Social Psychology Essays (Examples)

Social Psychology

Statement of the learner intends to research

hat I would like to be informed about regarding social psychology is all the ways and applications in which this concept can be understood and applied. Not just in scholarly situations but in every-day activities, among friends, at work, or in social situation. Having a good understanding of any aspect of psychology for a student (or any alert person) in these times is helpful and the pursuit of that understanding brings insight and knowledge.

hat the learner hypothesizes vis-a-vis what he may discover in the literature

The discoveries that are available in the literature are going to be fun to explore, and I have a clue that they will relate to human behavior from a scientific perspective. I would imagine those scholarly journals will likely relate to leadership, to social behaviors from the perspective of individuals and from the perspective of…

Social Psychology

There are two roots from which Social Psychology is derived: sociology and psychology. Sociology is the study of how groups of people interact with each other. Psychology is the study of how individuals think and act on their own. Combining these two areas of study led to the development of social psychology.

Social psychology does consider the things sociologists consider, including how large groups work together and what members of various groups are expected to do and what they expect others to do. It considers the organizations formed by humans to help conduct life, including schools and government organizations and even leisure organizations, such as social clubs and sports clubs.

But it also considers the psychology of the people in all those groups. It takes into account the ways in which the groups work with the psychology of the individuals, and it takes into account the ways the…

Social Psychology

Social Biases

Social bias is a concept which should need no explanation, however, unfortunately, that is not the case. In this society, instances of social bias are insidious and all pervasive. They are represented by prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. Also unfortunate, is the fact that social bias is not always obvious because it can manifest in either subtle or blatant form. Furthermore, though not always apparent, individual lives are continuously impacted by bias, be it stereotyping, prejudice, or outright discrimination. There are, however, strategies which may be employed to overcome social biases. It is only with a thorough understanding of what social bias is, how it affects individuals, and availing oneself of the tools to eradicate it, that it may eventually dissipate thereby removing the negative impact that it has on individuals, groups, and society as a whole.

Essentially, social bias is a general concept which refers to…

Social psychology has only existed as it is defined, within the last eighty years, with growth accelerating in the past four decades. Social psychology enables analysis of the cognitive and social processes in relation to human-to-human interaction. "Social psychology, the scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others" (Smith, Mackie & Claypool, 2014, p. 11). It allows people to see from an objective standpoint how people engage with each other on a social level. Studies concerning social psychology, test reactions of people and social groups.

In the modern era, contemporary social psychology takes on its own history and meaning within the field of social psychology. "Contemporary social psychology is a product of its own history and of the history of the societies in which it developed" (Smith, Mackie & Claypool, 2014, p. 9). Delving deeper into the context…

Social Psychology

There are a number of varying definitions of attraction. In an interpersonal, social sense, however, attraction is simply the gravitation between a person towards another due to several factors, some of the most eminent of which are familiarity, similarity, and reciprocity. When all three of these factors are present, there is a strong propensity for attraction to exist between people. Moreover, this combination usually leads to mutual attraction.

Familiarity is often a principle determinant in attraction for the simple fact that it denotes a feeling of comfort. This feeling is conducive to attraction between people, because when they are comfortable around one another (Smith and Mackie, 2007, p. 397)they are able to relax and enjoy themselves. The degree of felicity that comfort allows is an integral part of attraction. People who are happy tend to gravitate towards others who help them feel this way. Additionally, familiarity breeds attraction…

Social Psychology: Matrix Management

Corporations are consistently seeking ways to improve their overall organizational performance and consumer's perceptions of their quality service and innovativeness. Over the last several years, the matrix structure of management, where an employee has a direct report manager but also is influenced and heavily directed (and sometimes funded) by another manager/organization has become a major organizational trend. Matrix management is rapidly becoming popularized and adopted by corporations seeking solutions to budgetary, manpower and productivity issues.

To the individual a matrix management type of strategy presents the challenges of serving two masters. To managers, it presents challenges in directing the behavior of employee's that do not report directly to them and that they cannot directly reprimand or fire. For matrix teams, members also often struggle with varying agendas and incentive plans, thus management is faced with a challenge when attempting to coalesce the team. Power struggles and…

Social Psychology

Smiling and Head Tilting

Importance in nonverbal communication according to Brazilian study

The Nature of apport and Its Nonverbal Correlates

Defining and developing rapport

Nonverbal correlates of rapport

Method for Teaching About Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

Instructional techniques that make use of the Interpersonal Perception Task (IPT)

Instructional uses of the IPT

Evaluation of the IPT as a teaching method

NONVEBAL COMMUNICATION

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze three journal articles on nonverbal communication. Specifically, it will contain a written review summarizing what the studies were, and what their findings were.

NONVEBAL COMMUNICATION

The first journal article profiled a study on head tilting and smiling, and what effect it had on the perception of the person. The importance of this study is two-fold. First, there had been few studies on smiling and the perception of smiling before this study was completed, and most…

Social psychology is the branch of psychology that involves the scientific study of how individuals think about, relate to, and influence each other (Myers, 2012). Social psychology emphasizes several different aspects of behavior: (a) the situational influences that affect how people interact for relate to each other; (b) how cognitions interact with relationships and behavior; and (c) how and how the individual or group relates to or influences others (Myers, 2012). To put it simply social psychology studies people in the social context.

