A social psychology studies how people behave, think and feel within a social context, that is, how we behave in different social situations. On the other hand, this area tells the why of people's behavior using a scientific model and predicting future actions based on this model. So, to learn more, read our post!

What is Social Psychology?

Think for a second about how you act when you are alone. Does your behavior vary when you are in front of other people? What happens when your parents or friends are watching you? Do you act the same or do you change according to the social situation that accompanies you all the time?

Your behavior changes depending on who you are, so it is not the same to be in front of your boss as in front of your parents, or in front of your friends.

Learn More

Even when we are alone in a room, our thoughts and behaviors are influenced by other people. We may come home angry with a friend, become relaxed after reading a psychology book, or feel stress when taking a test.

Thus, in all these situations, the social psychology of the person affects our behaviors and thoughts.

Examples

Throughout history, we can see numerous examples of this in our daily lives. Many situations where the effect of this issue affects our social behavior are summarized.

Example 1: Social Psychology

A study evaluated how customers tip their waiters, and what factors influence this action.

However, the reciprocity effect showed how tips increased by 3% when, after dinner, the bill had a sweet on it. But the effect is most evident when the waiter looks the customer in the eye and gives him another sweet. For, tips go up by up to 20% more.

Example 2 :endowment effect

A study has shown how humans value objects that we already have more for the simple fact that they belong to us. The example of social psychology was evident when a group of participants had to evaluate the price of a cup.

So when they had to buy it, they valued the mug at 5 Euros. But when they had to sell it (it was their mug) they gave 10 Euros.

How our behavior changes when they watch us

Feeling watched is something that has happened to all of us at some point. When doing some tasks, being watched by other people can improve our work.

However, on some tasks, our performance will drop. For example, if we do more difficult activities or if we are learning a new skill. Thus, our performance will be bad. On the other hand, when it comes to everyday tasks, performance will increase.

Principles

The psychology of human beings and their psychological processes are linked to three basic principles:

Non-rational thinking

Our mind works in two different ways of thinking:

• aware;
• unconscious.

This automatic form of mental work is the one that does most of the work of everyday life, because it takes care of easy tasks that save cognitive work. Moreover, it reserves resources for our brain.

In this way, it is man's biological nature that affects our behavior with other human beings.

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

Personal characteristics

Human beings are making realities based on the stimuli we receive. Therefore, these stimuli and their interpretation shape the way we feel, think, and interact with others. In other words, our own personal characteristics influence social behaviors.

The influence of other human beings

As part of a social context, psychology assesses how people interact and influence that context. It influences the way other people think and feel.

Community social psychology

It is a branch of research that seeks to describe how communities of people or groups have improvements in their own community. Through group strengthening actions.

This branch of social psychology is linked to group psychology, which analyzes the social behaviors of people within a group and the improvement of the union. Thus, the characteristics of this area are based on the analysis of decision making. Not only that, but also the optimization of resources within a social structure.

Are you enjoying our post? Then, comment below on what you think, and read on to learn more about the topic.

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human culture. Scholars in the field study the beliefs and traditions of society. In addition, their focus is on society as a whole. While social psychologists seek to discuss how society affects:

• thoughts;
• feelings;
• behaviors.

Sociology

Sociology has a lot in common with social psychology. Anthropologists, as well as sociologists, study society as a whole. However, psychology instead of looking at the beliefs and traditions of society, its focus is on organizations. Furthermore, it looks at how these organizations impact the people within them.

Also, like social psychologists, sociologists are interested in the intersection of society and the person, but sociologists are more focused on society, while social psychologists are more focused on the person.

Applied Social Psychology

It is a discipline that is part of social psychology that investigates the actual processes and behaviors of people. In addition, it is based on the theories and studies related to social psychology itself.

In other words, it seeks to put into practice the different theoretical studies based on real scientific approaches applied to society.

History

History is also an issue that relates to this area. For, we can observe how different societies behaved in other times. In addition, we can draw conclusions about their social behavior, forms of organization, ways of working, etc.

Therefore, if we know the behavior of people during each century, we can find out how societies have evolved until today. Finally, we can come to very precise conclusions about human beings.

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

Biology

It is interesting to know more about the biological basis of human behavior. So, biology also gives us data about how the human brain behaves. This helps to explain certain behaviors of people.

Did you like our post? Then read on, because we have an invitation for you!

Final considerations

As we have seen in this article, social psychology is related to many areas of study, since the interconnection in the social field is very broad. So, it is an area of study that requires more attention from everyone, since it is somehow present in our daily lives.

So, get to know more about social psychology By registering for our online clinical psychoanalysis course, you will become a professional able to perform in the job market. So, don't waste time, register now and start today!