Social Psychology
Definition
Social psychology is an area within psychology that explores how people's thoughts, feelings, behaviors are influenced by others around them. It studies social interactions including their origins and their effects on individuals.
Analogy
Imagine social psychology as being at a party where everyone's actions influence each other. If one person starts dancing wildly, others might join in or leave depending on their perception of this action - this is similar to how social influences can shape our behaviors.
Related terms
Group Dynamics: The study of groups and group behavior in terms of communication structure, roles and responsibilities etc., which influence individual behavior within the group.
Social Perception/Attribution: How we perceive others' behaviors based on our understanding or interpretation about them or situations they are involved in.
Conformity: The act or behavior change designed to match the actions of others.
"Social Psychology" appears in:
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (11)
In social psychology, what principle explains why we may perceive someone who does something rude as a 'rude person' rather than considering situational factors that influenced their behavior?
In what way does sociology contribute to our understanding of group dynamics in social psychology?
How does the concept of cognitive dissonance from social psychology relate to our perception of pain?
How does the concept of cognitive dissonance from social psychology intersect with principles of economics in explaining the sunk cost fallacy?
How could principles of social psychology aid in understanding the stigmatization experienced by individuals with schizophrenic spectrum disorders?
Which social psychology principle helps explain how group consensus can shape individual attitudes?
How does the Stanford Prison Experiment exemplify the concept of deindividuation from social psychology?
What is conformity in terms of social psychology?
How does the concept of cognitive dissonance, derived from social psychology, explain why individuals may continue to engage in environmentally harmful behaviors despite being aware of their negative impact?
How does the concept of 'survival of the fittest' from evolutionary biology apply to altruism in social psychology?
How does the concept of cognitive dissonance, derived from social psychology, influence interpersonal attraction?
Resources
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