Is the Internet can be used as a tool for self exploration? The question is not without reason, given that many sites that display a variety of EQ and IQ test. Besides this virtual world technology provides many opportunities for individuals to express themselves uniquely. However, the psychologist argues, if a person fails to integrate the true self with the self that are expressed differently on the internet, then this would be very dangerous for these people's personal growth.
Regarding the impact of the Internet as a means of self exploration, the psychologist view it depends on the individual users. Of course the Internet can be useful if able to increase a person's life, and instead becomes a disease if a person's life is a mess. Bad effect will occur if the Internet is used as a means to insulate themselves. Many people do not realize that he was eventually closed to the social communication either because as the Internet is used as an escape from the problems associated with personality. That could happen because there are individuals who show a different personality when online with offline. The motivation behind it is different from one person to another. Problems will be complicated if the reason is because the individual is not satisfied / love with himself (probably because of inadequate, embarrassed, or feel unworthy), then creates and displays a very different personality from his original. Often he would rather the personality of the new engineering because it seems ideal for him. In fact, according to the psychologist, this is not true and not healthy. Why?
Michelle Weil, a psychologist and author of popular books, providing concrete examples of a girl who was shunned by her friends and then spend time berchatting Proxl ria by displaying a very contradictory character with its original character. As a result, over time he grew a lot with the existing social fact, not even able to accept yourself what it is. According to psychoanalysis renowned experts such as Erich Fromm, this condition is called neurosis. Conditions of prolonged neurosis will result in serious mental disorders. Michelle further added, the danger is created online personality different from the original.
Of course there are positive effects from the use of the Internet on the personality of a person (not addiction). Reid Steere, a sociologist from Los Angeles said, if someone uses the Internet as a medium of self exploration with a clear conscience, he would experience growth as a result of the reflection of himself in full over the Internet.
Internet and Self Exploration
How Well do you Listen?
Most people can talk about themselves and their ideas, jobs, plans, friends, etc. on and on. And yet, the ones that truly stand out -- in business and in life -- are those who cannot only talk but also LISTEN.
And by listening we don't just mean saying "uh-huh" every now and then in polite conversation. If you want to be heard when it's your time to speak, you must also learn how to listen well.
Active Listening Techniques
Pay attention. When someone is speaking to you, pay attention! Move closer to them and maintain eye contact. If in a crowded and noisy area, turn your head so that your ear is close to the speaker. And don't just take note of the words you hear. Look at his/her face and take note of the facial expression of your speaker and other body language.
Don't prepare. Part of listening attentively is NOT planning what YOU are going to say when it's your turn to talk. If you do this, you're only half-listening because you're already busy formulating your response. So don't prepare; just listen to the one speaking.
Convey that you're paying attention. Give the speaker clues that you're listening by making a few gestures such as nodding your head, smiling when appropriate, laughing when necessary, and so on.
Interjections such as "really?", "uh-huh", "no way!", and others also help relay to the speaker that you're listening to what's being said.
You may even want to "return the story" by saying something like "so let me see if I have this straight, you mean . . . ". Feel free to ask questions too. This conveys to the speaker that not only are you listening, but that you are interested in the conversation.
Another situation where you may need to clarify with a speaker is when he/she is speaking in a slightly different tongue or tone. He/she may be pronouncing the words differently and rather than just ‘drift off', ask politely for the speaker to repeat or clarify certain things he's said.
Don't interrupt. One common mistake of most people in a conversation is that they keep interrupting the speaker. Not only is this rude but you run the risk of completely misunderstanding what's being said because you didn't give the speaker a chance to finish his story. So give the speaker the time he deserves before you join in.
Listening is really an integral part of ANY relationship. Pay attention at how you listen to others. When you hone this skill, you'll find yourself naturally getting better at communicating with others.
Social Psychology: The Psychological Explanations of Social Phenomena
The various aspects of social psychology could be examined within the wide concepts of intelligence, gender, advertising, consumer culture, stress and psychological issues that define society.
