Social Psychology

The history of social psychology as a science is much “younger” than the history of what can be called “socio-psychological thinking”. The difficulty of creating a scientific history of social psychology lies in the fact that this discipline was formed from many sources, and it is difficult to determine at what boundaries within a given science the elements of socio-psychological knowledge have become isolated. With the emergence of social psychology as an independent branch of knowledge, as with the emergence of any other scientific discipline, the causes of a two kind played a role: both social and purely theoretical ^[4] . The independent status of social psychology in the world has been designated since 1908 - the simultaneous publication of the books by V. McDougall “Introduction to Social Psychology” in Europe and E. Ross “Social Psychology” in America ^[5] .

The founders of experimental social psychology are V. M. Bekhterev , V. Mede, F. Allport ^[3] . Bekhterev recognized social psychology, but instead proposed to investigate collective reflexology (studying processes in groups of people) ^[3] .

As an independent science, social psychology arose in the second half of the XIX century , separating from philosophy . Her appearance and recognition are associated with two learned linguists and philosophers: H. Steinthal (1823-1893) and M. Lazarus (1824-1903) ^[3] . These scientists were the first to advocate the creation of a new science, calling it “the psychology of peoples” ^[3] . Psychology of the peoples on the issues was very close to some sections of social psychology ^[3] . V. Wundt (1832–1920) also contributed to this science, having written a work in 10 volumes “The Psychology of Nations” (1900 and later) ^[3] .

In general, in the history of social psychology, there are three periods ^[6] :

1. I period - the period of accumulation of knowledge in the fields of philosophy and general psychology ( VI century BC. E. - Mid XIX century ).
2. II period - the period of the selection of descriptive social psychology from philosophy (sociology) into an independent area of ​​knowledge ( 50s – 60s of the XIX century –20s of the 20th century )
3. III period - the period of registration of social psychology in experimental science (the 20s of the XX century) and its modern development.

Social psychology according to G. M. Andreeva includes 3 main sections:

• social psychology of groups;
• social psychology of communication ;
• social psychology of personality .

Social psychology according to B. D. Parygin , studies:

• social psychology of personality;
• social psychology of community and communication;
• public relations ;
• forms of spiritual activity.

Researches in which social psychology is engaged: ^[3]

• social perception ( Andreeva G. M. and others);
• psychological climate of the team ( Parigin B.D. and others);
• leadership style ( Zhuravlev A.L. and others);
• people's perception and understanding of each other ( A. A. Bodalev and others);
• effective group activities (N. N. Obozov and others)

In social psychology, currently being considered and studied: ^[3]

• people's understanding and perception of each other;
• interpersonal (interpersonal) relationships (classifications of human relationships, as well as the specifics and factors on which they depend);
• social attitudes (the varieties of these attitudes, the stability, structure, variability and patterns of their emergence and change under the influence of the media , as well as their influence on social behavior are studied);
• phenomena that characterize the interaction and communication of people;
• people's behavior in society;
• phenomena related to small social groups ;
• psychic phenomena related to large social groups (mass-like phenomena, such as public opinion, mass consciousness, rumors, fashion, religion, etc.);
• issues of mutual influence and interaction of an individual and a group;
• intergroup relationships;
• leadership (the differences between a leader and a leader are studied, various leadership styles are studied, scientific models, leadership theories are created).

As a result of numerous experiments ^{[2] [ page not specified 557 days ]} today revealed a number of changes inherent in human behavior due to his being in a group, for example: conformity , social facilitation , social inhibition, social pressure, diffusion of responsibility or the so-called effect of the witness, group polarization , emotional infection , social laziness , weakened self-awareness and so on.

At the beginning of the 20th century, psychologist Norman Triplet, who was walking in the park, noticed that cyclists ride faster if there are people in the park, and they significantly slow down if no one is there. This marked the beginning of a series of experiments in which the subjects were engaged in various tasks either alone with themselves or in the presence of “spectators”. Thus, the conclusion was born that a person copes with mechanical work better if he is looked at, and without creative and intellectual expenses, without witnesses.

• Group dynamics is the conventional name for socio-psychological research on the problems of group formation and development, factors affecting their cohesion and effectiveness.
• Intra-personal conflict - the conflict of the social roles of one person.
• The interaction of two people - the communication of two people, building their relationship .
• Communication is the semantic aspect of social interaction; actions that are consciously oriented towards their sense perception by other people are sometimes called communicative actions; the main functions of the communication process are to achieve a social community while maintaining the individuality of each of its elements.
• Conflict is a clash of opposing trends and interests, manifested in persistent attempts by the parties to defend their positions.
• Personnel management - a complex or system of organizational, socio-economic, psychological, moral and legal decisions that ensure the effective realization of the capabilities of employees.
• Social cognition is the process of cognizing one person by another, one of the areas studied by social psychology, which examines the mechanisms of how a person processes, stores and uses information about other people and social situations.
• Social role - fixed a certain position of an individual in the system of social relations, a generally accepted pattern of behavior, expected from individuals who hold a certain position. Always has a social rating, can be approved or disapproved in society .

