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- Anchoring and Adjustment: Anchoring refers to the cognitive bias where an initial piece of information is used to make subsequent judgments. If we’re adjusting, it means changing our judgement in light of new information.
- Attribution Theory: This term, introduced by Fritz Heider, argues that people intuitively attribute events and behaviors to certain factors in an attempt to explain and understand the social world.
- Availability Heuristic: Another term coined by psychologists Tversky and Kahneman, the availability heuristic means making judgments based on what’s readily available in our memory, rather than looking at all the alternatives.
- Bobo Doll Experiment: This experiment, conducted by Albert Bandura, demonstrated that children can learn aggressive behaviors simply by observing an adult acting aggressively toward a Bobo doll (an inflated, five-foot-tall doll).
- Principles
- History
- Scope
- References
Individual and Society Interplay: Social psychologists assume an interplay exists between individual minds and the broader social context. An individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are cont...Behavior is Contextual: One core assumption is that behavior can vary significantly based on the situation or context. While personal traits and dispositions matter, the circumstances or social env...Objective Reality is Difficult to Attain: Our perceptions of reality are influenced by personal beliefs, societal norms, and past experiences. Therefore, our understanding of “reality” is subjectiv...Social Reality is Constructed: Social psychologists believe that individuals actively construct their social world. Through processes like social categorization, attribution, and cognitive biases,...Early Influences
Aristotle believed that humans were naturally sociable, a necessity that allows us to live together (an individual-centered approach), whilst Plato felt that the state controlled the individual and encouraged social responsibility through social context (a socio-centered approach). Hegel (1770–1831) introduced the concept that society has inevitable links with the development of the social mind. This led to the idea of a group mind, which is important in the study of social psychology. Lazaru...
Early Texts
Texts focusing on social psychology first emerged in the 20th century. McDougall published the first notable book in English in 1908 (An Introduction to Social Psychology), which included chapters on emotion and sentiment, morality, character, and religion, quite different from those incorporated in the field today. He believed social behavior was innate/instinctive and, therefore, individual, hence his choice of topics. This belief is not the principle upheld in modern social psychology, how...
Journal Development
• 1950s – Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology • 1963 – Journal of Personality, British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology • 1965 – Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology • 1971 – Journal of Applied Social Psychology, European Journal of Social Psychology • 1975 – Social Psychology Quarterly, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin • 1982 – Social Cognition • 1984 – Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
The scope of social psychology is vast, reflecting the myriad ways social factors intertwine with individual cognition and behavior. Its principles and findings resonate in virtually every area of human interaction, making it a vital field for understanding and improving the human experience. 1. Interpersonal Relationships: This covers attraction, ...
Allport, F. H. (1920). The influence of the group upon association and thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(3), 159. Allport, F. H. (1924). Response to social stimulation in the group. Social psychology, 260-291. Allport, F. H. (1942). Methods in the study of collective action phenomena. The Journal of Social Psychology, 15(1), 165-185. B...
Sep 14, 2024 · Explore fundamental social psychology theories and their impact on human behavior, relationships, group dynamics, and attitude change in everyday life.
- The University of Adelaide
- What processes are involved in Social Psychology? Social psychology provides a lens into how group dynamics can influence choices and behaviour through a range of different perspectives.
- Social influence. Social influence refers to the way people change their ideas and behaviours to meet the needs of a group. Most people seek acceptance from their peers, employers or colleagues and may encounter social influence on a daily basis.
- Group behaviour. A group setting can impact a person’s behaviour in a variety of ways. This is referred to as group behaviour, which happens when a person’s decision making, and overall behaviour is influenced within a large or small-group situation.
- Social cognition. Social cognition focuses on the method of storing, processing and applying information in relation to others. There is a natural tendency to place importance on what others think, which can change a person’s thoughts, feelings and social interactions.
- Social Behavior Is Goal-Oriented. One essential social psychology concept is that our interactions serve goals or fulfill needs. Some common goals or needs include
- Situations Help Determine Outcome. Another key social psychological concept is that people often behave very differently depending on the situation. To fully understand why people do what they do, it is essential to look at individual characteristics, the situation and its context, and the interactions among all these variables.
- Social Situations Form Self-Concept. Another important social psychological concept is that social interactions help form our self-concept and our perceptions.
- We Analyze the Behavior of Others. Social psychology is also concerned with understanding how people think about what others are thinking, feeling, and doing.
Social psychology is a field of psychology that uses scientific methods to study how people, both in one-to-one and in group interactions, influence each other, interact with each other, and react to each other with thoughts and emotions (Bordens & Horowitz, 2013).
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Social psychology is the study of how individual or group behavior is influenced by the presence and behavior of others. The APA defines social psychology as “the study of how an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected” by other people, whether “actual, imagined, or symbolically represented.”.