheimer (Eds.)(2000). Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology (Vol. 4). Washington, DC and Mahwah, NJ: American Psychological Association and Erlbaum. 2. Basic Human Motives I: The Self – Viewing Oneself Positively Examining self-concept, self-enhancement, and self-serving biases, this session explores how individuals construct and maintain a positive self-image. Baumeister, R. F. (1999). The nature and structure of the self: An overview. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), The self in social psychology (pp. 1-20). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Twenge, J. M., & Foster, J. D. (2008). Mapping the scale of the narcissism epidemic: Increases in narcissism 2002–2007 within ethnic groups. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(6), 1619-1622. 3. Basic Human Motives II: Relating This lecture delves into the fundamental need for social connection, attachment theories, and the psychological mechanisms that drive interpersonal relationships. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529. This seminal paper argues that the need for social connection is a fundamental human motivation, providing extensive evidence on the consequences of social belonging and exclusion. Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 227-237. This meta-analysis highlights the significant health consequences of social isolation and loneliness, emphasizing the role of relationships in psychological and physical well-being. 4. Social Perception & Judgment Exploring how individuals process and interpret social information, this session covers heuristics, biases, and the role of emotions in shaping judgments about others. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131. Loewenstein, G., & Lerner, J. S. (2003). The role of affect in decision making. In R. J. Davidson, K. R. Scherer, & H. H. Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of Affective Sciences (pp. 619-642). Oxford University Press. Lerner, J. S., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P., & Kassam, K. S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 799-823. 5. On Priming This session investigates the effects of priming on cognition and behavior, discussing classic experiments and contemporary debates on the replicability of priming research. Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230-244. Doyen, S., Klein, O., Pichon, C. L., & Cleeremans, A. (2012). Behavioral priming: It's all in the mind, but whose mind? PLoS ONE, 7(1), e29081. This study attempted to replicate Bargh et al.'s (1996) findings and found that the priming effect on behavior could not be consistently reproduced, highlighting the role of experimenter expectations. Weingarten, E., Chen, Q., McAdams, M., Yi, J., Hepler, J., & Albarracín, D. (2016). From primed concepts to action: A meta-analysis of the behavioral effects of incidentally presented words. Psychological Bulletin, 142(5), 472-497. This meta-analysis reviewed 352 priming studies and found that while priming effects are often small, they are stronger when the prime is associated with a valued or incentivized goal or behavior Derren Brown's YouTube videos. At the Dog Track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_-QcW4Q4I Mass influence at a shopping mall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOEKdaXIEHc 6. Replicable, or Not? Addressing the replication crisis in psychology, this lecture critically examines methodological challenges, questionable research practices, and the importance of open science. Ramscar, M., Shaoul, C., & Baayen, R.H. (2016). Why many priming results don’t (and won’t) replicate: A quantitative analysis Link http://psych.stanford.edu/~michael/papers/Ramscar-Shaoul-Baayen_replication.pdf 7. Stereotyping & Prejudice: Implicit vs. Explicit Exploring implicit and explicit biases, this session reviews contemporary research on stereotyping, prejudice, and interventions aimed at reducing bias. Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring Individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480. 8. Norms: Patterns of Behavior or Sets of Expectations? Focusing on social norms, this lecture examines how societal expectations shape individual and group behavior, with applications to conformity, deviance, and cultural influences. Morris, M. W., Hong, Y. Y., Chiu, C. Y., & Liu, Z. (2015). Normology: Integrating insights about social norms to understand cultural dynamics. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 129, 1-13. Bond, R., & Smith, P. B. (1996). Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch's (1952b, 1956) line judgment task. Psychological Bulletin, 119(1), 111-137. This meta-analysis investigates how cultural factors, such as individualism-collectivism, affect conformity rates, providing insights into the relationship between cultural norms and individual conformity behaviors. 9. Social Identity and Social Identity Fusion Theories This final session explores how social identity shapes group dynamics, intergroup relations, and the concept of identity fusion in extreme group commitment. Brown, R. (2000). Social identity theory: Past achievements, current problems and future challenges. European journal of social psychology, 30(6), 745-778. Zabala, J., Vázquez, A., Conejero, S., & Pascual, A. (2024). Exploring the origins of identity fusion: Shared emotional experience activates fusion with the group over time. British Journal of Social Psychology, 63(3), 1479-1496. Gómez, A., Brooks, M. L., Buhrmester, M. D., Vázquez, A., Jetten, J., & Swann Jr, W. B. (2011). On the nature of identity fusion: insights into the construct and a new measure. Journal of personality and social psychology, 100(5), 918. 10. Applications in Social Psychology The concluding session explores the practical applications of social psychology in real-world contexts, bridging theoretical insights with pressing social issues. Students will examine how social psychological principles are applied in domains such as health, business, environmental behavior, and technology. Topics include strategies the role of social influence in public policy, interventions to reduce discrimination and inequality. The session will also encourage students to reflect on ethical considerations and future directions in applied social psychology.

social cognition, social norms, social perception, social identity, stereotypes, arousal, applications of social

04-03-2025