What Is Social Psychology

Social psychology is a study which seeks to learn and understand social behavior. It tells us more about the group behavior, how we interact and how it impacts our decisions. According to scientist Gordon Allport (1958), social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific method to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of another human being. Social psychology is not limited to any social topics but looks at a wide range of social topics such as group behavior, social perception, leadership, non-verbal behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice just to name a few. social psychology is not just about looking at social influences. Social perception and social interaction are also vital to understanding social behavior.

Social psychology is a very wide topic in psychology since it deals with the way humans interact and how these interactions are influenced or expressed in society. A social psychologist looks at the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of both individuals and groups. The field also examines interpersonal interaction, analyzing the way in which someone interacts with other people, whether on a singular basis or in the form of a large group. Social psychology also examines cultural influences like advertisements, books, films, television, and radio, looking at the ways in which these influences impact human behavior. Like many scientists, social psychologists like to use empirical methods to conduct studies in their fields. These methods often involve experiments which can bring up complex ethical issues. One of the most infamous social psychology experiments was the Stanford Prison Experiment, which was ultimately shut down because it got out of control. Social psychologists rely on the efforts of ethics committees and review panels to ensure that their work is ethically allowable, in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of questionable experiments.

In short social psychology aims at understanding each and every aspect of the social behavior of people and also to understand their mindset and how it impacts their decision making abilities. Social psychology is much different than other disciplines such as sociology because it does not use wisdom and anecdotal observations to lay out facts instead it uses scientific methods and empirical study of phenomena, social psychology is usually considered as sub-fields of psychology and sociology which concentrates on the importance of individuals and their social influences and effects.

Sociological social psychology usually emphasizes the processes outside of a person at a more distant macro level such as person's social interactions. Psychological social psychologist tends to take an interactional approach to human social development which emphasizes factors within the person's cognition, affect, motives, neuropsychological and personality traits and their immediate

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