Psychology (social): Talking about people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

This ESL lesson is designed for upper-level learners to explore the fascinating field of social psychology! In this lesson, you’ll dive into the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by social interactions, group dynamics, and societal norms.

Through targeted vocabulary, useful phrases, and dynamic conversations, you’ll learn to articulate complex concepts like conformity, prejudice, and the bystander effect with confidence and precision. This lesson combines real-world examples, academic discussions, and critical thinking activities to enhance your English fluency while deepening your understanding of human behavior in social contexts.

Get ready to analyze, discuss, and apply social psychology concepts to your own experiences in an interactive and thought-provoking way! Remember, this lesson contains a lot of complicated terms that most native speakers are unfamiliar with. Approach the subject slowly, as it is meant for students with a good command of English. This lesson could easily be done over the course of 3-4 hours — depending on the student(s).

Remember, we are teaching English concepts more than psychology. This lesson is meant to introduce the student to the terms and help them engage in conversations related to the topic of social psychology.

Social psychology defined

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. It examines how social interactions, group dynamics, and societal norms shape individual behavior and attitudes, focusing on topics like conformity, persuasion, prejudice, aggression, and interpersonal relationships.

Basic vocabulary

Introduce key terms in social psychology that are essential for discussing the field. These terms should be foundational yet advanced enough to suit upper-level learners, focusing on concepts commonly explored in social psychology.

Vocabulary list

• Social Influence: The ways people affect each other’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
• Conformity: Adjusting one’s behavior or beliefs to align with a group’s norms.
• Obedience: Following orders or instructions from an authority figure.
• Attitude: A person’s evaluation (positive or negative) of an object, person, or idea.
• Prejudice: A negative attitude toward a group or its members.
• Stereotype: A generalized belief about a group of people.
• Discrimination: Negative behavior toward individuals based on their group membership.
• Group dynamics: How individuals interact within a group.
• Social norm: Unwritten rules about acceptable behavior in a group or society.
• Cognitive dissonance: The discomfort felt when holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors.
• Attribution: The process of explaining the causes of someone’s behavior (e.g., internal vs. external).
• Ingroup/outgroup: Groups one identifies with (ingroup) vs. groups one does not (outgroup).
• Persuasion: The act of convincing someone to change their attitudes or behaviors.
• Altruism: Helping others without expecting personal gain.
• Bystander effect: The tendency for people to be less likely to help in an emergency when others are present.

Vocabulary for extension (upper-level)

1. Social facilitation: Improved performance on tasks due to the presence of others.
2. Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups, often leading to impulsive behavior.
3. Fundamental attribution error: Overemphasizing personal traits and underestimating situational factors in explaining behavior.
4. Self-fulfilling prophecy: A belief that causes itself to come true due to behavior changes.
5. Social loafing: Reduced effort by individuals when working in a group.
6. Confirmation bias: Seeking or interpreting information to confirm existing beliefs.
7. Ingroup bias: Favoring members of one’s own group over others.
8. Social identity: The part of one’s self-concept derived from group membership.
9. Halo effect: Assuming someone’s overall character based on one positive trait.
10. Prosocial behavior: Actions intended to benefit others, including cooperation and sharing.

Teaching tips

• Use real-world examples to illustrate terms (e.g., conformity in fashion trends, bystander effect in emergencies).
• Practice pronunciation of complex terms like “deindividuation” (dee-in-dih-vid-joo-AY-shun) or “attribution” (at-trib-YOO-shun).
• Create a glossary handout or digital quiz (e.g., using Kahoot) to reinforce vocabulary retention.

Useful phrases

Teach precise sentence structures for discussing social psychology concepts, theories, and applications. These phrases should enable learners to articulate ideas, analyze scenarios, and engage in academic discussions.

Key phrases

1. Defining concepts
   • “[Term] refers to [definition].”
   • “In social psychology, [term] is when [explanation].”
   • “A key example of [term] is [example].”
2. Analyzing phenomena
   • “This behavior can be explained by [concept/theory].”
   • “[Term] occurs because [reason].”
   • “The study by [researcher] shows that [finding].”
3. Giving opinions
   • “I believe [concept] is relevant because [reason].”
   • “In my view, [term] can lead to [outcome].”
   • “I find [concept] interesting due to [reason].”
4. Asking questions
   • “How does [concept] apply to [situation]?”
   • “Why do people engage in [behavior]?”
   • “What factors contribute to [term]?”
   • “Can you explain how [concept] works in this case?”

Teaching tips

• Model phrases with examples (e.g., “Conformity refers to changing one’s behavior to match a group. For instance, people might wear similar clothes to fit in.”).
• Encourage learners to adapt phrases to discuss real-life scenarios (e.g., workplace dynamics, social media trends).
• Practice question forms to foster critical discussion and debate.

Example conversations

Provide sophisticated dialogues that model how to discuss social psychology concepts at an advanced level. These conversations should encourage analysis, application, and critical thinking.

Conversation 1: Basic academic exchange

Emma: Can you explain what social influence means in social psychology?
Liam: Social influence refers to how people’s thoughts or behaviors are affected by others. For example, conformity and obedience are types of social influence.
Emma: Oh, like in Asch’s conformity experiment?
Liam: Exactly! People changed their answers to match the group, even when they knew the answer was wrong.
Emma: Why do you think people conform like that?
Liam: I believe it’s because they want to avoid social rejection or feel a need to belong.

