Different types of psychology


Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientificregulate research, and greater pluralism
study of how people's thoughts,and multicultural perspectives have
feelings, and behaviors are influencedemerged. Modern researchers are
by the actual, imagined, or impliedinterested in a variety of phenomena,
presence of others (Allport, 1985). Bybut attribution, social cognition, and
this definition, scientific refers tothe self-concept are perhaps the
the empirical method of investigation.greatest areas of growth in recent
The terms thoughts, feelings, andyears. Social psychologists have also
behaviors include all of themaintained their applied interests, with
psychological variables that arecontributions in health and
measurable in a human being. Theenvironmental psychology, as well as the
statement that others may be imagined orpsychology of the legal system.
implied suggests that we are prone toIntrapersonal phenomena
social influence even when no otherAttitudes
people are present, such as whenThe study of attitudes is a core topic
watching television, or followingin social psychology. Attitudes are
internalized cultural norms.involved in virtually every other area
Social psychologists typically explainof the discipline, including conformity,
human behavior as a result of theinterpersonal attraction, social
interaction of mental states andperception, and prejudice. In social
immediate, social situations. In Kurtpsychology, attitudes are defined as
Lewin's (1951), famous heuristic,learned, global evaluations of a person,
behavior can be viewed as a function ofobject, place, or issue that influence
the person and the environment,thought and action (Perloff, 2003). Put
B=f(P,E). In general, socialmore simply, attitudes are basic
psychologists have a preference forexpressions of approval or disapproval,
laboratory based, empirical findings.favorability or unfavorability, or as
Their theories tend to be specific andBem (1970) put it, likes and dislikes.
focused, rather than global and general.Examples would include liking chocolate
Social psychology is anice cream, being anti-abortion, or
interdisciplinary domain that bridgesendorsing the values of a particular
the gap between psychology andpolitical party.
sociology. During the years immediatelySocial psychologists have studied
following World War II, there wasattitude formation, the structure of
frequent collaboration betweenattitudes, attitude change, the function
psychologists and sociologists (Sewell,of attitudes, and the relationship
1989). However, the two disciplines havebetween attitudes and behavior. Because
become increasingly specialized andpeople are influenced by the situation,
isolated from each other in recentgeneral attitudes are not always good
years, with sociologists focusing onpredictors of specific behavior. For a
"macro variables" (e.g. socialvariety of reasons, a person may value
structure) to a much greater extent.the environment and not recycle a can on
Nevertheless, sociological approaches toa particular day. Attitudes that are
social psychology remain an importantwell remembered and central to our
counterpart to psychological research inself-concept, however, are more likely
this area.to lead to behavior, and measures of
Historygeneral attitudes do predict patterns of
The discipline of social psychologybehavior over time.
began in the United States at the dawnPersuasion
of the 20th Century. The first publishedThe topic of persuasion has received a
study in this area was an experiment bygreat deal of attention in recent years.
Norman Triplett (1898) on the phenomenonPersuasion is an active method of
of social facilitation. During theinfluence that attempts to guide people
1930s, many Gestalt psychologists,toward the adoption of an attitude,
particularly Kurt Lewin, fled to theidea, or behavior by rational or emotive
United States from Nazi Germany. Theymeans. Persuasion relies on "appeals"
were instrumental in developing therather than strong pressure or coercion.
field as something separate from theNumerous variables have been found to
behavioral and psychoanalytic schoolsinfluence the persuasion process, and
that were dominant during that time, andthese are normally presented in four
social psychology has always maintainedmajor categories: who said what to whom
the legacy of their interests inand how.
perception and cognition. Attitudes andThe Communicator, including credibility,
a variety of small group phenomena wereexpertise, trustworthiness, and
the most commonly studied topics in thisattractiveness.
era.The Message, including varying degrees
During WWII, social psychologistsof reason, emotion (such as fear),
studied persuasion and propaganda forone-sided or two sided arguments, and
the U.S. military. After the war,other types of informational content.
researchers became interested in aThe Audience, including a variety of
variety of social problems, includingdemographics, personality traits, and
gender issues and racial prejudice. Inpreferences.
the sixties, there was growing interestThe Channel, including the printed word,
in a variety of new topics, such asradio, television, the internet, or
cognitive dissonance, bystanderface-to-face interactions.
intervention, and aggression. By theDual process theories of persuasion
1970s, however, social psychology in(such as the Elaboration Likelihood
America had reached a crisis. There wasModel) maintain that the persuasive
heated debate over the ethics ofprocess is mediated by two separate
laboratory experimentation, whether or"routes." Persuasion can be accomplished
not attitudes really predicted behavior,by either superficial aspects of the
and how much science could be done in acommunication or the internal logic of
cultural context (see Gergen, 1973).the message. Whether someone is
This was also the time when a radicalpersuaded by a popular celebrity or
situationist approach challenged thefactual arguments is largely determined
relevance of self and personality inby the ability and motivation of the
psychology.audience. However, decades of research
Social psychology reached maturity inhave demonstrated that deeply held
both theory and method during the 1980sattitudes are remarkably resistant to
and 1990s. Careful ethical standards nowpersuasion under normal circumstances.



1 A B C D 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103