Explain the Theory of Social Psychology Flashcards

The study of the relationship between the individual and the rules and patterns that constitute society,

(1)Symbolic intereactionism: focuses on how intereaction is created and maintained (2)Group Process: focuses on the relationship between actors. (3)Social Structure and Personality: the focus is on how social structures affect the individuals.

A set of explicit, abstract, rigorious, and logically related statements that explains or predicts a general class of phenomena.

(1) Repeatability: a phenomena needs to be reproducible or recurrent to allow for systematic study. (2) Testability: statement about the phenimena must be falsifiable (we need to be able to prove the theory incorrect).

(1)Concepts: specialized, well- defines ideas that are brought together and communicated by theories (2) Scope: the domain of phenomena to which a theory applies. (3) Operationalization: the observable manifestations of concepts.

(1) Surveys: ask group members about their experience. (2)Field studies: researcher directly observes the group. (3)Archaival research: uses secondary data; can involve content analysis for themes and patterns in existing sources. (4)Experiments: test theories of cause and effect relationships.

Any object in a situation that an actor uses in that situation where the use has arisen socially.

One class of social objects. - used to represent something -used for communication both between and within actors -social -conventional -meaningful -significant

-Language: a set of words used for communication and representation- a symbolic system used to refer to or represent a part of reality. -Words: symbols that are written or spoken (basis for other symbols) categories used to refer to a distinguishable class of objects.

-they are our reality -make our complex life group possible -make human beings possible

- naming, memorizing, categorizing -perception -thinking -deliberation and problem solving -trancendence of space and time -creativity

Marriage has become a status symbol showing people that you have made it and have a successful life.

(1)Preparatory Stage: child imitates significant others (2) Play Stage: child learns to take the role of of siginificant others one at a time (3) Game Stage: child is able to similtaneously assume rhe roles of all others in the game and learns to take the role of the generalized other. (4) Reference froup stage: individual can assume the perspective of one of several groups depending on the situation.

"I"- the subject of action "Me"- the object of others actions The self is composed of both these and there is a continous interchange between them.

The self is social for two reasons : (1)it arises from social experience as indicated in the stages of development. (2) it arises from the social interchange between the "I" and "me"