UNIT 1: APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

SYLLABUS: Introduction: Social Psychology & Applied Social Psychology: Definitions, historical development of the field and
current status, Levels of analysis, theoretical approaches (symbolic interactionism, post-modern approach, Methodological
approaches in social psychology: experimental and non- experimental; Participatory Rural Appraisal (action research), Social
psychology in India.
brief history, concerns, objectives
What is ‘society’?
Prof Wright: “It is a system of relationships that exists among the individuals of the groups.”

 Individual is the basic component of society.

 The interaction of individuals with each other gives birth to group.
 The social groups interact with each other and develop relationships with each other, leads to a society. 
 Within the society there are patterns and groupings on the basis of likeness and differences. “Likeness” creates a chain of
relations among the individuals having similarity in one or more conditions’ like same profession, same residence,
same caste, family and kinship, college, age, sex etc.” Without difference in cultural conditions of a society the human life
would have been monotonous and probably limited in which little change is predictable.
 The system of give and take relationship creates reciprocal roles in human life. These differences lead to variety of human
behaviors and social division of labour; the process of specialization is developed. 
This term has been derived from a Latin word ‘socious’ that means association or companionship. Thus, society means ‘A larger
group of individuals, who are associative with each other’.
What is the meaning of the word ‘social’?
“…of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of
society; tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others”
What is meant by ‘social psychology’?
Social psychology is the scientific (objective, reliable and valid) study of how people (their physical presence or their expectations,
the cultures they form, the societal norms they live by) influence (prominent and direct or subtle and indirect) each other’s thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors. Thus, social psychology may be defined as the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes
of individual behaviour and thought in social situations.
The three main areas of study: social thinking (how we define the self and how we think about people in the world around us), social
influence (asks questions about conformity, prejudice, and persuasion) and social behaviour/ relations (how we act in our social
environment). The three forces tend to overlap together to allow individuals to function in their everyday lives.

How do
social
psychologists
strive to solve
social
problems?
Social
psychologists
tend to base
their theories
and
explanations on psychological experiments conducted in the laboratory. However, social problems tend to be rooted in human
behaviour or cognition, thus having socio-psychological aspects. Hence, for the laboratory results to be applicable to these problems,
it becomes imperative that apart from upholding the scientific principles, the socio-psychological influences are also given equal
important. Thus, solution and prevention of such problems is possible through change in attitudes, values, behaviour and lifestyles.
1. To produce effective solutions, it is important to identify the problem causing behaviour. Applied social psychologists focus
on the various components and aspects of a social problem, pin pointing the areas where interventions alone can bring a
 swift improvement or resolution. (For example: Social problem: A large number of suicides by teenagers. Problem causing
behaviour: Bullying in school environments by peers, seniors or teachers. Intervention: Providing free of cost counselling
sessions to each and every student, providing an option to register complaint against offenders, providing workshops that
promote anti-bullying)
2. Examine what factors influence that particular behaviour. For example, in some cases it is important to target the
antecedents of that behaviour (Problem: nuisance due too many drunkards in a particular town, behaviour: anger, frustration,
outbursts; factors influencing the behaviour: too much workload, cheaper alcohol in the market, easily accessible to the
youth) while in other cases it is important to target the descendant conditions (For example, if the problem at hand is the fact
a large number of accidents have been taking place in a particular area due to irresponsible behaviour or rash driving then
the descendant factors like hiking the penalty for exceeding the speed limit or breaking the traffic rules)
3. Developing strategies to introduce interventions to change the behaviour that leads to a social problem. The interventions
should allow a change in attitudes and social norms.
4. Applied social psychologists can also play an important role in evaluating the effects of interventions, by examining to what
extent interventions indeed change behaviour and the underlying determinants, and whether social problems are indeed
resolved. This will not only reveal whether intervention programmes are successful, but also how they may be improved.
Basic principle: Applied psychologists focus on which variables to concentrate on and the decision on what kind of
interventions to use in managing the problem.
What is applied social psychology?
Applied social psychology, in turn, may be defined as the systematic (in a pattern or sequence) application of social psychological
constructs (Constructs are the building blocks of psychological principles and theories. A construct refers to a clearly defined
individual (psychological) characteristic that is generally latent and thus not directly observable), principles (A principle is a
statement of how a psychological process works. Principles describe basic processes by which humans think, feel and act.), theories
(A theory is an integrated set of principles that describes, explains and predicts observed events. Theories provide explanations for
our observations, and enable us to predict future events. A theory integrates various principles), intervention techniques, research
methods and research findings to understand or ameliorate social problems (Oskamp & Schultz, 1998).
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

BASIC SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Focus is to develop and test theories Focus is on understanding the problem and resolving it
Psychologists may conduct studies merely out of scientific Psychologists are specifically trying to solve social problems in
curiosity real life: making efforts to improve the quality of lives of others
Theory development is the main interest and goal Theory development isn’t the primary goal
Follow a deductive approach: They start with a particular Follow an inductive approach: They start from a specific social
theory, and examine to what extent the theory may be helpful in problem, and examine to what extent various theories may help
understanding various types of social behaviour. to understand this specific problem, and which theory provides
the best explanation of the particular behaviour causing the
problems.

CORE CONCERNS/ AREAS OF FOCUS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Impact of one individual on another’s beliefs and behaviour (For example, a friend who is involved with drug addiction
might influence you to try some yourself by persuasion or peer pressure)
 Impact of a group on a member’s behaviour and beliefs (For example, choosing a groom for herself, a woman’s decision
might be highly guided by her family’s beliefs)
 Impact of a member on a group’s activities and structure (For example, while leading a cult, it is usually one person of
position who takes the role of a leader and all the members tend to follow his lead)
 Impact of one group on another’s activities and structure (For example, the performance of one group in a team challenge
will influence that of the competing group)
HISTORY