The critical schools of social psychology came about in response to a growing dissatisfaction with the scientific paradigm that had become entrenched in psychology in the first half of the twentieth century. Social psychology developed two separate strands, the Psychological Social Psychology strand, in America, and the Sociological Social Psychology schools in Europe. While the American school developed into an experimental, empiricist discipline that relied on the scientific method, the European traditions became more qualitative, with one example being the phenomenological school that believed it was more important to look at experience rather than explanation.
Cognitive social psychology emerged in the mid-twentieth century as a critique of the dominant behaviourist movement and quickly became the main force behind the American school of Psychological Social Psychology. (Hollway, 2007). With its roots in mainstream psychology, cognitive social psychology has a primarily quantitative methodology, relying heavily on statistical methods in controlled conditions, and adheres to the hypothetico-deductive paradigm found in other sciences. The main focus of this form of social psychology is on how the individual behaves in controlled situations and this is examined through experiments and social psychometric data gathering.
In the laboratory it is possible to observe people’s behaviour in a carefully controlled environment. This makes it possible for the cognitive social psychologist to “disentangle cause and effect” by isolating the various parts of a theory that can be measured and designing the experiment to ensure that only those are measured (Jetten, 2007). The experimental method is part of the empirical tradition of ...
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...psychology may be possible.
Spears, R. (2007) as cited in Hollway, W. (2007) 'Methods and Knowledge in Social Psychology', in Wendy, H., Lucey, H. and Phoenix, A. (ed.) Social Psychology Matters, Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Hollway, W. (2007) 'Methods and Knowledge in Social Psychology', in Wendy, H., Lucey, H. and Phoenix, A. (ed.) Social Psychology Matters, Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Hollway, W. (2007) 'Social Psychology: Past and Present', in Hollway, W., Lucey, H. and Phoenix, A. (ed.) Social Psychology Matters, Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Jetten, J. (2007) in DVD 1: Contemporary Methods and Perspectives (DD307), The Open University.
Haslam, A. (2007) in DVD 1: Contemporary Methods and Perspectives (DD307), The Open University.
Finlay, L. (2007) in DVD 1: Contemporary Methods and Perspectives (DD307), The Open University.
In this essay, the author
Explains that the critical schools of social psychology came about in response to a growing dissatisfaction with the scientific paradigm that had become entrenched in psychology.
Explains that cognitive social psychology emerged in the mid-twentieth century as a critique of the dominant behaviourist movement and quickly became the main force behind the american school of psychological social psychology.
Explains how the cognitive social psychologist can disentangle cause and effect by isolating the various parts of a theory that can be measured and designing the experiment to ensure that only those are measured.
Explains that a cognitive social psychologist will identify variables that may affect the issue and then design an experiment that allows the variables to be manipulated. stanley milgram's (1965) investigation into the nature of obedience.
Explains that the power relationship between experimenter and subject raises ethical questions, especially as most experiments involve some sort of deception to make sure the subject's knowledge does not affect the outcome.
Explains that experimental psychology relies on statistical methods to generalise findings from the sample tested and apply them to society as a whole.
Explains that cognitive social psychology uses traditional methods, but some ideas from critical traditions have been incorporated. daisy brookes examined athlete performance in a number of conditions in their own training sessions.
Explains that the phenomenological perspective is a critical social psychology that concentrates on the actions and feelings of the individual. it is qualitative and examines descriptions of individuals’ internal experience without examining the deeper meanings behind that experience.
Explains that phenomenological social society is a descriptive examination of the life world.
Explains that phenomenological psychology treats every person's experience as unique and tries not to generalise in the way that traditional, experimental psychology does.
Explains that the concept of epoché is central to phenomenology, where the researcher suspends preconceptions and knowledge when approaching the material for the first time.
Explains that the emphasis on the scientific method in traditional psychology manifests itself in cognitive social psychology with its highly quantitative, experimental methodology that deals with small, reductive problems as a way of explaining process in the human mind.
