Social Psychology
Social Psychology
Introduction
Social psychology is a field that explores how interaction between people affects the behaviors of individuals. It seeks to explore the interaction between sociological and mental processing in defining the behaviors of individuals. This paper has evaluated the principles that are associated with the practice of social psychology. These include; discovering self, thinking about others, influencing others, relationships building, and group dynamics. The paper has also evaluated the future of social psychology. Social psychology is likely to be driven by issues such as globalization, technological advancement, health and environmental conservation. Social psychological is a goal oriented field that seek to fulfill the social and psychological needs of individuals. These needs include social connection, love, sense of belonging, self awareness, self esteem and many others.
Principles Associated with Social Psychology
1. Discovering the Self
Discovering the self is one of the essential principles of social psychology. Social psychology seeks to explore how individual visualize the self within the social context. It is concerned worth how we perceive ourselves and our interactions with others.
a. Self-concept, awareness, and self-schemas
Self concept is an essential term in the social psychology. Self concept refers to the perception that individuals have of the self. Self concept consists of two basic components; self content and self structure (Boyce, 2008). Self content refers to information that affects individuals’ definition of the self. This includes beliefs, values, self knowledge and self evaluation. Self structure refers to the way the information about the self is structured. Self concept enables individual to distinguish themselves from others and to categorize themselves (Boyce, 2008). This is what is referred to as self awareness.
Self awareness is also an essential term in social psychology. Self awareness refers to the ability of individuals to distinguish themselves from others and the environment. It entails having knowledge one ones’ personality, beliefs, emotions, strengths and weaknesses (McLeod, 2008). Self awareness affects our self image and thus affects our attitude toward self and others. In adequate awareness of self can result in a self image that is not a real representation of a person. Thus, self awareness has a significant impact on our behaviors and interaction with others. Social psychology seeks to explore factors that affect self awareness (McLeod, 2008). Social psychologist assists individuals to enhance self awareness.
Self schema is also an essential element in the process of discovering the self. Self schema refers to ideas or beliefs that people hold about the self that result in a biased representation of the self (McLeod, 2008). Culture is one of the significant determinants of self schema. Culture consists of a set of beliefs and values that are practiced by a group of people. These beliefs and values tend to influence how individuals perceive the self. Self schema is also affected by the environment. People tend to align their behaviors with the prevailing circumstances (McLeod, 2008). For instance, individuals exhibit certain traits while at the work place and completely different trait when socializing with friends.
b. The acting self
The acting self is also a vital element in the discovery of the self. The acting self is that responsible for actions that are committed by individuals. Social psychology focuses on understanding factors that drive the acting self (Boyce, 2008). One of these factors is the external environment. Many people act according to what is expected within the environment in which they operate. Thus, their environment becomes the primary driver of the acting self. Another significant driver of the acting self is the judging self. People whose actions are influenced significantly by the environment are said to exhibit external locus of control (Boyce, 2008). This refers to values and principles that are innate to an individual. People whose actions are driven by the judging self are said to exhibit internal locus of control.
c. Self-esteem and self-efficacy
Self esteem is associated to the level at which an individual value the self or approves of the self. Self esteem is an essential determining human behaviors and an individual’s relationship with others (Boyce, 2008). Self esteem is dependent on how individual evaluate themselves. Self evaluation can result in a negative or positive self esteem. Individuals with positive self esteem tend to exhibit confidence in the abilities, optimism and least concern about what other people think of them. On the other hand, people with low self esteem tend to exhibit limited confidence in their abilities, pessimism and a lot of concern about what other people think of them.
Self efficacy refers to a person’s perception about his capability to execute certain actions that are necessary in order to manage certain situations (Boyce, 2008). Self efficacy determines how people respond to circumstances. Thus, self efficacy is an essential determinant of the behaviors of individuals. Individuals with a low sense of self efficacy tend to think that circumstances are out of their control. These individuals tend to rely on other people and the environment while dealing with situations (Boyce, 2008). They also tend to avoid challenges and tend to focus on their weaknesses. Social psychology examines an individual’s perception concerning his ability to influence situations and how this perception affects his interactions with other people.
