Bringing It All Together in Social Psychology - Research Paper Example

Social Psychology: Bringing It All Together Social Psychology: Bringing It All Together Introduction “Social psychologists investigate how we view ourselves and others, how we interact with others, how we influence others, and how we act when we are part of a group. Given the amount of time each of us spends thinking about and interacting with the people we encounter every day, much of our lives is spent with the subject matter of Social Psychology” (Feenstra, 2011). According to Kassin et al. (2008), Social Psychology is the scientific study of how individuals or a group of individuals’ behaviours, feelings, and thoughts are influenced by the implied, imagined or actual presence of others. To social psychologists, human behaviour is because of the interaction of immediate social situations and mental states. Social Psychology is an interdisciplinary domain that combines the concepts of Sociology and Psychology and bridges the gap between them. It is focused on both the intrapersonal phenomena such as persuasion and attitudes, and interpersonal phenomena such as group dynamics and relations with others. Social Psychology is an essential tool for the improvement of our lives not only as a means of interacting and understanding others but also as a means of understanding ourselves in order to make a more relevant impact on the world around us. This reflective paper will provide insights on major principles of Social Psychology, which can enable someone who is completely unfamiliar with these principles to understand them. It offers an outline of the Social Psychology field and details the major principles of this discipline in a systematic manner. Discovering the Self To begin with, the discussion will focus on the concept of discovering self; that is, how do individuals perceive others and their interactions with others. As has been noted, social psychologists major interest is to understand factors that shape the actions and thoughts of individual human beings in social settings. An individual has a tendency of trying to understand or seek knowledge of oneself. The concepts of self- concept, awareness, and self- schemas are related and they simply imply the ideas and beliefs that people have about them. They have a multi- dimensional construct that involves the individual perception of self in the light of various characteristics such as gender roles, racial identity, sexuality, and academics among others (Baron and Byrne, 2004). Also related to these concepts are the concepts self-efficacy and self-esteem. Self-esteem is a psychological term that reflects an individual’s overall appraisal or evaluation of his or her own worth. Self- efficacy is also a psychological term that corresponds to an individual’s belief in his or her own abilities and concepts. It is important to highlight that these characteristics do not exist in isolation but rather they are a result of collection of beliefs about them by other people. These features; personality, physical characteristics, hobbies, occupation, abilities and skills among others (Kassin et al, 2008) often assess the concept of discovering self. Baumeister and Bushman (2009) argue that how individuals perceive themselves often determines how they interact with others; persons with positive and high perception of themselves are able to interact with others with confidence and easily compared to persons with negative and low perception of themselves. Thinking about Others Secondly, the second major social psychological principle is thinking about others, that is, what judgements we make about other people. Social perception refers to the process through which individuals attempt to comprehend others. Thus, social behaviour and thought is affected by one’s perception. In society and in particular communities individuals’ judgment about other people is inevitable. Numerous aspects influence the perception of people towards others. Some of these aspects are internal while others are external. This paper will discuss attributions, attitudes and behaviours, and prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. According to Baron and Byrne (2004), attribution refers to the process by which people seek to identify the causes of other people’s behaviour in order to gain knowledge of their stable dispositions and traits. There are several theories that have been put forward to examine attribution, for instance, Baron and Byrne in their book explain Jones and Davis theory of correspondent inference, which suggest that individuals try to understand others’ behaviour by observing their freely chosen behaviour. Jones and Davis propose that individuals may behave in a particular manner due to external factors, which may have an overriding effect on their response in certain situations. As such, it is difficult to have conclusive evidence on an individual’s behaviour through observation of all actions. Besides, people make explanatory attribution in order to understand the behaviours of others and the reasons why they are behaving the way they are doing. In addition, there are ‘non-common effects’ to thinking about others which implies that effects may be caused by one particular factor and not necessarily the others (Baron and Byrne, 2004). Furthermore, thinking about others is often influenced by the behaviour and attitudes that persons have about the others. According to Kassin et al. (2008), behavioural beliefs and attitudes toward other people determine the judgements that people make about others. The belief that a person has about consequences of particular behaviour influences the judgement he or she makes regarding the person behaving in such a way. The belief is always subjective and it is based on behavioural beliefs. In addition, judgement about others is influenced by either positive or negative attitude towards a person or person’s behaviour. It is worth noting that in most cases