Social
psychology is a branch of general psychology that has great importance in the
modern world.
Social
psychology is concerned with the study of an individual's social
behavior in his social attitudes.
Social
psychology helps people manage their stress, depression and other social issues
and improve their decision making and predict accurate future behavior based on
the understanding of past behavior.
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| What is the importance of social psychology in society? |
Importance of Social
Psychology in Contemporary Society - An Overview
Nature of Man and Society
Social life
is based on human interaction between individuals and this interaction is the
cooperation of members of this community to achieve external security and
peaceful coexistence.
Thus, there
is a need to form a social system based on controlling the relationships and
contacts of the people among them, resulting in different interactive social
behaviors that vary according to the nature of the social structure.
Therefore,
there is a need to give a branch to sociology in the form of an independent
science from the various psychologies.
Social Psychology
Social
psychology is one of the branches of general psychology.
Social
psychology is concerned with the study of the individual's social behavior in
his social attitudes, ie the scope and social system in which the individual
lives, and the extent of his influence on thinking, behavior, feelings, and
patterns of interaction with all external stimuli.
Social
psychology deals with the study and understanding of psychological processes,
the ways in which they interact with social influences and variables, and their
contribution to the development and formation of the individual personality.
Social
psychology also examines the situations of individuals and their social and
behavioral patterns through experience and observation in the individual's
personality, and the level of interaction with the individual.
Definition of Social Psychology
At the end
of the 1920s, many procedural definitions of social psychology emerged and
crystallized.
These
definitions differed according to the direction in which they were taught.
Some of them
were focused on the group more than the individual, including those who studied
the individual without neglecting the group and including the group's
interactive behavior in general.
The most
prominent of these definitions are:
1. Social psychology is a
science that addresses and examines the general behavior of the community and
the mutual interaction between the individual and the community.
2. Social psychology studies the
interactions of individuals with the environment to understand the positive and
negative effects of this interaction on the individual and his trends.
3. Social psychology is a science
that studies the behaviors, responses, and interactions of the individual
during his communication with the group.
4. Social psychology is a social science
that studies the behavior of an individual and his responses within a
particular group.
5. Social psychology studies the
psychological characteristics of the groups and the interactive social
behavioral patterns that connect different societal groups, such as studying
the relationship between parents and children within the family.
6. Social psychology studies the
behavioral patterns and interactions of individuals and groups during different
social events and situations, as well as the forms of such responses and the
expected consequences.
Sources of Social Knowledge
The
foundations of social psychology, research, and studies are based on several
sources, including:
Psychology: Psychology is the primary reference
of social psychology in studying the effects of all psychological motivations
and trends that may have an impact on social behavior as a whole, such as
studying the spirit of competition and cooperation as social behaviors, their
impact on the production of individuals in a particular environment, or the
extent to which a person's behavior and responses are subject to the customs
and laws of society.
Sociology,
Economics, and Politics: The important role of sociology in guiding scientists and
researchers in social psychology is that it highlights the importance of
studying the methodologies and patterns of small groups, public opinion, social
issues, and other important matters.
The
importance of economics and politics in social psychology is that it also
highlights that social psychology addresses and analyzes social behavioral
indicators in different situations; such as patterns and responses that are
subject to analysis, study and treatment.
For example,
the general patterns of the individual and society in buying and selling
positions, or during elections and electoral movements, as well as the
characteristics of some major groups and the status of people within certain
categories.
Social Psychology Topics
Social
psychology deals with many topics and issues. Most important topics you might
consider include:
The nature
of relationships between individuals within a particular group, the
distribution of roles among members of the group, the assignment of tasks to
persons appropriate to the nature of the task, as well as the mechanism of
decision-making, leadership, and its implications.
Study the
normal and abnormal behavior of the group as a whole, or individuals within a
particular group.
Study of
trends and values and their effectiveness, and their impact on human behavior.
Analysis and
measurement of the views, trends, and tendencies of public opinion, knowing the
factors affecting society negatively and positively, in addition to
understanding the human nature and how it affects the community and the
environment.
Social Psychology and Philosophy
Social
psychology emerged as part of the social philosophy whose main focus was human
nature.
The most
prominent of these philosophies is Plato's and Aristotle's interpretation of
human nature.
