social psychology essay

social psychology essay

The Impact of Social Psychology on Human Behavior

1. Introduction to Social Psychology

Social psychology is a scientific field that gives a wide perspective on the interaction between psycho-social structures of different individuals on an individual and intra-social level and methods followed to direct this interaction. When this scientific field-energy is taken in therapy, efficiency will highly increase in changing, interpreting, and controlling the social elements effective on an individual on an intra-social level and in giving characteristics, responsibilities, and problems effectively and making the persons interact with themselves.

Psychotherapy dealing with the individual or groups of individuals is founded on the basis of various psychological theories. Social psychology is a field where both social and specific psychological elements are integrated. Social psychology concentrates on understanding the manner in which individuals interpret, influence, and relate to one another. The main goal behind social psychology is to understand the process by which individuals interpret the social elements that are noticed or thought of and influence the behavior of the other individuals.

2. Key Theories and Concepts in Social Psychology

A central concept within social psychology is the spotlight effect, which describes the common phenomenon of people overestimating the extent that other individuals notice their behavior. As an example of the spotlight effect, research shows that people assume that they are the focus of others’ attention of a similar extent as themselves. Another relevant theory in this field is the actor-observer hypothesis, which states that people generally attach more value to situational than to dispositional explanations for events. Consequently, while an actor attempting to explain his or her behavior will most commonly refer to the influence of the social context, observers connecting the actor will mainly relate the behavior to the actor’s disposition or personality characteristics.

A considerable number of theories and concepts have implications for psychology. Some of the most significant theories include social comparison theory, cognitive dissonance theory, actor-observer hypothesis, and spotlight effect. According to social comparison theory, people evaluate themselves by comparing themselves to others. This evaluation can be based on performance, opinion, or ability. However, while comparison with similar others is a common phenomenon, people may also compare themselves with less similar others in order to improve their self-evaluations. For example, self-improvement advice in women’s magazines often advises adopting selected elements of successful female celebrities’ lifestyles as a way of improving oneself. Meanwhile, research implies that television programs featuring currently popular celebrities generally display high levels of audience attention and clout.

3. Applications of Social Psychology in Real-World Settings

Social psychologists have heavily contributed to the different areas of the real world. Governments and other organizations often fund various social and psychological projects to tackle issues such as discrimination, healthcare issues, traffic management, and media persuasion. In addition to academic organizations, nonprofit organizations also often contribute to social psychology projects, like the Social Psychology Network. Researchers from various countries are involved in these projects that seek to have broad worldwide benefits, and many findings are derived from social psychology in different cultures. However, social psychology research rarely provides easy answers because human beings are complex biological creatures. Thus, it is often difficult to apply experimental findings directly to the complex issues of the “real world.” Nonetheless, social psychological research can often provide a broad understanding of humans’ reactions and help to elucidate the underlying motivations. The qualitative and quantitative data from social psychologists are indispensable for understanding the human mind to be able to design the interventions in ways we intend them to work.

Humans are social animals, and we live in socially harmonious groups. This reflects the inherent basis of doing social psychology research – understanding how humans think, feel, and behave within social contexts. Social psychology bridges the gap between ideological and scientific concerns. This implies the practical applications of social psychology that aim to develop theories, evidence, and strategies to tackle various real-world issues. In that sense, applications of social psychology in various real-world settings are extremely diverse.

4. Ethical Considerations in Social Psychological Research

Ensuring the informed consent of participants is a primary concern of any ethical research. Without ensuring voluntary participation in an experiment, it may not be possible to validly interpret the results. The inclusion of confounding variables such as demand characteristics may also take away from the strength of the study’s findings. In other instances, the use of deception may lead to the inappropriate treatment of vulnerable populations. conducted a study on the ethical concerns surrounding the use of deception in medical experiments. found that when pharmaceutical companies misrepresent their new medications as providing a beneficial effect to the participant, they also put more pressure on the participant to remain in the study. This creates a conflict of interests both for the participant and the researcher. Such findings show that an appropriate balance of informed consent needs to be struck within the realm of ethical social psychological testing.

Ethical guidelines can protect any social psychological research from having a negative effect on the well-being of the participants. By adhering to some basic principles, researchers can ensure that participants are treated fairly without causing undue stress or pressure. In all cases, participants should never be required to engage in activities that they do not feel completely comfortable performing. This is particularly of concern when participants are insufficiently informed about the nature of an experiment. Deception that obscures a study’s intent may only be used when it is judged to be necessary to the study, and other measures have been taken that will prevent any negative repercussions.