It is human nature to socialize. People go out and meet people with the intention of improving themselves and to belong to family groups. The presence of other people in one’s life influences the person in more ways than one. This is best described in social psychology which explains the effects on a person’s thoughts, feelings, and actions that other people, whether they are real or imagined, have (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012). When we are with people, we tend to act differently than when we are alone. At times, people around us influence us positively and sometimes we receive negative pressures from them. Either way, people adjust their behavior to be able to conform to the rules of a group and be able to belong. However, it is also possible for a person to influence an opinion that is widely held by a group and should this fail, the person succumbs to the authority and does things that they won’t do otherwise.
When with people, one tries to find explanations as to why a person does what s/he does and attribute them to either his/her internal qualities or the influence of the environment. In forming opinions about others, people subscribe to schema and classify people according to what they are likely to do based on the group that they belong to. This is stereotyping. Prejudice is ones attitude towards a group or an individual belonging to the group shaped by unfair generalizations about the said group. Discrimination is encouraged by prejudices, and all three applied to a person according to his/her racial-ethnic group is called racism, which can work in one’s awareness either implicitly or explicitly.
Attitude is defined as “a person’s favourable or unfavourable beliefs, feelings, or actions towards an object, idea, or person” (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012). Attitude and behavior do not always go complement and are not susceptible to change. Attitude can change as a cause of persuasion, or cognitive dissonance which is the discomfort felt when an information is opposed to the person’s notion of self.
In a society, people can help, hurt, be attracted, or love other people. When a person intends to harm another psychologically or physically, it is called aggression. On the other hand, people tend to help those who are closer to them in life-death situations while a larger number people who are witness to a crime or accident are less likely to call for help than when there are only a few. Psychologists call this the bystander effect. A relationship established between people who bore similarities in personality, intelligence, looks, and attitudes are said to last. Psychologists like Sternberg further discuss theories on relationship and explains how intimacy, passion, and commitment form the triangular theory of love.
Reference List
Feist, G.J., & Rosenberg, E.L. (2012). Psychology: Perspectives and Connections (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
