Essay on Principles of Social Psychology

Understanding yourself is an important step of effectively communicating with others. The two theories presented this week were both interesting topics as they provided me with an opportunity to look at my own behaviors in introspection. The theories for this weeks discussion are the social judgement theory and the expectancy violations theory.

The self-fulfilling prophecy is a concept in psychology that has an impact on the way we behave towards others and expect them to behave towards us. If we believe ourselves to be worthwhile, pleasant and likeable then we

Self-awareness is an extremely important quality that is present in every successful person and it allows for introspection about work ethic and the best ways to eliminate outside forces that pull away at a path to productivity. Gary Vaynerchuk, a successful entrepreneur, speaks on this by saying that “the real answer comes down to self-awareness. If you are a CEO or a leader or an operator, you need to be self-aware” (Vaynerchuk). This simple concept can allow people to understand what they need to do to tune out all other influences to concentrate. Nevertheless, this is not a common quality, as it is extremely difficult for people to objectively view themselves, creating a struggle between what others tell them and what they know. A true sense of self-awareness can help people notice and amplify their strengths, as well as minimizing the weaknesses in their work ethic, nullifying the possible distractions. Also, it becomes much easier to simply avoid media when necessary with this quality, as it serves as a partial self-check, disintegrating excuses such as entertaining television shows or social media influences being the reason for poor

This might, among self-deception, which is mentioned in the Vazier and Calson article (2010, p. 611) be a reason for why some people perceive themselves to be one way, and those around them perceive them to be another. I believe this applies to the real world, because many people perceive themselves to be the best person to determine their true nature in regards to self-knowledge. This article relates to real life, in particular that the way people measured themselves in regards to behavior, did not vary much from how people acted within a laboratory setting, indicating that behavior is something that people have a relatively strong understanding of. Another set of findings indicates that some studies indicate that people are able to accurately describe their personality, while in other studies, those who know that person best do not agree with how that person perceived himself or herself to be (Vazier & Calson, 2010, p. 613). This can relate to real life, in that people can believe one thing about themself, yet may be perceived an entirely different way from the people around them. I believe this to be true in real life, because as previously mentioned, there are possibly various actions and mannerisms we engage in that we are not entirely

When a person becomes self-aware, they have pinpointed their own specific needs, wants, values, and behaviors (Manning, Curtis, McMillen, & Attenweiler, 2011). No one is exactly the same, therefore, we must understand and take into account our own specific inner truths. After that realization comes, it becomes our self-responsibility to adhere to those demands in order to live a truthful life and avoid inner conflict.

Erving Goffman, a modern theorist, is notorious for his idea of the presentation of self in everyday life. Similar to Du Bois, Goffman used a pragmatic approach to his theories. However, his basic principle was that action, not consciousness is the basis of knowledge. He noted that if social forces are true, they should be observable to solidify that truth. To study this, Goffman employed his idea of “dramaturgy” which is depicted through his metaphor of the theater and the theatrical performance of life. The only self that humans have is situational and it varies in every social setting, so therefore we are always putting on a front. This front is an expression of a certain self-identity at a certain time and place that is formed by the individual actor using appearance and manner and is then read by the audience (Dollar). If the actor portrays a successful performance, then the audience will view the actor of they want to be viewed in that particular moment and setting. Take bullying for instance, the bully is putting on a front and acting as if they are tough individuals, however, when they are backstage and not performing, they could have low self-esteem caused by abusive relationships or even many personal issues. Goffman’s theory of the presentation of self in everyday life is different depending on the time, location and audience. Performances of self are also enactments with a dual purpose.

Signing up for this general psychology class I didn't expect to learn and inspect my life actions as much as I have. Before taking this course my attention had always been pulled regarding psychology as a whole, what I later pinned as social psychology. The way people think and relate to other in the terms of emotion and relationships pulled my attention. The different experiments and how everyday actions and decisions can be viewed under a microscope and understood in completely unique manners, excited my neurons. Having a best friend who was interested in the same subject as me, we spent many hours discussing different terms and theories. He took online general psychology in high school and therefore knew much more than me. Now, we both have psychology as our majors and he has become someone who I can count on if I don't understand terms or theories completely.

