How to Define Psychology

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.

There were three questions asked at the start of this paper. What is Social Psychology all about? Why is the study of it so important? Is there truly a purpose or benefit from the findings of the studies? Social Psychology is the study of attitude, behavior, and interactions of individuals within a group setting. You may have heard the saying "for every action, there is a reaction," Social Psychologists observe and interpret behaviors in effort to provide further explanation of cause and effect. It is thru the studies of Social Psychology we can learn how to get into the cause and begin to foresee patterns of reactions. A simple yet sophisticated theory.

Chapter 12 social psychology cover how we affect one another’s behaviors. Culture, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination attitude, and interpersonal attraction are all factors that contribute to behavior in a social setting. Understanding how we influence one another on a social level forces us to look at not only ourselves, but also look at how others affect the world we live in and why it is important to be able to identify these influences and the impact they have on our behaviors good or bad

The final field of study to cover is psychology, which for starters is a scientific evaluation of behavioural and metal processes (Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, 2011). However this rather cumbersome term does not fully compel what psychology involves and in turn requires breaking down. Take for example the complex psychological theory of behaviour; we all dream, reminisce, dislike or like others, have motivational tendencies, vary in self-esteem, experience levels of depression, behave aggressively, participate in helping others, learn, engage with our surroundings, and use our senses (Pastorino and Doyle-Portillo, 2013). A fundamental consequence of this complexity means psychologists must think critically, evaluate and analyses information in the knowledge that “definitive behaviour”, does not explain the behaviour of all (Marston, King and Marston, 1999). On a simplistic level, this time looking at mental processes it cumulatively includes intelligence, memory, creativity, problem solving and rationalization to name be a few (Train, 2007).

There are 4 different approaches to psychology such as Cognitive, Biological, Psychodynamic and Behaviourism (Jarvis, M. et al. 2004). Cognitive approach deals with the mental processes such as the memory, the way of thinking and problem solving which is a necessity to process information. It concentrates on the mental process, which contrasts with behaviourism (Woods, B. 2006). Behaviourism approach focuses on how an individual behaves in different circumstances. It states that behaviour is formed through positive and negative reinforcements as well as the behaviour are a response to a stimulus.

This essay will outline and compare both biological and behavioural perspectives on human behaviour. The history, major discoveries and theories will be discussed along with some of the most influential theorists in each of these two areas of psychology. This essay will also compare the two areas strengths and weaknesses in the field of psychology.

Social psychology is a scientific form of explaining human behaviour. It was developed by Gordon Allport in 1985, social psychology focuses on social interactions that cause various behaviours. It is scientific because behaviour can be observed & therefore measured in many forms. This is an objective way of collecting data that can then be used as proof to back up series of theories. One of the main points in social psychology is that it doesn't just focus on motor activities but also on behaviour such as facial expressions which can also be

From then onwards psychology emerged as a science. Since the late twentieth century, it is practically impossible that the understanding of human actions is considered without the proposed scientific approach to the understanding of human behavior (Stein & Belluzzi, 2014). Even if someone seeks to criticize it, the reference to the scientific approach is universal. The notions of human behavior and science became virtually inseparable.

Social psychology is a study of science related to astronomy, biology, sociology, and psychology. According to the book, social psychology is a science that studies the influence of situations with special attention to how one view and affects one another (Myers, 2010). With only the connecting approach of social interplay, social psychology uses a no man’s land at some place between sociology, physiology, psychology, and evolutionary belief in the crude area of the social sciences (Harold, 2000). Biology suggests the foundation of natural choices and adaptation as resourceful examples for all things from putting

Social psychology is the science that studies the influences of our situations, with attention to how we view and affect one another. It is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to others. This field is focused in the topics such as group behavior, social perception, peers, conformity, leadership, etc. Social influences in today’s society are a big focus in social psychology. Social psychologists are interested and focused on how people observe and interact with others. I think this part of psychology is very interesting to me. With psychology being my major, I

Psychologists have been focused on observing and understanding human behavior for centuries, dating back to the Greek philosophers when psychology and philosophy were considered one.Today, Psychology is the study of human behavior, beginning before birth and lasting until death. It is clear that the observance human behavior is a vast and profound source of data for psychologists. Early philosophers relied on methods of observation and logic. A physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt in the 1800’s began using scientific research methods in his study of mental processes. However, the situation was totally different in the beginning of 20th century when psychology still struggled to be regarded as a separate discipline with practical value(Mastering,2011). Psychologists had only begun to be accepted as a science. It was John B. Watson who established the school of Behaviorism and inspired many other psychologists to study patterns of human behavior and their mechanisms. Watson 's contribution to psychology is important not to underestimate; he studied animal and human behavior to come up with a methodology that would give Psychology a respected status among other scientific disciplines. This essay will focus on the biography and works of John B. Watson with a purpose to show why his works are important for Psychology today(Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013).

Social psychology is the study of how individual behavior is influenced by the behavior of groups in social situations.

Social psychology is the scientific process of studying a group of people’s behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that are true and identifiable or imagined within social context (McLeod, 2007). When we use the three terms mentioned we are using words that are psychological variables that can be measured within an individual. When we discuss identifiable or imagined we do so because socially we can be influenced by society or other outlets like television or radio. When studying social psychology we would

Social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods to explain how the brain works, feelings and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings. Social psychology typically explains human behavior and attitudes. Social psychology differs from other disciplines. Social psychologists run tests to understand why a person act a certain way or do some of the things they do when in an unusual environment.

Psychology is made up of many perspectives, such as, behavioural, biological, cognitive, social, humanistic and finally, psychodynamic. This essay will focus on the behavioural perspective and the biological perspective. According to J Walker (2012) the behavioural perspective is based on behaviourism and is the study of observing behaviour when in certain contexts and events. The biological perspective however, explains behaviour by focusing on the function of the nervous system, genes and the brain.