General psychology can be generally described as the study of mental functions and behavior (American Psychological Association, 2013). All disciplines of psychology study behavior in a specific context. The context of behavior that social psychology specializes in is the social context or as stated above how people think about, relate to, and affect other people. This is one aspect of general psychology. Another aspect of psychology would…

ocial Psychology Differ When Applied in Different Cultural Context

ocial Psychology within a humanistic critique

Being social is a harmless and innate characteristic of the human nature. People who like to socialize like to share their own personal space with people around them. They encourage and even initiate interactions like conversation and friendship. The reality TV shows have become a rage due to the fact that our society as a whole has become so interested in the social lives of other people. The word 'sociable' has been described by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as "inclined by nature to companionship with others of the same species" and/or "inclined to seek or enjoy companionship" ("ociable," 2013, n.d.). In other words, we can say that sociable is looking for companionship as, it's a part of our nature to look for companions belonging to the same genus and searching or looking for company that…

Social Psychology

Cognitive processes, social interactions, cultural context, and biological factors are what form what social psychology is in regards to and also how it is trained in that social psychologists are typically concerned in an individual with stress on all the things that make a person who they act the way they do are and who they are and what they think and also how they perform socially (Baron, Branscombe, & Bryne, 2008). As stated by psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychology is looked at as discipline that utilizes the scientific approaches "to try and get an understanding and also explaining how the feeling, thought and conduct of people are affected by the real, unreal or understood attendance of other human-beings. Social psychology has been able to get a glimpse at a wide variety of social topics, and that includes things such as nonverbal behavior, leadership, social perception, group behavior,…

They deal with both short-term and long-term disorders and everything from childhood problems to schizophrenia. Where social psychology may deal with the influences of advertising on various groups of people, clinical psychology might focus on the emotional disorder an individual has from being overwhelmed by our society today including that 24-hour a day advertising that makes him crazy along with other stresses.

General Psychology

General psychology is the study of the brain (mind), and such concepts as perception, emotion, recognition, and the behaviors that stem from them. There is not a focus on a specific type of psychology but rather knowledge of all aspects of the science. Many general psychologists work in diverse areas such as human resources, advertising, market research, etc. And apply their knowledge of psychology to those functional areas.

Sociology

Sociology provides different perspectives on any major or significant social issue you might think of. Sociologists study…

Psychology and Social PsychologySocial psychology is considered the scientific study of how individuals thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are influenced by other peoples behaviors and characteristics, notwithstanding if these behaviors and characteristics are inferred, real, or imagined. Social psychology is critical in understanding how the psychology of individuals works and the external factors that have an overarching impact on developing the self-concept.Psychology and social psychology intersect as the individuals interact; they may act following social expectations or depending on peoples behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts in different cultures (Morris & Maisto, 2016). Thus, behaviors often are perceived as reflections of individual traits, such as values and attitudes, instead of situational behavior that other peoples social expectations may prompt.Social psychology acknowledges peoples behaviors are greatly influenced by a sense of universality, exploring how social behaviors differ in different cultures. Further, social psychology is not oblivious to the biological influence on a persons behavior;…

Simply put, social psychology addresses “individual behavior in a social context,” (McLeod, 2007). Social psychology differs both from sociology and other approaches to psychology, in that it focuses on micro issues related to the individual’s self-concept and psychological coping specifically with regards to social stimuli. Although not as famous as other branches of psychology like cognitive behaviorism or psychoanalysis, social psychology nevertheless plays a tremendous role in improving mental health outcomes. As Bandawe (2010) points out, social psychology is instrumental in predicting individual responses to public health messages or the willingness to adapt health-seeking behaviors. Social psychologists can also contribute to fields like education, marketing, and the media.
Social psychology is actually one of the oldest branches of psychological inquiry. Philosophers from Aristotle to Hegel postulated about individual responses to social situations (McLeod, 2007). However, the first formal references to social psychology include German research conducted on Volkerpsychologie in 1860,…

Stanley Milgram’s groundbreaking psychological experiments on obedience remain famous not just because of what they revealed about human behavior, but also because of how they drew attention to the need for more robust ethical codes in psychological research. Burger (2009) replicates Milgram’s most famous obedience studies in “Replicating Milgram,” tweaking the methodology to ensure ethical treatment of research participants. Therefore, the Burger (2009) experiment uses slightly different experimental approaches. Experimental approaches “have long been a mainstay of the natural science disciplines,” and the “value and applicability of these approaches is relatively new to research examining the psychological, political, and economic dimensions of human life online,” (Oxford Internet Institute, 2017, p. 1). No non-experimental approaches were used in the original Milgram or the Burger (2009) studies.
The Milgram experiments were so groundbreaking as to lead to new theory development in behavioral and social psychology. Milgram worked with the hypothesis that obedience…

Social psychology is the study of human behavior in social situations, showing how social pressures and sociological variables can impact psychological phenomenon such as identity, motivation, personality, or behavior. A quintessential topic in the field of social psychology is bullying. Bullying can be studied from a public health perspective, showing how the external variables such as how a school is designed and the leadership and organizational culture of the school affects risk factors implicated in bullying behaviors or victimization patterns. Alternatively, bullying can be examined from a purely psychological perspective to reveal the factors implicated in aggressive physical or verbal behaviors or alternatively, to study victim characteristics or why some bystanders refuse to step in when they observe bullying behaviors. This latter issue links in with the social psychology approach. The social psychology of bullying examines factors like why some people perpetrate bullying behaviors due to their upbringing, their sense…

Social Psychology Concept Matrix

Social Psychology Concept

Application to Society

Provide Example

Criminal Justice

Provide Example

Application to the Individual

Provide Example

The researcher selects a certain number of people from the population that he/she wants to study and presents them with a list of questions on the topic asking them to respond in order to elicit their opinion.

