TEXT:
Principles of Social Psychology, v. 1.0 :  Introducing Social Psychology

Original Question:

For this week's Forum, respond to the following:  The field of Social Psychology takes on several aspects of other social science disciplines. The field of anthropology, psychology, and sociology are the main areas. The field of economics also contributes to social psychology, albeit not as much as the other three.

Some people incorrectly view Social Psychology as the "psychology of the masses," thinking that one can just take knowledge applicable to the behavior, cognition and emotion of an individual and multiply it to know what Social Psychology means as a sub-discipline within the larger field of Psychology. If that is what Social Psychology is not, then what is it? Let's consider this question as we get started with our course studies and let's do it with a twist. Without looking up a definition in a published source, share your thoughts in answer to the question, "What Is Social Psychology?" After describing your pre-study definition, use it to explain a social situation, which is anywhere two or more are gathered, that you find interesting (e.g., gang involvement, crowd behavior, obedience to authority, altruistic actions).

Reply to the following response with 200 words minimum. (please make response as if having a conversation, respond directly to some of the statements in below post. This is not providing an analysis of the original post. Respectfully address it and even ask clarifying or additional questions.)

PART 1

Hello Class! My name is Bethany, I prefer to be called Bethany. I am originally from New York, the state, not the city. I have lived all over the U.S., east coast, west coast, desert, the south, and the great state of Texas! My mother used to say I had a “gypsy” soul, that is until I met my wonderful husband. Now, I currently reside in the beautiful state of North Carolina along with my husband, our beautiful 16 month old daughter, our dog, and some chickens. I absolutely love it here. We get all four seasons and none are too extreme. We have the ocean and the mountains all within a couple hours of driving one way or the other.

I am currently an EMT and work with all walks of life. I am almost done with my degree, a B.A. in Psychology, and have started looking at graduate programs. Ultimately my goal is to receive my doctorate and be a child psychologist. When I started this path I wanted to pursue organizational psychology, but when I had my daughter, it changed everything!

Three learning goals I have for this course are: to gain a more holistic understanding of the social aspect of psychology, to iteratively apply what I learn over the next 8 weeks to everyday interactions, learn something about my own social behavior that I may currently be ignorant to. 

PART 2

Without looking up a definition in a published source, share your thoughts in answer to the question, "What Is Social Psychology?" After describing your pre-study definition, use it to explain a social situation, which is anywhere two or more are gathered, that you find interesting (e.g., gang involvement, crowd behavior, obedience to authority, altruistic actions).

When I hear the words “social psychology” I think of social interactions and how psychology effects those interactions. This type of interaction can be applied to any situation where two or more people are interacting with each other, whether friends or strangers. Social psychology can be scaled to the broader terms of society as well, looking at them as a whole and all of the social factors that comprise the behavior of a given society. 

Blind dates would probably be fascinating from a social psychology perspective. When two people, who do not know each other, meet up, and feel obligated to spend a certain amount of time together, behavior can become interesting. There is the psychological aspect of meeting a complete stranger, the pressure to seem interesting, or wanting a second date, or what if it is a total disaster and the other person is a jerk or rude, and now everyone that sees you two together assumes you’re together and it can just spiral out of control. Plus, you try to pick up on social cues from the other person to gauge their interest, and of course the environment in which you may have your first date, with other people observing. If I was a social psychologist, I would probably engage in some type of research study and observe a bunch of blind dates (not in a creepy way ha!). Also on a broader scale, are blind dates an American thing? Or do they happen in other cultures as well? It would be interesting to know.

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