Sociology covers a wide range of issues through the use of scientific research. By so doing, it tries to get solutions to social problems and gives people understanding on how to control and improve the conditions of social life (Corsaro, 2017). One crucial role of sociology is to study the daily social life of human being. It goes deeper into their interactions with each other, and how their emotions fluctuate under different circumstances. Social psychology is an essential part of sociology, and it refers to the scientific exploration of how the human thoughts and performances are affected by consideration or actual presence of other people (Elster, 2015).
How we view ourselves in society plays a crucial role in the decisions we make, what we choose to believe in, and also how we conduct ourselves. Additionally, other people’s opinions concerning us influence our conduct and the way we see ourselves (Thibaut, 2017). Comprehending social psychology is essential because it helps us understand how different people impact our decisions and deeds. It also helps us to have greater respect for the way our society views affect our relations with each other. Some aspects primarily play a significant role in our daily undertakings (Elster, 2015).
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Most of the time, our relationships act as targets to fulfill necessities. These include the need for social connections, the inclination to understand ourselves as well as others, the desire to acquire and maintain position, and the will to attract associates. How people carry themselves is triggered by the impulse to accomplish these needs. A high number of people look for friends, and intimate partners, work hard to earn influence and try to comprehend the inspiration that leads to how other people behave. Thus, there is harmony in society when people learn the skills to accommodate different characters (Elster, 2015).
In order to understand the reasons as to why people behave the way they do, it is essential to look into people’s personality traits, the situation at hand, the setting, and the relationship between those variables. In most circumstances, people behave completely different depending on the current situation. For instance, the people who are typically reserved might become talkative when placed in a different environment. Again, people act very differently when in groups, and when alone (Corsaro, 2017). Therefore, this explains how environmental and circumstantial differences play a vital role and have a significant influence on people’s behavior.
Social relations aid in forming self-assessment and point of view. One of how we form self-image is by forming imaginations of how other people perceive us. We can also do so by considering how we differ from other people in our groups of associates. Sometimes we find ourselves comparing to people who are better than us in one way or the other, and this may lower our self-esteem. On the other hand, we may find ourselves engaging in downward social comparison, in which we compare our strengths to those of other people, who have lower capabilities than us (Thibaut, 2017).
One of the significant occurrences is the expectation endorsement, in which we tend to make assumptions about the unexpected characteristics and search for evidence which confirms our existing presumptions about other people. While this helps in simplifying our point of view, it also alters our perception, which may lead to conventionalizing. For instance, if people expect others to act in a specific way, they might end up looking for evidence that satisfies their beliefs, while ignoring examples that differ from their existing views (Elster, 2015). Furthermore, this explains why we should not harbor formed opinions regarding other people’s ways of life.
Another thing that influences our point of view of other people is well explained by the notion of commentator extrapolation. It occurs when we believe that the behavior of other people goes at per with their intentions and temperaments (McDougall, 2015). An example is when we see a girl assisting a senior man cross the streets. We may assume that a girl is a benevolent person. While actions can be informative, especially when someone’s behavior is intentional, it can be misleading as well. If we interact less with someone, we cannot judge their behavior, since it may be as a result of the circumstance. In our last example, the girl may be assisting the old man because she has been allocated to do so, and not because she is kind-hearted. Someone who is not familiar with the girl is most likely to have a different picture of her concerning her action, which may not be the case. The girl’s behavior may have been influenced by the current situation (Corsaro, 2017).
More studies on social psychology can impact on our understanding of ourselves and of the environment around us. By understanding people’s perceptions towards others, how they behave in congregations and how their attitudes are formed, we can obtain significant appreciation for how social associations impact personal functioning (Corsaro, 2017). Without understanding how different people carry out themselves, we cannot judge their actions by just observing their attitudes. It may be that the present circumstances influence their current attitudes. They may also have a fluctuation in their emotions, depending on what they encounter in their daily lives (Elster, 2015).
Experiments conducted by social psychologists allow them to get a critical look at what makes people opt specific behaviors in social platforms. In order to exhaustively study social behavior, the phycologists use different scientific methods to research the involved topics. Those methods let the psychologists gauge statements and notions and search for the relationships between the various variables. The questions about why people do the things they do and why they behave differently while alone and in groups are of great importance to the researchers. However, this highly depends on the topics the psychologist is exploring, the capital at disposal, and the speculation of the notion being investigated (Thibaut, 2017).
Often, people fail to understand the significance of scientifically strange behaviors. Many people think that the issue of how different people conduct themselves is a matter of common sense. On the contrary, it is important to go deep into the history of people with suspicious behaviors and learn what makes them behave the way they do. It may be because they went through traumatizing experiences in their early stages of life, or because they are facing issues they can no longer handle by themselves (McDougall, 2015). Psychologists conduct scientific studies so that they may get ideas on assisting such people in getting out of their situations. Once those people get professional help, they can live healthy lives once more and interact well with others (Thibaut, 2017).
Studying people’s behaviors is always as complicated as those behaviors are. It is additionally the reason why social psychologists use empirical methods to select participants, bring together information, analyze their outcomes and report their findings. They have to be selective in doing so, in order to come up with pleasing results (Elster, 2015). If they fail to do so, their outcome of their research is likely to have wrong results. They work hand in hand with people they have observed for quite a long time, and are sure about their reactions to different circumstances. However, they do not ignore those with strange behavior, because they may also play an essential role in the study (Thibaut, 2017).
Sometimes people find themselves wondering what causes aggression and violence. Social psychology looks into the reason why people engage in violent acts or aggressiveness. Research states that these may be brought about by social differences and influence from the media (Corsaro, 2017). Different people have instilled mode of reasoning that differs from others, and this may bring about the feeling of aggressiveness. Media also plays a significant role in impacting on people who rely on it to solve issues. Often, such people resolve violence to handle situations that are beyond their control. They follow media characters and fail to remember that at times the world of media is full of imaginations. Another cause of violence or aggressiveness may be based on the background of a person and how they are brought up (Elster, 2015).
In summary, it is evident that people are very different, and this influences their social behavior. The way of life of every person is determined by their environment, background, and peer group and viewpoint. Again, most people’s behavior is influenced by other people’s opinions about them. Sometimes all they want is to please their peers, by ensuring they do what is following what they want. It is essential to understand that the differences people have are what makes life more meaningful. If everyone behaved the same way as the other, then there would be nothing like diversity. Social psychologists are encouraged to continue researching more on social behavior, and educate people on the importance of upholding positive morals, so that they can improve the way they live with one another. It is essential to learn the behaviors of the people around us so that we can select the group of associates in which we are comfortable. People should understand that it is not needful for them to view themselves superior or inferior to others concerning social behavior. Instead, they should consider uplifting one another in order to live together in harmoniously.
References
Corsaro, W. A. (2017). The sociology of childhood . Sage Publications.
Elster, J. (2015). Explaining social behavior: More nuts and bolts for the social sciences . Cambridge University Press.
McDougall, W. (2015). An introduction to social psychology . Psychology Press.
Thibaut, J. W. (2017). The social psychology of groups . Routledge. Fiske, S. T. (2018). Social beings: Core motives in social psychology . John Wiley & Sons Incorporated.
