27 May This week, you will analyze a three- to five-m
This week, you will analyze a three- to five-minute segment of a movie or a television episode depicting social psychology in the courtroom.
After watching the movie segment, create a three- to four-page report on your analysis. In your report:
- Mention the name of the movie.
- Describe the setting and overall storyline of the movie.
- Describe the main characters in the observed movie section.
- Describe the situation that you analyzed and interpret the action of the characters depicting social psychology in the courtroom.
- Draw conclusions based on social psychological concepts and theories.
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Views of Floyd Henry Allport In 1920, Floyd Henry Allport surveyed the prevalent theories and works related to trends in social psychology, ranging from issues of the mind to Freudian viewpoints. His work seemed to be strongly influenced by a behavioral outlook, because he severely criticized viewpoints related to the mind and social consciousness.
Here is an excerpt from Allport’s essay on social behavior and society, reflecting what social psychology focused on at the time (at least from his viewpoint):
Slowly but surely, social psychology is coming into its own as the study of social behavior of the individual. Many writers are noting, and some are investigating, social stimulus and response, and the specific effect of a social environment upon individual reaction. In spite of the persistent speculative essays of the old school, the trend is encouragingly toward observation and experiment. Recent literature echoes the cry for “socialization” in social theory, in government, in education, and in life. If the war rescued individuality, it has also taught the value of cooperation and the stern necessity for reconstruction of individual interests so as to include a regard for social welfare. Here again lies the need for study and control of the socially significant aspects of individual response (p. 85).
The areas Allport’s essay emphasized were:
• Sociological theory
• Psychology of racial temperament
• Marriage and family problems
• Social movements
• Social control and government
• Rural problems
• Educational problems
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The Future of Social Psychology.html
The Future of Social Psychology
Over the past 9 weeks, you reviewed several research studies on different social psychology phenomena, theories, and principles. To understand the trends in social psychology, it would be a good idea to learn about one of its more influential initial contributors, Floyd Henry Allport. When reading Allport's views and ideas on social psychology, you may notice that his thoughts reflected issues considered important at the time. But is it possible that the same ideas may also be applicable in the future and may indicate the emphasis of social psychology research then?
View the PDF transcript for Views of Floyd Henry Allport
The ideas and views expressed in Allport's work do reflect some of the prevalent perceptions of the time. For instance, Allport used a Russian character as an example to explain racial temperament and stated, "Their profound and mystical sense of communism is expressed, not as a deliberate policy, but as a ‘kind of organic propulsion,' inarticulate and unreasoned" (p. 90). In another example, to demonstrate the obvious stereotypes of the time, Allport referred to "egotism, exclusiveness, stiff, conventionality, bombast, impulsiveness, nonmorality, inability to cooperate, and a lack of power to obtain another's viewpoint" (p. 90) as Latin American traits.
Additional Materials
View the PDF transcript for Trends in Social Psychology
media/week10/SU_PSY3011_Future_Psychology.pdf
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© 2009 South University
Views of Floyd Henry Allport In 1920, Floyd Henry Allport surveyed the prevalent theories and works related to trends in social psychology, ranging from issues of the mind to Freudian viewpoints. His work seemed to be strongly influenced by a behavioral outlook, because he severely criticized viewpoints related to the mind and social consciousness.
Here is an excerpt from Allport’s essay on social behavior and society, reflecting what social psychology focused on at the time (at least from his viewpoint):
Slowly but surely, social psychology is coming into its own as the study of social behavior of the individual. Many writers are noting, and some are investigating, social stimulus and response, and the specific effect of a social environment upon individual reaction. In spite of the persistent speculative essays of the old school, the trend is encouragingly toward observation and experiment. Recent literature echoes the cry for “socialization” in social theory, in government, in education, and in life. If the war rescued individuality, it has also taught the value of cooperation and the stern necessity for reconstruction of individual interests so as to include a regard for social welfare. Here again lies the need for study and control of the socially significant aspects of individual response (p. 85).
