Social psychology is the study that bridges psychology and sociology. Until this day, psychologists still argue whether to classify it as scientific or objective as it examines social exchange involving the application of both experimentation and observation.
There are many good topics to cover on social psychology. (Credit: The Future of Human Evolution)
Social psychology topics include gender roles, stereotypes, self-perception and national identity. You’ll find a wealth of research paper topics related to social psychology and how much we’ve learned about ourselves and society as a result of its pursuit.
Social psychology topics
The study of social psychology is formulated into two primary approaches: experimental social psychology and a scientific approach. Both branches seek to understand human behavior in social situations and how that behavior is influenced by others.
Subjects that are examined by social psychologists include:
In a 2007 article for SimplyPsychology.org, “Social Psychology,” Saul McLeod presented a concise introduction to the study.
Other important researchers and theorists include:
- Allport: Social Facilitation theory stated that the presence of others can affect certain behaviors.
- Festinger: Cognitive Dissonance is the discomfort one feels when we hold differing beliefs, attitudes and understandings.
- Bandura: Social Learning Theory is the idea that behavior in the social world can be influenced by observing how others are treated for certain behaviors.
Research paper resource
For an in-depth study of social psychology topics check out the library at Questia. You’ll find thousands of books and articles from academic journals. You’ll find thoughtful texts such as Self-Knowledge and the Self by David A. Jopling. In this book, Jopling discussed how our search for self knowledge shapes our self identity. In other words, the self we come to know is dependent on how it is known. While others may have more expertise in the study of human behavior, no one is better equipped to help us truly know yourself except yourself.
“The tools that I bring to the task of reflective self-inquiry and reflective self-evaluation, unlike the tools used by others who might claim some expertise in the matter, have the virtue of being similar in kind to the very materials upon which they operate. There is, moreover, no one who is in a better position to raise the question, ‘Who am I?,’ than I am, because I stand to benefit or lose the most from the success or failure of my self-inquiry,” Jopling explained.
A class divided
A perfect example of an experiment in social psychology was created in the aftermath of a national tragedy. No ordinary day, a Friday in 1968, was the day after the shooting of Dr. Martin Luther King. Third-grade school teacher, Jane Elliott devised a unique lesson in discrimination for her class.
How could her students truly learn how it felt to be discriminated against? She divided the class into two groups according to eye color: blue or brown eyes. She told the class that the blue eyed people were the better people, smarter and more capable.
The blue eyed people would get more time at recess. The brown eyed people could not use the same drinking fountains as the blue eyed people. As activities were conducted that day, Ms. Elliott showed approval of blue eyed students and criticism of brown eyed students.
By the next class day it was clear that the students were transforming from cooperative classmates to nasty and mean antagonists. Elliott turned the tables on the class and told them that she had been mistaken. It was the brown eyed people who were superior and who would enjoy all the privileges that accrued to that type.
You can watch video of the original experiment and the class reunion 17 years later in a Frontline program, “A Class Divided,” at PBS.org.
You can find hundreds of good research paper topics on sociology and anthropology studies including social psychology at Questia.
Which area of social psychology interests you the most? Tell us in the comments.
