Social Psychology Is the Study

Social psychology is the study of how groups and people interact with one another. Psychologists study this, and sociologists study it, as well (Livingston & Judge, 2008). There are different goals that these two groups have, though, and they look at the issue differently and for different reasons (Livingston & Judge, 2008). The interactions of people are fascinating to a lot of scholars, but whether groups are studied or whether individuals are studied more closely has a lot to do with whether one is looking at a sociologist or a psychologist.

Regardless of who is being studied, however, what is studied is very similar. Situationism is one area that is very important to explore, because it flies in the face of most of the previous theories (Molden & Dweck, 2006). Situationism basically says that how a person reacts to his or her circumstances and situation has much more to do with that individual's personality than genetic traits (Livingston & Judge, 2008).

If people are really influenced more by their situations than they are by their motivations and other internal factors, that will seriously upset many of the ideas that are seen in the field of psychology today. Social psychology, therefore, is a concept that not everyone can agree on (Livingston & Judge, 2008). One area where these kinds of theories and beliefs can be more easily tested is work and employment, because it is much different in many cases from home life.

First impressions in the workplace are usually fairly accurate, and someone can generally tell after a few minutes whether they are going to like someone else, or whether the differences between the two of them are too great to overlook. These situational issues are at the heart of situationism and play a large role in social psychology. People who can respect others' differences are important to the dynamics of any group, and will greatly contribute to decision-making (Livingston & Judge, 2008).

Likewise, some differences are important in all kinds of work environments, because they contribute to group dynamics and therefore help with decision making, but differences that are too large can sometimes cause people to spend too much time worrying about or arguing about differences instead of going on to deal with the task that they have been assigned and using their differences to look at the problem from various angles (Chartrand, van Baaren, & Bargh, 2006).

Looking at a problem from several different angles and viewpoints is the ultimate goal of group work and group decision-making. Having people who are different from one another helps to avoid 'groupthink' and contributes to in-depth discussions and better ideas than could be found in a group where the participants were basically all alike (Chartrand, van Baaren, & Bargh, 2006). How a person reacts to others and to the situation, though, can seriously affect the outcome of the group.

Society is made up of many different kinds of people, so a good group will be comprised of the same. This will help to ensure the success of whatever decision that the group comes to, since there will be a greater suggestion that the public will be receptive to it, as based on the opinions of the various group members.

Both internal and external information must be tracked in order to make good decisions, and both internal and external information has to be used to make up a good understanding of one's specific world. A manager or a group cannot make a sensible decision for a company by judging only.