Chapter 7. Social Psychology
Humans are social creatures. We open doors for people we have never met, we are more friendly to people we consider similar to us, and we tend to conform to the groups we are in. But why do we do that? And does everyone behave the same? These are questions that center around the study of social psychology. The way we think and feel about others highly influences how we behave around them. Things such as stereotypes, attitudes, and conformity shape how people act. If you see someone more often, even if it is just in passing, you are more likely to like them. Not only that, but the way others behave with us also influences how we think and feel. If someone asks you for a huge favor that you refuse to do, then follows it up with a smaller favor, you are more likely to accept to do the smaller favor. Social psychology also revolves around how we behave in groups. Social facilitation, groupthink, and group polarization are social phenomena that explain why, sometimes, you do things in groups that you otherwise would not have done alone. This chapter will explore many of these topics and enlighten you about why we might behave in unexpected ways in different social situations.
