activation of the amygdala—are included in this definition. We’ll have much more to say about nonconscious processes later, but for now, suffice it to say that we are not always aware of how others affect our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Again returning to our opening vignette, social psychologists are likely to examine how both conscious and nonconscious processes affect to whom we are attracted.
In sum, social psychologists investigate how people influence the social experiences and behaviors of other humans. For the sake of simplicity, I will often shorten “social experiences and behaviors” to “social behaviors” and will make it clear when I am referring only to observable actions. What social psychology is and is not will be further clarified below when we contrast it with other branches of the social sciences and of psychology.
[Dear Student: I have placed Think Again! questions throughout the text in order to help you gauge your comprehension of and memory for what you have just read. I urge you to try to answer each question you encounter right away—preferably by writing it down—and, if needed, to look back at the chapter to solidify your understanding.]
Why Social Psychology?
If you are reading this book, then you are likely already enrolled in a social psychology course. Why should you stay in it or sign up if you haven’t already? Well, consider that social behavior is virtually everywhere around (and inside) us all of the time. To social psychologists, the world is our proverbial oyster. Many of the same behaviors that fascinate you, as a student, captivate our imagination and literally call out for investigation. There are four compelling reasons to study social psychology. First, social psychology investigates the most fascinating topic in the universe: us. Second, social psychology provides tremendous insight into what people do and why people do it. You’ll undoubtedly come to a much deeper understanding of yourself and others by the time you finish reading this text. Students invariably tell me how much they have learned about why they and others do what they do and how they excitedly share what they learn with partners, family, and friends. For instance, they’ll tell a friend that they observed a car salesperson appeal to the consistency principle and now understand why it worked (more on this later). Or they realized that others did not in fact notice their “bad hair” day as much as they had expected. You too will be applying the lessons from social psychology almost immediately—and doing so is one effective way to learn them.
Third, social psychology is useful: It helps us to solve serious real-world problems in ways that other sciences cannot. It aids us in improving schools, increasing helping behavior, reducing violence, and overcoming prejudice. Many of our central research streams originate in our desire to change the world for the better and are often rooted in our personal experiences and observations. For instance, Muzafer Sherif began to study social psychology after having narrowly escaped death in a violent ethnic dispute and sought to comprehend, among other things, the nature and causes of intergroup conflict (reported in Trotter, 1985) (see Figure 1.1). On a less serious note, I may be walking across campus and notice a staff person throwing an empty glass bottle into a trash bin rather than the adjacent bright blue bin clearly displaying a recycling symbol and ask myself, “Hmm, why didn’t she recycle that bottle?” I could choose to conduct a study to figure out why (I have in fact studied recycling behavior).
Figure 1.1 Muzafer Sherif on Why He Studied Social Psychology
Source: Aron & Aron (1989). The Heart of Social Psychology).
Fourth, social psychology is fun. Not only do we learn the sometimes-surprising reasons people do what they do, but also we often get to concoct funny experiments to figure out why. For instance, one prominent social psychologist convinced research participants to suck on a pacifier while waiting to begin an experiment on Freud (Sarnoff & Zimbardo, 1961). I surely wish I had seen that one!
Social Psychology: Scientific study of the social experiences and behaviors of individuals
Think Again!
1 In your own words, what is social psychology?
2 Name three social behaviors that you would like to understand better and hope to learn more about in this text.
Social Psychology Is Unique
Social psychology is a diverse, dynamic discipline that investigates a wide range of topics, issues, and aspects of human social behavior. Although all of the social sciences study people, social psychology stands apart in the way that we examine the person in the group, take into account multiple levels of analysis, and focus primarily on laboratory research. Let’s briefly contrast social psychology with several other social sciences and psychology subdisciplines.
Sociology overlaps with social psychology, because it also emphasizes social aspects of human existence. However, sociology examines group-level phenomena—such as societal trends, cultural norms, the effects of race or social class, and so forth—without examining the internal processes occurring at the individual level that are affected by those phenomena. Anthropology is similar to social psychology in that both examine the relationship between culture and social behavior. Anthropology seeks culture-level explanations for human behavior by exploring a specific culture in-depth utilizing observational research, whereas social psychologists study cultural and noncultural explanations, primarily using laboratory experimentation, and also typically compare social behavior in multiple cultures.
Biological/physiological psychology inquires about the influence of genes, hormones, brain functioning and structure, and other elements of the nervous system on all kinds of human behavior. As we’ve seen, social psychology takes biology into account, but it focuses exclusively on social behavior and considers other, nonbiological levels of explanation for it.
Cognitive psychology seeks to explain mental processes such as memory, problem solving, decision-making, language, and the nature of consciousness. Although social psychologists examine some of these same processes, we limit ourselves to their social aspects, such as person memory, judgments of persons, and so forth.
Clinical psychology examines the nature, causes, and consequences of mental disorders and dysfunction of individuals who deviate from the norm and seeks ways to treat them. Social psychology emphasizes normal psychological functioning; how most people act, feel, or think.
Personality psychologists investigate the development and nature of personality traits over the lifespan. Social psychologists often examine personality characteristics but are more interested in how social situations affect most people, regardless of their personalities. Both clinical and personality psychologists are primarily concerned with individual-level causes, whereas social psychologists balance individual- and group-level explanations for social behavior.
Sociology: Examines group-level phenomena—such as societal trends, cultural norms, the effects of race or social class, and so forth
Anthropology: Seeks culture-level explanations for human behavior by exploring a specific culture in depth, utilizing primarily observational research
Biological/Physiological Psychology: Examines the influence of genes, hormones, brain functioning and structure and other elements of the nervous system on all kinds of human behavior
Cognitive Psychology: Seeks to explain mental processes such