Explains that non-traditional psychological schools have moved further away from the scientific paradigm even eschewing it completely. in the case of phenomenology the idea that there is an explanation to be searched for is disregarded.
Opines that a more rounded view of human psychology may be possible with both traditions co-existing.
Cites spears, r, hollway, w, lucey, and phoenix, a. social psychology matters, milton keynes: the open university.
Cites hollway, w., lucey, h. and phoenix, a. (eds) social psychology matters, milton keynes: the open university.
Analyze the key differences between the views of experimental, humanistic/experimental and critical social psychologists. Which of these views do you find most convincing and why?
In this essay, the author
Explains the differences between experimental and humanistic/experimental social psychology. experimental psychologists believe that emotions and reasons behind behavior can be measured and personal choice underlies decision-making.
Explains the differences between humanistic/experimental and critical social psychology. humanists place more importance in internal influences in the social perspective while critical psychologists sustain that interaction is more important than individualism.
Explains the differences between experimental and critical social psychology. critical psychologists believe that the social constructions around an individual are like a prism of light where all the colors are interlinked on many levels.
Analyzes the key differences between the views of experimental, humanistic/experimental and critical social psychologists.
Compares experimental humanistic/experimental and critical social psychology, arguing that both internal and external factors are involved in responsive behavior in the social context.
Cites wetherell, m. mcghee, p., and stevens, r. (2002) "defining social psychology" in sapsford.
Social psychology is an in-depth study of socialization. Gordon Allport (1985) defined it a discipline that utilizes scientific methods to understand as well as explain how thoughts, feelings and behaviors of human beings are influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of other people (Smith & Mackie, 2000). Cantril (1934) regards it as being the scientific learning o...
In this essay, the author
Explains that psychology is a social science study that covers diverse subject topics and carries out different forms of research to understand the development and function of human beings.
Explains that social psychology is an in-depth study of socialization. gordon allport defines it as a discipline that utilizes scientific methods to understand and explain how thoughts, feelings and behaviors of human beings are influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of other people.
Explains that social psychology focuses on ideas in social influences, thinking, and relations. it addresses the notion of people constructing their own social reality.
Explains that social psychology has been around since the late 1890s, with early influencers like aristotle, plato, hegel, lazarus, and steinthal.
Explains gordon allport's concept on social groups and behavior led to the establishment of social psychology.
Explains that psychology and social psychology are closely correlated. both address human behavior as well as mind and use scientific experimentation to control circumstances.
Explains that social psychology differs with other fields of psychology, but the differences are on what they focus on in terms of information content.
Explains that social psychology is an empirical science that tries to respond to questions about the habits or actions of humans by testing hypotheses. research can be conducted using experimental methods, correlational approaches, descriptive approaches and observational strategies.
Explains that social psychology is vital because it is applied in people's everyday life. it is visible in television ads, films and programs as well as noticeable in how individuals interact, influence one another and perceive things.
Explains that hergenhahn, b. r., and henley, t.
Analyzes how lubek, apfelbaum, and allport's accounts of handbook histories of social psychology were historiographically successful.
Opines that olson, m. h., and hergenhahn, b. r. (2013). an introduction to theories of learning.
Introduction
In the film “The Hunger Games”, society is depicted under a much harsher context than what we experience in our reality. However, under a sociological lens, it might not be all that different. The film illustrates the life within the nation of Panem where 13 districts separate the lifestyle of its citizens from living with wealth to living in poverty in another. These citizens of Panem are kept in these districts that they are situated in because of the yearly Hunger Games they must participate in.
In this essay, the author
Analyzes how the film "the hunger games" depicts society under a harsher context than what we experience in our reality.
Describes symbolic interactionism as the study of meanings we associate with our social world and the way we interact with one another. panem is divided into thirteen different districts where the closer to district one, the better off you are.
