Social Psychology - 1277 Words

The principles and theories of Social Psychology are important and useful in assessing behaviors in situations. These social psychological principles and their applications can be seen in fictional films which can also be attributed to everyday life. One such film that holds certain social psychological perspectives is Will Gluck’s 2010 production of Easy A. A film about high school student Olive Penderghast and how a sudden change in popularity and financial status, after an unintentional rumor about how she supposedly lost her virginity to a college guy spread through the entire her school. The film draws on the behavioral connections of pronounced hussy Olive Penderghast and her English class’s assigned reading of The Scarlet Letter.†¦show more content†¦The forces that led Anson to wrongfully attribute Olive’s floozy behavior as her true nature are due to the social psychological perspective known as the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. As stated in lectur e the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy can be defined as the expectations people have about another person, which influences how they act towards that person and thus causing that person to fulfill these expectations. This prophecy is evident in the film when Olive’s reputation is first brought to her attention by her best friend stating that â€Å"everyone and I do mean everyone is calling her a dirty skank.† Once she realizes that others hold a certain expectation of how she should behave in accordance to her assumed persona. She begins to notice how differently the people act around her. The expectations which fostered different attitudes towards her are presented through the glares and the gossip that force Olive to oblige people’s expectations. In the scene Olive declares that if â€Å"people thought [she was] a dirty skank [she] would be the dirtiest skank they’d ever seen,† confirming and concluding the last prerequisite in defining the Self-Fulfill ing Prophecy, which is changing oneself to fit expectations. Rosenthal and Jacobson’s 1968 experiment is a fine example that helps explains how Olive fits the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. This is because in the film and the teacher and presumed student â€Å"bloomers,† both evokedShow MoreRelatedSocial Psychology And Social Influence1600 Words   |  7 PagesIn social psychology, social influence is a process where someone’s beliefs, thoughts and behaviour change by being exposed to beliefs, thoughts and opinions of others. It manifests in several forms, such as obedience, compliance and conformity. All these types of social influence have been studied by numerous researchers who investigated the reasons why people conform to social norms and obey to authorities, such as Milgram’s classic studies on obedience. His experiments support the popular ideaRead MoreSocial Psychology2623 Words   |  11 Pagesourselves (Friedkin, 1998). Social psychologists have conducted numerous experiments and concluded that, through various forms of social influence, groups can change their members thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, intentionally or unintentionally, as a result of the way the changed person perceives themselves in relationship to the influencer, other people and society in general (Hogg amp; Vaughan, 2008). Hogg and Vaughan (2008) stated that the three areas of social influence are obedienceRead MoreThe Domain Of Psychology Which Will Be Social Psychology1295 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The research study will look at the domain of Psychology which will be Social Psychology. In psychology, social psychology is the methodical study of how people s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are subjective to change by presence of others. Social psychologists study how an individual’s or a group’s viewpoint is changed by the social influence and communication of other individuals and social groups. In this research the main concentration will be on the topic of conformityRead MoreSocial Psychology And Sociology And Psychology1450 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Psychology is a broad field that incorporates aspects of both the sciences of Sociology and Psychology. This field of study is designed to help answer the question as to why people display certain behaviors due to their interaction with others. This field of study is very interesting due to its practicality, in regards to real-life demonstration, usage, and observation. In my life, I have held several jobs that have been heavily influenced by the dynamics of those who were around me. One jobRead MoreSocial Psychology Essay1906 Words   |  8 Pages Social psychology is a young science, barely a century old (Myers, 2010). Yet already its scientific explorations have shed light on love and hate, conformity and independence - social behaviors that we encounter each day (Myers, 2010). Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. (Myers, 2010). As we mature in life, our social world molds us as we interact in social thinking, social influences, and social relations. Social psychologyRead MoreApplied Social Psychology On Psychology981 Words   |  4 Pages Applied social psychology 2 Applied social psychology is one way that psychologist can study our thought, feeling and belief, and how we function around each other, in our everyday lives, here are the five issues that I will be addressing in my literature review they are social influence, Attribution Theory, Group polarization, Cognitive dissonance theory, and Observational Learning. Social applied psychologyRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Social Psychology1398 Words   |  6 Pagesanswer in his lifetime. Psychology is a very broad topic in general, and is easily broken down into two main categories: experimental psychology and social psychology. These two categories of psychology can be broken down further into many subcategories such as the following: clinical psychology, forensic psychology, and sports psychology. Both of these broad categories, nevertheless, share the same end goal, which is to understand the human mind and its functions. Psychology defined in the Merriam-WebsterRead MoreSo cial And Developmental Perspectives Of Psychology1446 Words   |  6 PagesPhinney Ong’s (2007) article discusses both the social and developmental perspectives of psychology in relation to the various components and measurements that are commonly used to identify ethnic identity within groups. To aid in their discussion, the researchers start by analyzing the available studies whose research effectually laid the groundwork for the development of both theoretical models and applicable assessments concerning individual and group ethnic identification, such as the MultigroupRead MoreSocial Psychology : The Bystander Effect1061 Words   |  5 PagesAlthough we may not realize it, our social life is constantly being characterized by social influences and our environments. As individuals we tend to give in to social influences because we either do not know how to act in certain situations, or because we follow the social norms (when we tend to embrace other ways of thinking, be having, or feeling that are shared between a group of people). Social Psychology gives us the information we need in order to understand why we, at times, behave in a wayRead MoreSocial Psychology : A Unique Subfield Of Psychology1474 Words   |  6 PagesSocial psychology is a unique subfield of psychology. The history of the psychology dates back in 387 BC when Plato had inferred that the human brain is a device comprising of mental structures. Charles Darwin coined the theory of evolution called â€Å"Survival of the Fittest† when he disseminated his On the Origin of Species in 1859. Many other names have made major contributions in the field of psychology. However, it was Leon Festinger, in 1957, who propositioned his postulation of â€Å" Cognitive