What is psychosocial studies? How can this type of approach help us to a better understanding of the self and society? Psychosocial studies is a combination between psychology and sociology. By putting psychology and sociology together we get two slightly different viewpoints and understandings about the self and society. In psychology people such as Freud, Maslow and Rogers play an important role in understanding the self, whereas society can be explained by sociological figures such as Durkheim in sociology.
Additionally psychologists look at social cognition the other way round, to determine social phenomena through an individuals’ cognitions. Psychologist Gudjohnsson was one of the main researchers into social cognition. His Study with Bownes looked into the attribution of blame and type of crime committed. In this particular study it is important to note that our behaviour can be caused by internal attributions and external attributions. Internal being where a person attributes the cause of behaviour within themselves and external referring to the social and environmental factors - blaming the situation.
Describe an example of altruistic behavior, and state how a psychodynamic psychologist might explain the behavior. 5. Compare and contrast biological psychology and cultural psychology. Explain how and why a biological psychologist and a cultural psychologist might investigate the way people learn a particular behavior. Discussion Questions Please post questions and answers on the UNIT ONE discussion boards.
Having Fun With Operational Definitions Adapted from teachpsychscience.org Directions: Identify and operationally define the independent and dependent variables in each of the following research ideas. Research Idea #1: A social psychologist was interested in whether people are more likely to exhibit conformity when they are in situations that make them feel nervous and unsure of themselves. What is the independent variable? How would you define it operationally? What is the dependent variable?
Investigating Social Dynamics: Power, Conformity, and Obedience INTRODUCTION American Psychologist Philip Zimbardo is known for his Stanford prison study among many other works, one of the most notable being The Lucifer Effect: Understanding how good people turn evil. One of Zimbardo’s (2008) influences to write this book came from Stanley Milgram’s experiments that studied blind obedience to authority. In chapter twelve of this book, Zimbardo analyzes these experiments as well as other sociological and psychological studies to investigate the role social dynamics play in influencing power, conformity and obedience. With the previous chapters focusing specifically on the Stanford prison experiment, chapter twelve has significant importance as Zimbardo uses previous research to create theories to explain the results of his study and applies to them to the broader scale of humanity as a whole (Zimbardo 2008). His goal in this chapter is to prove that based on the research he outlines on social psychology; situational forces play a major role in determining human’s actions.
In reference to this topic, Zimbardo discusses the Stanford Prison Experiment as well as the violent Abu Ghraib prison incident. Zimbardo discusses how rather than looking at the individual as an evil person, evil acts should also be looked at in relation to the situation the person is in. Zimbardo refers to power being in the “system”, the system refers to political, economic, or legal power. The system itself can corrupt an individual, different situations can affect the behavior of an individual. 2.
What contributed to the “crisis in social psychology” and what was the outcome? Social psychology is a blend between the discipline of psychology and sociology. Usually, within a psychological field a researcher would look at the individual; cognitions, emotions and attitudes, compared to a sociological perspective of people in groups or crowds; demography, the impact of society on them and social inequalities. Social psychology aims to combine these two, the relationship between the individual and society as a whole. Allport, in an attempt to define social psychology said it scientifically tried to explain the cognitions of the individual (for example behaviours) and how they are “influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of human beings” (Allport, 1954).
For instance; we are able to learn how stereotypes are formed, why there is racism, and also how a person’s behavior changes in different types of situations. Social psychology differs from other forms of psychology because it uses a scientific method and the empirical study of social phenomenon. General and clinical psychologies both rely on anecdotal observations and subjective interpretations. Psychologists focus on different situations and the different variables that may affect social behavior. Sociology differs from social psychology because sociology specifically looks at the different social behaviors and the surrounding influences at more of a broader view.
This science has allowed for collected data and theories to be tested and proven on the effects of exterior motives that implement individual behavior. Define social psychology Social psychology concentrates on individual behavior in a social context. Baron, Byrne & Suls (1989) define social psychology as “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations”. (p. 6). Social psychologist observe human behavior and significance of influence by outside sources such as people, society, environment, and culture.
Learning Theory 3 The social learning theory is the behavior theory most significant to criminology. Albert Bandura alleged aggression is erudite through a curse of action called behavior modeling. He believed that individuals do not actually inherit violent tendencies, but they modeled them (Bandura & Ribes, 1976). Albert Bandura and other theorist argued that individuals, especially children, learn aggressive responses from observing others, either personally or through the media and environments (Bandura, 1976). He stated that many individuals believed that aggression will fabricate reinforcements.