Explains that the districts are created so that each section provides a certain necessity for the capitol in which reaps in the rewards for having the most power and fortune.
Explains that panem's thirteen districts were destroyed for deviant actions, and the hunger games were a reminder of the social stratifying system that has been created.
Analyzes how kohn and schooler's approach links what we value in society with the existing social classes of that geographical area.
Cites clancy, s. (director), theoretical perspectives in social psychology, mcmaster university, hamilton.
Hogg, M.A., Abrams, D., & Martin, G.N. (2010). Social Cognition and Attitudes. In Martin, G.N., Carlson, N.R., Buskist W., (Ed.), Psychology (pp 646-677). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
In this essay, the author
Evaluates and critiques the positive and negative affect schedule (panas) as a measure of trait affect, focusing on its reliability and validity.
Explains that the panas is a valid measure of the constructs it intended to assess.
Describes the panas as one of the most widely used affective measures in the field.
Explains that the panas is highly reliable on both pa and na scales. however, the external validity of watson, clark, & tellegen's findings come into question due to the small sample size.
Explains how the positive and negative affect schedule evaluates factorial validity and invariance across demographic variables in a community sample.
Schneider, F., J. Gruman, & L. Coutts. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
In this essay, the author
Explains how injunctive and descriptive norms influence children's behavior, thereby reducing the boomerang effect.
Analyzes how asch demonstrated how powerful conformity is by conducting an experiment to investigate the extent to which social pressure could affect a person to conform.
Describes asch, guetzkow, fiske, and cialdini's books on social influence, social norms, conformity and compliance.
Describes cialdini, reno, kallgren, and schneider, f.
Social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This field focuses on how individuals view and affect one another. Social psychology also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment. Construals introduce the idea that people want to make themselves look good to others and they want to be seen as right. It is also said that the social setting in which people interact impacts behavior, which brings up the idea of behaviorism. Behaviorism is the idea that behavior is a function of the person and the environment.
In this essay, the author
Analyzes how zimbardo realized that the study had gone too far based on its methodology and the idea that it raised all sorts of ethical issues.
Argues that the two instances are completely different. one is a study where the participants experienced no physical harm and the experiment ended after six days. the other is real life example of guards who take advantage of their authority.
Cites smothers, ronald. asylum seekers testify on abuse by jail guards.
Describes the stanford prison experiment as a landmark study of the human response to captivity, in particular to the real world circumstances of prison life.
Compares the stanford prison experiment to the behavior of guards and prisoners of a real rehabilitation facility.
Analyzes how the stanford prison experiment and nazi germany's slaughter of 6 million people can be analyzed using social psychology because the environment, the situation, and those holding ity influenced the behavior of others.
History of Social Psychology
Nature and Definition
Social psychology is a science that studies our human connections. It is an important perspective from which we can view and understand ourselves. It is an environmental science and reveals how social circumstances influence behavior. Social psychology views human behavior as scientific rather than subjective.
In this essay, the author
Describes the psychologists famous for their contributions to social psychology.
Explains that wilhelm wundt, the founder of psychology, proposed that psychology should have two branches: physiological psychology and social psychology. although his ideas were popular in europe, they had no impact on america.
Explains that allport's conception of social psychology emphasized basic research, with little consideration given to addressing specific social problems or broader issues. the social and political upheavals in europe and the great depression in united states generated by the ww1 and ww2 had the greatest impact.
Explains that in 1936, social scientists formed spssi (society for the psychological study of social issues) dedicated to the study of important social issues and support.
Explains that in 1936, the soviet union's communist party forbids the use of psychological tests in various applied settings.
Explains that kurt lewin was one of the most influential social psychologists of that time. he served as the president of spssi in 1940.
Explains that the maturing science of social psychology expanded its theoretical and research base. adorno worked on the psychological parameters of itarian personality.
Explains the theory of cognitive dissonance, developed by leon festinger, which states that people's actions & thoughts are motivated by a desire to maintain cognitive consistency.
