Social Psychology Definition Paper
Social Psychology Definition Paper
PSY400
Social Psychology
Psychology covers a wide range of disciplines with social psychology and sociology at the boundary’s edge (Myers, 2010). Social psychology is a relatively new discipline with its present form established in the 1930s (Myers, 2010). Some of the ideas that social psychologists address are the creation of an individual social reality, social intuition, how social influences, individual attitudes, personality, and biology shape our behavior, and the application of the principles of social psychology in daily life (Myers, 2010). The strategies studied by social psychologists help to answer questions about beliefs, attitudes, independence, and conformity in individuals which differs from other disciplines and overlaps.
The subject of this paper will address the above-mentioned disciplines, the similarities and the differences in these disciplines as well as the strategies and research used to discover the social aspect of psychology in individuals.
Definition of Social Psychology
Social psychology is the study of how people think, act, and react with each other. According to Myers (2010) “…it is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another” (p. 4, para. 1). The way people think is dependent on the individual’s perception of the situation. Social perception is defined as how we see other social objects such as people and groups (Sewell, 1989). Social interaction includes issues such as cooperation, conflict, aggression, and interpersonal relationships and social influence is the connection between social perception and interaction (Sewell, 1989).
Differences between Social Psychology and Other Disciplines
Some overlap does exist between social psychology and sociology however social psychology’s main focus is on individual psychology in regard to social interactions whereas sociology focuses on the interaction of collective groups and societies. Social psychology
PSY400
Social Psychology
Psychology covers a wide range of disciplines with social psychology and sociology at the boundary’s edge (Myers, 2010). Social psychology is a relatively new discipline with its present form established in the 1930s (Myers, 2010). Some of the ideas that social psychologists address are the creation of an individual social reality, social intuition, how social influences, individual attitudes, personality, and biology shape our behavior, and the application of the principles of social psychology in daily life (Myers, 2010). The strategies studied by social psychologists help to answer questions about beliefs, attitudes, independence, and conformity in individuals which differs from other disciplines and overlaps.
The subject of this paper will address the above-mentioned disciplines, the similarities and the differences in these disciplines as well as the strategies and research used to discover the social aspect of psychology in individuals.
Definition of Social Psychology
Social psychology is the study of how people think, act, and react with each other. According to Myers (2010) “…it is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another” (p. 4, para. 1). The way people think is dependent on the individual’s perception of the situation. Social perception is defined as how we see other social objects such as people and groups (Sewell, 1989). Social interaction includes issues such as cooperation, conflict, aggression, and interpersonal relationships and social influence is the connection between social perception and interaction (Sewell, 1989).
Differences between Social Psychology and Other Disciplines
Some overlap does exist between social psychology and sociology however social psychology’s main focus is on individual psychology in regard to social interactions whereas sociology focuses on the interaction of collective groups and societies. Social psychology
References: Flick, U. (1998). The Psychology of the Social, Cambridge University Press, 1998. Meyers, D. (2010). Social Psychology (10th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Sewell, W. H. (1989). Some reflections on the golden age of interdisciplinary social psychology. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 15. Sun, R. (2008). The Cambridge Handbook of Computational Psychology. Cambridge University Press, New York. 2008.