behaviour and attitudes towards other people are influenced in a great way by the socialization of that person especially through education, religion and the family. Baumeister and Bushman (2009) observe that thinking about others can largely be determined by the concepts of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. They define prejudice as the attitude that person(s) has towards the members of some group based solely on the membership in that particular group; prejudice can be either positive or negative. They define stereotyping as the generalizations about certain or typical characteristics of members of a particular group. Discrimination is the actual positive or negative actions towards the objects or persons of prejudice. Therefore, judgments that one makes can often be because of stereotypes, prejudice and act of discrimination against others. Inferences lead to behaviour; a person will or will not behave in certain ways towards certain actor (other person(s) based on their inferences and will form expectations as to how the actor will behave (Baron and Byrne, 2004). Influencing Others: Persuasion Influencing others through persuasion constitutes a major component of Social Psychology. In order to achieve certain ends, people in societies always seek support or approval of others. It is for this reason that persuasion is very critical in the society in order to influence others. Perloff (2008) defines persuasion as the process of bringing or guiding another or oneself toward the adoption of action, attitude, or idea by symbolic or rational means. He says that persuasion is a major form of social influence. Since influence has proved useful over the years and in nearly if not all spheres of life, persuasion techniques have been devised, studied, and observed by the social psychologists. They argue that persuasion should achieve its intended goal of convincing the target to internalize the persuasive arguments and adopt them as part of their core belief and actions. Perloff (2008) identifies the following as the main and effective persuasion techniques: first, appeal to social needs; appealing to the needs of individuals is a sure way of persuading them since it touches on their lives. Encouraging people to purchase or acquire certain items, which is essential or is deemed essential in their lives is the best way of influencing them. Moreover, encouraging them to acquire these items or act in a certain way to be like everyone else or be like a well- respected or popular person serves well in influencing them. Most appeals to needs are often an attempt to satisfy people’s desire of being popular, similar to others, or prestigious. For example, television commercials are a big source of exposure to persuasion through their appeals to viewers to purchase certain items or behave in a certain manner. The second technique of persuasion is use of loaded images and words. As has been stated, persuasion entails symbolic and rational means, and use of images and words are clear way of achieving this end. It is important to note that loaded, positive, and powerful words and images should be used in order to enhance the effectiveness of persuasion. Advertisers understand the power of appropriate and positive images and words, that is why in many advertisements phrases such as ‘Improved’, ‘All Natural’, or ‘New’ among others are often used. Perloff (2008) argues that loaded words and images have the ability of achieving its intended purpose within a brief period. In addition, creating a need is a highly effective persuasion technique. This technique is based on the facts that, in society needs are at the centre of human living, and as such satisfying them is always the top- most priority of most people. Therefore, creating a need or appealing to previously existing one yields positive results in persuasion. Examples of these needs include; love, shelter, self- actualization, and self- esteem among others. Moreover, rewards is has proved to be one of the most effective persuasion techniques. Expectation of something by the target will prompt the target to adopt attitudes or actions of the other more easily. Positive or negative rewards such as punishment influence the target’s response to a given persuasion (Perloff, 2008). Perloff further argues that persuasion entails more aspects; there are characteristics associated with persuader, messages, and the audience. An effective persuader should possess the following characteristics: empathetic, enthusiastic, consistent, persistent, knowledgeable, energetic, and should have self- belief. Additionally, persuasive messages should bear the following qualities: well- planned, creative, brief (but detailed when there is need for details), powerful, appropriate, clear, and contextual. What’s more, the following characteristics of target audience should be considered in the persuasion process to ensure that it achieves its purpose: gender, culture, socio- economic status, personality, religion, race, and age among others. Influencing Others: Obedience and Conformity Related to influencing others, obedience and conformity is a major Social Psychology principle. In as much as individuals may be independent, they rarely exist alone but rather within a social system mostly in a group. Obedience and conformity is central to individuals’ existence in a group and determines how they interact with other people. Apart from the need for sense of belonging and esteem needs, obedience and conformity helps regulate relationship in the society since different members perform different roles, hence resulting to maintenance of social order. According to Smith and Mackie (1999), obedience is a form of social influence where a person acts in response to direct or indirect order from another individual, often from an individual of an authority figure. Authority involves hierarchy of power, and as such, a person giving orders is of a higher status than the one receiving it. Conformity