2. Thinking About Others
Social psychology also explores individuals thinking about others. A person’s perception of others is a great determinant of the person’s behaviors and relationships within other people.
a. Attributions
Attribution is an essential concept in social psychology. Attribution refers to the way in which a person attaches meaning to a certain event or phenomenon. It is concerned with how individuals explain events or phenomena (Crisp & Turner, 2010). There are two main types of attribution; internal and external. Internal attribution is whereby a person associates the occurrence of events with factors that are within their control. These factors are such as effort, personality and many others. External attribution is whereby an individual attributes the occurrence of events to factors that beyond their control (Crisp & Turner, 2010). The type of attribution that an individual has determines how this individual interprets the behaviors of other people. Thus, attribution has a significant impact on an individual’ relationship with others.
b. Attitudes and behavior
Attitudes and behaviors also have a significant impact on how we perceive other people. Attitude refers to a person’s way of evaluating things, people or issues (Plous, 2008). Social psychology seeks to explore how attitude forms, how it influences behaviors and the perception of individuals towards others. People’s attitudes are shaped by a varied of aspects. These aspects include; personal experiences, observations, social norms and social roles. Attitudes results in the formation of strong opinions concerning certain issues, event and behaviors. Thus, individuals tend to use these opinions to develop their perception about others (Plous, 2008). Attitude consists of an emotional and cognitive element. Emotional component refers to the feeling generated by a certain issue while the cognitive component refers to the thoughts generated by this issue. Attitude often influences people’s behaviors. How at times people may alter their attitudes in order to align them with their behaviors.
c. Prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination
Prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination also affect an individual’s interaction with other people. Stereotype refers to a generalized assumption concern a certain group of people. It is an image held by an individual concern a certain group of people (Plous, 2008). For instance, the association of members of the African American community with crime amount to stereotyping. Stereotyping leads to prejudice. Prejudice refers to the existence of a certain attitude towards members of a certain community as a result of presence of a certain stereotype (Plous, 2008). For example, a person may develop a dislike for members of the African American community due to their association with crime. Prejudice can also lead to discrimination. Discrimination refers to positive or negative actions towards members of a certain group due to the presence of prejudice (Plous, 2008). For example, a person may choose to avoid the company of African American due to the stereotype that exists. Stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination have significant impacts on an individual’s behaviors and relationships.
3. Influencing Others: Persuasion
Social psychology also explores how an individual influences other people. It is concerned with how a person uses the power of persuasion to make other fulfill this person’s goals.
a. Persuasion techniques
Persuasion is the process in which a person attempts to convince other people to change their behaviors and attitudes in regard to a certain issue (Crisp & Turner, 2010). One of the techniques of persuasion is providing a set of reward and punishment. This is where a person promotes desired behaviors by attaching positive consequences and discourages unwanted behavior by linking them with negative consequences. Another persuasion technique is classical conditioning. This is whereby a person links the desired behaviors with an element that is appealing to the targeted audience (Crisp & Turner, 2010). For example, a manufacturer can motivate people to purchasing a shaving cream by associating the cream with a person that people like. People tend to purchase the product mainly because they like the person and not because they need the product. A person can also create a need in order to convince others to approve a certain behavior. The person creates a message that appeal to other people’s social needs. Moral appeal and reciprocity are also strong persuasion techniques (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Moral appeal is where by an individual attempt to instill moral consciousness in order to promote behavioral change. Reciprocity is whereby a person convinces others to do something for him by doing something for them.
b. Characteristics of the persuader, message, audience
The characteristics of the persuader, message and audience, affects the persuasion process. The persuader must demonstrate credibility in order to appeal to the audience (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Persons that are considered untrustworthy experience difficulties in persuading others. The persuader must also demonstrate a high level of competency. The audience would love an assurance that the persuader know what he is talking about (Crisp & Turner, 2010). The persuasion message must be clear in order for it to achieve the desired goals. The persuader must craft messages that are tailored to the audience in order to enhance understanding. The message must also be consistent. This means that it should demonstrate similar principles and standards. The audience must also demonstrate commitment to the course advanced by the persuader (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Low commitment on the part of the audience my hinder the persuasion process.
4. Influencing Others: Obedience and Conformity
Obedience and conformity are also essential factors in social influence. Obedience refers to changes in behavior that originate instructions given by an authority figure (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). There are a number of factors that affect obedience. These factors include the presence of an authority figure, proximity of authority figure to the victim, personal responsibilities and escalation of harm. Conformity refers to change of behavior in response to social pressure (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). Individuals change their behaviors in order to make them consistent with the expectations of a certain group. Factors that influence conformity include; age difference, gender difference, informational influence, awareness of norms and size of the group.
a. Aggressive behavior and aggression cues
Aggression refers to behaviors that are directed toward hurting someone (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). It refers to the actual act that is intended to cause harm to another person. Aggression may either be instrumental or hostile. Instrumental aggression is whereby the person uses the aggressive behaviors as means to achieve certain goals (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). Hostile aggression is whereby the sole intention of the aggressive behaviors is to cause harm. Aggression has social and psychological implications make this an essential subject of study in the field social psychology.
