Knowledge in Social Psychology
Social scientists and their predictions
Social scientists, in general, have argued vigorously for the autonomy of their field of study and have mostly looked askance at the attempts that have tended to show the social phenomena to be entirely determined by non - sociological factors. In their own turn, however they have been extremely antagonistic to the idea that there may be other phenomena which stand in the same relation to sociological phenomena as these do themselves to biological and physical phenomena. Sociologists, like most other scientists, seem to think that all that occurs in the field of human affairs is completely determined by factors which pertain to their own field of study. They are extremely averse to the admission of immanent causality within the field of supra- sociological phenomena. There seems, however, no reason to believe that the emergence of autonomous realms with their immanent causality ceases at the sociological level. It would be as much a piece of blindness on the part of the sociologists to deny this as it would be in the case of those biologists or physicists who would deny autonomy and immanent causality to social phenomena. The mistake in the case of the latter is clearly visible to every sociologist, yet he immediately seems to develop a psychic scotoma when he himself commits it. The supra-sociological phenomena are indeed dependent on sociological phenomena for their very existence, but this should in no way lead to the conclusion drawn by most sociologists that they are "determined" by them. If the logic of the argument were true in such a case, then we would inevitably be pushed further to the conclusion that the real determinants of any phenomenon are physical and not biological or sociological or supra-sociological in nature. The sociological phenomena, in fact, permit the existence of supra-sociological phenomena but do not determine them, in any way, in their specific nature. The large numbers of studies that have delineated the "determination" of cultural phenomena by sociological factors are vitiated, therefore, at their very core by this central fallacy.
siddharth menon
Psychological Basis of Behavior
Psychological Basis of Behavior
shreya singh
Independent and dependent variable (Attitude)
The article is about Atttitude (Organizationl Behaviour) and the parameters of attitude namely , dependent variable and independent variable . Independent Variable : Personality and motivation Dependent Variable : Productivity and Job Satisfaction In an organisation , productivity and job satisfaction are dependent upon a person’s personality and motivation.People’s behaviour changes when they are demoted from their position ,but whether it is positive or negative is what all that matters . Example : Steven Paul Jobs , Chairman , CEO and Co-founder of Apple Inc., despite a forceful resignation from Apple on 1985 , founded NeXT Computers , a technologically advanced , highly innovative and with built-in ethernet port , and was marketed mainly for academic community. Tim-Berners Lee invented World Wide Web in 1989 at CERN in Switzerland using NeXT computer. This invention was made possible only because of his Positive attitude and his motivation to invent products . His positive attitude also made him to fund The Graphics Group , now known as Pixar , a subsidiary of Walt Disney Group . Jobs joined Apple in 1996 even after that great humiliation leading him to resign only because of his job satisfaction .
Sanjay Kumar
Suchit Raw Patel
Power
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Deepanshu Vaya
Discuss religion, spirituality when treating young
A majority of young adults with severe mental illness -- bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or major depression -- consider religion and spirituality relevant to their mental health, according to a new study from Baylor University's Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. Holly Oxhandler, Ph.D., associate dean for research and faculty development in the Garland School of Social Work, served as lead author on the study, which was published in the journal Spirituality in Clinical Practice. Researchers examined data from 55 young adults (ages 18-25) with serious mental illness who had used crisis emergency services. Of the 55 young adults interviewed, 34 "mentioned religion or spirituality in the context of talking about their mental health symptoms and service use with little-to-no prompting," researchers wrote. The sample for the study was racially diverse and gender-balanced. Not all of those interviewed considered themselves religious, as 41 percent answered "other," "I don't know" or "none" when asked their religious preference. However, researchers found that religion and spirituality emerged as a unique way in which this sample was able to make sense of their difficult life situations and mental health struggles. "Not only did these young adults struggle with serious mental illness, but they had also experienced extreme adversity -- including abuse, poverty, homelessness, addiction, near-death experiences, loss and an overwhelming lack of access to medical and mental health services," researchers wrote. "Yet, many attempted to explain, make sense of or organize their circumstances through their religious/spiritual perspective and talked about God as a source of comfort and support." The young adults expressed both positive and negative views of God, prayer and support from religious and spiritual communities. Regardless of their views, the important thing to note, Oxhandler explained, is that they're talking about these topics -- something social workers and counselors traditionally are not often equipped or trained to assess or discuss. "It's the elephant in the room," Oxhandler said of discussions of religion and spirituality. "If we continue to ignore it, we're ignoring a huge component of peoples' lives that may be tied to the clinical issue." Oxhandler, who has researched this area extensively, said such discussions can help drive subsequent treatment options. "As mental health care providers discern what mental health services to provide or coping strategies to