Thinking about the definition and uses of applied social psychology has guided my thoughts to its use to provide an understanding of how people think and a means to influence these thoughts to address social problems. My thinking and inclination was always centered on the ways to solve problems and address issues (like bullying, racism, and pollution) in a positive way. As opposed to looking at issues to for financial gain, applied social psychology looked to understand and address the social issues of behavior and attitude and how to adjust the situation to find a better outcome. Never putting aside the importance of the scientific approach, applied social science addresses the human behaviors and what drive them. To look at humanity as a …show more content…
Being scientifically based places the burdens of the research to carefully approach a problem to understand a cause, the situation, and the direction that is desired. As we explored the interventions that addressed the issues it was easy to forget the amount of time that was needed in the research phase. In the past I saw applied social psychology through the lens of action and not the research side. This class certainly readjusted that lens. Through each and every intervention the use of theory, observation, data collection, evaluation stand as the base. On a personal note the theory and research module opened my eyes as theories were introduced: cognitive dissonance, group think theory, planned behavior, social identity theory (SIT), contact hypothesis, framing, and other theories seemed to apply in behaviors of friends and co-workers. This knowledge gave me some insight and understanding as I considered whether and how I should respond. In total, this class showed me the very visible applications that this area of psychology contributes to society and its potential to make our world a better
Social psychology is a scientific study that studies how people think, feel, and how they behave under the influence of other people (Aronson, Wilson & Akert, 2013, p. 2). Thinking about what social influence really means, we tend to think of a person who tries to persuade another person to acting a certain way. It can be a form of peer pressure, like taking that first puff of a cigarette, or it can be conforming to popular societal views, such as obeying the law of the land. Fiction is a great way to learn about social psychological perspectives. Watching popular theatrical films is the perfect way to learn because it illustrates the application of many perceptions within the subject of social psychology.
1. Understanding pyschology has many explanations and ideas to figure out why humanity is the way it is. What are the six main perspectives all about? The biological perspective in pyschology examines the humans behavior in the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, and of course our genes. The way scientist study the biological perspective is that they look at the person 's family background, and past genes. So if someone has bipolar disorder the scientist will go back to see if anyone in their family once had bipolar disorder. So they can go back and see if they had some how inherited the behavior from their grandmother or father for example. Also biopyschologist will study to see
Social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This field focuses on how individuals view and affect each other. Social psychology also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment. Construals introduce the idea that people want to make themselves look good to others and they want to be seen as right. It is also said that the social setting in which people interact impacts behavior, which brings up the idea of behaviorism. Behaviorism is the idea that behavior is a function of the person and the environment.
Theoretical perspectives in the study of human behavior can easily be applied to cases in social work practice. The mental health field in particular lends itself to the application of different human behavior theories. Specifically, depression can be viewed through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory, or Social Cognitive Learning. There is one case of a woman with depression, whose name will be changed, that social cognitive theory can be applied to. Cheryl is a 58 year old woman who has been diagnosed with Major depressive disorder. She has had this diagnosis since she was 17 years old. Many of her symptoms and experiences can be viewed or explained in terms of social cognitive theory.
This article is about children’s perspective and how to get valid meaningful information from the child’s perspective about their learning experiences. This paper focuses on a sociocultural perspective of children as learners in their own right and co-constructers of their own meaning of learning (Smith, Duncan, & Marshall, 2005). This article also looks at how children can contribute to and make meaning of their learning and how they express that. Children use meaning-making to make sense of their world through and by the experience of narratives (Wright, 2012, p. 26). By using a sociocultural view of children, they are seen in a positive light that sees them as competent confident learners who can contribute and have a voice. This is also
As people socialize, they create interactions whose products are influential to act back upon the people to determine or constrain actions. Moreover, social interactions may be likened to a theatre whereby people are the actors as the rest of the people are the audience. These other people actively observe the role-playing and respond by reacting to the performances. However, people’s behaviors tend to change when they are alone as they get rid of the roles they play in front of others.
