The Problem Of Social Psychology

Social Psychology is defined as “a subfield in psychology that focuses on social interaction between people, how people influence and are influenced by others, and the relationship between the individual’s behaviors/cognitions and that of others in a group” (Robertson, 2002-2015). Within that subfield there are many theories and concepts that explain these feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that are constructed and how psychological factors influence our interactions with others. The topics examined in social psychology include social influence, social perception, and Lawrence Kohlberg’s Ladder of Reasoning. All of these concepts have a major impact in our society and world order; both positive and negative.

In social psychology, social influence is a process where someone’s beliefs, thoughts and behaviour change by being exposed to beliefs, thoughts and opinions of others. It manifests in several forms, such as obedience, compliance and conformity. All these types of social influence have been studied by numerous researchers who investigated the reasons why people conform to social norms and obey to authorities, such as Milgram’s classic studies on obedience. His experiments support the popular idea of ‘banality of evil’ –Hannah Arendt (1963)’s famous phrase referring to the capability to accomplish dreadful things out of banal reasons–, revealing that people conform submissively and thoughtlessly to the orders that authorities deliver, no

There is PSY 301 Week 5 Final Paper Social Psychology Bringing It All Together in this pack

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).

“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead we must see in every person a universe with it’s own secrets, with it’s own treasures, with it’s own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph” Elie Wiesel’s words are true today more than ever. Often times, it is more convenient to regard people as abstractions, especially today with media that appears distant: for most people imagining one’s self in the living conditions of a starving child in a developing country may prove emotionally painful, he or she may pity victims of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but fail to take action, and it may be an inconvenience for him or her to empathize with a person miles away who has lost someone. We live in a voyeuristic society, where we observe what is happening, but do nothing to stop or aide others.

and in some cases enlist the help of a “confederate”, someone who appears to be a naïve part of

Humans as a species are meant to be together. From the time that humans were created, it was known that they would need companionship in order to live a happy life. And from that simplest form of companionship to the extremely complicated network of friends and mutual friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that most people interact with on a daily basis. It still comes down to the simple fact that humans need to interact with one another. In Sebastian Junger’s book Tribe, he describes many ways that humans act, specifically taking into accounts of people that deal with war. The main groups that this essay will focus on is civilians in war-torn countries, and also normal people in society today that become more and more alienated from each other.

Social cognition is the encoding, storage, retrieval, and processing, of information in the brain. It is a process that is generalized within a species, and relates to members of the same species. At one time social cognition referred specifically to an approach to social psychology in which these processes were studied according to the methods of cognitive

Stage fright, a bad case of the nerves before a first date, perhaps a few of those proverbial butterflies in the stomach when preparing for a job interview: all of these are symptoms of social anxiety that the general American population accepts as normal. Everyone has those moments when the pressure is on and they fear what others may think about them if they mess it up. For some people, this is more than an occasional bout of nervousness during an abnormally stressful circumstances; it can be a debilitating reaction to any number of social situations. If the social anxiety is experienced regularly and to an abnormal extent, it is often diagnosed as social anxiety disorder. Normally, people with social anxiety disorder fear that they will do or say something that will invoke a negative evaluation from other people, causing personal embarrassment. However, there are some people for whom this social anxiety takes on an entirely different approach. Instead of fearing that they will embarrass or humiliate themselves, they become afraid that they might embarrass or offend other people. When this is the case, the disorder is referred to as taijin kyofusho,

The field of psychology is steadily expanding due to the progression in technology, which is being driven by the advancement of civilization. More and more time is spent on the internet, which has gradually altered the method in which primary communication takes place. Previously face-to-face interaction was touted as the primary method of interfacing with one another, now communication via the internet is almost mandatory to establish and maintain healthy relationships (Greenfield and Yan, 2006). This is especially true amongst children, adolescents and teenagers. The need for psychologists have never been greater in order to assess how individuals are able to acclimate to this societal change. Traditionally, there are two methods in which children, adolescents and teenagers communicate via the internet, through social media and video games. Each primary method presents their own unique social challenge. In response to the issues in of teenagers over use of the internet, psychologists are providing assistance for internet addictions at a greater rate. The first method utilized by mental health professionals is traditionally counseling and if those efforts fail, then the potential exists for adolescents to be placed on medications.

A.J Willingham shares his views on why fake photos continuously go viral on social media sites. His argument uses evidence from several natural disasters Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Harvey and Irma. He uses theoretical examples that involve the social feelings of middle eastern men and women in relations to terror attacks. Willingham successfully shares his opinion on how and why fake images are shared during disaster.

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.

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

What judgments do we make about others? Everyday we make judgments in our social interactions about why others act the way they do, which is known as

This movie is chosen for a number of reasons. One because of it’s reputation at being the greatest of all time classics. Secondly, it shows examples of behavioral, physiological, and mental aspects of psychology that anyone can judge it and come to their own conclusion. It’s an awesome movie to find theories to analyze, not to mention having the greatest ongoing values along with the film. Most of the big theories that I will use deal with of social interaction, which involves with the factors of social psychology.