recommend, it's especially important they understand the role of religion/spirituality in the lives of the vulnerable young adults they serve," she said. Researchers also found that those surveyed described using positive religious coping, negative religious coping or experiences, discussed their relationship with God/Higher Power and unpacked the role of their support systems and faith. Positive religious coping included prayer, reading religious texts, support from their religious and spiritual communities and identifying religious and spiritual meaning in difficult situations. Negative religious coping or experiences included having a negative experience with a religious organization not being supportive or receiving hurtful messages from the religious community. "Those who discussed their relationship with God or a higher power discussed God providing a sense of comfort or protection, accepting them for who they are or positively intervening in their lives," Oxhandler said. "Among those who unpacked the role of their support systems and faith, they often described family and friends referencing religion or God for support, and some even offered recommendations for others struggling with mental illness that involve religion and spirituality." Some of those interviewed shared that they found the mention of God or religion by family and friends less than helpful. For example, a 22-year-old white female with no religious identification mentioned in her interview that a family member "tries to tell me that going to church will be better for me because it will help me find peace, and it really does quite the opposite." Interestingly, researchers noted that nearly all participants who reported negative experiences with religion and spirituality also reported utilizing positive religious and spiritual coping or having a positive relationship with God. Oxhandler said such complexity highlights the importance of including religion and spirituality during the initial assessment with a client. "It's critical that mental health care providers be well equipped and trained to assess for the complex role of religion and spirituality in the lives of young adults with serious mental illness, recognizing that it could appear to be a tremendous source of support and resilience and/or a source of pain and discomfort, if even a part of their lives at all," she said.
Aman Kumar Singh
Social class and communication situation
Are people with more money and education dominating and less warm? A social-psychological study at Goethe University scrutinizes stereotypes. How is our behavior influenced by our social class? Sociology has long concerned itself with this question. Whether individuals grow up in a working-class environment or in an academic household, they take on behaviors that are typical for their class -- so goes the hypothesis. The Frankfurt social-psychologist Dr. Anna Lisa Aydin has found new evidence to support this hypothesis. Her study, which she carried out jointly with researchers from Zurich, Hagen, Idaho and Tel Aviv, and which has been published in the scientific journal Social Psychological and Personality Science also shows, however, that people don't just rigidly exhibit class-specific behavior, but respond flexibly to counterparts from other social classes. A large portion of the research on the influence of social class stems from the ideas of the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. He describes how the environment in which we grow up inscribes itself deeply into our identity. Social-psychological authors argue that people from lower social classes have access to fewer resources and can only influence their environment to a limited degree. They therefore rely more on mutual assistance, making solidarity an important value. People identify with this value and behave cooperatively as a result. People from upper social classes, on the other hand, have access to more resources, can choose from among several alternatives, and are less dependent on mutual assistance. This results in individualistic conceptions of the self where shaping the environment according to one's own preferences is paramount. These different modes of behavior therefore constitute adaptions to corresponding social environments. This theory was supported in part by the current study. Overall, more than 2,000 people in Germany were surveyed. For respondents who considered themselves to be members of a lower class, warm and cooperative interaction with other people in their social class was more important than for those who considered themselves members of a higher social class. In addition, those who earned more and were better educated set more value on demonstrating competence and being assertive in their interactions with others than those in the group with lower earnings and less education. The authors feared that these differences in behavior could lead to a further increase in social inequality in Germany. Individuals who exhibit assertiveness have better chances for social advancement. However, the observed differences in behavior were relatively small. The influence of the social class of the individual's counterpart had a significantly greater impact. How do people behave when interacting with someone from a lower or higher social group? The majority of those surveyed described social difference in Germany as unjustified or not very justified. As a result, they found it important to behave warmly and cooperatively toward people with less money and education. Conversely, they set value on appearing competent and assertive toward people with more money and education. These findings are particularly relevant in view of the fact that social inequality is increasing in Germany and other parts of the world, although most people perceive this as unjustified. While research based on sociological theories can explain how this inequality can be exacerbated by conditioning within different social classes, the current study offers an optimistic perspective: in communication situations between people of different classes where class differences are perceived as illegitimate, solidarity with the poor and assertiveness toward the rich are exhibited.