The survey can be conducted in writing, over the phone, as face-to-face interview, or in a small-group oral format

The survey can be used to, for instance, discover the expectations that citizens wish from their new president.

The citizens of the country can be polled and asked what they wish the president to accomplish for them / their country in the new term. Results can tell the government what the citizens most wish to be implemented in their country.

Tjaden and Thoennes (2000) surveyed men and women to find their comparable…

Thus, this aspect can multiply into many sub-genres that focus on one or more aspects of the social world as they contribute to influencing behaviors and innate thought processes. Focusing on the social means looking for more abstract concepts that relate to existence within a social world. Actually trying to predict later success in publication, "Predicting the future success of junior scholars is of great concern to academic hiring committees," (Haslam & Lamb 2009:144). Yet it is based within two correlating variables that can then be compared, "It is therefore reasonable to predict that publication success during graduate school may be associated with publication success later in people's academic careers," (Haslam & Lamb 2009:144). Although the subject is socially constructed, the method of analysis is still quantitatively measured. Even this study shows quantitative measurement use- using mathematical prediction models in analysis of data (Haslam & Lamb 2009). egression analysis, common…

Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior

Introduction & Outline of the

esearch Evaluation

Concepts of Social Psychology

Attitudes and Persuasion

Social Identity Theory

Social Influences

Cultural and Gender Influences

Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior

Introduction & Outline of the Essay

Social psychology deals with different aspects of social life and social behavior. People not only have feelings and opinions about nearly everything they come into contact with, but the argument has been made that we need to have these feelings and opinions. The current essay is aimed at exploring the principles of persuasion influencing group behavior. The foundation for this essay is text book "Social Psychology" by Myers (2010) which discusses the attitude theory and persuasion, reviewing how attitudes are structured and how this structure influences their susceptibility to change

The essay is divided into four sections. In the first section…

Social psychology, both as an academic and a professional practice, is extremely useful for elucidating the phenomenon of high rates of suicide within the military, and within the United States in general. The frequency of the occurrence of suicide within the military is explicitly denoted within Brewin's article (2013), in which there are record rates for suicide in the armed services in 2013 and the "number of military suicides has more than doubled since 2001" (p. 1). Sweeping phenomena such as the high incidence of suicide within a specific population setting validates social psychology as a discipline, since it is apparent that such problems are indicative of social concerns. Such problems will not simply go away, and require psychological means to address this issue.

This fact is widely alluded to within the aforementioned article. One of the chief reasons for suicide is the general perception that seeking counseling or psychological…

Social psychology is a very broad field that takes in the many varieties of group dynamics, perceptions and interactions. Its origins date back to the late-19th Century, but it really became a major field during and after the Second orld ar, in order to explain phenomena like aggression, obedience, stereotypes, mass propaganda, conformity, and attribution of positive or negative characteristics to other groups. Among the most famous social psychological studies are the obedience experiments of Stanley Milgram and the groupthink research of Irving Janus (Feenstra Chapter 1). Authority figures are very important in influencing the behavior and attitudes of groups, as advertising pioneers like Edward Bernays and Nazi propagandists like Josef Goebbels realized early in the 20th Century. Human beings naturally categorize others into groups, and attribute values, attitudes and stereotypes to them, while they also tend to favor members of their own group (Feenstra Chapter 2). Social psychologists have…

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 aaren, & argh, 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.

oth internal and external information must be tracked in order to…

I have had friends that I've known since I was in grade school. Our initial interaction occurred because of our attraction toward one another. We had so many things in common, such as the same favorite television shows and the same favorite sports. Our proximity to one another also aided in the development of this attraction toward one another. We all lived on the same block and therefore had more opportunities to interact with one another outside of the school setting.

Although physical attractiveness did not necessarily influence our friendship, according to Myers (2012), it is usually the first step in any sort of relationship, even those that are platonic in nature. The theory of physical attractiveness is based on research conducted that tends to suggest that people who are viewed as being more physically attractive are seen as being more approachable (Myers, 2012). My relationship with my friends can…

Social psychology view: What ensures that women are treated fairly in office settings in the United States?

One of the most prudent applications of social psychology within contemporary settings are those that relate to gender. Gender issues can become exacerbated when they are viewed within particular social constructs, such as the work environment. Due to the fact that the majority of the world was initially a patriarchal society (particularly in the United States) before modern conceptions of gender became prevalent, the role of women within the work environment is one which is certainly worthy of investigation in terms of how women are treated, what sorts of issues they must contend with, and how others (men) consider working women. The principle difference between contemporary and most historic notions of gender pertaining to women in the workplace is that in modern times, there is supposed to be a substantial greater amount of…

They perceive their self-worth mainly in connection with those achievements and their confidence in social situations is largely dependent on the knowledge that others recognize them for those attributes (Branden, 2007).

