Monday, March 19, 2012

Social Influences on Behavior


     “One of the most basic topics in social psychology is the way one agent influences the behavior of another.” (Hepburn & Potter, 2011, p 99) This is the basis for the definition of social influence. There are three types of social pressure: conformity, compliance, and obedience (Renner, Morrissey, Mae, Feldman, & Majors, 2011). Any one of these influences can pressure a person into behaving in a manner he or she normally would not. Aggression and prejudice are two behaviors that may be socially influenced. This paper will discuss aggression and prejudice in relation to social influence.
 Aggression
     Aggression is the intentional injury or harm to another person. In social psychology, aggression is defined in terms of the purpose behind the behavior (Renner, et al, 2011). Sigmund Freud was one of the first researchers to suggest that aggression was primarily inborn, or instinctual. Other researchers suggest that aggression is caused by frustration, or the reaction to what is blocking one’s goals. Another approach to aggression is observational learning, or the theory that aggression is a learned behavior. This theory focuses on the rewards of the person as well as the model for the behavior. Each of these theories could be applied to a person who exhibits aggression.
      Let us look at an example of aggression influenced by social influences. In pre – school, Student B hits Student A because the student will not submit to his demands. When speaking with Student B, counselors learn that his or her father is aggressive when one does not submit to his demands. Therefore, it can be concluded that Student B learned aggressive behavior from his or her father. Student B’s aggressive behavior may further be reinforced if he or she sees the father seems rewarded after displaying aggression. Another example that supports the observational learning theory is the playing of video games. The person who plays a violent video game and rewarded for the violence within the game may become aggressive to gain the same reinforcement outside of the game. In both of these examples, the aggressor learned his or her behavior from an external model.
     “Individual performance can be either helped or hindered by the physical presence of others”, (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2011, p 549). Social facilitation is the effect on performance affected by the presence of others. This presence can be as either an audience or cohorts. In terms of aggression, social facilitation is seen in bullying. When a group bullies another person, the group sometimes feeds off of each other. The aggressive acts are intensified (or sometimes lessoned depending on the situation) based upon how all members of the group react to each other.
     Anger is a common and natural emotion. However, inappropriate expression is a reason for concern (Feindler & Engel, 2011). The cognitive-behavioral theory focuses on how one view the world around him or her and reacts to them. Cognitive – behavioral therapy can be helpful in changing a person’s view of why he or she views aggression as positive as well as help him or her change the behavior. Anger should be exhibited in positive ways and not in ways that hurt another person. A person who has a problem with aggression, especially major aggression, should reach out to someone for help. 
Prejudice
     Stereotypes are generalized beliefs and expectations about a certain group of people. Stereotypes can be negative or positive. All stereotypes have one thing in common: people use them to view others as a group rather than as unique individuals. Stereotypes can lead to positive or negative prejudice. Prejudice is the evaluation of a group of people. Positive prejudice is as simple as saying, “I love Italians.” However, prejudice is mainly seen as negative such as saying, “I hate Mexicans.” Social psychologists have focused mainly on understanding negative prejudice (Renner, et al, 2011). While prejudice is the view of a group of people, discrimination is the behavior towards a group.
     The oldest explanation of prejudice is the realistic conflict theory. This theory states that as a competition increases among people, so do prejudice and discrimination (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2011). Another explanation for prejudice is in – groups and out – groups. These groups are the result of people dividing the world into categories. In – groups are social groups from which others are excluded. Out – groups are social groups comprised of the people excluded from the in – groups. Ethnocentrism can also lead to prejudice. Ethnocentrism is the viewing of situations from one’s own cultural perspective.
     Groups of people who share negative prejudice thoughts are thought to have conformed to groupthink. Groupthink is where all members of a group think the same with no regard to individual feelings. These groups do not accept differing views. The members no longer think as individuals, but as a consistent group.
“According to the social – cognitive theory, people learn attitudes of prejudice and hatred the same way they learn other attitudes.”  (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2011, p 562) Social – cognitive therapy would benefit the person with negative prejudice thoughts. By definition, cognitive treatment approaches teach people more adaptive ways to view the world. Social – cognitive therapists can assist the person with extreme prejudice on how to view people as individuals rather than as a group.
 Conclusion
     Social psychology studies how people’s thoughts, feelings and actions are affected by others. Aggression and prejudice can both be affected by social influences. Both behaviors can produce negative consequences for all people involved. With the proper treatment, people can work past these behaviors and produce positive results.




Using someone else's work without giving proper credit, is plagiarism. If you use my work, please reference it. 

No comments:

Post a Comment