Considering consumer behaviour, social psychology uses convincing theories to explain addictive consumption, the influence of advertising and the phenomenon of purchasing. Advertising is seen as a subtle psychological manipulation as it creates desires and anxiety in the potential consumers (Papers4you.com, 2006). Advertising can have both psychological and commercial aspects including misattribution, bias, suggestibility, and could be studied from global or local perspectives. Organisational consumption is seen as different from individual consumption although generic psychological theories of human motivation such as that of Maslow and Freud can explain consumer behaviour. However consumer behaviour can also be studied in terms of the notion of quality and its relation to customer satisfaction (Silva et al, 2005). The objective measures of customer needs, pricing and expectations of the customers may have to be analysed within Service Quality or Expectations models. Hogg and Garrow (2003) highlighted on the psychological aspects of gender and the influence on consumption of advertising. Advertising has been found to be processed and interpreted differently according to gender schemas and perceptions. This would in turn relate to psychological theories of gender such as the theory of biological determinism, Freudian theory of personality development, cognitive-developmental theory, and feminist theories. Bridging the gap between gender studies and gender differences in consumption could provide us with new insights on social and psychological aspects of consumer behavior. Orth (2005) indicated that consumer behaviour largely depends on consumer personality and susceptibility to interpersonal influence, consumer situational disposition such as risk taking and curiosity, purchasing behaviour and purchasing frequency and demographic variables such as age and gender. Contemporary consumer culture could be studied in relation to an excessive emphasis on beauty and appearance and an obsession with youth, a phenomenon that has seen an increased dependence on cosmetic surgery. The increased importance of the body in the consumer culture could be studied along with the significance of appearance in modern society, the role of marketing and advertising images, and the psychological need for self-expression (Papers4you.com, 2006).
Social psychology is however focused not just on consumption and public attitudes on advertising, but also on group behaviour, general individual and collective attitudes towards various social issues including war, work, violence and quality of life. This would in turn explain how individuals deal with stress, and focus on the psychological consequences of stress. Although psychological disorders may in some cases be a direct result of social stress, deviant behaviour in society could be explained with the help of several theories such as the theory of subcultures by Parker, the structural strain theory by Merton, or the theory of conformity. Social psychology is thus focused on explaining a wide range of issues from advertising and consumer behavior to public attitudes on social issues and antisocial behaviour.
Bibliography
Hogg M.K.; Garrow J. (2003) Gender, identity and the consumption of advertising Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 6, Number 3, June, pp. 160-174(15)
Orth, Ulrich R.(2005) Consumer personality and other factors in situational brand choice variation The Journal of Brand Management, Volume 13, Number 2, November, pp. 115-133(19)
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/510. Advertising: means of psychological manipulation", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtpsy3.htm [22/06/2006]
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/646. Causes of addictive consumption in modern society", Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]
Silva Jr, Nelson da; Lírio, Daniel Rodrigues (2005) The postmodern re-codification of perversion: On the production of consumer behavior and its libidinal grammar International Forum of Psychoanalysis, Volume 14, Numbers 3-4, Number 3-4/December, pp. 217-223(7)
The Antisocial Aspect Of Social Networking
It's estimated that more than one-third (35 percent) of U.S. adults have a profile on a social networking site, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's daily tracking survey of 2,251 adults. A more practical survey can be done just by thinking of the number of people you know who use these sites - starting with yourself.
While many will legitimately use social networking sites for broadcasting, distribution, and communication purposes, more people are attempting to instigate and manage friendships online.
Therein lies the problem. I contend that if social networking sites contribute to the decline or decay of social skills, they inadvertently create an antisocial mindset for people as they navigate in the real world because they become more adept and comfortable at socializing in an online world.
If you were walking down the street, or sitting on a bus and someone tapped you on the shoulder and said, "I'd like to add you as a friend," you would look at them as though they were insane, or at the very least, with skepticism. Online, most people are not nearly as discriminate about their friend selections as they are in real life, but they should be.
Friends are afforded special privileges both online and offline. Offline you have to earn them. Online they are instantly granted. One such privilege is knowing who your other friends are and what you are up to. This comes in the form of "updates" which a surprising number of people use to post personal information and comments.
