Social Psychology - Essay Example

Social psychology is a very interesting subject that combines the psyche or the thinking of people with the various situations that occur on a daily basis within a society. Everyday people face different situations and counter them in their own different ways; however most of the times, this depends on the onlookers or whom others might be affected by. A renowned psychologist, Gordon Allport has given the perfect definition of this subject as “social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods “to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and ehaviour of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other human beings.” In other words, the concept itself talks about the mindset of a crowd of people living in a particular environment, brought up in a particular manner and dealing with everyday situations the way that they feel best, however, at the same time, their thoughts may not be compatible with people belonging to a different society. The main aim of this subject is to understand various topics like social behaviour, individual conformity to a group of peers, as well as emotions that one experiences like aggression or prejudice towards something.

Understanding social interaction is very important because it forms the basis of human relationships; only when one is able to understand the thinking of another will he be able to act in an appealing manner to be accepted by that person. This is a subject that is prevalent in all streams and aspects of the world; may it be education, work or a personal life, it is pertinent to understand social behaviour in order to comprehend the social psyche of an individual and act in a befitting manner. It cuts across all other subjects especially other disciplines of sociology itself because it aims to decipher people’s notions and apply it to daily living.

The interesting thing about this subject is that it focuses not on a particular individual and his characteristics or traits but on a group of such people and their collective behaviour while being part of a bigger picture and being caught in a different situation. People often manipulate their emotions and conduct in order to fit into various situations and feel comfortable in various circumstances and thus this subject assists in breaking down the psyche of an individual with respect to the entire social surrounding or setting and finding out where he or she may be going wrong with respect to their own identities.

Social psychologists thus focus on situations that affect social behaviour or the conduct of individuals in society. It is an important subject required for every student studying sociology or even psychology for that matter in order to provide a better insight into the human mind because of the sole reason that people tend to act differently when they are not in their comfort zones or are with other people, and thus understanding this pattern in their conduct towards one another will help in further delving into the human mind to understand the nascent stage at which emotions are born and take form.