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Social Psychology

Shakera Springs

Southern New Hampshire University

Social Psychology is the scientific study how feelings, thoughts and behaviors among people are affected by implied presence of other people (Myers, 1993). To be precise, it normally incorporates all measurable variables such as feelings and behaviors that are all measurable in human kind. Presence of others can be either the actual picture or an imagined one. In addition to this, there are several theories that make up this discipline and they include; Attribution theory, Drive theory, Observational theory, Cognitive dissonance, Self perception, Social Comparison, Social Identity, Social exchange among others that make up Social Psychology. In this perspective therefore, Social Psychologists are able to handle some of the factors that enable us to behave in a certain manner in presence of other people and as well view some of the conditions through which certain feelings , behaviors and actions occur. This discipline majorly deals with the way thoughts, feelings, goals and intentions are built and thereafter how this affects our interactions with the rest. In this paper however, I will discuss how both contemporary and classical theories as covered in this module fit into my concept of what a theory of social psychology should be. In the paper I would also discuss and explain my perspective on Social Psychology and crucial it is personally.

Classical and contemporary Perspectives illustrates about dynamic associations that exists between interaction processes, social organization and the self part within Social Psychology. These selections also state the social psychology outcomes of social stratification, deviant behavior, and globalization as well as in technological change. They as well ensure that students are able to go through the foundational work of influential psychologists as well as sociologists by reading through their innovative structure.

The first theory that I will discuss about is the Attribution theory. The good thing I like about this theory in contribution of Social Psychology is the fact that it contains attributions or components that make up a behavior. Behavior is major content that make up this discipline. In it, there are other sub-branches such as Constructing attributions that in most cases allow one to understand others (Martinko, 2004). Social Psychology mostly deals with making decisions about someone’s behavior and therefore Constructing Attributions allows us to make rightful judgment about an individual which will then discard or enhance our interaction with that type of person. I therefore think that behavior is appropriately fitted in Social Psychology since it is a very crucial aspect in the making the behavior of human being. Despite stating the causal reasoning of human it as well promotes making of predications with relation to the future actions. The other crucial role of this theory is that it is able to explain things which are very okay with the human population. It is therefore a functional element in social psychology since if one is able to influence people and explain what is going on then it will be easier to convert many people’s behavior. In this case therefore, I can term this theory as what as one of the key factors that determines Social Psychology concept since it is able to correlates people and events that influence their behavior and thinking on the basis of this discipline.

The other crucial theory that I would include in my personal theory of Social Psychology would be the cognitive dissonance. It means the discomfort that one goes through when you do something unusual according to the beliefs you posses. The reason as to why I have chosen it as part Social Psychology theory is because it is form of social comparison. The first thing to put into mind is that this discipline involves actual or imagined feeling about others and withy relation to this theory therefore, this theory involves a process through which people look at images as portrayed by others as something that is realistic or obtainable. Subsequently, they will be able to make conclusions among themselves and others as well as the images in mind. Therefore by use of this theory, psychologists are able to make their stand and explain how various people evaluate their likes and opinion through comparison with others. On the other hand I think this theory is appropriately fitted in Social Psychology since it feelings oriented. Feelings towards others could be equivalent to mental stress that is well addressed in Cognitive dissonance theory (Cooper, 2007). This theory usually involves discomfort in the mind that has more contradictory ideas or beliefs at the same time. In this case therefore, I think that it would be appropriate to include part of this theory in my personal theory since it puts more focus on identifying striving that human go through in response to internal consistency. The purpose as to why I say this is because most people tend to be psychologically uncomfortable if they are encouraged to regulate or reduce dissonance and due to this we have cognitive dissonance to note some of the key aspects as such. That is why I think this theory should be part of my personal theory.

On the other hand, Drive theory would be the other key concentration as part of Social Psychological theory. I have considered this theory since even the earliest behaviorist such as Clark Hull thought it was wise to have it into their account on the basis of Social Psychology. Drive-reduction was and is still a dominant force in psychology though it is much ignored currently. I consider it crucial in my personal theory since it is a form of motivation which might encourage most of the students to embrace what previous theorist did so as they could as well effectively propose their own theories. It is important since it boost transfer of Social Psychology generation after generation since it is the primary force that is behind motivation of a certain behavior as well as feelings. As a key component that is used every time we speak about Social Psychology, it is believed that human behavior can be illustrated through conditioning and reinforcement and hence reduction of drive acts as a behavioral reinforcement. One of the criticism about this theory is that it does not give or explain as to why many people will engage in behaviors that do not reduce drives but all in all I will consider it in my personal theory since its benefits outweighs the limitations within the Social Psychology.

On the other hand, I think self-perception fit into my personal theory appropriately due to number of reasons. This theory suggests that we should see others as we are able to see ourselves and from that we can be able to make assumptions about our desires and dislikes. The main purpose for this is to have a situation whereby there is no over-justification of self. The main purpose why I would consider this theory or parts of it in my personal theory is because it has practical uses in social psychology. In relation to this therefore psychologists will always use it in psychotherapy where the clients are greatly emphasized to change their behavior on the fact that their innermost dispositions will eventually follow. This is one of the theories that will have wide range of uses in Social Psychology being that it has been used to encourage the teens to participate in community services as well as happened to terminate and regulate pregnancies among teenagers. On the other hand, I think that this is the only theory that will encourage most of the individuals to change their self appearance so that they can more as part of their society. The end result for this is that they will be less inclined towards engaging in inappropriate behaviors. Regulation of behaviors therefore will be equivalent to the amount of services provided in Social Psychology and that is the reason as to why I consider this theory as the right fit for my personal theory.

Perspectives

There are several types of perspectives in Social Psychology. The first perspective is the Socialcultural Perspective. It normally states why social norms and culture are so important to us. It also proposes that children learn behavior through problem-solving associations with the rest of people. The other perspective is Evolutionary which normally states that behaviors and other components of social psychology came as result of inheritance and genetics from our ancestors. It puts major focus on viewing the current behavior as a result of genetic transmission. Prior this, Social-Cognitive Perspective is another key area of concentration. This perspective is used to support the model utilized in processing of data so that we are capable of identifying, interpreting and judging the behavior of other people. Social learning is another perspective which normally evaluates and appreciates how crucial unique experiences in the, community, family among other perspectives are in the society. It also gives illustrations on how we learn particular behaviors by use of observations or mimicry of behaviors from other humans. The overall perspective of this discipline therefore is that it enhances more learning about the behavior of an individual with relation to the society. It therefore own academic importance in diverse department of social sciences such as in Sociology.

One personal importance that this discipline has to me is that it enables me to solve concrete social grievances since it mostly base its methods on the relationship between an individual and others. It reminds me on how I should handle my conduct and dispositions with others. It gives me an opportunity to learn various causes and effect of certain behavior of self and others and draw regulative measures from that. To be precise Social Psychology enables me to have good interactions with others and solve the problems affecting us effectively.

References

Cooper, J. (2007). Cognitive dissonance fifty years of a classic theory. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Dewey, J. (1930). Human nature and conduct: an introduction to social psychology. New York: Modern Library.

Martinko, M. J. (2004). Attribution theory in the organizational sciences theoretical and empirical contributions. Greenwich, CT: IAP-Information Age Pub.

Myers, D. G. (1993). Social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Your theory is coming along nicely. Make sure you include research support for concepts within your theory.

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