Social Psychology
WHAT IS IT?
When we are social, it relates to how we interact with our environment and our
surroundings outside of internalized emotions and conflicts we are going through. Social
psychologists are interested in how we interact with our environment and help us with
any problems we might be going through with respect to that. They study how people
form attitudes towards people and how their mechanism with interacting with those
around them could be harmful, and provide insight to change them. According to
psychologist Gordon Allport, social psychologists study how the thoughts, feelings and
behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of
other human beings. Social psychology encompasses a wide range of social topics,
including: group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity,
aggression and prejudice.
WHAT DO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS DO?
Some social psychologists mainly focus on the science behind human behavior
and why people behave the way they do. Other social psychologists focus on the
practical aspect of social psychology by helping organizations hire and train employees,
so they can be a best fit for the environment that they would be working in. Social
psychologists who deal with education can sometimes evaluate these educational
programs to determine if intervention strategies are working and if they are effective, as
well as searching for ways to encourage people to take better care of their
surroundings. The way that we see other people as well as the way we think they see
us can play a powerful role in a wide variety of actions and decisions. The people
around us shape our thoughts, feelings, moods, attitudes, and perceptions.
Social psychologists have a very diverse place of work, because they are
supposed to be trained in combining their knowledge of human behavior with scientific
research, methods, job options, and work settings.
Many social psychologists prefer to work in educational environments such as schools, colleges, and universities where they can conduct their research, as well as run social psychology laboratories and teach classes. Other social psychologists work for government offices, various non profits, hospitals, and other private corporations. The range of jobs for social psychologists to have is so diverse, that they could work almost anywhere, from offices to schools.