The Shift from False Confidence to Self-Efficacy

I experienced a period during my later childhood and adolescence where I now realize I had substituted unjustified fears and apprehensions with unjustified confidence and positive beliefs about myself that exceeded my actual abilities. My parents meant to instill in me a sense of self-esteem by inflating my self-image. However, in doing so, they actually infused me with what I have more recently learned to recognize as false confidence. Because I was taught to "be confident" I became equally confident in situations where I knew almost nothing as I was in situations where I deserved to be confident. On several occasions, I allowed myself to become argumentative even after realizing that I…

Social psychologists have shown that a group can be heavily influenced by the dominating, authoritarian decision making of one or more strong supporters of the death penalty.

Despite the democratic process of picking jury members, many typical jury selection practices later lead the group of twelve picked to be of a certain caliber, based on the characteristics of those chosen and how those characteristics relate within a group setting. Since the 1970's, social psychologists have been used by counsel to help ensure victory in the outcome of certain cases. Due to the influential potential of a jury's opinion, venue becomes essential in the outcome of the case. The trial of the police officers in the Rodney King beating was set in Simi Valley; the general population being extremely conservative and too many, racist. Modern professionals trained in jury selection based on social psychology findings are known in today's industry as…

Western Sexual Mores and Fundamental Beliefs about omantic Love:

Beyond the unfair effect of gender-based differential sexual socialization on sexually liberated women in dating relationships, another component of American social psychology often undermines romantic happiness. Specifically, the many messages about romance and marriage that help shape the American view of love suggest that: (1) sexual desire between couples who love each other is exclusive; (2) sexual desire for others indicates a failure of a relationship (or lack of character or sincerity of one's partner); and (3) sexual jealousy is an indication of romantic love (Branden 2002).

Sexual jealousy is practically universal in romantic love within Western society (Buss 2000), but the fact of the matter is, at least in human beings, it is a learned reaction that is virtually unknown in several known aboriginal societies (Barash & Lipton 2001).

Despite the fact that psychologists consider sexual fidelity a matter of…

Social Psychology 2nd

Morality and Group elations: Possible Bias

The article entitled "Morality and intergroup relations: Threats to safety and group image predict the desire to interact with outgroup and ingroup members" as written by Brambilla et al. is comprised of three different research studies. However, each of these studies explores different facets of the same phenomena: how morality within and outside of groups varies by type of threat, and what sort of behavior these threats elicit from these same groups (Brambilla et al., 2013, p. 813). There is an extreme amount of relevance to the research conducted within this article and the principle research question of the present author, who is attempting to ascertain the meaning of relationships with moral development and reasoning in social groups.

Prior to stratifying the analysis of this paper to the three respective studies, it is necessary to mention various salient factors regarding the…

Social Psychology

The Power of the Situation

Sam Sommers (2008) writes in an article entitled The Elusive Power of Daily Situations about an incident in which he broke a finger of each one of his hands and had to undergo a minor surgical operation that was necessary to ensure the healing process. He describes how this situation was altered for him by his anxiety over the various choices and complications that were part of this type of surgery, by the discomfort he felt wearing a flimsy hospital gown that he was unable to tie due to his broken fingers and being in an unfamiliar place, and by his embarrassment at the incident that resulted in the injury in the first place. Sommers relates this to the phenomena of the power of the daily situation as he writes "As we know from decades of research in social psychology, many of us…

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AND ANSWER EITHER a OR B. AND ANSWER C...YOU WILL ANSWER a TOTAL OF TWO QUESTIONS: 1. Answer AB.A. Asian, Hispanic, White American, Black American students tend agree makes attractive female face.

Social psychology

Arranged marriage seems fundamentally anathema to the American culture of individualism and choice. Historically, in Western culture, the ideal of romantic love has emphasized passion and personal autonomy. In Romeo and Juliet, the 'bad' parents try to push Juliet into an arranged marriage vs. her desired match with her true love Romeo. However, the Indian writer Shoba Narayan states that our belief in star-crossed love may be a cultural illusion. She points to her own, modern arranged marriage with a man with whom she has an equal partnership and her failed attempts at traditional American courtship. Narayan points out cultures with high rates of arranged marriages have low divorce rates…

Therefore, the person who chooses to suspend his interests to comply with those artificial externally-imposed social values for the benefit of others will ultimately always suffer disadvantage because others cannot be counted upon to do so consistently and in a meaningful way, at least not beyond the ability of the state to control and ensure.

To Freud, modern civilization provides various tangible benefits to the individual but only at a tremendous cost. While living in society and with the benefits of government protection against the uncontrolled expression of the selfish will of others is a benefit, the fact that our goals and values, and the component elements of our psychological personas are determined and shaped to such a great extent by external society generates much if not all of the psychological pain and trauma experienced by individuals.

Personal Response and Conclusion

There is substantial value as well as inherent weaknesses…

A model that stresses the fact that people in a generally bad mood or situation will seek out pro-social behaviors, i.e. To help others to make him or herself feel better. (Berkowitz 185) Though this theory has often been contested, not simply because it tends to negate altruism but because people in bad moods tend not to seek out the doing of good deeds, (Berkowitz 186) these two examples of pro-social behavior in this film are both realistic and examples of the negative state relief model of action.

