PSYCHOLOGY STUDY LINE

Social Psychology is the scientific study of the way in which individuals are affected by social situations. Social psychology like other sciences is involved in explaining, predicting, understanding and verifying the relationships between individuals.(Worchel and Cooper)
Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice. Social psychology is a branch of psychology which examines the impact of social influences on human behavior. This field is vast, encompassing a wide range of fields of study and several disciplines. Social psychology is also used in a range of disciplines and industries; many people utilize the principles of social psychology without even being aware of it when they try to control a group, influence someone's opinion, or explain why someone behaves in a particular way.

Social Psychology deals with the mental prcesses of man as a social bieng. It syudies the influence of group life on the mental development of an individual, the effect of individual mind on the group and the develoment of the mental life of the groups with themselves and in thier relations with one another. In other words, it is the study of individuals in interaction as members of groups and the effect of that interaction on them.

Like many scientists, social psychologists like to use empirical methods to conduct studies in their fields. These methods often involve experiments which can bring up complex ethical issues. One of the most infamous social psychology experiments was the Stanford Prison Experiment, which was ultimately shut down because it got out of control. Social psychologists rely on the efforts of ethics committees and review panels to ensure that their work is ethically allowable, in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of questionable experiments.The study of social psychology can explain why people form mobs, how groups make decisions, which social conditions can lead to aberrant behavior, and a wide range of other things. Social psychologists are constantly learning more about human behavior and the science behind human interactions, looking at everything from why people fail to help people in need to what leads people to conform, even in ethically dubious situations.