The areas Allport’s essay emphasized were:
• Sociological theory
• Psychology of racial temperament
• Marriage and family problems
• Social movements
• Social control and government
• Rural problems
• Educational problems
media/week10/SU_PSY3011_Trends_Psychology.pdf
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Trends in Social Psychology To determine the potential trends in social psychology research (or any research), you need to examine:
• The Number of Times Articles are Referenced or Accessed: Saha (2006) searched the online library database to determine the most frequently viewed articles in the journal Social Psychology of Education. He concluded that the topics included race or ethnicity in education; attitudes, self-esteem, and anxieties about teaching; and learning disabilities.
• The Growth or Decline of Graduate Students and Faculty: Psychology has a wide variety of subdisciplines such as industrial/organizational (I/O), clinical, cognitive, developmental, forensic, behavioral, and social psychology. Therefore, similar to other disciplines, the interests of students and faculty change. For instance, Ferguson and Crandall (2007) reported that the number of doctorate programs have increased over the past several years, from 53 in 1980 to 74 in 2004.
• The Growth in Professional Organizations and Career Choices: Some of the upcoming career choices in psychology are program evaluation and public health, aging, work with veterans, government programs, and I/O psychology. Therefore, more and more people are interested in working in this field. For instance, DeAngelis (2008) stated that the student membership of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) has grown by 63 percent since 2000.
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Applied Social Psychology.html
Applied Social Psychology
In psychology, you conduct research not just to reach an expected conclusion but to expand your knowledge about psychology and understand how to apply it to improve the lives of others.
Throughout this lab course, several studies have been used to highlight and explain the research aspects of various concepts of social psychology. You would have noticed that each of these research studies had some application in real-life situations. The challenge is to understand how to use the findings from these research studies in applied settings. This is the premise behind translational research, which looks at the application of research in a more direct and efficient manner.
Translational research focuses on the practical applications of scientific discoveries. In this research, students and researchers study diseases at a molecular level and then progress to the clinical or population level. New tools are provided to clinicians to be used on patients and their impact is assessed later, resulting to major observations and investigations.
View the PDF transcript for Translational Research
Although translational research is a common practice in the medical field, such as in clinical trials, the use of translational research in clinical psychology is still rare. See linked document for a study conducted by Tashiro and Mortensen to understand how social psychology can improve psychotherapy through translational research.
See the linked document for a Nonclinical Perspective on applied social psychology.
Additional Materials
View the PDF transcript for Applied Social Psychology Clinical Perspective
View the PDF transcript for Applied Social Psychology Nonclinical Perspective
media/week10/SU_PSY3011_Translational_Research.pdf
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Translational Research The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) is a multi- and interdisciplinary "collaboratory" funded by the National Institutes of Health to advance translational research. Introduction ITHS describes translational research as “something that transforms scientific discoveries arising from laboratory, clinical, or population studies into clinical or population-based applications to improve health by reducing disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality." Objective ITHS utilizes transitional research to provide mental health services through specific divisions such as the Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development (DATR). DATR plans, supports, and administers programs of research, research training, and resource development aimed at understanding the pathophysiology of mental illness and hastening the translation of behavioral science and neuroscience advances into innovations in clinical care. Focus DATR (2008) supports research on the etiology and pathophysiology of mental illness in order to:
• Define predictors and understand the mechanism of treatment response.
• Create and refine biomarkers, behavioral assessments, and phenotypic characterizations of diseasess.
• Evaluate existing therapeutics for new indications, and, in collaboration with academic, industry, and regulatory agencies, hasten the development of more effective new treatments for mental illnesses.
(Source: Institute of Translational Health Science, 2009)
media/week10/SUO_PSY3011 Applied Social Psychology Clinical Perspective.pdf
Applied Social Psychology Clinical Perspective
PSY3011 Social Psychology lab
©2016 South University
2 Applied Social Psychology – Clinical Perspective
Applied Social Psychology
Tashiro and Mortensen (2006) did an extensive literature review on current issues in clinical psychology and the way research in social psychology can benefit from those issues. In the study, they examined the use of translational research in the medical field to determine whether clinical psychology can also be used in applied psychology. In their study, they described several conceptual and methodological issues in translational research, including considerations about the time frame, the scope of the hypothesis tested, the dose of the treatment, contraindications, and sampling.
