What is Social Psychology?

Social Psychology is simply a branch under the Psychology umbrella.

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior and has many branches, with each having its unique aspects.

As its name suggests, social psychology focuses on understanding human behaviors and cognitive functioning under the influence of social interactions. Humans are social animals, and every moment, from waking up until falling asleep, is subject to interact with at least someone, be it a family member or others in the community. Each of these interactions will consciously or subconsciously influence both individuals in some ways.

Social psychologists work to understand these various phenomena when people interact, such as why people judge others, why people have high or low self-esteem, how social media influences self-value, how a conflict started, what urges people to help each other, and many more.

Three main aspects Social Psychologists look at:

1. How an individual/group perceived other

2. How an individual/group influenced others

3. How an individual/group foster relationships with others

To effectively study the various human behavioral reactions derived from social interactions, those in this field will utilize the scientific methods to help formulate and conduct systematic studies, as well as process the compiled data through statistical computation.

Knowledge and skills from this branch alone can be utilized in various ways such as using to predict relationship outcomes of couples; interventions needed to produce effective work teams; techniques to influence people which can be used in marketing and advertisements; all the way to help policymakers formulate strategies to be implemented in communities.