The shouting nature of MySpace (which is saturated with people who are eager to draw attention to themselves or their songs) makes it a favorite among a younger demographic of social network users.
Dr. Himanshu Tyagi, a psychiatrist at West London Mental Health Trust, stated in a recent report that people born after 1990, who were just five-years-old or younger when the use of Internet became mainstream in 1995, have grown up in a world dominated by online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. He states:
"This is the age group involved with the Bridgend suicides and what many of these young people had in common was their use of Internet to communicate. It's a world where everything moves fast and changes all the time, where relationships are quickly disposed at the click of a mouse, where you can delete your profile if you don't like it and swap an unacceptable identity in the blink of an eye for one that is more acceptable," said Dr. Tyagi. "People used to the quick pace of online social networking may soon find the real world boring and unstimulating, potentially leading to more extreme behavior to get that sense."
It's been my observation that most people don't know who they have among their "friends" on MySpace. More commonly, people amass hoards of friends strictly for the sake of appearance - the appearance of being popular. So friends can get used both offline and online in that regard.
The 80/20 rule teaches us a lot about friends and time invested in friendships (which is what really defines them). 80% of correspondence that you send to anyone on any given social networking site will be sent to only 20% of the people you have in your "friends list." Just as 80% of your time spent nurturing friendships will be with 20% of your friends. You are most likely to communicate with that 20% without the aid of a social network.
Facebook, for lack of a better if not more accurate description, has become the adult version of MySpace. As the real estate mantra goes: build it and they will come. But social networks have a saying all their own: build it and they will use it for illegitimate purposes.
B.J. Fogg, director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University and editor of a book called The Psychology of Facebook has been studying the social networking phenomenon for years. He argues that what we are doing on Facebook and other social networking sites is a lot like "primate" grooming. We are building "social solidarity" by publicly flirting and socializing online.
Yes, your suspicions are correct: the most illegitimate use of social networks takes place among people who are married or in committed relationships who use them to locate old flames. Actually, that's not the illegitimate part. The illegitimacy stems from the resulting clandestine relationships that occur. There's a lot of rekindling taking place on social networks...probably right now as you read this article.
According to Nancy Kalish, a professor of psychology at Cal State Sacramento and author of the book Lost & Found Lovers: Facts and Fantasies of Rekindled Romance, many people try to reunite online because it's so easy," Kalish says. "Most people go looking for lost loves, initially, out of curiosity. First loves in particular are most often sought out online, she says, and they pose the most danger to real-world relationships for two reasons: biological and emotional.
First, she says, when two people meet in the adolescent years (between 16 and 22), they start to form their identity together and break away from family. In those formative years, "you define what love is and what you want from a partner, and when you lose that, you lose that piece of yourself." This combines with the hormones that are encoding in your brain at that age as "emotive memory" and creates a biological imprint of that person.
On top of all this chemistry, the adolescent years are typically the years when humans start to reach their reproductive maturity and look for biologically compatible mates. Kalish argues that this in turn causes problems because people are delaying marriage. She says, "we are so far away from marrying our first love because people are waiting until later in life to settle down. When they do settle down, oftentimes, the chemistry just isn't the same."
Perhaps this is the reason why in the Pew survey, of the adults who had removed their profile from a social networking site, 3 percent said they did it because their spouse or partner wanted it removed.
My favorite social networking site is LinkedIn. It's essentially an online portal for resumes. Like the others, it operates on a membership/sign-up basis, but is geared toward professionals and building professional networks. Unlike MySpace and Facebook, people lead with their credentials on LinkedIn and the site regulates, discourages, and prevents abuse of the system by blocking those who get repeated rejections for linking requests.
It's most distinctive feature are the recommendations that others make on your behalf to help you complete and promote your profile. The LinkedIn business premise is simple: you should know at least 5 people with whom you have real relationships who can endorse you to make you a more valuable connection to others.