Liking vs. Loving
Psychologist Zick Rubin proposed that romantic love is made up of three elements: Attachment Caring Intimacy Rubin believed that sometimes we experience a great amount of appreciation and admiration for others. We enjoy spending time with them and want to be around them, but this doesn't necessarily qualify as love. Instead, Rubin referred to this as liking. Love, on the other hand, is much deeper, more intense, and includes a strong desire for physical intimacy and contact. People who are "in like" enjoy each other's company, while those who are "in love" care as much about the other person's needs as they do their own. Attachment is the need to receive care, approval, and physical contact with the other person. Caring involves valuing the other person needs and happiness as much as your own. Intimacy refers to the sharing of thoughts, desires, and feelings with the other person. Based upon this definition, Rubin devised a questionnaire to assess attitudes about others and found that these scales of liking and loving provided support for his conception of love.
Compassionate vs. Passionate Love
According to psychologist Elaine Hatfield and her colleagues, there are two basic types of love: Compassionate love Passionate love Compassionate love is characterized by mutual respect, attachment, affection, and trust. Compassionate love usually develops out of feelings of mutual understanding and shared respect for one another. Passionate love is characterized by intense emotions, sexual attraction, anxiety, and affection. When these intense emotions are reciprocated, people feel elated and fulfilled. Unreciprocated love leads to feelings of despondency and despair. Hatfield suggests that passionate love is transitory, usually lasting between 6 and 30 months. Hatfield also suggests that passionate love arises when cultural expectations encourage falling in love, when the person meets your preconceived ideas of an ideal love, and when you experience heightened physiological arousal in the presence of the other person. Ideally, passionate love then leads to compassionate love, which is far more enduring. While most people desire relationships that combine the security and stability of compassionate with intense passionate love, Hatfield believes that this is rare.
The Color Wheel Model of Love
In his 1973 book The Colors of Love, psychologist John Lee compared styles of love to the color wheel. Just as there are three primary colors, Lee suggested that there are three primary styles of love. These three styles of love are: Eros: The term eros stems from the Greek word meaning "passionate" or "erotic." Lee suggested that this type of love involves both physical and emotional passion. Ludos: Ludos comes from the Greek word meaning "game." This form of love is conceived as playful and fun, but not necessarily serious. Those who exhibit this form of love are not ready for commitment and are wary of too much intimacy. Storge: Storge stems from the Greek term meaning "natural affection." This form of love is often represented by familial love between parents and children, siblings, and extended family members. This type of love can also develop out of friendship where people who share interests and commitments gradually develop affection for one another. Continuing the color wheel analogy, Lee proposed that just as the primary colors can be combined to create complementary colors, these three primary styles of love could be combined to create nine different secondary love styles. For example, combining Eros and Ludos results in mania or obsessive love.
Triangular Theory of Love
Psychologist Robert Sternberg proposed a triangular theory suggesting that there are three components of love: Intimacy Passion Commitment Different combinations of these three components result in different types of love. For example, combining intimacy and commitment results in companionate love, while combining passion and intimacy leads to romantic love. According to Sternberg, relationships built on two or more elements are more enduring than those based on a single component. Sternberg uses the term consummate love to describe combining intimacy, passion, and commitment. While this type of love is the strongest and most enduring, Sternberg suggests that this type of love is rare.
