Areas of study in social psychology

Impression Formation - which investigates the cognitive processes underlying the way we form of others. This includes the biases guiding our impressions, the inferences we make, and the weight we give to different pieces of information. Social Judgment - which investigates the cognitive processes underlying our beliefs about the social world. Some of the heuristics or “rules of thumb” include the availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, and anchoring and adjustment. We are sometimes also biased toward over-attributing our own personal beliefs to society at large, i.e. the false consensus effect. Some people also tend to believe in a just world which can lead to blaming the victim in some circumstances. Self and Identity – Attitudes – The focus of this area is the study of the relationship between attitudes and behavior and the use of persuasive communication to change attitudes. The primary theories used to explain and predict the relationship between attitudes and behavior are the theories of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) and planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985). The primary theory of attitude change is the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Caccioppo, 1986). Social influence - This area of research studies the methods people use to make us comply, conform, or obey their authority. Social Impact Theory is the most heavily used theory in this area (Latane, 1981). Group Processes - includes the study of group formation, effectiveness and influences on the individual. Interpersonal Attraction - Social Psychologists in this area study the factors the influence attraction and liking. Close Relationships - Social Psychologists in this area study the processes underlying relationship formation, maintenance and dissolution. Prominent theories in this area are Interdependence Theory (Rusbult, Agnew & Arriaga, 2001) and Attachment Theory (Reis & Patrick, 1996). Aggression - Social Psychologists in this area study the factors that influence anti-social behavior. Pro-Social Behavior - Social Psychologists in this are study the factors that influence helping behavior. Intergroup Relations - which studies prejudice and discrimination. Socialization (which investigates the learning of standards, rules, attitudes, roles, values, and beliefs; and the agents, processes, and outcomes of learning) and Development (which looks at the contribution of both nature and nurture in production of social behavior). Gender roles - the effects of role schemas on the perceived makeup of gender and the sexes Personal development and life course - the general facets of life in various societies, including personal careers, identities, biological development, and shifts in roles [[Moral development - the development (in stages) of the rational and social-psychological abilities required to make moral