LinkedIn is not a cozy, give-a-shot-out, tell you about my weekend, post a stupid comment about what I just saw on TV social network. It is for serious professionals who want to network with credentialed people without the levity and frivolity that is so commonplace on social networks. It's not designed for conviviality and making friends.
Another social network that's growing in popularity is Twitter. Twitter allows users to "follow" each other (i.e. keep up with each other's activities) and is predicated on the exchange of short updates that can be seen online via their website or sent to you via your cell phone. I suspect that many music artists and professionals who regularly calendar events that the public, their fans, or constituents need to be made aware of will utilize it more in the future.
Personally, I have yet to make a friend through any social networking site. Nor do I know of anyone who has. I'm sure it happens. I've even been contacted by "friends" from my past. I'm hesitant to call them "friends" because I believe it's extremely rare when you lose contact with a real friend.
Most of the time when we lose contact with each other it's because we lacked the motivation or commitment to maintain the friendship in the first place; therefore, I tend to keep past "friends" in my past because that's usually where they belong. Those who don't subscribe to this philosophy usually end up briefly re-uniting with their past friends and drifting apart once more.
For me, the social networks offer their greatest value from a professional capacity. They serve as a divide between my associates and my friends, while allowing me to communicate with both simultaneously. But in the end, they offer us a reminder of just how valuable real friends and friendships are, if we can take our faces away from the computers screens long enough to realize it.
Source: Gian Fiero
File Under Psychology Journal
Relationship Psychology
Have you ever been transferred from your work place or schooled far away from home? Such experiences break your social and family ties, and you may feel isolated or become a loner. You face dynamic changes and sometimes it takes long for you to adapt. Relationship psychology explains how our relationships affect our psychological well-being. When you are separated from your family and social friends, the ties tend to weaken hence you invest in other relationships.
You will agree with me that when your relationships are not working, you are unstable health wise because your psychology needs are not fulfilled. This is because your health is determined by the quality of your relationships. There are themes studied in relationship psychology that explain how relationships orient you in other fields. Most of the time you cannot judge the outcome of a relationship but the basic information you get gives you a rough idea about the other person.
We all like different music. When you meet someone you can guess his personality if he tells you the kind of music he listens to. Studies show that our cholesterol levels are different. To save your relationship from effects of cholesterol you should write down affectionate thoughts about close friends and family members. If your partner is unfaithful how do view him? The conclusions you make can break or re-build your relationships.
Relationship Psychology explains parental relationships after divorce. Children are likely to suffer psychologically in cases of divorce therefore they are the major concern. The parents should devise ways of ensuring that the children have basic necessities and are psychologically stable. Communication and understanding is very vital in a relationship as bring it determines compatibility.
Social Psychology: The Psychological Explanations of Social Phenomena
The various aspects of social psychology could be examined within the wide concepts of intelligence, gender, advertising, consumer culture, stress and psychological issues that define society. Considering consumer behaviour, social psychology uses convincing theories to explain addictive consumption, the influence of advertising and the phenomenon of purchasing. Advertising is seen as a subtle psychological manipulation as it creates desires and anxiety in the potential consumers (Papers4you.com, 2006). Advertising can have both psychological and commercial aspects including misattribution, bias, suggestibility, and could be studied from global or local perspectives. Organisational consumption is seen as different from individual consumption although generic psychological theories of human motivation such as that of Maslow and Freud can explain consumer behaviour. However consumer behaviour can also be studied in terms of the notion of quality and its relation to customer satisfaction (Silva et al, 2005). The objective measures of customer needs, pricing and expectations of the customers may have to be analysed within Service Quality or Expectations models. Hogg and Garrow (2003) highlighted on the psychological aspects of gender and the influence on consumption of advertising. Advertising has been found to be processed and interpreted differently according to gender schemas and perceptions. This would in turn relate to psychological theories of gender such as the theory of biological determinism, Freudian theory of personality development, cognitive-developmental theory, and feminist theories. Bridging the gap between gender studies and gender differences in consumption could provide us with new insights on social and psychological aspects of consumer behavior. Orth (2005) indicated that consumer behaviour largely depends on consumer personality and susceptibility to interpersonal influence, consumer situational disposition such as risk taking and curiosity, purchasing behaviour and purchasing frequency and demographic variables such as age and gender. Contemporary consumer culture could be studied in relation to an excessive emphasis on beauty and appearance and an obsession with youth, a phenomenon that has seen an increased dependence on cosmetic surgery. The increased importance of the body in the consumer culture could be studied along with the significance of appearance in modern society, the role of marketing and advertising images, and the psychological need for self-expression (Papers4you.com, 2006).