At the beginning of the XXI century, the British scientist Benedict Hermann described the socio-psychological phenomenon of antisocial punishment . The phenomenon consists in the reprimand or punishment by society of individuals who, in the opinion of society, show excessive activity, even if such activity is objectively socially useful. The study showed that this phenomenon is common in countries with underdeveloped social connections, socio-political institutions and traditions of socially useful activities ^[7] .

Andreeva G. M. divided all research methods in social psychology into two main groups: research methods and impact methods. Also, all methods are divided into theoretical and empirical groups ^[3] .

Theoretical methods are used in the development and proof of scientific theories. Such methods include: 1) the critical method, 2) the constructive method, 3) the survey-analytical method ^[3] .

Research Methods

This group contains methods for collecting information and methods for its processing.

The empirical methods of research include: ^[3]

• observation;
• the study of documents (including content analysis);
• polls (questionnaires, interviews);
• mathematical (methods of mathematical statistics and methods of mathematical modeling);
• experiment (laboratory and natural).

The methods of observation include: ^[3]

• covert surveillance;
• open observation;
• standardized surveillance;
• third-party surveillance (third-party or external surveillance);
• enabled observation;
• free observation.

Data Processing Methods:

• statistical methods ( correlation analysis , factor analysis, and others);
• techniques of logical and theoretical processing (building explanations, typologies, and so on).

Methods of socio-psychological impact

Refers to the "psychology of impact."

When conducting research, a program of socio-psychological research is drawn up. In which are clearly indicated: the purpose of the study, the tasks to be solved, the selected object of study, the problem is formulated, which is investigated, the concepts used are clarified, as well as the entire set of methods used.

Methods of socio-psychological impact are primarily methods used in the media, individual and group psychotherapy , in the process of organizing and public speaking, propaganda , advertising , industry (for organizing optimal work and brainstorming ) and agitation ^[3] . In social psychology, the listed phenomena are classified and given a scientific explanation.

• Crowd psychology
• Political psychology
• Gender Psychology
• Ethnopsychology
• Psychogeography
• Role theory
• Social Facilitation
• Social Psychology (journal)
• Schechter, Stanley
• Nisbet, Richard
• Institute of Social and Political Psychology of NAPS of Ukraine

• Parygin B.D. Social psychology. Origins and prospects. - SPb. : SPSU , 2010. - 533 p. - ISBN 978-5-7621-0543-9 .
• Parygin B. D. Fundamentals of social and psychological theory . - M .: Thought, 1971. - 352 p.
• Parygin B.D. Social psychology as a science . - L .: LSU , 1965. - 208 p.
• Andreeva G. M. Social psychology. Textbook for universities. - Aspect Press, 2008. - 363 p. - ISBN 978-5-7567-0274-3 .
• Myers D. Social psychology. - 7th ed. - SPb. : Peter , 2007. - 794 p. - (Masters of Psychology). - ISBN 978-5-88782-430-7 .
• Social Psychology / Ed. S. Moscovici. - 7th ed. - SPb .: Peter , 2007. - 592 p. - (Masters of Psychology). - ISBN 5-94723-126-3 .
• Aronson E. , Wilson T., Eikert R. Social psychology. Psychological laws of human behavior in society. - SPb. 2004
• Bityanova N. R. Social psychology. - M. , 2001.
• Introduction to practical social psychology / Ed. Yu. M. Zhukova, L. A. Petrovskaya, O. V. Solovyova. - M. , 1997.
• Zhukov Yu. M., Grzhegorzhevskaya I. A. Experiment in social psychology: problems and perspectives // Methodology and methods of social psychology. - M. , 1977.
• Social Psychology / Ed. A. N. Sukhova, A. A. Derkach. - M. , 2002.
• Social Psychology. Practice / Ed. TV Folomeeva. - M. , 2006.

Science Articles

• Gorshkov E. A. Social Psychology of the USA: “European Roots” // Prospects of Science and Education: Journal. - 2014. - № 4 (10) . - p . 69-73 . Archived January 19, 2018.
• Herrmann B. et al. Antisocial Punishment Across Societies (English) // Science 7: Research paper. - 2008. - Vol. 319, no. 5868 . - P. 136-1367. - ISSN 0036-8075 . - DOI : 10.1126 / science.1153808 . Archived January 19, 2018.
• Andreeva G. M. To the history of the formation of social psychology in Russia // Moscow State University Bulletin : Journal. - 1997. - № 4 . - S. 6-17 . Archived January 19, 2018.