Define And Describe Social Psychology Essay

Social psychologists- Study how we interact with others, how we influence people, and how people influence us

Social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This field focuses on how individuals view and affect one another. Social psychology also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment. Construals introduce the idea that people want to make themselves look good to others and they want to be seen as right. It is also said that the social setting in which people interact impacts behavior, which brings up the idea of behaviorism. Behaviorism is the idea that behavior is a function of the person and the environment.

Psychology is one of the newest sciences. Because it is the science of the mind and behavior, it is also less concrete than some of the other sciences. Over the years, social scientists have developed theories or perspectives based off of their observations, research, and the perspectives of other scientists. Although there is some overlap, each of the major perspectives of psychology is unique. As a result, they each have strengths and weaknesses and explain psychology in a different way. One theory, the sociocultural perspective, is exactly what its name suggests. It’s the idea that the society and groups that an individual belongs to are what influences development, thoughts, and behavior. The sociocultural perspective was

“Social psychologists investigate how we view ourselves and others, how we interact with others, how we influence others, and how we act when we are part of a group. Given the amount of time each of us spends thinking about and interacting with the people we encounter every day, much of our lives are spent with the subject matter of social psychology.”(p.22)

According to our text, social psychology is a science that studies the impact of our

variety of topics. Social psychologists study a variety of topics, including views of the self,

What is Social Psychology all about? Why is the study of it so important? Is there truly a purpose and benefit from the findings of the studies? Let’s look at each of these questions, break them down, and try to make sense of it all. Simply defined, Social Psychology is the scientific study of individual attitude and how it effects or influences others in a social context. It is helpful to understand the why, what, or could be, behind a behavior or reaction. Those that research this field, can provide credible insight to assist with understanding and ultimately contribute to the success of peace-keeping within society. There

In life people will come in contact with others, who are from a different background, culture, lifestyle or ethnicity as them, yet still every individual is equal, they’re all humans. As humans, people have the tendency to have their own unique perspectives on the world around them and everything it encounters. Psychologist Gordon Allport (1985), one of the founding fathers of personality psychology, defined social psychology as a discipline in which scientific methods are used in order “to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and behavior of individuals are influenced by actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings” (Cherry).Social psychology involves

(Kenrick, 2007). Social psychology studies how people are influenced by specific situations, with attention focused on how people react to and affect one another. It is similar to other disciplines of psychology; sociology, organizational psychology and personality psychology (Myers, 2010). Unlike in these three disciplines, social psychology is much more focused on the behavior observed of one individual in a social setting, rather than the differences that may be observed between individuals in general. Additionally, social psychology does not specifically address behavior within the group, and only focuses on behavior of an individual in a small group of setting, instead of the behavior of this individual in the society as a whole. An individual’s behavior may be shifted based on his or her cultural background, social standing, and pressure to conform to certain social point of view. With this in mind, an individual may shift his or her point of view on certain aspects such as relationships, prejudices, attractions and views on intimacy. Social thinking may be a determining factor in how the individual sees him or herself, and people around him or

One's self-concept affects one's perception, attitude and behavior, which can be demonstrated during the process of interpersonal communication. Aspects of one's life influence their self-concept, which not only affect how people perceive them but how they perceive themselves. Such things are gender, motivational level and psychological type. It is widely

The concept of social psychology is individual's taking in on what society accepts and approves of. Bailey explains that at a young age she did not conform and

The Halo Effect is the cognitive bias that generalizes that if an individual has one outstanding favorable character trait, the rest of that individual’s trait will be favorable. Specific to physical attractiveness, this is known as the “Attractiveness Halo.” Attractiveness plays an important role in determining social interactions. In fact, the physical attractiveness of an individual is a vital social cue utilized by others to evaluate other aspects of that individual’s abilities (Kenealy, Frude, & Shaw, 2001). Because of the attractiveness halo, attractive applicants trying to enter the workforce tend to

There are many explanations for the origins of modern social psychology. It is therefore important to consider that social psychology cannot be traced back to one single source of origin (Burr, 2003). Hence, this is the reason why there are debates of what social psychology is. Allport (1985) described social psychology as the study an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours which are influenced by the actual, imagines, or implied presence of others. As seen from this definition there is a direct link between social science and the individual psychology (Sewell, 1989). Social psychology cannot be seen as a linear phenomenon. This is because social psychology has been derived from a combination of influences. The development of

Social psychology is the understanding of an individual’s behavior in a social context. It is the scientific field that focuses on the nature and causes of that individual’s behavior in social situations. It looks at the human behavior that has been influenced by others and in the social context with which it occurred. Social psychology pays attention to how feelings, thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and goals are constructed and how these factors influence our behavior and interactions with others. This paper will examine the principles of social psychology and help us to

Social psychology is a subfield of Psychology and Sociology that is interested in how the thoughts, feelings and behaviour of individuals and social groups are influenced by the presence of others such as families, work groups, and organisations. Indeed, Robbins (2003) states that many theories originally developed within Social Psychology have directly influenced the concepts and theories found in organisational behaviour concerning communication processes, decision-making, conflict management and politics and in turn have led to the development of many techniques used in these areas.