Social psychology is however focused not just on consumption and public attitudes on advertising, but also on group behaviour, general individual and collective attitudes towards various social issues including war, work, violence and quality of life. This would in turn explain how individuals deal with stress, and focus on the psychological consequences of stress. Although psychological disorders may in some cases be a direct result of social stress, deviant behaviour in society could be explained with the help of several theories such as the theory of subcultures by Parker, the structural strain theory by Merton, or the theory of conformity. Social psychology is thus focused on explaining a wide range of issues from advertising and consumer behavior to public attitudes on social issues and antisocial behaviour.
Bibliography
Hogg M.K.; Garrow J. (2003) Gender, identity and the consumption of advertising Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Volume 6, Number 3, June, pp. 160-174(15)
Orth, Ulrich R.(2005) Consumer personality and other factors in situational brand choice variation The Journal of Brand Management, Volume 13, Number 2, November, pp. 115-133(19)
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/510. Advertising: means of psychological manipulation", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtpsy3.htm [22/06/2006]
Papers For You (2006) "P/M/646. Causes of addictive consumption in modern society", Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]
Silva Jr, Nelson da; Lírio, Daniel Rodrigues (2005) The postmodern re-codification of perversion: On the production of consumer behavior and its libidinal grammar International Forum of Psychoanalysis, Volume 14, Numbers 3-4, Number 3-4/December, pp. 217-223(7)
Signs and Symptoms ; Social Disorder
Some of the signs and symptoms include:
1. An extreme fear of a situation in which you have to meet new people or you may be scrutinized by others.
2. The feared social situations are experienced with intense anxiety or avoided entirely.
3. The anxiety-provoking social situation causes physical symptoms like blushing, sweating, shaking, trembling, tense muscles, shaky voice, dry mouth or a pounding heart.
The basic symptom of social anxiety disorder is of being very anxious in the presence of others. If you suffer from social anxiety disorder, you may think that other people are very confident in public and you are not. Just blushing may feel horribly embarrassing to you, and you may feel like everyone's eyes are always on you. You may feel anxious about giving a speech, talking to a boss or dating.
Some people with social anxiety disorder are afraid of public speaking or parties. Others feel terrible anxiety about using a public restroom, eating out, talking on the phone or writing in front of others.
Almost everyone experiences some social anxiety now and then; it's normal. However, social anxiety disorder consistently limits the lifestyle of those with the illness, in some cases causing them to not participate in school, avoid making friends or miss important opportunities at work. Some people with social anxiety disorder avoid all socially related situations, severely limiting their life, work and social relationships.
Social Disorder on Psychology Journal
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MODERNITY
Johansson's volume is an excellent critique of the more psychologistic social psychology in the United States. It nicely examines what I suggest is the emergence of a post-modern, rather than modern, assertion of paradigms in social psychology set out by Simmel and the Chicago school. Johansson provides an in-depth analysis of three seminal projects: Wirth's examination of the (Jewish) ghetto and the stranger, the discussion of authoritarian personality by Adorno and colleagues, and Giddens' reflection on relationships and intimacy.
Johansson's work should be spoken of as post-modern and not modern. This titling is only a slight misnomer which needs some clarification for the reader, but substantively the volume offers an alternative humanistic paradigm in social psychology. It also puts forward a trenchant challenge to social psychology's American hegemony haplessly confessing a (modern) Enlightenment positivist bias. Johansson's text emerges comfortably as a post-modern response to the psychologistic (modern) paradigm of the un-reflexive, de-contextualized self as a 'tabula rasa' in social psychology. Both Adorno and Wirth's reflexive and contextualized self challenges the modern (or Enlightenment) ideas of the psychologistic person. Given these sentiments I think Johansson's book comfortably fits within the postmodern theoretical paradigm. So, us sociologists should stop the winter of our discontent in the conflict between postmodern and modern definitions of society, and should rather look to the theoretical influences that apply these terms more antiseptically.
