I am indebted to Zuhal Yeniçeri for her help in designing SIBU 330 Syllabus.
What is (not) Social Psychology?
Social psychology is defined as the scientific discipline that attempts to understand and explain how the thought, feeling, and behavior or individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others, (Gordon Alport). Social psychology is studied in both psychology and sociology (emphasis on person and society, respectively).
Social psychology should be differentiated from other “social” areas in that the former uses experimental methodology more often. The major aim of the social psychology is to find experimentally gathered evidences (cause – effect relationships) about human behavior in their social environment. If social psychologists are interested in the motion picture Grease (1978) they would examine the perception of Sandra by Danny and his followers, they also try to understand and measure the affect, behavior and cognition of the relationship and the environment in which the love takes place.
Social psychology is not an arm-chaired science; that is social psychologists do not just theorizing about the things surround them. Rather they make systematic analyses of the questions under investigation. Finally, social psychology is a very different and challenging course. It is about you, by “you” I mean “real you”. Next pages summarize how we achieve to find out your “self”.
Hope to enjoy your journey.
Doğan Kökdemir, PhD
Why Did I Become a Social Psychologist?
"It's such a pain, it must be great" -- Leon Festinger "I just like it, I don't know why" -- Robert Zajonc "My mom wanted me to be President and I said no. So then she asked..." -- Bob Cialdini "I looked in the mirror and saw the face of a social psychologist staring back at me" -- Bob Wicklund "The first social psychologist I ever met was a real looker" -- Elaine Hatfield
