This is done instead of having findings that are objective. Social psychology has a high number of main ideas but some of them are: 1) how the attitudes of people, biology, social influences, and personalities shape a person’s behavior; 2) how social reality is constructed individual; 3) a person’s social intuition; and 4) how the principles of social psychology is able to be used in everyday life (Myers, 2010). Social reality is constructed with materialistic assumption which understands that a subjective interpretation of the world is separate from an objective world. However, viewing reality can only happen by looking through a lens of a person’s individual beliefs and values. Even more, social intuition is the power being having a snap judgment about a person and it also becomes dangerous after reasoned
Solomon Asch came up with majority influences which means being surrounded by other individuals can sometimes change your behave and opinions. People do act certain ways to fit in with others even though they have no interest in doing it they do it to make friends and socialize. The disadvantage of this theory is that it only focuses on some of the behaviours of an individual and doesn’t not cover all the human behaviours for example the influences biological has on behaviour. The other psychological approach I will be explaining is the biological approach. This refers to the biological aspects of behaviour and the hereditary material passed from parents to the offspring at the conception.
However, some results may be invalidated by the participants knowing either the true aim of the study or the fact that they are being studied at all. If the participant was to know the true nature of the study, they may adapt their behaviour in order to fit in (socially desirable) or they may act in a way that they think the researcher is expecting (demand characteristics). For example, in Milgram's electric shock experiment, it is highly likely that more participants would have delivered the higher shocks to the 'learner' if they had known the reality of the entire study. This makes the participants actions and behaviour unnatural and could invalidate the data completely. When considering this issue, sociologists should also consider that participants should also be offered the right to refuse.
Lastly, they question whether people are just born bad. Referring back to Clarence Darrow, the authors state that “Darrow believed that Leopold and Leob were “born bad” because they were born without feelings as pity and sympathy,” in which they may agree. However, Anthropologist John Townsend writes, that humans are wired for certain behaviors and the behaviors will emerge whether we want them to or not…but that does not mean that we have to act on it. Quotes: “We come equipped by nature with deep-seated desires that we can only resist with difficulty.” “We need an explanation for why some people, but not others, are able to resist the impulses that nature has given
Methods of micro sociology include symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and ethnomethodology. However there is opposing argument as macro sociologists think the opposite as although they concentrate on individuals as well they also look at families and other larger groups in society in which an individual is part of. Weber a social action theorist believes people hold meanings about the world and consciously act on the basis of meaning. He saw behaviour in terms of the meanings people action to actions and classified them into four types. Instrumentally rational action is when a goal is not desirable but an induvidual still works out the best way to reach it.
With just our human brain, we could never be as evolved as we are now without the impact of society. The memories that we experienced during childhood and the way that we were raised do affect our behaviors, but they all tie into the bigger picture of societal impact. Our parents and the environment that we grew up in were all impacted by society’s standards. The expectations that society creates shaped our behaviors as human beings the most, more than the individuality of our minds. Even though our brain are created different (cognitive) and we still want to personalize things, we still have to follow society’s laws and direction if we want to have a stable and safe life.
Psychology personal statement As a social species the lives of human beings revolve around the interactions we have with one another, so surely an interest in people and their behaviour is a natural curiosity? As we grow up in society we subconsciously study human behaviour so we can understand people and fit in; in this way I believe we are all psychologists. For some, the insight into the human psyche is only as deep as their own experience but for me the exposure to psychology provided by everyday life and popular culture is not enough, the mind is too complex a puzzle to be left untouched. I seek a greater understanding of this fundamental part of our existence. Part of what draws me to psychology is the way in which it marries multiple disciplines; it is both an art
Why or why not? In my honest opinion prejudice is hard to measure because it cannot accurately be predicted or judge by a test. I feel like prejudice cannot be measured accurately because the test shows the association between different groups. The only thing I can see the implicit association test is measured are the groups that I may belong to or fit in. People cannot show the result of being or prejudice because people are known to select things that they are more familiar with, things that they are more commutable with, and things that they see in their everyday environment.
Everyone has their own image of how individuals or groups of people should be portrayed. Also many people don’t realize that they are stereotyping, it may just be a habit. People are also raised to look at an individual and classify them into a certain group. Stereotyping cannot be avoided, it is an image that society has constituted to classify individuals to groups of people. Looking back, I realize that we have been raised in a society that substitutes a person’s lifestyle and personal choices to a stereotype.
The case study has been used as a tool for natural and social sciences as well as psychological research. One type of case study is a “psychobiography” which means a researcher utilizes psychological theory to explain the life of an individual, usually an important historical figure. Reasons to Use Case studies can aid as being valuable for informing of conditions that are considered rare or unusual, thus providing unique data about psychological phenomenon like memory, social exchange, or language. Depending on the purpose, a case study may present an individual’s history, symptoms, characteristic behaviors, reactions to situations, or responses to treatment. Case studies are also useful for testing whether scientific theories and models