To return to the volume, Johansson discusses Giddens with attention to intimacy and returns to flesh out the significance of his contribution later in the volume, reflecting on the implications of increased communication and multiculturalism in globalization. I thought Johansson should also consider the American psychologist (influenced by the Chicago school) Kenneth Gergen and his seminal work, The Saturated Self, to uncover the dimensions of personhood in an age of multiculturalism, what Gergen defines as 'multiphrenia,' or multiple selfhoods.
Johansson more or less abandons his discussion of Adorno and Wirth after the introductory chapter, which is a pity to this reader who thinks that more detailed reflections on these two seminal authors would be productive to the overall argument. Nevertheless Johansson concludes the introductory chapter with further analysis of Wirth, Adorno and Giddens' reflexive self contra positive science.
The remaining content of chapter one highlights Simmel's contributions as a scholar of the 'emotionology' of modernity. Johansson sees Simmel as first and foremost 'psychologist' of social life, beginning as he does with the interacting individual as the unit of analysis and the tension between the subjective and objective experience. He also offers a postlude to Simmel, discussing his influence within the Chicago school.
The second chapter of the first part describes psychoanalysis' grip over social psychology. Johansson mentions Benjamin's discussion of dreams and utopia, Elias' meditation on the repression of desires in social change, and Marcuse's fusion of Freud and Marx.
The third chapter in Part I refines commentary on the Chicago School, looking more specifically at the contribution of Goffman who, according to Johansson, holistically explores the effects of narcissism in late modernity. Impression management, identity, and stigmatization are all results of this problem.
Part II of the volume explores empirical supports to these theoretical observations in thematic discussions of identity, 'the stranger,' narcissism, the body, 'mediaziation,' multiculturalism and gender. The book concludes with reflections on the future of social psychology into the twenty-first century. Johansson asks that social psychology be considered not as a separate discipline, but as a 'meta-theoretical field' within other perspectives. Social psychology should serve as a 'seismograph' sensitive to changes in the relationship between society and the individual. Overall, the volume offers a dazzling trip through an alternative paradigm in humanistic social psychology, albeit with a few significant lacunae. It lucidly discusses empirical applications of what to some might be 'abstract' post-modern concepts. This volume would best fit in a post-graduate seminar on contemporary theory or social psychology. Those with interests in psychoanalytic and Chicago school traditions within and outside sociology will also find it enriching.
Social Psychology on Psychology Journal
Social Psychology; branch of psychology
Social Psychology on Psychology Journal
Social psychology is a branch of psychology which examines the impact of social influences on human behavior. This field is vast, encompassing a wide range of fields of study and several disciplines. Social psychology is also used in a range of disciplines and industries; many people utilize the principles of social psychology without even being aware of it when they try to control a group, influence someone's opinion, or explain why someone behaves in a particular way.
The roots of social psychology were laid in the late 1800s, when psychology as a discipline was thriving in Europe. As the First World War drove many psychologists to the United States, social psychology began to arise as a distinct discipline in the 1920s. One of the major influences on the field was Kurt Lewin, who is called the “father” of social psychology by some people; other famous social psychologists include Zimbardo, Asch, Milgram, Festinger, Ross, and Mischel.
A social psychologist looks at the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of both individuals and groups. The field also examines interpersonal interaction, analyzing the way in which someone interacts with other people, whether on a singular basis or in the form of a large group. Social psychology also examines cultural influences like advertisements, books, films, television, and radio, looking at the ways in which these influences impact human behavior.