is also a form of social influence that emphasizes on the need for individuals to match their behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs to what social group or society in general perceives to be normal and appropriate. The influence is in most cases because of overt or direct social pressure, or due to subtle unconscious influences. Conformity is thus changing how one behaves to be more like others; it may include change of values and beliefs. It is in the light of the obedience and conformity arguments that the concepts of prosocial behaviour, relationship building, love, and attraction arise concerning influencing others. Prosocial behaviour consists of actions whose aim is to benefit other people and society in general; these actions include cooperating, donating, volunteering, sharing, and helping among others (Smith and Mackie, 1999). In order to encourage prosocial behaviours, groups within societies find ways of eliminating or minimizing undesirable social behaviours. In addition, the need to co- exist and enhance the ability of meeting needs ensures that individuals engage in actions that build their relationships with each other. Baumeister and Bushman (2009) explain that relationships are built based on love and attraction whether intended or forced by circumstances. Relationships are built through socialization with friends and families. It can also be built through a connection over a certain period like is the case in the work places or among members in a club. Love is at the centre of relationship building and influence of others in the society. Simply, love is an emotional sense of strong personal attachment and affection. In the society, and in relationship- building in particular, love creates a sense of compassion, affection, and human kindness towards each other, which are essential in human interactions. Attraction is essential in building relationship as it ensures that members are attracted to each other on various bases such as sharing same lineage, shared interests, shared values and ideas, and shared goals (Kassin et al, 2008). Group Dynamics Lastly, it is crucial to understand group dynamics as a principle of Social Psychology. A group comprises a number of people who interact with one another, and share same interests, values, goals, and they have a sense of unity. Types of groups are primary groups such as family and secondary groups such as in institutions. Other types of groups include clique, community, club, team, and squad among others. Group behaviour would incorporate the plethora of differences emanating from each individual. Smith and Mackie (1999) suggest that as people influence their social environment; this social environment simultaneously influences their behaviour and interaction with others. Further, Mackie and Smith note that an intertwining of social processes with cognitive processes influences human social behaviour. For Smith and Mackie these social processes refer to the ways through which the people, the groups to which people belong, personal relationships, the teachings of parents and culture, and the pressures experienced from others all affect people’s thoughts, feelings and actions (Smith &Mackie, 1999). Groupthink refers to psychological phenomenon, which occurs in a group. In this case, members tend to minimize conflict in order to reach consensus; factors such as structural faults, situational contexts, and group cohesiveness play an important role in determining whether groupthink will affect the decision- making process. The consequences of groupthinks include faulty decisions due to group pressures. In addition, it may lead to irrational actions since groups affected by groupthink tend to ignore alternatives Baron and Byrne (2004). Another element in social dynamics is social dilemma, which refers to a situation whereby the collective interests are not in tandem with the individual interests. It occurs mostly when short- term or long- term priorities are made, while some members are intending to sneak in their selfish interests. Conclusion The discussion has addressed various components of Social Psychology and provided detailed insights into those components. However, given the immense changes that our society keeps experiencing both nationally and internationally, Social Psychology has a very critical role going into the future. It is evidently clear that there are numerous changes in our society brought about particularly by technological advancements and globalization. Geographical and territorial importance has been diminished and the globe has become like one small village where people interact easily regardless of their location, religion and racial backgrounds. In addition, life expectancy has risen due to technological developments and better health care services among other factors. It is against this background that the role of Social Psychology should be critically analyzed in relation to present times and the future. These developments definitely bring with them some form of social and psychological crisis and Social Psychology has a big role to play to minimize the effects of these crisis. For example, social media is influencing how individuals think of others in a greater way and Social Psychology needs to examine this phenomena. I anticipate ground-breaking research in Social Psychology that relates to the role of Social Psychology in sustaining the future amidst technological developments. References Baron R., & Byrne D. (2004). Social Psychology (Tenth Edition). Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Baumeister R., & Bushman B. (2009). Social Psychology and Human Nature (second Edition). Wadsworth Publishing Company. Kassin, S. et al. (2008). Social Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Perloff, M. (2008). The Dynamics of Persuasion. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Smith & Mackie. (1999). Social Psychology (2nd Eds.). Philadelphia: Psychology Press. Read More