Specifically, Tashiro and Mortensen pointed out the following issues:
Determining the affect of a condition on an individual’s lifestyle: The major challenge with the treatment of individuals battling with depression is to determine how the battle and the symptoms of depression affect an individual's lifestyle, including attitude, self-esteem, and self- efficacy.
Determining the effectiveness of a drug on a condition: Clinical trials are conducted to test the effectiveness of, for example, Drug A on Condition B. The trials use a straightforward objective method to determine the effectiveness of the medication. Although clinical psychotherapy also functions on the same lines, the reason it specifically works is less clear or at least more subjective than objective.
Determining the depth of a research study: To effectively translate the findings of a research study into an application, it is essential to determine the depth of the study. For instance, just to test whether a therapeutic technique (such as a helmet restraint) works, it would be unethical to manipulate behavioral outbursts, causing self-injury, in individuals diagnosed with mental retardation (Blankenship & Lamberts, 1989).
PSY3011 Social Psychology lab
©2016 South University
3 Applied Social Psychology – Clinical Perspective
Applied Social Psychology
References
Blankenship, M., & Lamberts, F. (1989). Helmet restraint and visual screening as treatment for self-
injurious behavior in persons who have profound mental retardation. Behavioral Residential
Treatment, 4(3), 253–265.
Tashiro, T., & Mortensen, L. (2006). Translational research: How social psychology can improve
psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 61(9), 959–966.
© 2016 South University
media/week10/SUO_PSY3011 Applied Social Psychology Nonclinical Perspective.pdf
Applied Social Psychology Nonclinical Perspective
PSY3011 Social Psychology lab
©2016 South University
2 Applied Social Psychology – Nonclinical Perspective
Applied Social Psychology
Blankenship and Lambert conducted a study to test helmets with visors to determine which helmet was effective in preventing women from inflicting self-injuries. The problem in this study, other than the ethical considerations regarding the method, was that they did not analyze the actual reasons why individuals engaged in self-injury. This study was used to demonstrate the potential ethical issues with translational research.
Now that you have discussed the application of social psychology in clinical settings, the question that arises is, "Can research in social psychology be also applied to areas other than a clinical setting?" The answer to this question is, although social psychology research is a common practice in the medical field, it also helps to identify and potentially address issues that individuals face in real life.
A Study on Translational Research
Paetzold, Garcia, Colella, Ren, Triana, and Ziebro (2008) conducted a study to examine the perceptions of individuals with disabilities when asked to accommodate in a classroom.
Experimental Setup: For this study, Paetzold et al. assigned different task situations to different groups comprising university students. The tasks were related to reading and memory recall. Some groups had a confederate (research assistant) who pretended to have dyslexia and needed accommodations, and other groups had no confederate. All groups also had individual and group competition goals.
Findings: The study demonstrated issues such as the phenomenon of self-serving bias. Students perceived that a person with a disability had an unfair advantage when it came to the use of accommodations.
Synopsis: The study helps to identify some of the potential issues with the use of accommodations by students with disabilities. Even though the research was limited in scope to testing only college students, if applied to workplace accommodations and the efficacy of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), such research would help you understand how to improve the potential issues with stereotyped attitudes in individuals with disabilities.
PSY3011 Social Psychology lab
©2016 South University
3 Applied Social Psychology – Nonclinical Perspective
Applied Social Psychology
References
Blankenship, M., & Lamberts, F. (1989). Helmet restraint and visual screening as treatment for self-
injurious behavior in persons who have profound mental retardation. Behavioral Residential
Treatment, 4(3), 253–265.
Paetzold, R., Garcia, M., Colella, A., Ren, L., Triana, M., & Ziebro, M. (2008). Perceptions of people with
disabilities: When is accommodation fair? Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30, 27–35.
© 2016 South University
