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Social Psychology

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Social Psychology
Conshombia McArthur
PSY 555
January 14, 2012
Dr. Newcomer

According to Fiske, social psychology is the scientific attempt to explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other human beings (2010, p. 4). Meaning that the actions of the individual are dictated to by the group and without the presence of the group one’s action might be different. The variant nuances unique to the individual are inhibited in an attempt to conform to the standards of the group. Social psychologists examine the interpersonal interactions of a person to develop an understanding about the human condition (Fiske, 2010, p. 35). With this being the case, how then an individual one measure thoughts, feelings, and behavior to prove a hypothesis? The ability to take a vague concept and transform it into a solidified and valid idea is the goal of many psychologists. Traditionally, social psychology has focused on the study of individuals. It assumes that complex social processes, behaviors, or attitudes can be explained by an analytical focus on the individual. The foundations for this individualist position were laid by Floyd Allport (1924) who dismissed the group as a meaningful level of analysis for social psychology. For instance, Allport claimed that “If we take care of the individual, psychologically speaking, then the groups will take care of themselves” (Allport, 1924, p.9). The four key characteristics of social psychology are broad scope, cultural mandate, scientific methods, and search for wisdom (Fiske, 2010, p. 32). The first key character of broad scope means that social psychology covers many aspects of social influence over human behaviors, which allows social psychology to be broken down into numerous sub-categories of study. Second, social psychology is

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