Social Psychology Final project - Research Paper Example

This project relates to social psychology in several ways. First, there is the examination of how influences in society at large helps to form how people view themselves within that society. In this case, the pervasive images of what is normal or desirable in the media are going to be examined in a sociological context. Mass media are pervasive in our society and understanding how this relentless stream of words and images affects individuals and their development of self-schema is important.

Another way this project relates to social psychology is the belief in social psychology that other people influence us even when they are not present. Watching television alone in a dark room may seem like an activity that would cut a person off from society. But the incessant media images, both conscious and subconscious, that arrive via various media outlets actually is connecting us to society at large in a real, yet imagined way. Understanding how this affects an individual’s thought, feelings and actions is an important question for social psychologists to explore.

Knowing how images portrayed in media concerning consumption, weight and physical beauty affect the individual is important. A final way this study would relate to social psychology is discovering how the imagined presence of others, in this case through the various forms of media, affects individuals within the society. Not all-sociological interaction need be person to person. Understanding the media’s role in how we develop our sense of self is something social psychologists are very interested in discovering.