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Introduction to social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social contexts and interactions. It explores factors such as social interaction, cognitive processes, environmental variables, and cultural contexts that shape behavior. Topics addressed include prejudice, gender, culture, social influence, and group behavior, highlighting its relevance to understanding interpersonal dynamics and societal issues.

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5 views24 pages

Introduction to social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social contexts and interactions. It explores factors such as social interaction, cognitive processes, environmental variables, and cultural contexts that shape behavior. Topics addressed include prejudice, gender, culture, social influence, and group behavior, highlighting its relevance to understanding interpersonal dynamics and societal issues.

Uploaded by

2107485
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Social Psychology

BCP 2062
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
2025
• Psychology is the scientific study of
how people act, think, and feel.

• There are various fields of psychology


or angles of studying psychology.

• Social psychology studies how


people act, think, and feel in the
context of society. That is, how
people's behaviors, thoughts, and
feelings change because of other
people.
• Social psychology seeks to
understand individual behavior in a
social context.

• Baron, Byrne & Suls (1989)


define social psychology as ....“the
scientific field that seeks to
understand the nature and causes
of individual behavior and thoughts
in social situations”. (p. 6).
Introduction to Social Psychology

• Baron, Byrne & Suls (2009)


observed that social psychology
focuses on the behavior of
individuals and seeks to understand
the causes of social behavior and
thought, which can involve social
interaction, cognitive processes,
environmental factors, cultural
values, and biological factors. (p.
13)
Introduction to Social
Psychology
• Social interaction - the process by
which we act and react to those
around us. It includes those acts
people perform toward each other and
the responses they give in return.
What do you do when an attractive
person looks at you and smiles?
When you seek a traffic police man
and you were over speeding?

• Cognitive processes - Higher mental


processes, such as perception,
memory, language, problem solving,
and abstract thinking.
Introduction to Social
Psychology
• Imagine you were to come to class and
there is no lecturer, you wait for 30
minutes finally the lecturer appears and
says I forgot I had class? How would you
react? – annoyed, what if she says she is
sorry for being late there was a big
accident, and the traffic took 1 hour to
clear. How will you react?
• It depends on how often the teacher is
late, if he/she used this excuse before,
you will be suspicious if the explanation is
true. We react to situations depending on
memories of past behaviors and you
inferences of explanations.
Introduction to Social
Psychology
• Environmental variables- Research
findings indicate that the physical
environment influence our feelings,
thoughts and behavior. Ecological
variables is part of the modern social
psychology.
• Do we become more irritable and
aggressive when the weather is hot
and steamy than when it is cool and
comfortable.
• Does exposure to a pleasure smell in
air make people more helpful to
others?
Introduction to Social
Psychology
• Culture context – Social behavior and
thoughts are influenced by the
actions and characteristics of the
people around us but they do not
occur in a cultural vacuum.
• Our relationship with others and how
we think about them are strongly
affected by events, beliefs and trends
in our own culture. Cultural beliefs
and norms (rules governing behavior)
influence important aspects of
behavior like when to marry, should
you live with a romantic partner
• Social psychologists therefore deal
with the factors that lead us to
behave in a given way in the
presence of others, and look at the
conditions under which certain
behavior/actions and feelings
occur.
• Social psychology is to do with the
way these feelings, thoughts,
beliefs, intentions and goals are
constructed and how such
psychological factors, in turn,
influence our interactions with
others
Topics Social Psychology
Addresses
• Social psychology addresses topics
such as
- prejudice and discrimination,
- gender,
- culture,
- social influence,
- interpersonal relations,
- group processes & behavior,
- aggression etc.
• Social Psychology is the study of
the manner personality, attitudes,
motivation and behaviors of the
individual influence and are
influenced by social groups.
CLASS DISCUSSION
• Identify 3 social groups you are
part of?
• Share how you influence then and
how you are influenced by them.
Importance of Social Psychology
to University Students
Importance of social
psychology to university
students
Importance of social
psychology to university
students
Importance of social
psychology to university
students
Importance of social psychology
to university students
Importance of social psychology
to university students
 Thank you

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