Home > Social psychology concepts
Social psychology concepts
Explain and describe the social psychology concepts under the following:
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
- Groupthink
- Correspondence bias
- Reciprocal altruism
- Cognitive dissonance
- Social loafing
- Conformity
Overview
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, intentions and goals are constructed within a social context by the actual or imagined interactions with others. It therefore looks at human behavior as influenced by other people and the conditions under which social behavior and feelings occur.
The following factors are examined when effectively analyzing an individual’s behavioral changes within a group;
- socio-cultural – the impact of social and cultural norms
- evolutionary – the role of genetics and biology
- Social learning – the experiences from family and the community.
Social Psychology Concepts
These social adjustments are minor, but some social psychology concepts can influence your entire belief system. The following are just a few.
Conformity. Conformity occurs when you're influenced to change your beliefs and behaviors to fit into a group. Real pressure like being around other people or imagined pressure like social norms can influence you to conform.
Three types of conformity.
Internalization is when you accept the group norms around you. This type typically occurs when you believe that the people around you are more informed.
Identification is a form of conformity where you retain your personal beliefs regardless of the majority. For example, a police officer may have to criminalize a specific action even if they believe otherwise.
Ingratiation conformity is when you conform to the majority to earn favor or acceptance. It's typically motivated by the desire for a social reward.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-social-psychology
