Читать книгу Social Psychology - Daniel W. Barrett - Страница 48

Social psychologists assume that social behavior is purposive, which is to say that it is intended to achieve specific goals (Fishbach & Ferguson, 2007). We don’t initiate a romantic relationship or insult a competitor or protect our young child from a vicious dog just for the heck of it. Rather, each of these behaviors is goal oriented (Elliot & Fryer, 2008). The potential romantic partner may have qualities that suggest he’ll be a good provider. Derogating a member of the opposing team may make us feel better about ourselves, especially when our team is losing badly. Rescuing our child helps to ensure that our gene pool will persist a little longer. As you can see, none of these behaviors is accidental or random. The assumption that social behavior is purposive is what drives social psychologists to find causes. What would be the point of investigating completely random behavior?