What is social psychology?

• Social psychology is the branch of psychology that seeks to scientifically explain the nature and causes of behavior and thoughts of individuals in social situations.
• Social psychology applies scientific values and methods when investigating. This is because social behaviors and thoughts cannot be reliably explained by common sense or intuition. In fact, these are influenced by biases. Science refers to a set of values and multiple methods that can be used to investigate a wide range of topics. Four of the most important core values are:
  • Accuracy ("accuracy"). A commitment to gathering and evaluating information about the world (including social behavior and thinking) in a way that is as careful, accurate and error-free as possible.
  • Objectivity ('objectivity'). A commitment to acquire and evaluate such information in a way that is free of bias and as humane as possible.
  • Skepticism ('skepticism'). A commitment to accepting findings as accurate only if they have been repeatedly verified.
  • Open-mindedness ('open-mindedness'). A commitment to changing your view, even if it is strongly held, if existing evidence suggests that this view is inaccurate.
• These values are important because humans are not perfect information processing machines. For example, a common fallacy or illusion is the planning fallacy, the strong tendency to believe that plans will take less time, than they actually do.

Social psychology focuses on the behavior of individuals

• Social psychology focuses on the behavior of individuals, and how this behavior is influenced by a variety of factors. For example, it is important to look at to what extent individual behavior is influenced by the group, by culture, and by emotions and mood. There is increasing attention to how factors such as culture and ethnicity affect the formation of individual behavior.

Social psychology seeks to understand the causes of social behavior

• Social psychologists - as also indicated above - are interested in the causes that influence the individual's social behavior and thinking in the social environment.
• This involves the following characteristics: actions and characteristics of other individuals; cognitive processes such as memories and interpretations; environmental variables such as the weather or a particular smell; the cultural context with its associated norms and values; and finally biological and genetic factors.
• Biological factors are particularly emphasized by psychologists engaged in evolutionary psychology, a branch of psychology that holds that species are subjects of biological evolution. Interesting here is the distinction between the effects evolution has on men and

The search for basic principles in a changing social world

• A core purpose of science is to develop basic principles that are accurate no matter where or when they are tested or applied. Social psychologists do not develop mathematical formulas, but seek the basic principles that guide social life. While recognizing that cultures are very different and that the social world is constantly changing, they look for basic principles that will hold true over time and across cultures.