What makes social psychology unique - Essay Example

Psychology What makes social psychology unique in terms of a social science? Social psychology is a unique concept in terms of social science becausemost of it is empirical. In order to study the influence of a group upon the behavior of an individual, social psychology makes use of experiments whose results are mostly analyzed with complicated statistical procedures. Experiments of social psychology commonly employed to achieve this include but are not limited to Obedience To Authority, and Bystander Effect.

Why social psychology may be different from sociology?“Social psychologists study the behavior of individuals or groups in the context of particular situations” (Zimbardo, Johnson, and McCann, 2009). Research in the field of social psychology tends to investigate the way social roles, norms and values can influence people’s attitudes in a given situation. The conformity that dwells in a group can influence many people to comply with the expectations of the group which they would not even think of doing in isolation.

The underlying factors working behind such unexpected and strange conformity are the focus of discussion in the social psychology. On the other hand, sociology is the scientific examination of the relationships and institutions of the society. Sociology studies the systems of interaction, development and collective attitudes of people. From the perspective of research, social psychology is generally quantitative in nature in that experiments are analyzed with the help of statistical analysis whereas sociology can be thought of as a qualitative area of study in which information is collected through such tools as interviews and focus groups.

Thus, studies of social psychology may generate more objective results as compared to sociological studies. References:Zimbardo, P. G., Johnson, R. L., & McCann, V. (2009). Psychology: core concepts (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.