...Social Psychology Definition Paper Douglas Cooper PSY/400 April 4, 2016 Ami Taharka Social Psychology Definition Paper How do people think about, influence, and relate to each other? These are just some of the questions that social psychologists are looking to answer. This paper will further define social psychology’s goals to elicit a richer understanding of the field. It will discuss how social psychology differs from other disciplines, such as clinical psychology, general psychology, and sociology and why those differences are important. Finally, it will examine research methods and strategies that social psychologist utilize to answer questions. Social Psychology Defined According to our text, social psychology “is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another” (Myers, 2010, pg. 4). It is a relatively young science, that some may confuse with sociology. Whereas sociology focuses on group dynamics, social psychology focuses more on how individuals interact with each other. At the heart of social psychology are three different constructs. These are: social thinking (what we perceive about ourselves and other, what we believe, the judgements we make, and our attitudes), social influence (culture, conformity pressures, persuasion), and social relations (prejudice, aggression, attraction and intimacy, and helping). There are several concepts that contribute to these constructs. Some of these include the following. First is that...
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...Social Influences on Behavior Debbie Noonan PSY 300 October 15, 2011 Ashley Dolecki Social Influences on Behavior Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. These are the broad questions that social psychologists and personality psychologists seek to answer. By exploring such inner motivations such as traits, attitudes, and goals and looking at the situation or context such as social norms, social psychologists seek to unravel how interactions such as romance, friendship, aggression, and group interactions affect social areas of our lives. Although personality psychology focuses on the individual, and social psychology on the situation, the two perspectives are often explored together in explanations of human behavior in psychology. This paper shall outline human behavior changes based on two social situations, teasing and prejudice, and the precursors and consequences of those behaviors. Teasing is almost as much a part of childhood as skinned knees and runny noses, but the effects of that teasing can have long-lasting and profound effects. Is there a place for this behavior? We do playful teasing every day, poking fun at the coworker who is always running late, commenting on someone’s choice of words, or even making innocent comments about our spouse’s choice of clothing for the evening. Is this teasing acceptable in all situations? How do we know when it isn’t? One of the...
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...Abstract: Identity is an abstract, complex and dynamic concept. As a result of those characteristics, identity is not easily defined. According to Pinney, a principal objective of one’s adolescent years is the formation of an identity, and “those who fail to achieve a secure identity are faced with identity confusion, a lack of clarity about who they are and what their role is in life” This suggest that identity development plays a critical role in the individual’s psychological well-being. Thus the necessity of understanding your sense of identity is self-evident. In summary, in this assignment, I’m going to discuss the importance of identity, and the relation between the identity and role of a person portray and enact. To begin with, identity plays an important role in our daily life, and the Identity I’m talking about here is not just a set of computerised data that distinguish me from you and you from me; Identity is a complex term, which links self attitudes, or identities, to the role relationships and role-related behaviour of individuals. Identity theorists argue that the self consists of a collection of identities, each of which is based on occupying a particular role (Stryker, 1968; Stryker & Burke, 2000). Identities can be defined as one's answers to the question 'Who am I?" (Stryker & Serpe, 1982). Many of the "answers" (e.g., "I am a student") are linked to the roles we occupy, so they are often referred to as "role identities" or simply, "identities...
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...directed towards developing a model to explain the consumer's’ intention to adopt e-Wallet in the social context. It adopts Consumer Need for Uniqueness Theory based on the concept of Counter-Conformity Motivation (CCM) also known as Need For Uniqueness. Many researchers had explored the relationship of consumer’s intention to adopt on the technological usage context. However, little research in social context had been carried out. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the factors affecting the consumer adoption intention in social context. This paper found that CCM, self-identity and word-of-mouth (WOM) are the salient determinants in this study of knowledge of consumer adoption intention in e-Wallet. Keywords: e-Wallet, intention to adopt, counter-conformity motivation, need for uniqueness 1.0 Introduction According to the historical evidence, the first use of money is assumed to have started around 600 BC in term of coins (Davies and Davies, 2002). However, the world is evolving, due to the rapid change in technology. Most of the consumers have changed their ways of making bill payment. E-Wallet is the latest trend and phenomenon as the outcome of technology advancement (Patel,V, 2016). Not only that, Doan, N (2014, p. 6) claims that Mobile Wallet can also be known as Digital Wallet when the smartphone can function as the leather wallet. Mobile wallet is simply defined as a payment solution for the consumers as they would be able to make...