Plato
considered that human behavior is the result of interaction with the exigencies
of the external society by its different types, methods, and intensity. Its
composition and its aims on society, as Plato said that educational and social
institutions are capable of changing human nature.
Aristotle's
interpretation of human behavior was due to genetics and biological research;
the individual controls the biological responses of multiple stimuli in all its
different forms and interactions, that the Aristotelian group is subject to
individual behavior, and therefore it is very difficult to make changes in
society, and community.
What is the Importance of Social Psychology
in Society?
The
importance of social psychology is shown in all the interactive aspects of the
individual's social life and all the environments in which he coexists, which
can affect the individual's interactions and personality.
As social
psychology studies the behavior of individuals and groups, everyone who deals
with and communicates with different community groups needs this science; to
understand and guide individuals and to study various responses within the
community.
For example,
the teacher needs in his class to analyze the students' personalities and their
interdependence and understand the relationships between them, and strategies
that fit the patterns and mechanisms to convince them for a particular idea, in
addition to the partnership among themselves and cooperation and competition
and behaviors based on their presence within the group.
Social
psychology also requires social specialists to understand the philosophy of
society, the secrets of its composition, the relative appearance, and absence
of phenomena, and link to societal behaviors.
The
individual in his daily life is able to explain his behavior and self-behavior
around him properly, understanding the interaction and harmony that takes place
between the individual among others.
Thus the
understanding of social and cultural being, which in turn determines the
expected behavioral patterns in different social attitudes, in addition to this
science, gives the individual the ability to differentiate between people, the
possibility of accepting a certain category and move away from another
category.
The importance
of social psychology was highlighted directly in daily life situations, in
addition to its great importance in the field of life of the international
community and the world and social issues experienced by people from situations
of war, slavery, freedom, and security.
These are
separated as follows:
Practical importance
All people
who engage in groups and individuals need to study the principles of social
psychology continuously in order to understand and guide social behaviors. The
importance of these groups is as follows:
Teacher: The teacher in the classroom needs to
understand the social-behavioral characteristics of the students as a
micro-social environment based on the relationships and interactions among
their members, as well as the importance of identifying the steps of
socialization that are manifested in the behavioral interaction among
individuals such as competition, cooperation, learning, and collective
thinking.
Social
Specialist: The
importance of social psychology to social specialists in understanding and
studying social organization and its orientation towards social cohesion,
trends, intolerance, and leadership.
Businessmen: Social psychology helps to
understand the nature of the laws of human relations that exist between categories
of workers in a given domain, and the important relationship between the level
of moral spirit and mental health and the level of production and achievement.
Normal
Human: The
study of social psychology in everyday life helps to achieve as much as
possible the individual's understanding of his own behavior and the external
behavior of other individuals, thus understanding the dynamics of interaction
and communication with others, as well as the cultural and social backgrounds
in which patterns and behaviors are determined.
Good
judgment in using the proper way to deal with others, either by accepting and
sacrificing in some situations or with distaste and dislike in other situations.
Global importance
Since the
first emergence of social psychology, it deals with future issues by warning
against crises and inevitable problems, optimism about the sound construction
of this future, and providing suggestions and predictive and remedial plans for
economic and political problems such as the problems of war and aggression and
its consequences and global financial crises.
Global
Inclusiveness seeks to create a society of excellence in which the
opportunities available to individuals in all fields are equal to all members
of society.
It also has
an important role in spreading the highest human ideals among individuals
within one society in the effective study of psycho-social phenomena, research,
and experimental study.
The
following points can be summarized as follows:
Warning
of future problems: It
is possible to warn against future problems and crises by predicting initial
signs and symptoms that may indicate the possibility of a particular problem in
a given area and warning people without intervening in the course of events.
However, it
is possible to direct social activity in light of current events.
Building
the future: Human
scientists emphasize that a person can change the course of his life by
directing his activities appropriately with achieving his goals and solving
problems.
Just as
human beings used biological sciences to raise the level of health efficiency,
it is possible to use social psychology to seek social justice and the future.
Addressing
political and economic problems: These problems arise as a result of the imbalance in
the distribution of tasks, work, resources, and efforts in appropriate
activities.
This results
from ignorance of the understanding of the social characteristics of man, which
is the subject of psychological and social research, which in turn creates the
basic laws and principles of social life together.