Social psychology

The popular Netflix show, Orange is the New Black, exemplifies many of the topics that are covered in social psychology. The show takes place at a women’s minimal security prison and follows the stories and experiences of multiple prison inmates, as well as the prison’s security officers and staff. Often times, the show portrays topics that have been covered in class which depict the characters experiencing situations involving stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, aggression, and even…

Social Psychology on the Influence of Racial Identity Compelling research from studies and scholars have pronounced the understanding of social psychology in effects to absorbing a racial identity observed by individuals. Social psychology is the study of social interactions between individuals. These interactions play a role in defining what it means to have a racial identity, or in other words, a sense of group based on one’s perception that he or she shares a common ancestry with a certain…

On the surface, social dominance theory paints a bleak picture of the nature of human social behavior. It takes as a given that inequality necessarily arises from society’s tendency to categorize people into their social groups and perpetuate hierarchies on which the power relations between these groups are founded. While other theories would explain intergroup biases and discriminatory behavior as a consequence of subjective misattribution, resource competition, or ingroup positive…

Zimbardo is a social psychologist that studies aggression, conflict, social influence, and many other topics involved with social psychology. Zimbardo joined Stanford’s Psychology Department in 1968, and then conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971 (Plous, 2013). He wanted an experiment focused on how individuals adapt to being in a powerless…

Social Identity Theory In life we are categorized into many groups (whether it be based on our skin color, our culture, our type of music, the way we dress, and everything else about our lives) we cannot escape from it. We all put people into categories to help us simplify the information about people and be able to associate that information with people who would usually fit into that group, which now would even be called stereotyping. Both stereotyping and categorization are parts of a bigger…

Introduction Social influence is the process used by an individual or group to change the behavior or attitudes of others – and it occurs many times each and every day. Being able to recognize when social influence is occurring and why it takes place is a significant research area of social psychology. There is a wide variety of types of social influence, the most important being conformity, compliance, and obedience. By examining past experiences where social influence occurred, one can…

Sarah Edwards October 12, 2015 Social Psychology 2319-86021 Persuasion in Advertisement The first thing that comes to my mind when looking at this picture is that the child was just walking home from school and would never expect he would be getting hit by a car on his way home. This public service announcement says a lot in just one picture, but ultimately it is making aware that you should always pay attention to the road and your surroundings. There are many persuasion methods that…

In social psychology, social influence is a major topic that examines how different social groups influence a person’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. There are three aspects of social influence, which includes conformity, compliance, and obedience. These three aspects of social influence are important for a society and are beneficial for our own success in life. Conformity involves changing of attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs based on surroundings. It is the change that we see in behavior…

Social Identity Theory: Past Achievements, Current Problems, and Future Challenges is the article I focused on. With in the article they focused on main subjects as well as some sub-subjects including; the achievements—why there is in group bias, understanding responses to status inequality, stereotyping and perceptions of group homogeneity, and changing attitudes through contact. Problems for social identity theory—the relationship between group identification and in-group bias, the self-esteem…

freedom and the enemy of growth.” Once one suppresses freedom, the person’s true identity begins to disappear. Conformity causes lack of individuality, as shown through cults; the Stanford Prison Experiment; and normative social influence, informational social influence, and the social impact theory. The word “cult” refers to a group of people with religious tendencies, beliefs, or just practices in general that some may describe as “sinister”. The recruiters of cults tend to manipulate…