JoHo kan jouw hulp goed gebruiken! Check hier de diverse studentenbanen die aansluiten bij je studie, je competenties verbeteren, je cv versterken en een bijdrage leveren aan een tolerantere wereld
Social psychology
Chapter 1
What is social psychology?
A definition of social psychology
Social psychology: the scientific study of the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others.
The scientific study
Social psychologist gather knowledge systematically by means of scientific methods. These methods help to produce knowledge that is less subject to the biases and distortions that often characterize common-sense knowledge.
The effects of social and cognitive processes
The presence of other people, the knowledge and opinions they pass on to us, and our feelings about the groups to which we belong all deeply influence us through social processes, whether we are with other people or alone. Our perceptions, memories, emotions, and motives also exert a pervasive influence on us through cognitive processes. Effects of social and cognitive processes are not separate but inextricably intertwined.
Social processes: the ways in which input from the people and groups around us affect our thoughts, feelings and actions.
Affect us even when others are not physically present.
The processes that affect us when others are present depend on how we interpret those others and their actions.
Cognitive processes: the ways in which our memories, perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and motives influence our understanding of the world and guide our actions.
The way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others
Social psychology focuses on the effects of social and cognitive processes on the way individuals perceive, influence and relate to others. Understanding these processes can help us comprehend why people act the way they do and may also help solve important social problems.
Social psychology seeks and understanding of the reasons people act the way they do in social situations.
Historical trends and current themes in social psychology
Social psychology is a product of its past.
Social psychology becomes an empirical science
Soon after the emergence of scientific psychology in the late 19th century, researchers began considering questions about social influences on human thought and action.
Social psychology splits from general psychology over what causes behavior
Throughout much of the 20th century, North American psychology was dominated by behaviorism, but social psychologists maintained an emphasis on the important effects of thoughts and feelings on behavior.
The rise of Nazism shapes the development of social psychology
In the 1930s and 1940s, many European social psychologists fled to North America, where they had a major influence on the field’s direction. Significant questions generated by the rise of Nazism and the second world war shaped research interests during this period.
Growth and integration
Since the 1950s and the 1960s, social psychology has grown and flourished, moving toward an integrated theoretical understanding of social and cognitive processes and toward further applications of social-psychological theory to important applied problems.
Integration of cognitive and social processes
The study of cognitive processes became a natural framework for integration both within and outside social psychology.
Integration with other research trends
As the world became more interconnected in the late 20th century and as social psychological research spread to many more regions of the globe, researchers were confronted with findings showing that even what had been regarded as ‘basic’ processes differed strikingly in different nations and cultures.
Other newer theoretical trends are also becoming incorporated into social psychology.
Integration of basic science and social problems
Social psychology regard issues that are important outside the laboratory as both source of theoretical ideas and a target for solutions.
How the approach of this book reflects an integrative perspective
Two fundamental axioms of social psychology
Two fundamental axioms of social psychology
- People construct their own reality
- Social influences are pervasive
Construction of reality
The axiom that each person’s view of reality is a construction, shaped both by cognitive process and by social processes.
Pervasiveness of social influence
The axiom that other people influence virtually all of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior, whether those others are physically present or not.
Three motivational principles
- People strive for mastery
The motivational principle that people seek to understand and predict events in the social world in order to obtain rewards. - People seek connectedness
The motivational principle that people seek support, liking, and acceptance from the people and groups they care about and value. - People value ‘me and mine’
The motivational principle that people desire to see themselves, and other people and groups connected to themselves, in a positive light.
Three processing principles
- Conservatism:
Established views are slow to change- Individual’s and group’s vies of the world are slow to change and prone to perpetuate themselves.
- Accessibility:
Accessible information has the most impact- The information most readily available generally has the most impact on thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
- Superficiality versus depth:
People can process superficially or in depth- People ordinarily put little effort into dealing with information, but at times are motivated to consider information in more depth.
Common processes, diverse behaviors
In combination, these eight principles account for all types of social behavior, including thoughts and actions that are useful and valuable as well as those that are misleading and destructive.
JoHo can really use your help! Check out the various student jobs here that match your studies, improve your competencies, strengthen your CV and contribute to a more tolerant world
Online access to all summaries, study notes en practice exams
- Check out: Register with JoHo WorldSupporter: starting page (EN)
- Check out: Aanmelden bij JoHo WorldSupporter - startpagina (NL)
- Check out: Summaries & Study Assistance - Starting page
Using and finding summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter
There are several ways to navigate the large amount of summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter.
- Starting Pages: for some fields of study and some university curricula editors have created (start) magazines where customised selections of summaries are put together to smoothen navigation. When you have found a magazine of your likings, add that page to your favorites so you can easily go to that starting point directly from your profile during future visits. Below you will find some start magazines per field of study
- Follow authors or (study) organizations: by following individual users, authors and your study organizations you are likely to discover more relevant study materials.
- Search tool: quick & dirty - not very elegant but the fastest way to find a specific summary of a book or study assistance with a specific course or subject. The search tool is available at the bottom of most pages or on the Search & Find page
- Tags & Taxonomy: gives you insight in the amount of summaries that are tagged by authors on specific subjects. This type of navigation can help find summaries that you could have missed when just using the search tools. Tags are organised per field of study and per study institution. Note: not all content is tagged thoroughly, so when this approach doesn't give the results you were looking for, please check the search tool as back up
Do you want to share your summaries with JoHo WorldSupporter and its visitors?
- Check out: Why and how to add a WorldSupporter contributions
- JoHo members: JoHo WorldSupporter members can share content directly and have access to all content: Join JoHo and become a JoHo member
- Non-members: When you are not a member you do not have full access, but if you want to share your own content with others you can fill out the contact form
Quicklinks to fields of study (main tags and taxonomy terms)
Field of study
- Communication & Media sciences
- Corporate & Organizational Sciences
- Cultural Studies & Humanities
- Economy & Economical sciences
- Education & Pedagogic Sciences
- Health & Medical Sciences
- IT & Exact sciences
- Law & Justice
- Nature & Environmental Sciences
- Psychology & Behavioral Sciences
- Public Administration & Social Sciences
- Science & Research
- Technical Sciences
Quick links to WorldSupporter content for universities in the Netherlands
Je vertrek voorbereiden of je verzekering afsluiten bij studie, stage of onderzoek in het buitenland
Study or work abroad? check your insurance options with The JoHo Foundation
- ‹ previous
- 2 of 188
- next ›
Add new contribution