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Social Psychology Definition Paper

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Running head: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DEFINITION PAPER

Social Psychology Definition Paper
PSY 400
October 24, 2011
Matt Diggs

Social Psychology Very often, one wonders why one acts the way he or she does. It just seems to be human nature to ask such questions and to try to discover more about the complexity of human actions and causes. Of course, there are many perspectives in the field of psychology that attempt to address these significant questions. For instance, biopsychology considers important factors including one’s brain, genetic predisposition, and many others when addressing behavior. However, social psychology, even though it agrees with other branches in psychology, does focus on different aspects when seeking these kinds of conclusions. Social psychology centers their attention on understanding human actions such as what led to the cruelty of killing millions of people during War II. Why will one always help him or herself first, before helping others? Why do others matter more when making decisions? Social psychology is essential not only to the field of psychology but also to every individual because it provides answers to questions one seeks about him or herself and others. However, social psychology does more than provide answers to these few questions, as these merely touch the surface of social psychology’s focus (Myers, 2010).
Definition of Social Psychology Social psychology is a science just like many other fields including astronomy, psychology, biology, sociology, and psychology. A much clearer distinction can be made however, when they are further divided. For instance, astronomy and biology are parts of natural science whereas sociology and social psychology are considered part of social science because they study the social aspect of human nature. Simply put, social psychology primarily considers how others

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