Social Psychology is a broad field that incorporates aspects of both the sciences of Sociology and Psychology. This field of study is designed to help answer the question as to why people display certain behaviors due to their interaction with others. This field of study is very interesting due to its practicality, in regards to real-life demonstration, usage, and observation. In my life, I have held several jobs that have been heavily influenced by the dynamics of those who were around me. One job in particular was focused within the service industry; this ended with my resignation due to the unfavorable circumstances that I encountered in the work environment. Prior to making the decision to even apply for this job, I had been hesitant due to former employees and peers, who had reported poor working conditions. Despite the negative reviews that I had heard I went forward with my application, enticed by the idea of making more than minimum wage and working in an area close to my house. It was during this time period that I experienced one of the terms that we had learned during our class, known as post-decision cognitive dissonance. Later I would experience firsthand the concept of stereotype threat and conformity effect; both in a negative way, which would lead to my final resignation. This paper will explain several key terms that have are essential to social psychology; while also connecting them to a real life event that demonstrates their practicality in usage.
The field of sociology is very different in explaining the causes of crime from the perspectives of the fields of biology and psychology. While the biological and psychological fields focus on explaining crime through the individual, sociology focuses on groups or society as a whole being a key contributor to someone’s actions. This perspective believes that individuals are influenced by family, school, religion, laws, and friends. As with any other academic field, there are innumerable theories that attempt to explain why crime happens and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. One of the most prominent theories is the conflict theory.
How would you describe your inner mind? crazy? genius? They say that both are two sides of the same side. Through my experiences, I shape the world around me, developing a unique perspective from my worldview. When it comes to how I perceive reality I just summarize it in these six concepts: culture, meaning, self, self-fulfilling prophecy, and scripts, and self-serving bias. My culture defines me down to my very genetic core. It explains why I drive the way I do, how I talk, what is socially acceptable, why I react to things the way I do , why I attend LIU, etc.
Which of the following groups have the highest incidence of use and abuse of alcohol?
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).
According to Durkheim, Social fact or social phenomenon are the main subject matter of sociology. He said in one of his pieces that social fact must be studied distinct from the biological and psychological phenomenon. Social order is the trend of behavior being used to exercise power over another person. It has become rules and regulations that have been set up by some authorities to be obeyed by another group of people who are being undermined in a society, it is a situation that oppressed people and limits them from their liberties. When people go through these situations they cannot function the way they are supposed to function because they are limited by their freedom. These social orders are not only laws but rather certain norms created by the authority to put a whole race into a situation where they are very far from freedom of speech, movement, and knowledge. African Americans are an example of a race that has been through discrimination at workplaces, schools, community etc. They are one race which has been a label or put in a class where the situation will never permit you to climb the ladder of success. Although you might have all the certification, qualification, the best schools, etc. but the fact that you came from the poor class or the lower class, it becomes very difficult for the Caucasian people to give you the opportunity you deserve, because of this, the citizens of American have been grouped into different classes which are upper, middle, working,
Chapter 12 social psychology cover how we affect one another’s behaviors. Culture, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination attitude, and interpersonal attraction are all factors that contribute to behavior in a social setting. Understanding how we influence one another on a social level forces us to look at not only ourselves, but also look at how others affect the world we live in and why it is important to be able to identify these influences and the impact they have on our behaviors good or bad
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.
On November 18, 1978 what has been called the largest mass suicide in modern history occurred in Jonestown, Guyana where 909 members of The Peoples Temple died. Jim Jones was the leader of the Peoples Temple Church and religious movement. The church was looked highly upon by many back in the 1950-1970’s. All races and backgrounds were brought together as one in his congregation. Religion serves as a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday life and oppression by the powerful. Most of Jones’s followers lived lives that they were dissatisfied with and they felt as if the movement gave them a purpose. Many of his followers believed that Jim brought more opportunities into their lives and allowed them to change for
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
The topic I have the most interest in from the textbook is Chapter 14: Social Psychology. I have chosen this topic because I believe that psychology cannot be thoroughly researched without knowing the social trends and influence it has on people. Without knowing what to expect from people, it becomes more difficult to know what to hypothesize or what you want to happen. I hope to learn more about social norms and the ability it has to influence our instinctive thoughts and actions before we realize and analyze what it is we should do. For example, the most common and relevant discovery of social psychology is the Bystander effect. This is when an audience does not feel the need or feel as guilty when someone is in dire need of help or assistance. Our first reaction is to help them, as it is instinct for most people to help. However if there is a crowd of people that just stand around waiting for something to happen, you are more likely not to help and just allow more time to pass before someone actually does help that person. This effect throws out our instinctive reaction to help and not do anything.
Former research is an explicit indicator of how one's behavior can be a product of the situation that person is present in. Experiment one of "Automaticity of Social Behaviour: Direct Effects of Trait Construct and Stereotype Activation on Action that trait concepts and stereotypes" by John A. Bargh, Mark Chen, and Lara Burrows of New York University provides an experiment analyzing that behaviour through an experiment which will form the basis of critique in this paper.
Social structure and social interaction are based on two levels of analysis: Macrosociology and microsociology. Macrosociology, like its name describes, is focused on the broad view of society and how it studies society’s behavior. Theorists can analyze and distinguish the different social classes and groups in society. Microsociology is focused on social interaction, how people react and what they do when they are together. Theorists can examine people’s behaviors and how they communicate to one another. Both can be used to understand society and society’s social life.
The purpose of this handbook is to integrate concepts from the learning and cognitive psychology course to use as a professional guide for young children. The concepts within the handbook will provide valuable developmental skills that young children will encounter throughout their life. The learning and cognition course provided numerous theoretical perspectives and strategies to give a better understanding of the development of young children. It is important to know how children develop, think, and learn. Based on the chosen construct, this professional guide will lead young children in the right direction of success, with the help of professional guidance.
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.
In the future, I ultimately intend to be a psychologist. With being a psychologist, I am taking on the responsibility on how to lead people into having an overall better life and promote positive change for them. Psychologists often specialize in studying and examining the brain and human behavior. That being said, psychology is a very important branch of science that attempts to help us stay sane!