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social psychology
Socialization
The process by which personality is formed as the result of social
influences is called socialization. Early research methods employed
case
studies of individuals and of individual societies (e.g.,
primitive tribes).
Later research has made statistical comparisons
of numbers of persons or of
different societies; differences in
child-rearing methods from one society
to another, for example, have
been shown to be related to the subsequent
behaviour of the infants
when they become adults. Such statistical
approaches are limited,
since they fail to discern whether both the
personality of the child
and the child-rearing methods used by the parents
are the result of
inherited factors or whether the parents are affected by
the
behaviour of their children.
Problems in the process of
socialization that have been studied by
experimental methods include the
analysis of mother-child
interaction in infancy; the effects of parental
patterns of
behaviour on the development of intelligence, moral behaviour,
mental health, delinquency, self-image, and other aspects of the
personality of the child; the effects of birth order (e.g., being
the
first-born or second-born child) on the individual; and changes
of
personality during adolescence. Investigators have also studied
the origins
and functioning of achievement motivation and other
social drives (e.g., as
measured with personality tests).
Several theories have stimulated research
into socialization;
Freudian theory led to some of the earliest studies on
such
activities as oral and anal behaviour (e.g., the effect of the
toilet training of children on obsessional and other \"anal\"
behaviour). Learning theory led to the study of the effects of
rewards
and punishments on simple social behaviour and was extended
to more complex
processes such as imitation and morality (e.g., the
analysis of conscience).
The self
Such concepts as self-esteem, self-image, and ego-involvement
have
been regarded by some social psychologists as useful, while others
have regarded them as superfluous. There is a considerable amount of
research on such topics as embarrassment and behaviour in front of
audiences, in which self-image and self-esteem have been assessed by
various self-rating methods. The origin of awareness of self has
been
studied in relation to the reactions of others and to the
child\'s
comparisons of himself with other children. Particular
attention has been
paid to the so-called identity crisis that is
observed at various stages of
life (e.g., in adolescence) as the
person struggles to discern the social
role that best fits his
self-concept.
Attitudes and beliefs
Research
into the origins, dynamics, and changes of attitudes and
beliefs has been
carried out by laboratory experiments (studying
relatively minor effects),
by social surveys and other statistical
field studies, by psychometric
studies, and occasionally by field
experiments. The origins of these
socially important predispositions
have been sought in the study of parental
attitudes, group norms,
social influence and propaganda, and in various
aspects of
personality. The influence of personality has been studied by
correlating measured attitudes with individual personality traits
and by
clinical studies of cognitive and motivational processes;
so-called
authoritarian behaviour, for example, has been found to be
deeply embedded
in the personality of the individual. Early research
based on statistical
analyses of social attitudes revealed
correlations with such factors as
radicalism-conservatism. Later
research on consistency provided extensive
laboratory evidence of
consistency but little evidence of it in actual
political behaviour
(e.g., in attitudes on different political issues).
Research on attitude change has studied the effects of the mass
media,
the optimum design of persuasive messages, the effects of
motivational
arousal, and the role of opinion leaders (e.g.,
teachers and ministers).
Research has been carried out into the
origins, functioning, and change of
particular attitudes (e.g.,
racial, international, political, and
religious), each of which is
affected by special factors. Attitudes toward
racial minority
groups, for example, are affected by social conditions, such
as the
local housing, employment, and the political situation; political
attitudes are affected by social class and age; and religious
attitudes
and beliefs strongly reflect such factors as inner
personality conflict.
Various specialties in social psychology
Many social psychologists are
concerned with such aspects of public
opinion (social survey) research as
the design of standardized
interviews and questionnaires. Forms of questions
have been devised
to compensate for errors that arise from the efforts to
respond in a
socially approved manner; some are designed to detect lying.
Mass
communications have been devised on the basis of research into
persuasion. Use is also still made of Freudian symbolism and theory.
Research into the causes of mental disorders has shown the
importance of
social factors in the family and elsewhere. Mental
patients often show
deficiencies in social performance that may be
the cause of other symptoms.
Many social psychologists hold that
social factors may also apply to such
disorders as schizophrenia,
which also seem to have hereditary and chemical
bases. There has
been a corresponding growth in the use of various kinds of
social
therapy in psychiatry (e.g., group therapy, therapeutic communities,
and social-skills training).
Considerable research has been devoted to
industrial productivity,
absenteeism, labour turnover, accidents, and job
satisfaction.
Factors that have been found to be important include the style
of
supervision and management, the size and composition of working
groups, the technology and the work-flow systems, the span of
control,
and other features of the organizational structure.
Research results point
strongly toward the advantages of a less
rigid hierarchical structure of
authority, with more delegation of
authority and consultation, training in
supervisory skills, small
and cooperative work teams, and interesting and
varied work.
A major application of research in social interaction and group
behaviour is in training in social skills, as in the T-groups, or
sensitivity training, noted above. Role playing with video-tape
playback
and training in the imitation of other persons who serve as
behavioral
models are used in teaching people new skills. Actual
training on the job
has the advantage that there is no gap between
the training and the work
itself. All of these methods have been
shown to be effective, depending on
the job and the teacher.
Social-skills training has been given successfully
to industrial
managers and supervisors, social workers and clergymen,
interviewers, public speakers, mental patients, and juvenile
delinquents.
A great deal of research has been done on factors
underlying racial
prejudice, but the understanding thus obtained has not had
much
effect upon the social problems involved. Similarly, the causes of
delinquency and crime have been extensively studied, but it is not
feasible to manipulate the factors influencing crime, such as
genetic
factors, methods of upbringing, and inequalities of
opportunity. Social
psychology has made some contribution to
education; sociometry is quite
widely practiced as a means of
grouping children, and evidence is growing
about the optimum styles
of teacher behaviour.
(M.Ar.)
(Ed.)
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Contents of this article:
Introduction
Research methods
Social perception
Interaction
processes
Small social groups
Social organizations
20th-century
approaches
Personality
Socialization
The self
Attitudes and
beliefs
Various specialties in social psychology
Bibliography
Information about this topic in other articles:
social
psychology
assessment of attitudes
attitude
from attitude
contribution by
Lewin
Lewin, Kurt
from Lewin, Kurt
Mead
Mead, George Herbert
from Mead, George Herbert
development as social science
Social psychology
from social
science
use in definition of prayer
Origin and development
from
prayer
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