Socio-Cognitive Psychology

This essay aims to explore and describe some of the key studies within Social Psychology and show why social psychology is still important within the science of psychology today. Social psychology was once described by Allport (as cited in Lindzey & Aronson, 1985, p.5) as, “the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others”. One of the first psychologists to study social psychology was Kurt Lewin. Lewin is considered the “father of social psychology” by many as he took a stand against the dominant behaviourist approach during the 1920’s through his belief that interaction between the individual and their environment is key to affecting behaviour, rather than environment alone. His revolutionary ideas matured into the study of group dynamics, which is widely used by many organisations today (Collin, 2012).

Cognitive development is the term used to describe the construction of thought process, including remembering, problem solving and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. In this essay I will compare and contrast the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, both of which were enormously significant contributors to the cognitive development component to/in psychology. In addition to this I will also weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each theory and outline how they can be applied to an educational setting.

The principles and theories of Social Psychology are important and useful in assessing behaviors in situations. These social psychological principles and their applications can be seen in fictional films which can also be attributed to everyday life. One such film that holds certain social psychological perspectives is Will Gluck’s 2010 production of Easy A. A film about high school student Olive Penderghast and how a sudden change in popularity and financial status, after an unintentional rumor about how she supposedly lost her virginity to a college guy spread through the entire her school. The film draws on the behavioral connections of pronounced hussy Olive Penderghast and her English class’s assigned reading of The Scarlet Letter.

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock is a horror movie. This movie was released in 1960, and it is 109 minutes long. The plotline of the movie Psycho is that a young employee, Marion Crane run away after stealing $40,000 from her office and get murdered in a motel where she was spending a night due to the strong storm. The motel was owned by a young man named Norman Bates, and he was living with his invalid mother in an old house next to the motel. It is not revealed that Norman's mother is invalid until Lila(Marion's sister) and Sam(Marion's boyfriend) decides to go to the motel in search of Marion. Lila and Sam initially hired a private detective to search Marion, but unfortunately, the detective also got killed in the motel when he found out that

Catalina came to counseling seeking help in dealing with traumatic events from her past, which has led her to problems in her marriage, mistrust in others, and high levels of anxiety. She is having a difficult time letting go of the past. Catalina was physically abused by her aunt from the age for 10-14. The only male figure ever present in her life was her aunt’s son Roberto, who attempted to sexually abuse her when she was 14 years old. Although her mother was aware of the situation, she did nothing to prevent it or stand up for her. Her relationship with her mother was pleasant prior to the abuse. Because her mother failed to protect her from her own family, the dynamics of their relationship changed. She feels that if she cannot trust her own family, she cannot trust anyone to protect her. Her lack of trust for other, and paranoia that someone would do the same to her young daughters had led her to become overprotective and overbearing. These actions have strained Catalina and her husband Jason’s marriage; they are on the brink of divorce.

Bjorklund, D. F., & Causey, K. B. (2017). Children's thinking: Cognitive development and individual differences. SAGE Publications.

Obesity rates among children have risen over the last two decades (Gatto et al. 2012), with roughly one third of the youth population being overweight or obese. This is of concern due to the association between obesity and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, asthma, psychological or psychiatric problems, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (Gatto et al. 2012; Contento et al. 2010). Additionally, high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense foods along with a low intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has been linked to childhood obesity (Beasley et al. 2012). Studies have shown that most children in the United States do not meet the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. For children two

Young children are not only growing physically but also mentally during early childhood. Children continue to advance their skills in observing and interacting with the environment around them for cognitive development in the early childhood. This paper answers questions regarding cognitive development in early childhood.

Social Work and Psychology all includes the same goals which includes helping people live healthy and productive lives. There are several similarities and difference between the two.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is selected for the PHM program because it describes a dynamic process in which people learn their behaviors based on the influence of others’ actions and the benefits of those actions (Theories At A Glance, 2005). One of the main constructs of SCT is reciprocal determinism, which means “behavior changes result from an interaction between the person and the environment; change is bidirectional.” (Hong, Robertson, Catanzarite, & Mccall, p.12, 2011). The students’ behaviors and attitudes regarding suicide can be shaped through the cooperating with their PHMs. To involve the community with community-based knowledge and experience, the PHMs will address mental health and emotional wellness issues through outreach educational

Abstract: The Social Cognitive Theory is perhaps the most comprehensive and complex learning theories in the field of psychology. The theory attempts to explain how our social environment has a great influence on our behaviors and actions. Albert Bandura is the most notable psychologist of the Social Cognitive Theory. He has conducted intense research and experiments for over 50 years and continually strives to improve the strengths and correct the limitations of the theory. The Social Cognitive Theory is applied today in many behavioral and cognitive therapeutic settings. It is unique from other learning theories because of the belief that self-efficacy, goals, and outcome expectancies are likely to determine behavioral changes. Social Cognitive Theorists believe that we have the power to change our environment because our environment is affected by our behavior. Does the paper sound interesting after reading the abstract?

There are many different theories when it comes to how children learn best, but when bits and pieces are taken from each a strong theory can be crafted for each individual child. These theories come from information processing, Jean Piaget, Lev Vgotsky, and Maria Montessori. Information processing looks at children’s scripts and how long-term memory works to help children learn, Piaget uses the concepts of object permanence and egocentrism to explain the ways children view different things, Vygotsky focuses on the zone of proximal development and scaffolding to give children the best environment to lean, and lastly, Montessori uses a trained adult and self-directed play to enhance learning in young children. These concepts combined are great ways to help a child develop cognitively and it is important to understand each one.

Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.

This artwork took a lot of thought and I wanted to demonstrate more than just a topic, but rather Social Psychology as a whole. The piece has three aspects, there is a person to the left hand side at a closer look to represent a person as an individual, the mirror with the main person’s reflection on how the individual views themselves and how others would see the main person, then groups of people to the right of the image. This is broken down into groups that the main person associates with, the group that the main person does not associate with, and the person of romantic interest for the main person. The colors that are in every person’s ‘brain’ in the groups (including the main individual) is the person’s personality and individual self. All of these parts show different aspects of social psychology.

Learning is viewed as one of the most important interactive activities in which children engage. Although most learning occurs outside of the school setting, it is the heart of the educational process. Psychologists and philosophers searched to understand the true nature of learning, why and how learning occurs at different stages in life and how it can have an influence through teaching methods and similar endeavors. For many years, various learning theories have been listed as suggestions and these theories differ with understandable reasons. Whether theories are based on scientific evidence or