Conversation 2: Applying concepts

Sara: How does the bystander effect apply to real-life situations?
Juan: The bystander effect occurs when people are less likely to help in an emergency if others are around. For instance, in a crowded street, someone might not help an injured person because they assume someone else will.
Sara: That’s interesting. What factors contribute to it?
Juan: Diffusion of responsibility is a big factor. People think, “Someone else will handle it.”
Sara: Do you think social media could increase this effect?
Juan: Possibly, since people might just record an event instead of acting, assuming others will step in.

Conversation 3: Critical discussion

Mark: What’s your take on cognitive dissonance in social psychology?
Lisa: It’s fascinating! Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort we feel when our actions don’t match our beliefs. Like, if someone smokes but knows it’s unhealthy, they might feel uneasy.
Mark: How do people resolve it?
Lisa: They might change their behavior, like quitting smoking, or justify it by saying, “It’s not that bad.” Festinger’s study showed people often rationalize to reduce discomfort.
Mark: Can you apply it to social media?
Lisa: Sure! People might post about healthy living but eat junk food, then feel dissonance. They might resolve it by downplaying their unhealthy habits.

Teaching tips

• Role-play these dialogues, encouraging learners to adopt the roles of both questioner and explainer to practice fluency and critical thinking.
• Ask learners to adapt dialogues to discuss a social psychology concept relevant to their lives (e.g., prejudice in their community).
• In group settings, facilitate debates (e.g., “Does social media increase conformity?”) to practice using vocabulary and phrases.

Teaching strategy

Here’s a step-by-step lesson plan to teach social psychology in English effectively (approximately 60 minutes, suited for upper-level learners with a good command of the English language).

Step 1: Warm-up (5-7 minutes)

• Ask: “Have you ever felt pressured to act like others in a group? Why?” to introduce social influence.
• Show a short video clip (e.g., a TED Talk snippet or a YouTube explanation of a social psychology experiment like Milgram’s obedience study) to spark interest and provide context.

Step 2: Vocabulary introduction (10-12 minutes)

• Present the vocabulary list using a slideshow or handout, linking terms to real-world examples (e.g., stereotype in media portrayals, altruism in charity work).
• Practice pronunciation and have learners explain terms in their own words to check comprehension.
• Play a quick game: Provide a scenario (e.g., “A person doesn’t help in a crowd”), and learners identify the term (bystander effect).

Step 3: Phrase practice (10-12 minutes)

• Display key phrases and model their use with examples (e.g., “The bystander effect occurs because people feel less responsible in a group.”).
• Have learners practice by applying phrases to a given scenario (e.g., “Explain conformity in a workplace setting.”).
• Correct grammar and encourage precise language to suit academic discussions.

Step 4: Conversation practice (20-25 minutes)

• Read one example conversation aloud, emphasizing academic tone and clarity.
• Pair learners (or role-play with them) to practice the dialogues, encouraging them to use at least two vocabulary terms and one key phrase.
• Assign a task: Create a short dialogue applying a social psychology concept to a real-world issue (e.g., social loafing in group projects). Discuss as a group.

Step 5: Wrap-up and critical thinking (5-7 minutes)

• Have each learner share a brief analysis (e.g., “I think prejudice is common because of stereotypes in media.”).
• Provide feedback on their use of terminology, phrases, and fluency.
• Assign homework: Write a short essay (200-300 words) analyzing a social psychology concept in a real-life context or prepare a 1-minute oral presentation.

Additional tips

• Cultural sensitivity: Acknowledge that social norms and behaviors vary across cultures. Encourage learners to discuss how concepts like conformity or prejudice manifest in their own societies.
• Visual aids: Use diagrams (e.g., a flowchart of attribution processes) or clips of famous experiments (e.g., Asch’s conformity study) to illustrate concepts.
• Listening practice: Play a podcast or lecture excerpt (e.g., from NPR or a university lecture on YouTube) about social psychology to expose learners to academic English.
• Adapt for level: For upper-level learners, emphasize critical analysis (e.g., “Why might the bystander effect be more common in urban areas?”) and encourage referencing studies or theories.
• Incorporate technology: Use a virtual whiteboard to map out concepts (e.g., a mind map of social influence types) or share articles from psychology websites for discussion.

Common mistakes to address

• Vocabulary misuse: Learners may confuse terms like “prejudice” (attitude) and “discrimination” (behavior). Clarify distinctions with examples.
• Pronunciation: Complex terms like “deindividuation” or “attribution” may be mispronounced. Practice these explicitly.
• Grammar: Ensure learners use academic structures (e.g., “This behavior is explained by…” instead of “This is because…”).

Example activity: “Apply the concept”

For group classes, try this interactive activity.

• Provide scenarios (e.g., “A student copies their friend’s fashion style,” “A manager favors their own team over others”).
• Learners identify the social psychology concept (e.g., conformity, ingroup bias) and explain it using vocabulary and phrases.
• Encourage debate: “Does this scenario show social loafing or the bystander effect? Why?”

Homework or follow-up

• Writing: Write a 200-300 word essay analyzing how a social psychology concept (e.g., cognitive dissonance) applies to a personal or societal issue.
• Speaking: Record a 1-2 minute presentation explaining a social psychology term and its real-world relevance.
• Research: Read a short article on a social psychology topic (e.g., from Psychology Today) and summarize it in 3-5 sentences, using at least three vocabulary terms.