What is Social Psychology? An Introduction

PROFESSOR: Social psychology
is simply fascinating.

With a lot of
questions to answer,

comes a lot of theories
behind human behavior

and why we make certain
decisions, judgments,

or comparisons.

This video is going to
give you an overview

of social psychology
and the impact

that it has had on the world.

I'll be going over a brief
history of social psychology,

top theories, and the
experiments that shaped it

into what it is today.

So first off, what
is social psychology?

Let's start with a brief
definition of social psychology.

It is the study of how
humans behave and interact

with each other, mainly
in specific situations.

So psychologists in this field
believe that all behavior takes

place in a social context.

By looking at society's
influence on the individual,

we can then begin to understand
the inner workings of the mind

and why certain
decisions are made.

The recent pandemic, like
many historical events,

tends to bring out the
good and bad in people.

You may see stories
online of people selfishly

giving up their time, money,
or lives to help other people.

But you may also
see stories that

show blatant disregard
for the truth

or even the lives of others.

The decisions that we have had
to make during this pandemic

are largely influenced
by the people around us.

A young, healthy person
may decide to self-isolate,

for example, not for themselves,
but to protect the herd.

And as you were cooped
up in quarantine,

you probably asked
yourself a lot of questions

about human behavior
because I know I did.

These extreme
circumstances can often

bring out questions
about human nature

and how we work
together in a society.

And these big
questions are not new.

Social psychologists
have been attempting

to answer these
questions for decades.

So let's go over some of the
history of social psychology.

The impact of society
on the individual

has been in the minds of
psychologists and philosophers

since the ancient Greeks.

Aristotle, for
example, emphasized

the importance of a state
or political community

has on an individual's survival.

He also believed that our
language and laws separated us

from other animals, and
that some of these laws

included everyone's
different roles

to create a thriving economy.

But Aristotle didn't
conduct experiments the way

that psychologists do now.

This way of validating theories
was not popular in social

psychology until the late
1800s, and at this point,

a few psychologists had written
about the influence of society

on our behavior, but they didn't
have the data to back it up.

So one of the
earliest experiments

in social psychology, as we
know it today, occurred in 1895.

Norman Triplett was an
American psychologist

at Indiana University.

He conducted an experiment
in which children wound up

a fishing rod.

Some children completed
the task alone,

while others were in the
presence of other children.

And what he found was
that the children who

were among their
peers were motivated

to complete the task faster.

And this is how the idea of
social facilitation theory

was born, which I actually
have a video, which

I'll release later, so make sure
to hit that Subscribe button.

Social psychology gained
popularity in the early 1900s,

but it really took off in the
later part of the century.

World wars and the Great
Depression in America

raised a lot of questions
about society and its influence

on specific individuals.

Racial prejudice also influenced
the work of many social

psychologists, and during the
'60s and '70s, darker and more

shocking experiments on human
behavior forced psychologists

to look at the process in
which experiments are conducted

and how to ethically
approach social psychology,

and the study has expanded
well beyond America's borders.

Today, research and influence
from all over the world

has continued to shape
social psychology

and how it's approached.

There's still a ton
of stuff to learn.

Next, let's move into the basic
beliefs of social psychology.

So the basic tenets of social
psychology do more than just

address how humans
interact with each other.

They also lay out how to
collect data and observe

people to build theories
within social psychology.

So here are some
of the main ideas

that have shaped
social psychology

and remain at the
core of this field.

Number 1, behavior
and decision making

are largely
influenced by society.

Even if a decision
is made privately,

an individual is
influenced by society.

A person may not choose to
steal even if no one is looking,

and they know they
won't get caught.

They're simply influenced by
the laws laid out by society.

Number 2, experiments may be
conducted to back up theories,

so social psychology is
viewed as predictable and able

to be tested, and
psychologists are encouraged

to test their theories
multiple times

and objectively measure the
results to support or deny

their argument.

This process is evolving as
psychologists discover what

it truly means to be objective.

In fact, some famous
experiments have even

been discredited due to
bias from the researchers.

It's an ever evolving process.

Number 3, behavior is used to
assess someone's personality

and character.

So you've probably
heard the phrase

before-- actions speak
louder than words.

And in social psychology,
actions speak very loud.

A handful of theories in social
psychology look at the way

in which we assess
other person's behaviors

and how that shapes our
perception of that person.

We also use these
types of assessments

to make judgments on our
personality and character.

And the interesting
thing is, since we really

can't know what exactly
someone is thinking,

we can only look
at their actions.

And sometimes we can
ask them, but it's not

completely accurate.

Lastly, we have behavior
helps to reach certain goals.

Yes, our society influences
our behavior and decisions,

but all of these decisions
are made to complete a goal.

This could be a fulfillment
of a physical need

or to obtain a certain
status within society.

And these four basic ideas
will show up again and again

the more you read about social
psychology, and specifically

their most famous
theories and experiments.

Speaking of theories,
let's get on to some

of the most notable theories
and names in social psychology.

So the first one I'm
going to bring up

is something called
attribution theory.

So why did your best
friend lie to you?

Or why did you cut that
guy off in traffic?

And why does a billionaire
abandon their riches

for a more spartan lifestyle?

Every day you are faced
with hundreds of decisions.

You make some of these
decisions alone, some of them

you make in front
of other people.

And sometimes, you observe
the behaviors of others

and make judgments as to why
they made their decisions.

Attribution theory looks at the
way that we observe other people

and explain how someone
else made their decisions.

See, as humans, we are
meaning-making creatures.

We want to understand why
someone made specific decisions

or what factors they took in to
contribute to their behavior.

So the two main categories
with an attribution theory

include external factors--

things like money, the
weather, what they're wearing--

or internal factors, things
like their personal beliefs

or insecurities.

