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Article #3: Social psychology

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Social psychology is the scientific study emerged. Modern researchers are
of how people's thoughts, feelings, and interested in a variety of phenomena, but
behaviors are influenced by the actual, attribution, social cognition, and the
imagined, or implied presence of others self-concept are perhaps the greatest
(Allport, 1985). By this definition, areas of growth in recent years. Social
scientific refers to the empirical method psychologists have also maintained their
of investigation. The terms thoughts, applied interests, with contributions in
feelings, and behaviors include all of health and environmental psychology, as
the psychological variables that are well as the psychology of the legal
measurable in a human being. The system.
statement that others may be imagined or Intrapersonal phenomena
implied suggests that we are prone to Attitudes
social influence even when no other The study of attitudes is a core topic in
people are present, such as when watching social psychology. Attitudes are involved
television, or following internalized in virtually every other area of the
cultural norms. discipline, including conformity,
Social psychologists typically explain interpersonal attraction, social
human behavior as a result of the perception, and prejudice. In social
interaction of mental states and psychology, attitudes are defined as
immediate, social situations. In Kurt learned, global evaluations of a person,
Lewin's (1951), famous heuristic, object, place, or issue that influence
behavior can be viewed as a function of thought and action (Perloff, 2003). Put
the person and the environment, B=f(P,E). more simply, attitudes are basic
In general, social psychologists have a expressions of approval or disapproval,
preference for laboratory based, favorability or unfavorability, or as Bem
empirical findings. Their theories tend (1970) put it, likes and dislikes.
to be specific and focused, rather than Examples would include liking chocolate
global and general. ice cream, being anti-abortion, or
Social psychology is an interdisciplinary endorsing the values of a particular
domain that bridges the gap between political party.
psychology and sociology. During the Social psychologists have studied
years immediately following World War II, attitude formation, the structure of
there was frequent collaboration between attitudes, attitude change, the function
psychologists and sociologists (Sewell, of attitudes, and the relationship
1989). However, the two disciplines have between attitudes and behavior. Because
become increasingly specialized and people are influenced by the situation,
isolated from each other in recent years, general attitudes are not always good
with sociologists focusing on "macro predictors of specific behavior. For a
variables" (e.g. social structure) to a variety of reasons, a person may value
much greater extent. Nevertheless, the environment and not recycle a can on
sociological approaches to social a particular day. Attitudes that are well
psychology remain an important remembered and central to our
counterpart to psychological research in self-concept, however, are more likely to
this area. lead to behavior, and measures of general
History attitudes do predict patterns of behavior
The discipline of social psychology began over time.
in the United States at the dawn of the Persuasion
20th Century. The first published study The topic of persuasion has received a
in this area was an experiment by Norman great deal of attention in recent years.
Triplett (1898) on the phenomenon of Persuasion is an active method of
social facilitation. During the 1930s, influence that attempts to guide people
many Gestalt psychologists, particularly toward the adoption of an attitude, idea,
Kurt Lewin, fled to the United States or behavior by rational or emotive means.
from Nazi Germany. They were instrumental Persuasion relies on "appeals" rather
in developing the field as something than strong pressure or coercion.
separate from the behavioral and Numerous variables have been found to
psychoanalytic schools that were dominant influence the persuasion process, and
during that time, and social psychology these are normally presented in four
has always maintained the legacy of their major categories: who said what to whom
interests in perception and cognition. and how.
Attitudes and a variety of small group The Communicator, including credibility,
phenomena were the most commonly studied expertise, trustworthiness, and
topics in this era. attractiveness.
During WWII, social psychologists studied The Message, including varying degrees of
persuasion and propaganda for the U.S. reason, emotion (such as fear), one-sided
military. After the war, researchers or two sided arguments, and other types
became interested in a variety of social of informational content.
problems, including gender issues and The Audience, including a variety of
racial prejudice. In the sixties, there demographics, personality traits, and
was growing interest in a variety of new preferences.
topics, such as cognitive dissonance, The Channel, including the printed word,
bystander intervention, and aggression. radio, television, the internet, or
By the 1970s, however, social psychology face-to-face interactions.
in America had reached a crisis. There Dual process theories of persuasion (such
was heated debate over the ethics of as the Elaboration Likelihood Model)
laboratory experimentation, whether or maintain that the persuasive process is
not attitudes really predicted behavior, mediated by two separate "routes."
and how much science could be done in a Persuasion can be accomplished by either
cultural context (see Gergen, 1973). This superficial aspects of the communication
was also the time when a radical or the internal logic of the message.
situationist approach challenged the Whether someone is persuaded by a popular
relevance of self and personality in celebrity or factual arguments is largely
psychology. determined by the ability and motivation
Social psychology reached maturity in of the audience. However, decades of
both theory and method during the 1980s research have demonstrated that deeply
and 1990s. Careful ethical standards now held attitudes are remarkably resistant
regulate research, and greater pluralism to persuasion under normal circumstances.
and multicultural perspectives have






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