Social psychology is one of the many variations of psychology. By definition, social psychology is how humans influence each other’s way of behaving and thinking. Under social psychology, there are various ways to define human behaviour and understand why we behave in a particular manner. These approaches deal with multiple concepts such as conformity, obedience, and social influences. They help answer questions about our behaviour and actions, while also analyzing our cognitive processes in certain situations. Social experiments conducted throughout history have also led to more understanding in the aforementioned areas. With these understandings of social behaviour, society can benefit and become aware of themselves and their mentalities.
Personality is patterns of thinking, behavior and emotional responses that make up individuality over time. Psychologist attempt to understand how personality develops and its impact on how we behave. Several theories attempt to explain personality, using different approaches. The social-cognitive and humanistic approaches are two of many theories that attempt to explain personality. This essay will identify the main concepts of social-cognitive and humanistic approach, identify perspective differences and discuss approach limitations.
Children’s behaviour is constantly changing and evolving as they learn about themselves and construct their own identities within different environments. The sociocultural theory acknowledges that social interactions are central to these continuous changes in thoughts and behaviour, varying significantly from one culture to the next. The key focus of this essay is to determine what behaviour is, with the consideration that behaviour is a socio-cultural construct and whether "Children’s capacity to choose appropriate behaviour is influenced by their developmental ability, temperament, interactions, life experiences and environmental factors” (Government of South Australia, 2004).
Thinking about normal social interactions and normal social behaviors, I think of comfortable. When I sit down with a friend, a usual routine is followed, “Hey, how are you, what’s new?” (e.g. My turn, your turn). These questions between my friend and I include eye contact, attention, and facial expression. Usually, I feel that I give my friend my undivided attention. Other normal characteristics include: remembering what the person has just said so a comment can be made, as well as each comment is appropriate and in relation to the current topic. Moreover, the duration between each question or comment is short.
Social psychology essentially became the focus on the individual rather than the group as a whole. Many thoughtful ideas are collected in response to the studies of social psychology. Human cognition is understood to arise from interacting socially, highlighting the importance of socialization. We use social cognition to develop our explanations and our ideas on why a person’s behavior is/does what it is/does. As explained in class, we may have a student who never completes assignments and from that viewpoint, we determine that the student is a lazy person and more than likely does not care about the class.
Social perception is 1.“the cognitive process that helps us form impressions of those around us and subconscious attitudes towards other people based their defining characteristics which help to comprehend a situation and gauge our behaviour accordingly. Social perception can be the mental progression of picking up clues and signals from others that help us form an early stage of what they may be like. Our brains may rely on stereotypes or previous similar experiences to build a picture of what to expect from any given social encounter”
There are many types of diverse people classified under various categories. Some people have different types of personalities. They could be classified as extremely manipulative, others as impulsive, and some may not show anything on the outside and have wonderful social skills. These categories help in the understanding of humans. This study is called Psychology and there are many different subfields in this diverse study of the people around us. One subfield that is particularly interesting is personality psychology. Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and its variation between individuals.
Social cognitive theory is the study on how an individual stores, processes, and applies information about others in their everyday life. It was first known as the “Social Learning Theory”, and was later changed to the term known today as the “Social Cognitive Theory”. The definition of social cognition is defined as any cognitive process that involves one or more than one person. While the definition of cognition is unconscious process in the brain that bring about representations. Social cognition purpose is to study social knowledge, social structure, group behavior, social influences, social categories (age, race, sex) defines a person. (Science Direct) Social cognition is thought to be the outcome of social interactions. One will learn by observing others, this is known as vicarious learning. For example, one is more likely to follow another’s behavior if they can identify with them, whether it be personality wise, age proximity, and more. (Verywell)
In this essay I will describe the four major theories of personality and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each. The first major theory of personality is psychodynamic which was created by Sigmund Freud. The second major theory of personality is trait or five-factor model which is the most scientifically supported model. The third major theory of personality is humanistic, and Carl Rogers was the best known humanistic theorist. Finally, the fourth major theory of personality is social cognitive which was developed by social learning theorists.