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...Chapter 1 What is social psychology? LEARNING OUTCOMES When you have finished studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1 Outline the main differences between experimental and critical approaches to social psychology. 2 Describe the three main ‘metaphysical battles’ between them. 3 Trace the origins of social psychology through the work of William McDougall and William James, and the contributions made by Völkerpsychologie and crowd psychology. 4 Describe the two contrasting images of ‘the person’ in social psychology. 5 Identify the roots of and describe the historical development of both experimental and critical social psychology. 6 Describe the main elements of Modernism and Postmodernism, and how these relate to contemporary social psychology. 7 Explain how these two approaches are different, and why they cannot be integrated. Introduction On a March night in 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked by a maniac as she came home from work at 3 A.M. Thirty-eight of her Kew Gardens neighbors came to their windows when she cried out in terror – but no one came to her assistance. Even though the attack, which resulted in her death, lasted more than half an hour, no one even so much as called the police. . . . The thirty-eight witnesses to Kitty 3 4 FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES Genovese’s murder did not merely look at the scene once and then ignore it. Instead they continued to stare out, fascinated, distressed, unwilling to act but unable...
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...Foundations of Psychology Jackie Bartlett Abstract Kowalski, R.,& Westen. D. (2005). Psychology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley This paper will examine basic concepts of human interaction from a psychology perspective. It will describe at least two examples of how human behavior changes based on social situations. The two behaviors that this paper will examine are teenagers who drink in a crowd of their peers but don't drink when they are alone and taking part in bullying in a group but not alone. In both of these scenarios the individual who participates in the behaviors to fit in are “changing their attitudes or behavior to accommodate the standards of peers or group by a process called conformity (Kowalski & Westen, 2005).” The paper will also discuss precursors and consequences of both of these behaviors. Next, the paper will analyze and identify any associated phenomenon like social facilitation, social loafing , or groupthink. Last, there will be some discussion from the NIMH on whether or not these behaviors necessitate intervention. Social Influences Paper Introduction “Sociologist and philosophers have recognized that people behave different in crowds than they do as individuals and that a crowd is more than the mere sum of its parts (Kowalski & Westen, 2005).” Human behavior changes based on the social situations they encounter. This paper will examine basic concepts of human interaction...
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...extent of individual views of good, competence, and decent. Within this activity paper we will discuss why self esteem is important, and why there are discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal self. This paper will discuss the theory of cognitive dissonance in regards to the self-evaluation theory, self-affirmation theory and the realization trap while defining the self-discrepancy theory. The need for high individual self-esteem may lead to irrational logic and individual actions against their own best interest as will be theoretically supported throughout this paper. Concluding that our teams position, will support the theory that individual competence may be inaccurate at times to maintain individual self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as an individual’s estimate of his or hers own self-worth and the extent of individual views of what is good competent and decent. This activity paper will discuss the importance of self-esteem and explore any discrepancies between the actual self and the ideal self. The theory of cognitive dissonance as it relates to the self-evaluation theory, self-affirmation theory and the realization trap will be covered while also defining the self-discrepancy theory. This paper will theoretically support the concept of the need for high individual self-esteem and how it may lead to irrational logic and individual actions that work against a person’s own best interest. It will conclude with the team position that individual competence may be inaccurate...