Explains that social psychologists work on love, helping, attraction, and aggression to solve a pitiable social environment in the 1960s. ellen berscheid and elaine hatfield's research on interpersonal and romantic attraction were appreciated.
Explains that the federal government took the guidance from social scientists regarding societal ills, and the number of social psychologists rose.
Explains that social psychologists took the ideas from cognitive psychology to describing the social behaviour. this increased the theoretical material and research in social psychology.
Explains that social psychological associations were formed in europe and latin america in the 1970s, and the asian association of social psychology was founded in 1995.
Explains that social psychology is a science that studies human connections. it is an environmental science and reveals how social circumstances influence behavior.
Explains how norman triplett conducted the first empirical social psychological study in 1895. mcdougall and ross established social psychology as a separate subfield of psychology.
Explains newcomb's prediction that social psychology could be delivered in the future, which led to a "crisis of confidence" in people.
Social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This field focuses on how individuals view and affect each other. Social psychology also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment. Construals introduce the idea that people want to make themselves look good to others and they want to be seen as right. It is also said that the social setting in which people interact impacts behavior, which brings up the idea of behaviorism. Behaviorism is the idea that behavior is a function of the person and the environment.
In this essay, the author
Explains that social psychology is an empirical science that studies how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. it also produces the idea of construals which represent how a person perceives, comprehends or interprets the environment.
Explains that social psychology can be applied to the stanford prison experiment, in which the environment, participants, and construals brought about behaviors that may not have been how the participants actually would behave in real life.
Describes the stanford prison experiment conducted in 1971 by philip zimbardo of stanford university. the experiment was a landmark study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life.
Analyzes how zimbardo's behavior led to the guards mentally abusing the prisoners with their cruel and degrading routines. they didn't feel guilt until after the experiment ended.
Analyzes how a guard who took on the persona of "john wayne" believed that the experiment was not very harmful, just degrading to the prisoners.
Analyzes how prisoners were made to feel as if the experience was real with the treatment they received and the environment in which the study took place.
Explains that on visitation day, parents came to see their children. they accepted the rules and perspective of the prison, and a priest offered them legal counsel.
Explains that zimbardo had taken on the role of superintendent of the stanford county jail.
Explains participant observation, where the investigator becomes a part of the group being observed. the weakness of this behavior is that one may lose their objectivity.
Analyzes how the prison study attracted volunteers who were prone to aggressiveness. a role is defined as a set of norms that defines how people ought to behave.
Analyzes how zimbardo realized that the study had gone too far based on its methodology and the idea that it raised all sorts of ethical issues.
Explains that the stanford prison experiment had the results that it did because everyone has motives; the environment even if it was not real was made to feel real and there was an interaction between that environment and the participants of the study.
Compares the study to an instance where a multinational group of immigrant asylum seekers gave accounts of the physical and mental abuse they endured from the guards at union county jail.
Analyzes how ronald smothers' article, "asylum seekers testify on abuse by jail guards," explained that the guards were called on duty on overtime with instructions to receive "rioters and hostage takers."
Argues that the two instances are completely different. one is a study where the participants experienced no physical harm and the experiment ended after six days. the other is real life example of guards who take advantage of their authority.
Analyzes zimbardo's metaphor of a power relationship between prisoner and guard in the stanford prison experiment.
Explains that the environment, the situation, and those holding ity influenced the behavior of others. prisoners and guards acted on the roles they were given.
Huffman, K. (2010). Psychology in action. P 267. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
In this essay, the author
Defines immunotherapy as the treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response.
Explains that immunotherapy is being tested on humans for its effects on cancer, allergies, and alzheimer's disease. human testing began in 2013 and is still not widely used. early treatment may have more significant positive results.
Explains activation immunotherapies, which prompts the body's own t-cells to attack unwanted tumors from within.
Explains that immunotherapy works by causing the body to release fewer antibodies to fight off a recognized foreign contaminant.