Social psychology is a science that study social thinking (how we perceive ourselves and others, judgement we make and our attitudes); social influence (such as pressure to conform, group of people) and social relations such as aggression and helping (David G. Myers, 2008).

The term self-knowledge refers to the knowledge of one’s particular mental states. This would include; beliefs, desires, and sensations. It is also seen to as the knowledge about ones persisting self, whether it be by ontological nature, identity, and character traits. Ohio State defines it as, “The problem of man’s understanding of himself is associated with that of a man’s insecurity, and it is treated in the larger frame of the difficulty’s of understanding the truth in general” The Ohio State of University 281. Self knowledge could also be described as self awareness. One is knowledgeable of their self and their own personal wants and needs.

People are social animals, who we are and what we do is strongly influenced by our experiences of other people along the way and we are affected by the social situations that we find ourselves in. Attribution plays a central role in virtually every social encounter that people have with others. People witness behaviour in others and will seek to understand why events happen or why people behave in various situations. The context of such interactions can change the entire outcome of how a person will perceive other people or their behaviour.

The self is always being monitored in order to earn the acceptance of others. In some situations it may take more than one performance in which some aspects of the self are repressed or emphasized, usually driven by the norms of that group. The self then becomes an important part of dramaturgical theory for the reason that this is how we achieve goals, present ourselves, and subsequently become an intricate part of society.

Self-awareness requires me to take stock of who I am, my strengths and my weaknesses. One of my weakness is that life has been a harsh teacher and as a result, I shut down when life gets unbearable. Confusion and confrontations are difficult for me if the situation is about me. Championing others will bring out the monster in me but never having someone to stand up for me, I would pretend the person and situation did not exist. A quote from Maya Angelou impacted my life and changed the way I had been thinking:

Social Psychology is the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual or imagined, implied presence of others. Social Psychology deals with the factors that lead us as individuals to behave in a given way when around others, and looks at the conditions under which certain behaviors, actions and feelings occur. Throughout Social Psychology there are many concepts that help to explain these ideas and how they are influenced. Many concepts that are within social psychology can also be found in everyday life through television shows, news, music, and other forms of media.

perceiver influences his perception of the others. As per Sears it is seeing our own negative personality traits in others. Perceptual Defense : Demonstrated by Haire and Grunes, perceptual defense refers to the fabricating material which will make one avoid removing his stereotypes already held or changing the beliefs held by him or her in perceiving others. It offers and explanation to the perceptual distortions made by people when they are faced with facts inconsistent with their stereotypes. Characteristics of the perceiver The characteristics of the perceiver which enable him to make perceptions are 1. Knowing oneself makes it easier to see other accurately : When a person is aware of his own traits or has insights, he will be making lesser errors while perceiving others. 2. One's own characteristics affect the characteristics he is likely to see in others : The characteristics which are important to one person will also be looked for when he or she makes an opinion about someone. One uses certain fixed factors while judging others and also the weightage one gives to these factors. 3. The person who accepts himself is more likely to be able to see favorable aspects of other people : If the perceiver is aware of

When we engage in introspection, we are taking a moment for ourselves to meditate upon who we think we are. This can be challenging for some people. Asking close friends and family for their view is an alternative to better understand who you are as a person. As everyone has his or her own personal schema, our own one might be too clouded to properly view ourselves. Self-promotion is one technique that adolescents engage in order to boost their self-image to other adolescents; adults use this technique throughout their lives as well. It is frequently used at company functions, job interviews, even at family reunions. No one wants to be that cousin. Self-verification is also important in the life of high school students. One student may agree with the alpha male or female that the item of current inspection is lame or out of fashion simply to get an in with the head of the group. Self-esteem is the level of how we view ourselves. It is common to hear about this person or that person having low self-esteem or high self-esteem. Their respective social standing seems to correlate with their level of