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...Social Psychology Conshombia McArthur PSY 555 January 14, 2012 Dr. Newcomer According to Fiske, social psychology is the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings (2010, p. 4). Meaning that the actions of the individual are dictated to by the group and without the presence of the group one’s action might be different. The variant nuances unique to the individual are inhibited in an attempt to conform to the standards of the group. Social psychologists examine the interpersonal interactions of a person to develop an understanding about the human condition (Fiske, 2010, p. 35). With this being the case, how then an individual one measure thoughts, feelings, and behavior to prove a hypothesis? The ability to take a vague concept and transform it into a solidified and valid idea is the goal of many psychologists. Traditionally, social psychology has focused on the study of individuals. It assumes that complex social processes, behaviors, or attitudes can be explained by an analytical focus on the individual. The foundations for this individualist position were laid by Floyd Allport (1924) who dismissed the group as a meaningful level of analysis for social psychology. For instance, Allport claimed that “If we take care of the individual, psychologically speaking, then the groups will take care of themselves” (Allport, 1924, p.9). The...
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...Social Psychology Defined According to Fiske (2010), the classic definition of social psychology is, “the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings” (p. 4). Social psychology is all about people influencing other people. It is all of the ways that people impact other people from trivial behavior to important behavior such as torturing innocent people, as soldiers sometimes have done (Fiske, 2010, pg. 2). In other words, social psychology is doing what others around them are doing (Fiske, 2010, pg. 2). Social Psychology is at the far end of the social sciences, which lean towards macro levels of analysis. According to Fiske (2010), Sociology looks at small groups, families, and neighborhoods, institutions, cities, to nations and psychology looks at the individual. Thus, social psychology is the study of human behavior in a social context. The Four Key Characteristics of Social Psychology The study of human behavior from a social perspective is characterized by four key elements. The four elements are broad scope, cultural, scientific methods, and the search for wisdom. Furthermore, social psychology encompasses a very broad point of view such as conformity and deviance, altruism and aggression, loving and hating, self and groups, attitudes and actions (Fiske, 2010, pg. 15). In sum, it addresses the whole human being. Therefore, social psychology...
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...Social Psychology Paper Christina Bacon Psych/555 April 4, 2016 Dr. Dobier Social Psychology Paper This paper will attempt to analyze the foundations of social psychology, and to do so this paper will explain what social psychology is, what the four characteristics of social psychology is and how they are addressed. Situationism will be discussed as well as what role it plays, and what the five social motives are and how they affect the field of psychology. Defining Social Psychology Firstly, the definition of social psychology is simply people influencing other people. It is the attempt, or rather the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of other people are shaped by the presence of others. For instance, public speaking, now most people have a significant reaction to speaking in front of others. Usually they are nervous and scared or they are confident and comfortable. The role of social psychology would be trying to explain the reason the individual feels that way. Another example would be a professor in front of his or her classroom, if the teacher asked their students to remove their shoes and throw them into a nearby receptacle, most if not all of the students would comply. The role of the social psychologist would be to try and explain the different reactions that the students felt (Fiske, 2010). Analyzing the four characteristics There are four characteristics of social psychology and they are broad scope, cultural...
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...Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1 (2008), 190–193. Copyright ª 2008 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 1754-9426/08 Inaccurate Performance Ratings Are a Reflection of Larger Organizational Issues MICHAEL M. HARRIS University of Missouri-St. Louis DAN ISPAS AND GREG F. SCHMIDT University of South Florida Murphy (2008) suggests that there is generally only a ‘‘weak’’ relationship between job performance and ratings of job performance, arguing that supervisory performance ratings get little respect, and he questions whether the benefits of performance appraisal even outweigh the costs. Despite these doubts, most organizations continue to collect performance ratings and to conduct performance appraisals with their employees. We contend that industrial and organizational (I–O) psychologists should conduct more research on this issue before discarding the notion that performance ratings are practically useless. We extend Murphy’s comments by elaborating on rater motivation (mentioned in passing by Murphy) and rater accountability (not included in Murphy’s discussion). Our informal, anecdotal conversations with managers suggest to us that indeed, line managers do not often think highly of their Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael M. Harris. E-mail: mharris@ umsl.edu Address: College of Business Administration, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63121 Michael M. Harris, Department...
