Explore Social Psychology
Social Psychology Courses and Lessons
At Study.com there are various courses and resources with social psychology lessons. Learn about social psychology concepts and processes to gain an understanding of social psychology.
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What is Social Psychology?
Psychology is a field of science that studies the human mind and behaviors. Psychology as a whole is important to understanding medical disturbances, social issues, educational strategies, and human development. A a broad field of science, psychology is usually divided into subdisciplines or specializations.
Social psychology is one such subdiscipline or specialization in the field of psychology. Social psychology is the study of emotions, thoughts, and actions associated with group interactions. Social psychology hinges on one's perception of self among groups. For example, how a person perceives themselves among another person or group may be different than how that same person perceives themselves around a different person or group. This, in turn, influences how the person thinks and feels about themselves, and will influence how they act around each person or group.
Examples of social topics studied in social psychology are group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, and prejudice. The study of social psychology can be applied to behavior science fields like mental health disorders or psychotherapy. This type of application attempts to prevent or treat unwanted behaviors or thoughts in the individual.
Social psychologists can work in organizational settings like hospitals, doctors' offices, and government and business offices. The social psychologist will work in either an academic or private setting to assess, understand, predict, and try to solve social problems in a variety of settings.
Social Psychology Test Prep
Study.com has social psychology test preparation resources available to help prospective social workers and teachers prepare for licensure exams. These study guides and courses cover key topics such as human development, social psychology research, addiction, methods of social work practice, and more. They are tailored to the individual tests so that test-takers can feel confident that they have studied all the subjects that will be covered on the exam.