The Social Psychology Network
Chris Richards
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the
continent, a part of the main” John Donne
The
poet John Donne made a monumental observation about the nature of human nature.
The idea of humanity, at times seems to be a conflicting term, humanity often
conjures up thoughts about gathering of all people celebrating in who we are
and what we have accomplished. Even though human beings are separated by ocean
and deserts, but wealth and poverty there is still connecting lines between the
masses.
The
study of society from a psychological perspective is categorize as social and
cultural psychology. As with all branches of psychology there are principles and
theories that manage and drive the field. Within social and cultural psychology there are many theories that move the science forward. The following essay will
discuss five theories and the researchers who developed them or continue to help their development.
The
first theory highlighted is the Social Cognitive perspective. This theory is
currently the dominant theory in social psychology circles. There are many
schools of thoughts and several sub- theories regarding the Social cognitive. The Social Cognitive perspective
can be described as how a person feels, sees, or thinks about their place in
society (Aronson, Wilson,
& Akert, 2010).
In the field of social
cognitive science there are many researchers and psychologist that have been
instrumental in proving and promoting the theory. One such modern day proponent
of the social cognitive perspective is Dr. Galen Bodenhausen. Dr Bodenhousen
received his Ph D. from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His
primary research focus on the nature of stereotypes, discrimination, and
prejudice (Galen Bodenhausen, 2011).
The next perspective
reviewed is the Socio- cultural Perspective. A society is an organized system of rules and norms regarding
people. These rules of society help it function and keep order. The Socio-
cultural Perspective helps to explain human behavior through these social
norms, beliefs, and values. (Grand Canyon, 2011).
Dr. Ayse K. Uskul from the
University of Essex has focused a portion of her research toward progressing
the Socio- cultural Perspective. Her research includes collaborative projects
focusing on “social, cultural, and religious correlates of attitudes toward
interethnic and interfaith intimate relationships” Ayse K. Uskul, 2011p. 1).
It
can be said that a human life is comprised of the experiences and
relationships. These experiences can be had on an individual level or
collectively. the Phenomenological Perspective “emphasizes the individual's
subjective perception and interpretation of the social situation”(Grand Canyon,
2011, p 1). Individuals often mark who they are by how they have survived or
weathered a certain experience.
The
Phenomenological Perspective has the ability to be broadly applied to many different
fields of psychology. One psychologist who’s research applies to the
phenomenological perspective is Dr. Darren Langdrige. Dr. Langdrige received
his Ph. D. in Psychology from the University of Sheffield and has primarily
focused his studies to the family and sexual identities. Using the
phenomenological perspective Dr Langdrige is able to help determine causes for
a persons sexual identity based off of experiences they had in their past
(Darren Langbridge, 2011).
Though
out history man has progressed and
evolved. Mankind has evolved from a hunter gather to the species today. In
social cultural psychology the Evolutionary perspective states that all human
behavior can be explained through their biological needs and traced back to human ancestors and their
needs.
Although
the Evolutionary Perspective is often seen as a pseudoscience there are
proponents for its research. For example Dr. Ronald Henss among other forms of
more fringe psychology studies and researches Evolutionary psychology. Dr. Henss
is part of the University of Saarland in Germany.
The
final theory reviewed is Behavioral/ Social learning. The Behavioral/ Social
Learning perspective explains behavior as the theory that human behavior is a
result from observing others. For example, as a child one hears their parents
make a snide remark regarding another race. This observation may then lead that
child to have a prejudice against that certain race.
One
of the founding fathers of Social learning or observational learning is Albert
Bandura who’s Bozo doll experiment will live as a striking reminder of the
power of behavioral learning.
When
researching society it is vital to consider the culture in which that society
exists. With in each culture there are nuances, implicit and explicit rules,
guidelines that exists and effect the live and behaviors of the members of the
society.
All
the theories discussed above can lead to a more vibrant understanding of who a
person is and causes for their behavior based off of their society and culture.
Then as one comes to understand all the situations and surroundings that would
recall certain behavior the road to full understanding is not far off.
References
Aronson,
E., Wilson, T., & Akert, R. (2010). Social Psychology (7th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Grand Canyon, (2011). Understanding Social Behavior:
Common-Sense vs. Theory. Retrieved from
Grand Canyon , PSY 530
