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.
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
- 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 .
The structural-functional paradigm
The social-conflict paradigm
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 social-conflict 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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