How You Love A Damaged Person
Loving a damaged person is absorbing their poison and hoping it ends before you’ll lie dead on the ground. It’s saving someone while you’re losing yourself in the process. It’s never knowing whether what’s between you is real or not. It’s being stuck in a loop of mind games, never figuring out when will they come to an end. You get consumed by their darkness, depriving you of oxygen, and they become the only thing you can breathe. They will give you just enough of themselves to hang on there, to stay close. They won’t let you go because deep down they need you, but they won’t give you any more of themselves because they know how powerful feelings may be. This is not the kind of love you see in movies, nor is it romantic in any way. It’s not the story of two people who fall in love with each other, go out on exquisite dates, text all day, and open their hearts to one another during midnight calls. It’s not spontaneous adventures and sweet “miss you” notes. It’s not the live version of Ed Sheeran songs. No. Loving a damaged person is one of the hardest, bravest things you could ever go through. It’s a series of battles that will change you forever, battles few are strong enough to endure. Loving a damaged person requires rivers of patience and oceans of love. It’s fighting for someone who’s only half present, half available. Someone who keeps your relationship undefined, someone who locks their feelings in a valve with no keys. It’s climbing the walls they’ve built around themselves, and never quite reaching the top. It’s desperately shouting out for them to open up, as they dive deeper into themselves as you approach. It’s being sent mixed signals because they want you, yet they fear you. They fear the feeling that still haunts them from the past, the feeling of being hurt, the feeling of being left behind. And they realize that this feeling only comes from being vulnerable, from opening up to people, from making them see the real you, the person you are trying to hide behind your shallow skin. That’s why they have mastered ways to protect themselves from getting hurt. The smell of betrayal still lingers on their door, and whatever you do and no matter how much you try, it seems impossible to prove to them that you’re not like the rest, that you will never leave them, that your love is stronger than any force in this world. Because staying with a damaged person requires all the love you could possibly have. It’s a win or loses the game. In the end, it’s either winning the war or losing everything; including yourself. Loving a damaged person is self-destruction, it’s agony, it’s toxin running all through your body, it’s 2 AM tears all over your pillow; it’s simply hell on Earth. You are sent on a mission to slowly peel their shield, layer by layer, and part by part. To slowly melt their heart. It might take you months to make cracks in the iceberg they have inhabited, and years to touch their soul. It’s a task meant only to the strong-willed, to the patient, to the ones who know how to love unconditionally, because the truth is, loving someone who has been hurt is caring for them while expecting anything in return. Loving a damaged person is a war, a war few are ready to fight, that’s why they are often left alone. They seem to us like strong independent people who need no one, but inside they are the most vulnerable beings needing a hand to hold and a soul to understand. Damaged people crave love more than anything else, yet they run from it at its very sight. They want an emotional connection, yet every time they try to establish one, ghosts of their past start haunting them, carrying images of the pain they had to endure. They push you away, yet secretly hope you would still insist on staying. Damaged people are so full of love, and that’s exactly why they’re so afraid to fall in it. They are people who have learned to put themselves first because they are tired of giving their all to the ones who’ll eventually leave. They have been through the darkest tunnels of life and have witnessed what it means to stand alone on the edge of the world with no hand to hold as the winds get stronger. They have seen the devils in those who wore angel disguise, and now have a hard time trusting faces. They have been in stories no one will ever hear about, they have stayed awake on nights their mind would wonder to the forbidden places. They know what it took them to make it here, and they are not willing to allow anyone to hurt them again. That’s why, if you choose to love a damaged person, you have to be patient with them, you have to be delicate, you have to make the first step too many times, and most importantly, you must have real feelings for them, feelings that will endure the challenges of time, the battles awaiting you, the storms approaching the coast of your heart. And the tragedy is that in a world full of options and opportunities, in a world where most roads are smoothly paved, few will ever choose the rigid path to a damaged person’s heart.