b. Prosocial behavior
Social psychology also focuses on developing prosocial behaviors. These are behaviors that are directed towards helping other people (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). Persons with prosocial behavior exhibit concern for other people’s rights and feelings (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). Prosocial behavior is an essential element in human interaction.
c. Relationship building, love, and attraction
Social psychologists also help individual to build relationships and love. Relationships are created when one person become dependent on another for certain issues (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). Building relationships begins with the establishment of cognitive interdependence. This is whereby the individuals with the relationship get to know each other through interaction and disclosure. The relationship then proceeds to the behavioral interdependence. This is whereby the individuals within the relationship transform the behaviors of the others (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). The individuals in the relationship become conscious of the needs of the other party and change their behaviors in order to make them consistent with the needs. The relationship may also proceed to the affective interdependence stage, which is also referred to as the intimacy stage. This is positive emotional bond and sense of connectedness between people
5. Group Dynamics
a. Types of groups
Groups are an essential part of social life. This refers to two or more people are brought together by common interests. There are four main types of groups. The first type is the intimacy groups. This refers to people who are brought together by a strong emotional bond (Crisp & Turner, 2010). This group comprises of; family, friends, and romantic relationships. The second type of groups is the task group. This refers to people who are brought together for the purpose of accomplishing a certain task (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Task group may comprise of colleagues, work groups, schoolmates and boards. The third type of groups is the social group. These are people who are brought together by social elements such as; gender, religion, countries, race or regions (Crisp & Turner, 2010). The final type of group is the loose association. This refers to people brought together by elements by elements which are least binding. For instance, living in the same street or loving the same genre of music.
b. Consequences of Groupthink
Groupthink is the tendency of a group to arrive at decisions through consensus rather than critical thinking by the individual members of the group (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Groupthink occurs in groups that have a strong cohesion, strong leadership and are isolated from external influences. One of the consequences of groupthink is that it tends to perpetuate the ideas of the most dominant members of the groups (Crisp & Turner, 2010). Ideas from the least influential members of the groups are ignored. Groupthink may also lead to loss of individual identity and autonomy.
c. Social dilemmas
Social dilemmas refer to situations where the interests of a group crash with the objectives of individual members of the groups (Weber, Kopelman & Messick, 2004). In these situations, individual receive higher reward by making a choice that favor personal interest than by making a choice that favor the wellbeing of the group. All individuals in the group receive lower collective benefits by making choices that favor personal gain than by making choices that favor collective gain (Weber, Kopelman & Messick, 2004). Social psychologists try to understand and resolve these dilemmas.
Future of social psychology
Social psychology seeks to address the psychological and social needs that are presented by the prevailing environment. In the past and the present, social psychologists have been driven by issues such as racism, gender, altruism, world war and aids crisis (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). In the future, social psychology may be driven by several emerging issues. One of these issues is globalization. Globalization is leading to unification of different societies of the world. This may change how people interact and behave. Social psychology is will also be driven by the issue of technology (Baron & Branscombe, 2011). In recent years, the world has experienced remarkable developments in the information technology field. This has begun to affect how people live, interact and communicate. Social psychology may pay attention to exploring the effects of these technologies to the human society. Other issues that may form a central area of focus in the field of social psychology include; terrorism, health, global warming and other ecological issues (Baron & Branscombe, 2011).
Conclusion
Social psychological is a goal oriented field that seek to fulfill the social and psychological needs of individuals. These needs include social connection, love, sense of belonging, self awareness, self esteem and many others. Social psychology is a field that explores how interaction between people affects the behaviors of individuals. It seeks to explore the interaction between sociological and mental processing in defining the behaviors of individuals. This paper has evaluated the principles that are associated with the practice of social psychology. These include; discovering self, thinking about others, influencing others, relationships building, and group dynamics. The paper has also evaluated the future of social psychology. Social psychology is likely to be driven by issues such as globalization, technological advancement, health and environmental conservation.
References
Baron R. & Branscombe N. (2011). Social Psychology. USA. Pearson Publishers
Boyce K. (2008). Self Structure and Self Concept Clarity. USA. ProQuest Publishers
Crisp R. & Turner R. (2010). Essential Social Psychology. USA. Sage Publishers
McLeod S. (2008). Self Concept. December 31, 2012. http://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html
Plous S. (2008). The Psychology of Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination. December 31, 2012. http://www.digitalisman.com/hope/edu/global/proj/www.simplypsychology.org-Prejudice.pdf
Weber M. Kopelman S. & Messick D. (2004). Decision Making in Social Dilemmas: A Conceptual Review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 8 (3): 281- 307
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