Like many scientists, social psychologists like to use empirical methods to conduct studies in their fields. These methods often involve experiments which can bring up complex ethical issues. One of the most infamous social psychology experiments was the Stanford Prison Experiment, which was ultimately shut down because it got out of control. Social psychologists rely on the efforts of ethics committees and review panels to ensure that their work is ethically allowable, in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of questionable experiments.
The study of social psychology can explain why people form mobs, how groups make decisions, which social conditions can lead to aberrant behavior, and a wide range of other things. Social psychologists are constantly learning more about human behavior and the science behind human interactions, looking at everything from why people fail to help people in need to what leads people to conform, even in ethically dubious situations.
If you want to learn more about this field of psychology, you may be able to take an introductory course at a local college in your area. You can also consult your library for a number of published texts on the subject, but beware; once you start studying social psych, it can be hard to stop!
Social Psychology on Psychology Journal
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY on Psychology Journal
The social sciences are dedicated to understanding the human condition, ideally to the extent that the singular and collective behaviors of human beings can be understood and even predicted. Though their goals are identical in the abstract, these "sciences" differ in terms of their way of looking at things, the questions they ask, the methods they use in addressing these questions, and what they do with this information once they obtain it.
Amid this multitude of social science disciplines is social psychology which, as can be inferred from its label, involves the ways in which both social and mental processes determine action. What, precisely, this means research-wise, however, remains a matter of historic debate both between and within the disciplines of psychology and sociology. What weight is to be given to the social, the psychological, and the interaction between the two? What does the interaction between psychological and sociological processes even mean?
In approaching the problem of why some people do certain things, psychologists (see Wesleyan's Social Psychology Network) are inclined to give greater attention to the bearing of thought processes, personality characteristics, and their changes across the life-cycle. The closed, stereotypic thinking of authoritarians, for instance, make them more likely to be prejudiced and to join extreme right-wing political groups.
Sociologists, on the other hand, being more interested in understanding the relationships between group structures and processes (typologizing groups much like psychologists classify selves as the first step toward predicting their activities), are inclined to give greater attention to the social settings and individuals' roles therewithin. As opposed to psychology's atomization of the human condition, focusing on the self and its inner workings, sociologists' attention is directed toward human connections. Connectedness with others is an overarching personal drive, and the bonds produced comprise the social fabric of interrelationships. The strength of this social fabric is determined by the multiplicity and quality of connections individuals and groups (both large and small) have with each other. Further, from this sociological perspective of the human condition, these groups have dynamics of their own (often distinct from members' intentions and desires) that cannot be reduced down to the psychology of individuals. Like differing board games, these social orders have their own rules, roles, styles of play, traditions, cultures, and rates of change over time. Change the "game" and you change the style of thinking, the language, motivations, activities, alliances, and identities of the players.
It is for these reasons that sociologically-inclined social psychologists are more likely to examine how individuals' perceptions, belief systems, moralities, identities, and behaviors are determined by their positions in social space:
* the culture of their primary socializations;
* the slice of social history intersecting their biographies, such as coming of age during a time of depression or war;
* their locations within the stratification orders of gender, age, race, and social class;
* their roles within the institutional orders of religion, work, community, and family;
* the geographic context of their childhoods, such as region of the country or the size of cities wherein they lived;
* and their memberships in and relative identifications with various social groups.
* For other illustrations, check out Alan Reifman's SPIDER (Social Psychology of Information Diffusion -Educational Resources), Psych-Net UK, Jeremy Dean's Psyblog, Jon Mueller's Resources for the Teaching of Social Psychology, and the online resources from the Social Science Information Gateway. The American Psychology Association's Monitor on Psychology and the Social Psychology section of the American Sociological Association are also worth occasional visits.
