Download definition of relevant terms in social psychology

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
STUDY NOTES
DEFINITION OF RELEVANT TERMS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
 Week 1: Topic objectives
By the end of this week and topic, you are expected to be able to:
1. Define terms used in social psychology
2. Explain social psychology in relation to other disciplines
3. Rationalise the study of social psychology for student counsellors
Greetings to you, and welcome to the study of social psychology. For a start, it is going
to be of uttermost importance for you to understand key terms that are often used in this
course. These terms include though not limited to social psychology, thinking, influence
and relations.
Introduction
Gordon Allport (1954) defines social psychology as an attempt to understand and
explain how the thought, feeling and behavior of individuals is influenced by the actual,
imagined or implied presence of others. The term "implied presence" refers to the many
activities people carry out because of their position (role) in a complex social structure
and because of their membership in a cultural group.
Allport's definition is based on idea that social psychology is study of social influence.
Central task of social psychology from this perspective: to explain the ways in which
interaction between people affects the way they think and behave. Term "social
influence" encapsulates some of major areas in social psychology, such as: persuasion,
attitude change, conformity.
Social psychologists adopting the influence view pose such questions as: How are people
influenced? Why do people let themselves be influenced? Do certain factors
increase/decrease the effectiveness of social influence? When we've been influenced by
others, is this influence permanent or transitory? What variables affect whether the effects
of influence are permanent or transitory? How do people come to like one another?
How do people come to develop prejudice? (ETC.)
There are three broad domains of social psychology: social perception, also known as
social thinking; social influence, and social interaction which is sometimes referred to as
social relations. Social perception is concerned with how we see other social objects (i.e.,
people and groups); Social interaction includes areas like cooperation and conflict,
aggression, helping, interpersonal relationships and many others; and Social influence is
actually the link between social perception and social interaction.
SOCIAL PERCEPTION <--> SOCIAL INFLUENCE <--> SOCIAL INTERACTION
The three domains are not separate, but are inextricably bound together.
Social Psychology and related Disciplines
Social psychology is related to sociology in that the two are interested in studying how
people behave in groups. However, sociologists are more interested in groups while
social psychologists are more interested in individuals. For example, while sociologists
study marriage, divorce, and the family, social psychologists study why individuals get
attracted to each other.
Social psychology is also closely related to psychology of personality since they are both
focused on the individual. However, whereas personality psychologists focus on private
internal functioning and on differences between individuals, social psychologists focus on
our common humanity e.g. how people view and affect one another. Biology meets
social psychology when it comes to the combination of nature nd nurture in human
relations. Also genetics play a major role in bringing these two together. Social
neuroscientist look at both biological and social influences in the study of issues such as
love, helping, hurting, stress among others. This is more so because humans are bio
psychosocial organisms.
ACTIVITY: Why should counselling students study social psychology?
We will begin our work by explaining why we think that we should study sociology.
Sociology enables understand the world we live in but also to understand ourselves, for
we are the products of this world. This understanding can help us to gain more control
over our lives but it can also be put to more practical use as well.
Socialization is the process that makes individuals into social and cultural beings than
turn, an individual into a member of a society. Personal identity socialization also
provides us with an identity. Our sense of personal identity seem so strong and so
individual that we tend to think it result from some process going on mysteriously inside
us that makes us who we really are.
Society is used in many different ways in sociology but most common to set to a national
unit. Institutions are the established practices that regulates the various activities that
make up social life.
Sociology is a systematic study of human society. Social psychology can be regarded as
the branch of psychology that deals with the behaviour of groups and the influence of
social factors on the individuals. The study of mind and mental process, particularly,
regards social interaction.
According to Gordon All port, Social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific method
to understand and is a branch of psychology that deals with investigating behaviour in
society.
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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN RELATION TO OTHERS
Social psychology is related to many disciplines among which are:
Social science
Sport psychology
Abnormal psychology
Applied psychology
Educational psychology and others.
However, to expound on a few social psychologists are keenly interested in how
people think about influence and relate to other people or to one another. But so are
sociologists and personality psychologists. Social psychology and sociology is related.
Sociologist and social psychologist share an interest in studying how people behave in
groups. But most sociologist study average individual how one person at a time think
about others, is influenced by them.
In studying close relationships a sociologist might study trends in marriage, divorce,
cohabitation, rates, social psychologist might examine how certain individual become
attracted to one another.etc. Although sociologist and social psychologist use some to
the same research methods, social psychologist rely much more heavily upon heavily
upon experiments in which the manipulate a factor, such as the presence of peer
influence, to use what effect it has.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
Social psychology and personality psychology are friends in their focus on the
individual. Their difference lies in social psychology’s social character. Personality
psychologist focus on private internal functioning and on differences between
individuals social psychologist focus on our common humanity.
Social psychology and biology. Every one who has taken an introductory course in
psychology knows that nature and nurture together for us. As the area of a field is
determined by its length and its width, so do biology and experience together create
us. Our inherited human nature predisposes us to behave in ways that helped our
ancestors survive and reproduce. We carry the genes of those who trait enabled them
to survive and reproduce. Thus, evolutionary psychologists ask how natural selection
might predispose our actions and reactions when dating, mating, hating and hurting,
caring and sharing. Nature also endows us with enormous capacity to learn.
On the other hand, if every psychological events is simultaneously a biological event,
then we can also examine the neurobiology that underlies social behaviour. However,
to understand lobe, and hate we must consider both under the skin and between the
skins influences mind and body are one grand system and that we are bio-psychosocial
organism.