So in short,
attribution theory looks

to explain how we perceive
other people whenever

they make decisions.

Next up, we have something
called self-perception theory.

So attribution looks at the
way that we observe and make

judgments about the
behavior of others,

but self-perception
theory looks at the way

that we observe
and make judgments

about our own behavior.

And the way that we
perceive ourselves

is very crucial to
the goals that we

think we can achieve,
our mental health,

and actually how
our life plays out.

Next up, we have something
called social identity theory.

So you may look at
yourself and see

someone who's funny,
accomplished, and courageous.

But you may also see
a student or an actor,

someone who lives in New York.

And because of this,
you might identify

as a New Yorker, a student or
an actor, and your identity

as that may influence the way
that you make your decisions

or how you present
yourself to others.

This is what social identity
theory is all about.

This theory looks at the process
in which people categorize

themselves and other people.

We often see people in
in-groups or outgroups,

and depending on
your own position,

you may see people who are
similar to you in one light

and people that are different
than you in another light.

Next up, we have something
called cognitive dissonance

theory.

So when groups of
people interact,

there are bound to be
differing opinions.

But what happens when we learn
new information that contradicts

information we already know?

The cognitive
dissonance theory says

that this conflict can be
very hard for people to bear.

In fact, some psychologists
thinks it causes anxiety.

Our minds have trouble
accepting and processing

this conflicting information.

Often, if we're not
aware of this discomfort,

we just throw away
the new information

and stick to our gut.

And trust me, we
see this play out

while talking politics
at the dinner table

or sharing articles on
social media all the time.

People just want to continue
believing what they believe.

One last topic in
theory I want to explain

is evolutionary psychology.

So why do we perceive
people in a certain way?

Is it due to the culture
that we grew up in?

Or could our perceptions,
our language,

and our social interactions
be just a result of evolution?

And that's the question
that evolutionary psychology

attempts to answer.

This approach to psychology
has been around since the late

1800s.

Charles Darwin's
idea of something

called natural selection
largely influenced

evolutionary psychology.

And while it's mainly sat on
the fringes of psychology world

since, evolutionary psychology
is becoming more mainstream.

This goes to show
that while some ideas

within social psychology
seem timeless,

others will gain
and lose popularity.

So the five theories
I've mentioned

are just a small piece
of social psychology.

There's a few other
theories and ideas

which include social learning
theory, cognitive biases,

schemas, social comparison,
and social exchange theory,

something called the
triangular theory of love.

And you can't forget about
something called the bystander

effect.

So social psychology
doesn't just

look at why humans
make good decisions

and follow the rules, because
many of these theories

and experiments in
this field attempt

to answer the questions about
why humans do bad things.

Many of social psychology's most
notable or notorious experiments

happened in the years
after World War II.

How could humans
commit such atrocities?

How can we prevent the
attitudes and behaviors

that led to the rise of Nazism?

Well, some of these
famous experiments

I'm going to go
over really quick.

If you've seen some
of my other videos,

you may actually be familiar
with these experiments

and the impact that they've
had on the world of psychology.

So first up is something called
the Bobo doll experiment,

and this is actually one of
the most famous experiments,

in all of psychology, that
helped to form something called

the social learning theory.

So the Bobo doll
experiment placed children

in a room with an adult,
an inflatable Bobo

doll, and other toys,
and other things

that they could play with.

Some of these adults acted
aggressively towards this doll,

while others left it alone
or maybe were gentle with it.

Psychologists found
that the children who

observed the adults
being aggressive

were also more likely to
be aggressive themselves.

And what this did is
it showed that children

can learn by
modeling or observing

other people's behaviors.

Next, we have the famous
Stanford prison experiment.

The Stanford prison
experiment may

be the most notorious of all.

In fact, you can actually watch
a movie about it on Netflix.

The experiment placed
college-aged boys

in a simulation prison,
while half of the group role

playing as guards and the other
half role playing as inmates.

Very quickly, the guards and
inmates took to their roles,

and both of these
roles became violent,

and the experiment was
actually put to a halt

only after six days.

This experiment
attempted to show

how quickly labels and roles
can affect a person, even

if just in a simulation.

Another very famous experiment
is the Milgram experiment.

So why do we make
questionable decisions?

Sometimes, it's just because
we're following orders.

We're doing what we're told.

And in the 1960s, Stanley
Milgram conducted an experiment

in which people were instructed
to deliver electric shocks

to participants,
which they did know,

but they were actually actors.

And these shocks
were as high as 450.

But the researchers
instructed the participants

to give the shocks.

Surprisingly, a
lot of participants

actually delivered the shocks.

Even if they felt
uncomfortable about it,

they still followed orders.

Milgram's experiment, like the
Stanford prison experiment,

goes down as another notorious
and potentially damaging

experiment to the participants
issuing the shocks,

but it does offer an
explanation for why

people may commit crimes or
make other unethical decisions.

And as I near the
end of this video,

you should know this is
just the tip of the iceberg.

There's a lot more to
the scientific field

that we call social psychology.

After all, it's been discussed
since the days of Aristotle.

This field will continue
to evolve, especially

as the world faces
new challenges

and creates new technology.

Social media, for
example, is that the core

of many social
psychology studies.

30 years ago, though, social
media wasn't even a term.

So take the time to learn the
basics of social psychology

and build yourself a
library of knowledge on how

society impacts individuals.

You may learn something
about yourself, your culture,

or how the people around
you view the world.

I really hoped you guys
liked this introductory video

on the social
psychology, and I plan

on producing a bunch more videos
on specific social psychology

topics.

So hit the Subscribe button, if
you're not already subscribed,

and leave any questions or
maybe video ideas down below

in the comments.

Thank you so much
for watching this,

and I hope to see
you in the next one.