7. Evaluate Social Identity Theory, making reference to relevant studies Social Identity theory was developed by Tajfel (1979) to explain the relationship between social groups. Tajfel believed that social identity is the part of one’s self concept that is driven from the membership of a certain social group they belong to, which also contribute to one’s self-esteem. Examples of social identities may include racial group, nationality, social group and sports group. The three fundamental cognitive processes underlying social identity theory include categorization of our groups and other groups, identification of ourselves with the values and behavior of our groups, and comparison between us and other groups.
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. The psychologist, Freud’s theory of personality suggests that our personality is structured by the interactions of our id, superego and ego. The id being our pleasure principle; it is the selfish part of our self and causes us to desire things such as food and sex. It is an unconscious part of our personality and present from birth. The superego is our morality principle which we develop from three to six years old, it helps us to define the difference between right and wrong and Freud suggested that it is often in conflict with the id.
Social psychologist observe human behavior and significance of influence by outside sources such as people, society, environment, and culture. Social psychologist focus on facts that underline human behavior in social settings and how individuals’ conduct him or herself under various conditions, thus, leading to behavior, actions, and feelings. According to Mcleod (2007), “Topics examined in social psychology include: the self-concept, social cognition, attribution theory, social influence, group processes, prejudice and discrimination, interpersonal processes, aggression, attitudes and stereotypes” (para. 3). Social Psychology
Social Influences on Behavior By: Sara Tinker PSY-300 November 28, 2011 Dan Erickson Social psychology, a combination of psychology and sociology, is the study of the influence on individual behavior brought by the actual, imaginary, or implied presence of others (Gergen & Gergen, 2011). Such influence can alter or enhance one’s own beliefs and actions. Humans are inheritably social creatures often seeking others to fill the need to be loved or praised and in some cases to be different or seek motivation. The need and existence of these emotions and feelings can create positive or negative behavioral changes. Such behaviors can be seen every day in athletic events or in political topics such as homo-sexuality.
The purpose of this lab was to determine cohesion in and between groups. A sample of respondents filled questionnaires rating their perception of relations both within and between their in-groups and out-groups. The questionnaires rated their perception on a scale of 1-7 representing their level of agreement or disagreement with the matter question. The answers were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS and results analyzed and interpreted. The results indicated that that the most important factors affecting identity ranked in their order of importance are cohesiveness, voice and consensus respectively Introduction Social identity refers to how human beings make sense of each other.
Since then social influence has become a field of study devoted to discovering the principles that determine our beliefs, create attitudes, and move us to action. Two forms of social influence are conformity (majority influence) and minority influence. Conformity is where a larger group of people change the behaviour (but not necessarily the attitudes and beliefs) of an individual or smaller group while minority influence is where a small group or an individual change the behaviour and usually the beliefs of an individual. The difference is both in the size of the ‘group’ causing the influence and the type of change it creates in the individual (compliance or conversion). As stated above majority influence is when adapt the behaviour, attitudes or values of the majority after being exposed to their values or behaviour.
Social Psychology Definition Paper 1 Social Psychology Definition Paper September 11, 2012 Social Psychology Definition Paper 2 Social interaction plays a major role in defining social psychology because social psychology includes areas that include: psychology, evolutionary theories, and physiology. These areas according to Harold, (2000) are components of uncultivated areas of the social sciences. The principles of natural selection and adaptation can explain the biological theories that explain human hair color to choices for reproducing. At the same time sociology explains the choices of social structuring and how humans organize socially. However, social psychology has the job of explaining what people think about, how the thought affect people, and how the thoughts will interact with each other on the biological, psychological, and social levels (Myers, 2008).
There are two major aspects in regards to the sociological perspective, the first being interaction between social structure and an individual and the idea of two levels of analysis. When it comes to the interaction of social structure and the individual, sociologists tend to concentrate not so much on the characteristics of an individuals behavior but rather on the precedents that are collective amongst individuals in regards to society and groups around them. The key to grasping sociology comes from the inevitability and repetition, which are seen in customary social behaviors throughout society and individuals. Social structures are socially embodied in the actions, thoughts, beliefs, and long-lasting temperaments of individual human beings. The typical being often has a
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.
Definition of social psychology Social psychology is a scientific method that is used to understand how individual’s thoughts and behaviors are influenced by the very presence of another human being. Social psychology studies a vast amount of social topics such as social perception, group behavior, leadership, aggression, prejudice, nonverbal behavior, and conformity. When dealing and trying to understand social behavior it is vital to also have an understanding of the social perception and interaction. Social psychology just like any other kind of psychologies wasn’t really acknowledged until the late 1800’s early 1900’s. For social psychology it really got its boost around World War 2 because researches wanted to study the social influence, obedience, and conformity.