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...Social influence occurs when one's emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others.[1] Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing. In 1958, Harvard psychologist, Herbert Kelman identified three broad varieties of social influence.[2] 1. Compliance is when people appear to agree with others, but actually keep their dissenting opinions private. 2. Identification is when people are influenced by someone who is liked and respected, such as a famous celebrity. 3. Internalization is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately. Morton Deutsch and Harold Gerard described two psychological needs that lead humans to conform to the expectations of others. These include our need to be right (informational social influence), and our need to be liked (normative social influence).[3] Informational influence (or social proof) is an influence to accept information from another as evidence about reality. Informational influence comes into play when people are uncertain, either because stimuli are intrinsically ambiguous or because there is social disagreement. Normative influence is an influence to conform to the positive expectations of others. In terms of Kelman's typology, normative influence leads to public compliance, whereas informational influence leads to private acceptance. [edit] Types Social Influence is a broad term...
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...focus has remained on the individual as a solitary and, for the most part, purely intellec tive being. Although cognitive psychology's increasing engagement with com plex tasks has pressed the field toward a consideration of the context of problem solving as an important element in cognition, little attention has been paid to intentions, motivations, social interpretations, or cognitive functioning in interaction with others. A continuing debate among cognitive psychologists concerns the relative importance of general processes (sometimes called "skills") versus domain specific knowledge in generating competent performance. Most now agree that "experts" in a domain are characterized by large pools of quickly accessi ble and highly specific knowledge, that general skills and domain-specific knowledge can to some degree compensate for one another, and that general skills are "weak" compared to domain-specific knowledge but are nonetheless crucial in allowing for novel performances. Recognition of the importance of domain-specific knowledge took the cog nitive psychologist on a first step toward eventual inclusion of social...
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...Mattye Thomas A Reference Guide of Social Psychology PSY 301: Social Psychology Laura Majoch December 17, 2012 A Reference Guide of Social Psychology Most individuals do not have a complete understanding about their social being. They are unsure of themselves and the things they are capable of. This reference guide will provide information pertaining how individuals discover more about their selves being consider of others, having some influence on others, whether persuading or obedient and conformity and some type of group dynamics. This information may help individuals to see their way through certain situations that may occur unexpectedly in their lives. A good source of reference with well detailed insights, would guide a person to the path of figuring out “self.” “Discovering the Self” How does one discover their self? We must discover ourselves by completely vacating our minds of all erroneous purposes that have been taught, and think of all the positive, yet true purposes of life. You can acquire this by setting goals, establishing values, and deciding early on in life the things that are important to one self. You may surround yourself around people who do not like you as much. Over a period of time, you begin to think less of yourself and this will affect your self-esteem. When individuals see their selves in the mirror, they do not stop to think whether the person they see is truly them; not a person others see them as. Individuals have to use their common...
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...In social psychology there are many aspects of the things that we do in our daily lives that have been scientifically investigated through scientific method for the sake of getting to know human behavior and to put reasoning behind the thought, feeling and behavior of human beings as they are influence by our environment and others, basically why we do what we do. Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics some of which are perception, behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice to name a few. This paper will highlight a few of the terminologies and theories in this discipline also give overview to some of these afore mentioned topics. Starting with the terminology used in social psychology we look at the concept of self, it is stated in the text Introduction to Social Psychology self-concept “is the collection of things you know about yourself—such as your overall cognitive understanding (learned beliefs, attitudes, and opinions) about yourself” (Feenstra, 2011). Looking at this statement, it can be determined that the ideas learned throughout life about one’s self is a product self-concept. Self schema is what is understood and gathered from self-concept. Text defines self-schema as “organizing this information, affecting how we view the world and takes in information” (Feenstra, 2011). What are gathered from a person as far as the sports they may play, going to church and time spent with my family are all things that can attribute to ones self-concept...
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