The first example is when Rob agrees to help two skater slackers and frequent shoplifters at his store to produce a record. Rob does not have a record label but it is a logical extension of his love of music and of human progress. He walks into the store, where Barry and Dick are listening to a demo tape of Vince and…

This decision has proved to be the wrong one, both morally and for their health. Thus, their decision makings skills are called into question, and their behavior has influenced their ability to weigh situations carefully and make the right choices. They did not weigh the side affects at the time, (or did not understand them), and thus paid a price for their choice.

Socially, STDs are a growing problem in America because they erode the health of mostly young Americans, and until the rise in STDs stops, health care costs will continue to rise. More education on the negative results of poor behavioral choices is necessary, as is basic education in STDs, what they are and how they are acquired, could be one way to help stop the epidemic and create a better social environment at the same time.

eferences

Furby, L., Ochs, L.M. And Thomas Smith, C.W. (1997) Sexually…

According to Freud, human societies require people to give up many of their most natural instincts and to replace their natural desires with the need to satisfy the "false standards of measurement" such as the "power, success and wealth [that they seek] for themselves and admire & #8230; in others, and that [as a result,] they underestimate what is of true value in life." Fred suggested that the need to live up to the standards and expectations set by society causes "too many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks" and that "to bear it we cannot dispense with palliative measures." By that, Freud meant that all of the psychological mechanisms, substitutions, and escapes that cause psychological problems and that often prevent human happiness. These ideas introduced by Freud about the psychological price paid by people living in society would later be part of the views of several other 20th century sociological…

Additionally, Sociocultural theory assumes that individuals develop self-concepts through interaction with others, and we are influenced by culture and social processes, such as social norms. Social norms dictate that girls are more sensitive and boys are less emotional, thus further explaining the gender differences in the above case study.

The two predictions of how these interactions affect a child's development are: 1) if the child is treated with more love, intimacy, and talked to about feelings, the child will grow up being more sensitive to others and more open to discuss their feelings with others. If the child is taught not to respond to their feelings, or let their emotions guide them, the child will grow up to be less sensitive, more aggressive and less likely to discuss their feelings. Depending on treatment, a child may grow up to have negative qualities, such as violence or repressed anger.

These interactions…

This is evidenced from the fact that in all the 19 studies mentioned above, children from single parent families showed a higher rate of criminal behavior. (Manning and Lamb 2004), one of the studies that used ADD Health data in the survey showed that family consolidation by remarriages has little positive impact for children. "The advantage of marriage appears to exist primarily when the child is the biological offspring of both parents.." [IMAPP] Yet another study, that analyzed 4671 eights grade students representing 35 schools from 10 cities in the nation, revealed that greater exposure to single parent children in a school setting has a negative effect on children irrespective of their own family structure while another study reported that living in an intact family "decreased gang involvement by more than 50%...." [IMAPP] This survey of research had some drawbacks to it in that there was not a uniform criteria…

Early trauma that causes anger often corresponds to higher levels of aggression later in life, especially where the traumas are suppressed and internalized instead of being expressed at the time of their origin and at the source.

Furthermore, since many dysfunctional families forbid the expression of anger by children (particularly anger toward parents), individuals who experience significant levels of early trauma that produces repressed anger are often considerably more aggressive throughout life subsequently than individuals who were fortunate not to experience as much early trauma (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005). Aggression is a known factor in criminal conduct as well as other forms of non-criminal negative social behavior such as those associated with overt prejudice and other types of social intolerance toward others (Macionis 2003).

Aggression and Prejudice:

One of the primary ways that aggression-prone individuals express their repressed rage is in their treatment of other less powerful individuals (Gerrig &…

..]; and (b) external factors that involve juror and defendant demographic characteristics" (Gordon & Anderson, 1995, p. 455-456). These factors can be difficult, if not impossible to overcome, and lead to numerous problems in the court system, from hung juries to incorrect decisions about guilt or innocence.

Trial lawyers are exceedingly good at using social psychology methods during trials. These lawyers use the principles of how people relate to each other and get along in life to make their clients seem more sympathetic and innocent to the jury and judge. For example, a murder suspect comes to court with his young baby in the front row for all the jury and courtroom to see. These psychological persuasion tactics are quite influential to many jurors, who have their own belief systems and ideas about what is right and wrong and the lawyers understand this and use it to their advantage.

eferences…

.....starting point for research, I am selecting Scenario Two: Police Interrogations and False Confessions. The reason why I am selecting scenario two is that I have some degree of familiarity with the subject, and am fascinated by the ways people behave under pressure from authority figures, particularly law enforcement. I am also interested in scenario three related to the psychological aspects of disaster preparedness, but am more interested and concerned with criminal justice generally. Therefore, I narrowed down my selection of the scenarios mainly because of personal interest and curiosity about the subject matter, which motivates my desire to conduct the research necessary to write a proposal and complete the report.

