Social Psychology

Social psychology studies how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviour are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Kapsam

It covers attitudes and persuasion, social cognition, conformity and obedience, group processes, and intergroup relations and identity.

Alt konular

• Psyc 3020
• Psyc 3040

Temel sorular

• How do social situations shape behaviour?
• How are attitudes formed and changed?
• Why do people conform and obey?
• How do group memberships shape identity and conflict?

Anahtar kavramlar

• Cognitive dissonance
• Attitudes and persuasion
• Conformity and obedience
• Social identity
• Social cognition
• Group processes

Temel kuramlar

Cognitive dissonance

Festinger showed that inconsistency among cognitions creates discomfort that motivates attitude change.

Obedience to authority

Milgram demonstrated the power of situations to elicit obedience.

Social identity theory

Tajfel and Turner explained intergroup behaviour through identification with groups.

Tarihçe

Modern social psychology emerged after WWII with work on attitudes, group dynamics (Lewin), dissonance (Festinger), obedience (Milgram), and social identity (Tajfel), and now integrates social cognition and neuroscience while navigating the replication crisis.

Tartışmalar

Person versus situation

Whether behaviour is driven more by personal dispositions or by social situations — a defining debate.

Öne çıkan isimler

• Leon Festinger
• Stanley Milgram
• Henri Tajfel
• John Turner

İlgili konular

• Psychology
• Social Processes And Social Issues
• Personality Psychology
• Sociology Of Gender
• Political Sociology

Temel eserler

• festinger-1957
• milgram-1963
• tajfel-turner-1979

Sıkça sorulan sorular

What is cognitive dissonance?

The mental discomfort from holding inconsistent beliefs or acting against one's beliefs, which motivates people to reduce the inconsistency.