Not surprisingly, evolving in this hybrid discipline is a perspective that more explicitly focuses on the interactions between the sociological and the psychological, producing new connections and new questions. Change the social connections and you change the essence of the self and its cognitive, emotive, and bonding capacities. Change the way social reality is psychologically parsed and processed and you ultimately change the nature and course of group dynamics. For instance, what kind of personality type might come to predominate in a capitalistic, secular, gerontophobic, death-denying, sex- obsessed culture where the young are socialized in single-parent families, with sports stars as role models, and whose lessons of adult life primarily come from commercially-based electronic messages? This emergent perspective integrates developments in such related social sciences as anthropology, linguistics, economics, political science, religion, history, communication studies, and sociobiology. These interactions are the subject of a text that I co-authored with Chad Gordon, Social Psychology: Shaping Identity, Thought, and Conduct (Allyn and Bacon, 1993). Though this page was created as a companion piece for this work, its links should complement most social psychology courses.
Social Psychology on Psychology Journal
Social Influence - Change How People See You
A program in the UK does social experiments. Their aim is to see how susceptible the public are to being conned and hustled.
For example, one of the cons was to take a car from a car park- in daylight. Cars nowadays are more sophisticated in their locking systems, so the only way to get it is to ask for the keys.
If you walk up to a regular person and ask for their keys- chances are you'll get them . . . but in your eye.
To get the keys from an unsuspecting person is to influence the conditions. Instead of walking up in regular clothes, they walked up with one simple article of clothing- a fluorescent security coat.
All he did then was come up with some about needing to run the car through the system again and bring it back. Sure enough, they handed him the keys. I mean, who would argue with authority?
One simple change managed to INFLUENCE their responses.
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PERCEPTION
Ever looked at a homeless person dressed in rags? Ever seen a big guy with bulldog tattoos and "I love mum" walking down the street? You automatically have perceptions of these people before they even open their mouth.
If you look at the typical CLICHE characteristics of, a successful person- things like the way they walk, the way they move, the way they talk, the way they dress- and you MODEL those attributes, then people will begin to react to you as a successful person.
In the same way as you could easily turn away from a bum in the street, but you would pay attention to a policeman.
You can manipulate the external factors to create a perception about you- and people react to that perception.
ANOTHER SOCIAL EXAMPLE
It all seems like it is about what you wear. That's true to an extent, but there was another experiment which suggests you can change your body language to influence people.
The experiment was gambling. People were asked to go into a room and gamble as they were being observed.
Scenario #1: They entered a room and saw a guy waiting at the table. He looked shy and nervous.
Scenario #2: Different individuals came in to do the test. It was with the same guy- the only difference was he had changed his attitude. He was laid back relaxed in his chair, he gave strong eye contact and didn't rush up to greet.
The results: they found that the people in scenario #1 with the shy guy gambled MORE money than in scenario #2.
When you realise it was the SAME guy- and the only thing that changed was how he displayed his attitude, then you understand how just a few small changes influenced complete strangers.
When he was confident, it made the others feel insecure in gambling all of their money. With the shy guy, they felt a bit more relaxed in being able to win over such "A loser".
HOW TO USE SOCIAL PERCEPTION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
By wearing a fluorescent coat, and exhibiting confident and relaxed characteristics- you can influence people to hand you some keys and lose money!
Both examples illustrate one thing, and that is:
You can influence social behaviour just by displaying the right attributes and characteristics.
You want to avoid displaying WEAK characteristics because people unconsciously respond to you as LOW STATUS. This means you probably won't be listened to or respected as much as you would like. You probably find yourself being overruled the majority of the time. Your opinions are not carried by enough value.
WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD YOU TAKE ON?
I've always believed your external always reflects your internal mindset. But if you do not have a cool, calm and confident persona- then this social experiment doesn't need it. You are doing these to test and see how people respond to you.
But the typical cliché characteristics are:
* Walk slower and take your time. A cool mind is never in a rush. He can handle it * Slow your speech down and pause. People will listen to you no matter how long you take. * Stand up straight and look out to the world. You're ready for what comes your way. * Spread out when you sit down. Lean back and appear relaxed. * Don't lean in so much. It's too eager. Let people enter your reality. * Don't laugh as much. People will treat you as the boss- "Make him laugh to win him over" * Look at people when you talk. Your gaze plus confident body language is money baby.
Model people who exhibit the qualities you like. People may not know you from Adam, so they have to go on how you present yourself.
By; Sean Adams, website; http://www.modernmanliving.com/