Levels of explanation: Here it is vital to understand that we study human beings from
the different perspective that we know as academic discipline. These perspective range
from basic science to integrative discipline. We need not assume that any of the levels
in the real explanation. The various explanations can complement one another. Social
psychology is one vital perspective from which we can view and understand ourselves
but its not the only one.
Partial Hierachy Of Disciplines
Interactive explanation
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Theology
Philosophy
Sociology
Social Psychology
Psychology
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
EXPERIMENTAL EXPLANATION
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN VALUES
Social psychology and human values
Social psychologists values penetrate their work in ways both obvious and vital(subtle) In
science as in courts of law, personal opinion are inadmissible. As human beings, their
values, their personal convictions about what is desirable and how people ought to
behave. If so, can social psychology really be scientific?
 ACTIVITY: 1. Discuss means of how values enter psychology.
2. Psychological concepts contain hidden values. Explain
Importance Of Social Psychology For Student Counselors.
Importance of social psychology cannot be regard. This is because social psychology and
counseling help people to make sound judgment upon their behaviours.
Application of social psychology theories to everyday use.
The structural-functional paradigm verify the importance of social integration. The
structural-functional paradigm, then, organize. Sociological observations by identifying
various structures of society and investigating their function. It is vital that people rarely
perceive all the function of social structure for us to understand this, the education system
of many government provides young people with the information and skills on how to
perform jobs. Perhaps just as important but less acknowledged, is college’s function as
marriage brokers bringing together people of similar social backgrounds. Another latent
function of institution of high learning is keeping thousand of young people out of the
labour market, where, presumably, many of them would not find job.
Social pattern affects various members of society differently, some social patterns support
a society’s status while others disrupts it. That is social dysfunction-aims social pattern
that may disrupt the operation of society. Some disruptive patterns the operation of
society. Some disruptive patterns are widely viewed as harmful. It should be noted that
not all that is disruptive that is harmful. Compare crime is big business in may countries,
providing jobs for many of people who work within the criminal justice system
Since counseling deals with human behaviours its therefore vital to understand the social
system.
THEORIES OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY; ATTRIBUTION, DYADS, EXCHANGE
AND
EQUITY
 Week 2: Topic objectives
By the end of this week and topic, you are expected to be able to:
1. Explain theories related to social psychology
2. Apply the theories as appropriate
3. Demonstrate understanding of the implications of theories to human relations
There are as many social psychology theories as there are researchers in the field. For the
purpose of this study, you are expected to understand at least three different models.
You are however encouraged to read widely and familiarize yourself with other theories
for the sake of making comparisons.
THEORIES in social psychology
A theory is a descriptive and explanatory framework for discussion of affectionate
relationships between human beings. It can also be defined as a statement of how and
why specific facts are related. The job for sociological theory is to explain social
behavior in the real world. A good example is the attachment theory which was derived
from the work of John Bowlby and emphasises the attitudes and behaviors of young
children toward their adult caregivers. However, a wide variety of social behaviors,
occurring at all ages, is subsumed under the term "attachment". These behaviors can
include care-seeking by children or others, peer relationships of all ages, romantic and
sexual attraction, and responses to the care needs of infants or sick or elderly adults.
Attachment behaviors are accompanied by emotional experiences that motivate the
behavior, as well as by cognitive and memory functions.
Consider Emile Durkheim’s theory that categories of people with low social integration,
namely men, Protestants, the wealthy and the summarized are especially prone to
suicide.
Research helps the sociologist to confirm some theories while rejecting or modifying
others. In doing this sociologist face two basic questions. What in issue should we
study? How should we connect the facts. How sociologist answers these questions
depend on their theoretical “Road Map”(theoretical paradigm.) A theoretical paradigm
is a basic image of society that guides thinking and research. Sociology has three major
approaches .
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The structural-functional paradigm
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The social-conflict paradigm
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The symbolic interaction paradigm
The Structural-Functional Paradigm (SFP)
The SFP sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability. Here social structure meaning any relatively stable pattern of
social behaviour. Social structures give our lives shape, i.e. families, working place, or the
classroom. Secondly their approach looks for social function or the consequences for the
operation or society as a whole. All social structures from simple hard shake to complex
religion rituals function to keep society going at least in its present form.
The SFP was first thought of by August Comte. He saw the need of social integration
during the time of rapid social change. Other supporters of this approach include:
Emile Dukheim, Herbert Spencer, Robert K. Merton. This approach is described as
manifest functions. The chief characteristic of SFP. Is its vision of society as stable and
orderly. It also focuses on social inability and unity. However, SFP tend to ignore
inequalities of social class, race, and gender which can generate considerable tension and
conflict and promoted sociologist develop another theoretical orientation the socialconflict paradigm.
The Social Conflict Paradium
This is a framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that
generate conflict and change unlike the structural functional emphasis on solidarity. This
approach highlight inequality. This approach seek to find how such factors as social class,
race, thinicity ,gender and age are linked to the unequal distribution of money, per,
education and social prestige. Sociologist using this model look at the conflict between
dominant and the disadvantaged categories of people-the rich in relationship to people
of color, men in relation to women. Typically people on the top strive to protect their
privileges while disadvantaged try to gain more for themselves.
The Symbolic Interaction Paradigm
The structural-functional and social conflict paradigm share a macro-level
orientation, meaning a broad focus on social structures that shape society as
a whole. The symbolic interaction paradigm is a framework for building
theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interaction of
individuals. It is vital to note that human beings are creatures who live in a
world of symbols, attaching meaning to virtually everything. “reality”
therefore is simply how we define our surrounding, our obligation toward
others, even our identities sociologists who take a symbolic
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