Scenario Two described involving false confessions raises several points about the ethics of criminal justice, and how officers lie in order to extract information from suspects or witnesses. That information should not be admissible in court but sometimes is…

Optimism and Pessimism Relates to Stress and Coping with Cancer

An increasing amount of research links negative and positive emotional states to wellness or ill health. The negative or pessimistic emotions seem to have a negative effect on the immune system and on general health. Pessimism has been shown to be unhealthy and have adverse effects on health, including increasing the risk of cancer and preventing recovery from the disease. On the other hand, positive or optimistic emotions have been shown to strengthen immune function and bring good health. (Gillman, 1989)

There is a wealth of research that suggests optimism has a positive association with better mental and physical health, as well as coping with stress. Pessimism has been linked to a higher risk of death before the age of 65, while positive emotions, like optimism, are linked to lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol, better immune function, and…

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND WHAT DOES IT AIM TO STUDY?

Inspired by Kurt Lewin (1951), social psychology adopted the experimental method to study human behavior (Wood & Kroger, 1998). In this regard, Wood and Kroger (1998) report that, "Lewin's experiments in leadership style (autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire) became classics in the new experimental social psychology" (p. 267). Lewins' early work was carried on by Festinger and others who explored cognitive dissonance for the next 20 years at MIT and subsequently at the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota, making this one of the foundations of social psychology (Wood & Kroger, 1998).

Simply stated, social psychology uses the scientific method to study human social behavior (ogers, 2003). According to ogers, psychological social psychology "studies how social events and phenomena influence the ways in which individual people feel, think and act. It is concerned with the psychological processes (such as social perception and cognition) that…

Part C

A number of excuses are given over the course of the film. The brother and sister of one of the perpetrators said they initially assumed the killer was drunk and disoriented. Later, they say that they didn't want to be involved in something 'negative.' The girlfriend of one of the killers also said he initially sounded drunk and confused. When she discovered the body of the victim, she called 911, but refused to give much information. The mother of one of the killer's friends says she was initially told the victim was fine, and then assumed he had been taken to an area hospital after the body was discovered. When 911 was called -- twice -- the vague attitude of both of the callers caused emergency personnel to treat the call as a non-emergency.

Decision tree

Source: Prevos, Peter. (2006, January 3). Explanation models for the bystander effect…

social science indentified as social psychology studies the influences that affect how individuals in a society interact with one another (Kenrick, 2006). In doing so, it applies scientific methods to measure how a variety of different factors such as group behavior, social perception, leadership, conformity, aggression and prejudice serve to affect how members of society relate to each other. In doing so, social psychologists examine the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of both the individuals and groups who incorporate society. They also measure the effect that culture factors such as advertising, television, literature, and the movies contribute to these interactions.

Through the study of social psychology experts in the field use empirical methods in an attempt to explain why people organize themselves in groups, make decisions, behave in deviant ways, and form dating relationships. The field of social psychology has adopted a number of approaches to study in this area but…

Ancient ome openly accepted male-to-female transsexuals, allowing them to assume female identities without negative social repercussions, obviously long before the science existed for them to have gender-reassignment surgery (eitz, 1998). Modern Indian society has Hijiras, transsexuals that, while not always treated with respect, are accorded their own gender identity and not relegated to male or female (eitz, 1998). The Dine/Navajos recognized three sexes: male, female, and Nadles. The Nadles could be intersexed people or transsexual people of either gender (eitz, 1998). The Sioux referred to transsexuals as Winkte, and allowed them to completely assume their preferred gender. "Physical females lived as male warriors, and had wives, while physical males lived their lives completely as women. In Sioux society no special magic was associated with this, it was just considered a way of correcting a mistake of nature" (eitz, 1998). What these examples make clear is that, in a different society,…

Cognitive and Social Psychology

Cognitive & Social Psychology

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

The critical period for learning language has been shown by research that examined the fluency of non-native English speakers according to their age upon arrival in the United States. The language ability of the non-native English speakers was measured by their ability on tests of English grammar and vocabulary, but this ability declines from the roughly the age of seven and older.

While it does seem that it would be easier for a student to learn multiple languages in school if they were learning them at the same time, there is some evidence that it may be difficult in other ways. Although the acquisition of language is largely governed by neural maturity in the brain areas that control language and speech, differences also reside in the individuals as well. Some people will have difficulty with language acquisition overall, others will…

In the (control) group the professor wore the same shirt without any label attached. The shirt was unstained and fresh-looking but not new.

Finally, after the initial data collection, the subjects were advised of the genuine research topic and method in connection with a request for their consent to analyze the results participant-by-participant. Originally, they were assured of anonymity. All 20 participants granted consent to analyze their responses individually.

Experimental Hypothesis and Variables

Hypotheses

Hypothesis #1 -- the control group will characterize the professor's attire as

"Casual" or "Unprofessional."

Hypothesis #2 -- the test group will characterize the professor's attire as

"Fashionable."

Hypothesis # 3 -- the control group will characterize the professor's style as

"Tries too hard."

Hypothesis # 4 -- the test group will characterize the professor's style as

"Probably quite well."

Independent Variable

The independent variable is the presence or absence of the "DKNY" label on the…

Rosewood is a film particularly suitable and interesting for the application of social psychology. It concerns the story of a black community in early 20th-century Florida. The community was rather a-typical of the time, since black people were wealthy landowners. The neighboring company town of Sumner on the other hand, was occupied by poor white people, who were jealous of the wealth they observed in Rosewood. This setting provides a backdrop for social psychological analysis concerning ingroups and outgroups, and how racism leads to escalating tension.

