Topic Topics On Social Psychology - 1425 Words

Topics In Social Psychology Respectfully Submitted by Kaitlin Emmerling As social animals, human beings interact and influence one another in profound, meaningful ways. The ways in which we affect each other’s behaviors, beliefs and attitudes is defined as social psychology; it’s study can help elucidate how and why we act, think, communicate and behave the way we do. Topics included under the umbrella of social psychology include: the importance of human relationships and interactions; the impact of social influences, such as group pressures and obedience; developmental and situational considerations of prosocial and antisocial behaviors; and the relationship between our attitudes and beliefs and our behaviors (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Namy †¦show more content†¦507). Irving Janis, a social psychologist, coined the term after studying the decisions by the Kennedy administration that lead to the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs in 1961. He noticed that in group situations, group members may either ignore their own expertice and adopt th e opinion of the majority of the group or simply stay quiet and not raise objections in order to not disrupt the consensus (Cherry, n.d.). When dissenting opinions and critical thinking are suppressed, it is not surprising that poor decisions can arise when groups uniformity is put first. In order to prevent such consequences, Janis suggested a few ways to avoid falling into the groupthink trap: 1. appoint a person to play devil’s advocate to introduce differing opinions in order to force the rest of the group to consider other options and think critically about their own beliefs; 2. allow independent experts to attend group sessions to evaluate the decision making process; and 3. Consider holding a follow up meeting sometime in the future to allow time for group members to consider and reconsider whether their initial decision was reasonable or not (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Namy Woolf, 2014, p. 507-508). Yet another social psychological subject that relates to both our behavior in group settings and prosocial versus antisocial behavior is a