Introduction to Social Pyschology

Question 1

What is Social Psychology?

Answer 1

Social Psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence and relate to one another (Myers, 1998)

Question 2

Name related disciplines to Social Psychology?

Answer 2

Cognitive Psychology: scientific study of mental processes such as attention, memory, perception.
Sociology: study of people interacting in
social groupings and other formations.
Socio-Linguistics: Study of how language
is influenced by social and cultural phenomena.

Question 3

What is Basic Research?

Answer 3

• Reflects the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake
• Looks for factors that can increase and reduce inter-group hostility
• Example – Robbers’ Cave experiment.

Question 4

What is Applied Research?

Answer 4

• Is designed to solve specific practical problems
• Applies knowledge from basic research to specific situations
• Example – The jigsaw classroom (Aronson, 1978)