Prejudice and Racism

Prejudice, according to rehm, Kassin & Fein (147), can be unintentional. It also means the stereotyping of a certain group of people on the irrational grounds of a perceived threat, exacerbated by the fact that little personal information is available about the target of prejudice. In the film, prejudice against black people is a paradigm of the historical time. The likelihood…

Social Psychology Studies: Explaining Irrational Individual Behavior by Understanding Group Dynamics

Social psychology is, as its name suggests, a science that blends the fields of psychology, which is the study of the individual, and sociology, which is the study of groups. Social psychology examines how the individual is influenced by the group. It looks at the influence of group or cultural norms on individual behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. However, because group norms are believed to change behavior, social psychology can be very difficult to document; the presence of the observer is believed to change behavior. As a result, social psychologists have developed a number of different studies aimed at investigating the interaction between group expectations and individual behavior. These studies offer insight into human social behavior, particularly into those social behaviors that seem to defy expectations and well-established social norms.

While there have been numerous social psychology studies since the…

Social Psych

Applied social psychology refers to the application of social psychological theories and research to practice. Social psychology is the study of human behavior in social situations. The field draws as much from sociology as psychology, to describe issues like gender, race, and power but from a more individualistic perspective. Whereas sociology is interested more in the macro processes shaping society and its institutions, social psychology is concerned with the role the individual plays and how social factors shape personal identity and behavior. The application of social psychology could be in a range of professional fields including private counseling, school counseling, or social work. Some of the most important applications of social psychology are in the realm of public policy analysis and development, or in administration. Issues such as attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms are probed in the research, as are problems related to criminality and aggression.

I will…

Social Psychology

One point in the evolution of social psychology that interests me is the Nazi influence upon social psychology in the United States. Before and after WWII, Nazis in various sciences sought and found refuge in the United States. Many of them, because of their experience and education, were put to work. Kurt Lewin is one of these notable Nazis that came from Germany, one of what were called, Gestalt psychologists. This is interesting for a few reasons. Average Americans forget or are ignorant of how many Nazis fled to the states and have had direct influences on many of the things we find in everyday life. It is somewhat ironic that a country that continues to vilify Nazis, especially in the media, owes so much to this group. It is interesting also in that the Nazis, though the agenda of their leader was extreme and flawed, were excellent…

Self and Social Psychology

Social psychology is a relatively new field of study in modern science. Its focus is on the identity of the "Self" -- the sense of individuality: the component parts that make up who one "is" and the meaning of the "whole" Self. This paper acts as a referenced for individuals unfamiliar with the general principles of social psychology. It aims to provide the reader with a basic overview of the field and to define key principles often used by social psychologists.

Discovering the Self

Self-Concept, Awareness, and Self-Schemas

Discovering the Self in social psychology can seem as simple as posing the question, "Who am I?" (Myers, 2010, p. 13). But answering the question is where the discovery of Self really begins. One's sense of identity, sense of self, sense of gender, race, categorical social grouping all factor into the answer. "Who am I?" raises the issue…

behavior?

Prejudice and social psychology

Gender-based stereotypes and influence of society

Cultural impact of host cultures

The contribution of Stanley Milgram has been significant in the field of social psychology. Milgram conducted experiments of human behavior in a laboratory setting and concluded that obedience to authority usually disregards moral or legal normative standards. An individual's behavior is thus shaped by the environment, people around, and his figure of authority. "Because humans are social animals, human behavior is strongly influenced by behavior of other humans; this influence is often very direct"(Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2003; Pg. 18). The current paper investigates as to what extent the human behavior is influenced by others. The paper adopts an investigative approach and cites peer reviewed articles to substantiate the discussion. Social identity theory is also an important theoretical explanation that explains how and why an individual voluntarily gets influenced from socially constructed relationships.

Introduction

Stanley…

History Of Social Psychology: Past and Future Directions

The fields of psychology and social psychology owe their existence to the earlier philosophical thinkers including Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant. However, the recognized founder of the field (by most historians) is the German scientist Wilhelm Wundt (Farr, 2003). In 1862 Wundt proposed that there psychology should consist of two branches: a social branch and a physiological branch of psychology (Farr, 2003). From Wundt's view psychology was more concerned with studying immediate conscious experience as opposed to studying overt behavior. However, in 1890 Wundt published the first volume of a classic 10-volume set of social psychology which described and analyzed a wide variety of social thought and social behaviors. Although Wundt's ideas and writings carried significant influence in Europe, his writings were not translated into English until sometime later. The behaviorist view became the more influential paradigm in the United…

History Of Social Psychology

According to Kruglanski and Stroebe (2012) social psychology is defined as the scientific study of how a person's feelings, behaviors, and thoughts are influenced by the implied, imagined, or real presence of other people. Social psychology will analyze various social topics including social perception, behavior leadership, conformity, prejudice, nonverbal behavior, and aggression. It attempts to understand a person's behavior in a social context. Therefore, social psychology will look at human behavior as other people and the social setting that this occurs shape it. Social psychologists will deal with the factors that lead a person to behave in a given way in front of others, and it looks at the conditions in which some behaviors and feelings will occur. Social psychology is a young field that began in the 20th century. Around 90% of all social psychologists are believed to be alive. The early influencers of this…

History Of Social Psychology

Social Psychology studies how people's thoughts emotions and feelings are influenced by what they see, hear or observe from their immediate environment (Feenstra, 2013). It also involves to how the same people respond to these influencers within their living environment. We must appreciate the fact that human beings are sensitive and receptive to all that goes on within their living environment. They react to the stimuli they get through sight or hearing. It the early days before the Second World War, psychologists and sociologists used to interact mostly in their course of action. This interaction resulted in the development of this field of social psychology. It has helped in understanding the intricate aspects of human socio-psychological phenomena (Burns, 2008).

