Introduction to Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to each other.

A British philosopher who explored the role of emotions, sympathy, and the connection between self and others in shaping our behavior.

A core concept in Hume's philosophy, it describes the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, contributing to social conformity and attachment to society.

The idea that people develop specific traits and behaviors based on the cultural environment and social interactions they experience.

A British thinker and economist who emphasized the role of social interactions in shaping our individual sense of self.

Collective thought refers to social ideas and values existing independently of individuals yet strongly influencing how they think. It's a key concept in understanding how society shapes individual minds.

Social psychology explores how individuals' behavior is shaped by the presence of others, focusing on how groups and social context impact individuals' thinking, feeling, and acting.

The "father of experimental psychology", Wilhelm Wundt, explored both individual and collective consciousness, recognizing the influence of shared experiences on individual thoughts.

Émile Durkheim, a prominent French social scientist, highlighted the distinction between individual and collective thought through the concept of 'collective representations'.

Moscovici's Social Representation Theory draws inspiration from Durkheim's work, focusing on how shared meanings and understandings shape how groups perceive and interact with their environment.

Gustave Le Bon, known for his work on crowd behavior, believed that individuals lose rational control in a crowd, becoming susceptible to basic instincts, leading to aggressive action.

Le Bon's theory suggests that individual aggression in a crowd is contagious, spreading through the group like an infectious disease.

The phenomenon of losing a sense of personal responsibility in a crowd, leading individuals to feel invisible and less accountable for their actions.

The idea that our self-concept is shaped by how we believe others perceive us. Imagine a mirror reflecting your image back to you.

The mind doesn't just passively absorb reality, it actively constructs our perception of the world, similar to building a house. It emphasizes that our subjective experiences are shaped by how our minds organize information.

A school of thought that emphasizes the importance of understanding the whole picture, rather than just individual parts. Think about how a puzzle's meaning emerges only when all parts are assembled.

This approach emphasizes the need to analyze social situations in their entirety, like taking into account the entire room's context, not just one person. It's like understanding a conversation by listening to the entire dialogue, not just one person's words.

A type of research that aims to both understand and solve real-world problems, especially social issues. It's like trying to improve a team's performance by both understanding the team's dynamics and implementing solutions.

The concept that individuals are inseparable from society. Imagine a tree that only exists because it's rooted in the soil - individuals are rooted in society.

The idea that shared cultural beliefs, values, and norms create a collective consciousness. Imagine a group of musicians playing in harmony each contributing to the whole.

The idea that people's shared social experiences shape their beliefs, values, and ways of thinking. Imagine a band playing the same music, all aligned towards a common goal

A state where individuals are highly susceptible to suggestion and are likely to follow the actions of others, even if those actions are unusual or against their typical behavior.

The belief that social phenomena can be studied using the same methods as natural sciences, suggesting that there are overarching laws governing social behavior.

The image a person perceives of themselves based on the perceptions of others.

A shared understanding or representation of a person or concept within a group.

The idea that individuals' social behavior is a result of their innate instincts and dispositions, shaped by evolutionary processes.

The belief that all social psychology fundamentally rests on understanding individual psychology, suggesting that group behavior is ultimately driven by individual motivations.

A period of critical examination and questioning within the field of social psychology regarding its direction and relevance to real-world issues.

A research approach that focuses on studying social behaviors in natural settings, using methods like observation and interviews, rather than controlled experiments.

The tendency to prioritize individual explanations for behavior over broader social, historical, cultural, and political contexts.

A perspective that emphasizes the shared construction of meaning and understanding through social interaction, language, and shared experiences.

A movement in social psychology that aims to re-emphasize the importance of social, cultural, and historical factors in understanding human behavior, challenging the over-reliance on individualistic explanations.

Developed by Henri Tajfel, it explores how our sense of identity and behavior are influenced by the groups we belong to.

Examines how language shapes our understanding of the world, creating shared meanings and social representations.

A school of thought in social psychology that emphasizes the political, social, and historical context of research, aiming to promote social change and reform.

An approach that acknowledges the subjective nature of reality and the influence of individual experiences on understanding the world.