Explains that passive anti-amyloid immunotherapy is being used as a relatively new form of treatment for dementia and alzheimer's disease.
Opines that alzheimer's disease risk factors include high blood pressure and a history of head trauma, but are not researched enough to be considered factual.
Explains that there are two types of alzheimer's disease: early onset where the symptoms appear before the age of sixty and seem to be hereditary as genes have been identified and found to run in families.
Explains that amyloid-beta aggression causes extracellular plaques and tangles in the brain's gray matter.
Explains that it was interesting to see a new treatment option appear for alzheimer's disease and dementia in the scientific community that is also used to treat cancer and allergies.
Explains the commonalities between plaques and dementia was founded by alois alzheimer in 1906. five years later amyloids were associated with plaque deposits.
Explains that beta amyloid peptides and senile plaques have been proven to be responsible for the onset of alzheimer's disease and to continue the progression of the disease.
Explains that acetylcholine is a chemical that occurs naturally within the human brain and is created by an enzyme called cholinesterase.
Explains that cholinesterase inhibitors prevent the depletion of acetylcholin in the brain.
Explains that science does not know why the cholinergice nerve cells that are responsible for healthy levels of acetylcholin die, or how to prevent their deterioration before symptoms of dementia are apparent.
Opines that preventative medication for alzheimer's brain damage is a sensible course of action when no true understanding of the condition is yet known.
Explains that active immunotherapy is used to preserve brain functions and stave off alzheimer's disease and dementia by preventing synaptic dysfunction. there is no evidence to support that these treatments improve symptoms.
Opines that until 2015, there may be no further progress in immunotherapy treatments. there is an abundance of material written on alzheimer's and dementia, as well as many books and websites available for both diagnosed people and caretaker.
Explains that atkins, c., md (2008). alzheimer's answer book. p 92-93.
Huffman, K. (2012). 15. In Psychology in action (10th ed., p. 532). New York: Wiley.
In this essay, the author
Explains that psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. it focuses on how humans interact and function, and how to treat those who appear dysfunctional.
Explains that psychotherapy involves using specific techniques to improve the psychological functioning of the patient. it has many counterparts that are grouped together and called insight therapies.
Explains that psychoanalysis is based on sigmund freud's belief that abnormal behaviors are caused by unconscious conflicts amongst the id, ego, and superego.
Explains that the first method of psychoanalysis is free association, which is when the therapist allows the client's mind to wander. this removes the conscious censorship that ego puts over their thoughts and allows their true feelings to be revealed.
Explains that the second method of psychoanalysis is dream analysis. the therapist interprets the patient's dream, explaining the manifest and latent content.
Explains that the third method of psychoanalysis is analysis of resistance. patients show resistance, or unwillingness, to reveal their true feelings, thoughts, and motives.
Explains that the analysis of transference is an essential element of psychoanalysis because it happens automatically and unconsciously.
Explains that the final stage of psychoanalysis is interpretation. the therapist uses their knowledge from all of the previous methods to explain the underlying meanings to the patient.
Describes the concept of psychoanalytic therapy theory as catharsis, which addresses repressed memories and eliminates negative thoughts, behaviors, and feelings associated with traumatic events.
Explains that psychoanalysis has many strengths, but also many weaknesses. it is based on the assumption that unconscious conflicts exist, and it only suits a select group of patients.
Explains that many psychoanalytic therapists use psychodynamic therapy, which is a modern version of psychoanalysis.
Describes interpersonal therapy as a psychodynamic therapy technique that focuses on the client's current relationships rather than the past. it relieves immediate symptoms and teaches better ways to solve interpersonal problems.
Explains that psychoanalysis, developed by freud, is a great theory.
Cites references about psychotherapy : resistance, dream analysis, free association, and psychology in action.
Cites john's hopkins university press' the american imago: a psychoanalytic journal for the arts and sciences.