Social Psychology theories

There are more than ten theories developed as from the late mid 20th century concerning the area of social psychology. They all explain the…

Internet is a significantly essential research place for sociologists examining hypothesis of technology transmission, as well as, media effects. The reason for this critical importance is because it is a channel exclusively competent of putting together ways of communication and structures of substance. This paper tends to highlight and analyze various researches conducted on the Internet's implications in the realm of societal psychology, as well as, community capital.

The word, "Internet," actually refers to the electronic network of networks that connects people, as well as, information through computers and other digital devices permitting person-to-person communication, as well as, information recovery. Even though the late 1960s witnessed the commencement of an inherited network devoted to scientific (as well as, subsequent to 1975, military) communication, the Internet did not materialize until 1982; it started its quick gradient only in the early 1990s, when graphical boundaries turned out to be extensively obtainable and…

Personality Social Psychology

Suzanne Kobasa's Personality and Social Psychology article entitled "Stressful Life Events, Personality, and Health: An Inquiry into Hardiness" builds upon past research to examine individual and group differences regarding responses to stressful life events. The author provides extensive reviews of past literature, pointing out the limitations that led to her conducting the current study. Much literature has shown a correlation between stressful life events and physical illness; namely, that "stressful life events precipitate somatic and psychological disease," (Kobasa 1979, p.1). The current article in particular examines personality as a major mediating factor in the presence of physical illness following a series of stressful life events. Because prior research has shown that "the recent life histories of hospitalized persons contain significantly more frequent and serious stressful events than do histories of matched controls from the general population," Kobasa designed the current research to discover which personality factors were…

Social Psychology

The term 'applied social psychology' is used to denote a methodical utilization of socio-psychological models, study approaches and outcomes, concepts, ideologies, and intervention approaches for comprehending or ameliorating social issues. Psychologists belonging to this subfield concentrate on comprehending and solving practical issues and coming up with intervention approaches to enhance individual, organizational and societal response to social issues. While this domain's chief concern is the generic tackling of practical and social issues revolving around the environment, education, and so forth, social psychology may also help enrich people's lives (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Social psychological theories offer prescriptions to solve practical and social challenges. This paper is presented as a review of literature on social psychological theories and their generic role in resolving practical and social problems.

A key applied social psychological theory is Cognitive Dissonance, whose main premise is that an individual is driven to remain consistent…

Self-Handicapping

Urdan, Tim, and Carol Midgley. 2001. "Academic Self-Handicapping: What We Know; What More There Is to Learn." Educational Psychology Review 12:2, 115-130.

Urdan and Midgley's paper is a summary of their recent research on the topic of students, especially college students, who use self-handicapping in response to academic challenges. They explore the reasons for it as well as the short- and long-term effects of such behavior.

Their theoretical basis is goal theory, looking to see how goal-setting affects academic performance and the behavior of academic self-handicapping. They conducted four studies over the five years before this article was published, looking at academic self-handicapping from several perspectives and refining their approach with each study.

They defined "self-handicapping" very specifically. They noted that most researchers view it as deliberately setting obstacles in their way of good school performance. Some of those behaviors include procrastination, lack of effort or practice, excuse-making, lack…

White Oleander" and Social Psychology

"White Oleander" and Social Psychological Terms

The movie "White Oleander" was made in 2002, as an adaptation of Janet Fitch's book White Oleanders. It stars Alison Loman as Astrid Magnussen, Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother Ingrid, and Robin Wright and Renee Zellweger as foster mothers Starr and Claire. The movie follows the life of Astrid after her mother is convicted of murder. Astrid passes through several homes, and learns what it means to be both her mother's daughter and her own person. After Ingrid is convicted, Astrid is sent to her first foster home, with Starr. Astrid and Starr's much older boyfriend develop too close a relationship which breaks the family apart. After her first foster family dissolves, Astrid is briefly sent to a group home. Her third home is with Claire Richards, who she learns to love deeply, however the woman is incredibly troubled…

Sociobiology Theory and Criminology

Criminology field has varying psychological and biological theories that explain the criminality and factors that predispose individuals to engaging in criminal behaviors. Biological theories consider criminal behavior as a product of biological abnormality or defect. The criminal cannot change their behaviors because of the variation of their biological traits, thereby, forcing them to act in a specific manner. However, biological theory is considered odd with the presence of psychological theories that try to explain the factors and reasons behind criminality. Unlike the earlier, psychological theories, consider criminality as a product of offenders due to defects of the mental functioning, adjustment to the environmental forces, and individual development (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). Therefore, this essay analyzes the sociobiological theory that tries to explain the relationship between personality and criminality. The essay also analyzes the key elements that underpin the sociobiological theory and its philosophical basis.

Sociobiology refers…