8 Facts About Social Psychology
Social Psychology sees things from other people's points of view but not everyone is able for that type of truth
Your mind will be opened if you truly understand what your place in society is.
And for you to properly understand the place you have there must be a scientific approach to measuring it all.
And that’s where social psychology comes in to explain how you perceive yourself in a social group.
Because social psychology illustrates how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by the presence of other people.
Essentially then, the attitude that other people have towards us develops our perceptions of who we are, what we stand for, and how we think and feel.
This then promotes how we act in the world.
Social psychology seeks to understand the situations that people find themselves in. It derives factual evidence from experiments to establish the attitudes and behaviors of others.
Here are 8 facts about social psychology that are helpful to know before you judge yourself and your worth in a group or society as a whole:
1. It believes that most people are sheep and they follow a leader.
Rarely do individuals pull away from a group so long as the group is big enough and has a commonly accepted reason to be gathered. People tend to conform to group cultures just to be part of it and to make sure the boat is not rocked. They are even willing to give up their individual beliefs on certain topics so long as they can be part of something with others.
2. Many people will simply obey the leader and not question them for a long time so long as they are part of the group.
This is especially true if the group has a common cause that is emotive. If the leader starts the group with a handful of other people who they know have a similar belief to them then others will follow in support. Before long there is a trickle of followers all supporting the original members of the group.
3. If the central theme of the group stirs up emotional responses from the members of the group then they’ll give the leader a chance to lead the group because their need to have support for something they feel so strongly about is supported by others and it gives them an outlet to take action.
4. The social comparison process means that people will compare themselves to others by way of ability, attitudes, standing, and overall traits and see themselves and their role in a group as a result of this.
The upward social comparison means that we look up to the leaders or whom we feel are better than us. Form their we foster a desire to improve on certain aspects of ourselves as we see the leaders having more developed attributes in that area.
But instead of making our role in a group too little after a while of being in a group and honoring the leadership, we tend to pick out others in the group that are lower than us in the overall pecking order. This is a downward social comparison and it makes us feel we have a place in the group because we are ahead of these people according to the norms of the people around us.
5. The bystander effect in social psychology means that if there are a lot of witnesses to the same event then it’s likely that fewer people will offer to help out if help is needed.
For example, if there is a road accident many other cars or cyclists, or pedestrians that pass by will watch as the accident occurs and avoid helping the person that is injured. Instead, they’ll stand by as they know there are many others there to help if it’s needed.
6. The expectation confirmation theory comes from marketing and understands that consumers have primary expectations when they purchase a product or service.
This then leads to their perceived performance of it and any disconfirmation of beliefs or and satisfaction once it has been purchased.
7. Social psychology also notes how prejudices and stereotypes continue to exist due to people’s feelings from being a member of a group.
People on the whole minimize the difference that exists in groups and categorize the difference that exists between groups.
8. From a social psychologist’s standpoint, a person’s perspective and expectation of others come from other social norms and expected roles.
With that in mind, when a person joins a political party they believe that there will be some form of hierarchal leadership to the party. They trust that the leaders are looking out for each member and that they have an ideological belief in the core values of what the party stands for. Although they may never meet the leader, they will back their words simply because they are members of the party with them.
Get FREE Access To Dr. Conor’s VIP List Here (Limited Time Only)
