Social Self: Relating Harmoniously and Properly with Everyone

Social Psychology

• Study of social relationships or interactions Interaction and Relationship

• Interaction refers to the mutual and reciprocal exchange of communication or action between two or
more persons or groups.

• Relationship refers to a particular way in which two or more individuals, groups, or even countries talk
to, behave toward, or deal with each other. There is an established connection, kinship, or attachment
between persons or groups attributable to several factors – interests, philosophy of life, goals, or ways
of thinking – that bind them together.

Person Perception

• Refers to forming impressions and making judgments about another person’s likability after seeing or
meeting him/her.

Social Norms

• Social norms refer to spoken and unspoken rules for behaving in particular situations.

• Norms in social behavior serve to guide or regulate the manner in which people conduct themselves.
Behaviors have to be controlled or regulated because of social consequences. It is one’s responsibility to
make sure that his/her behavior does not hurt, offend, or disturb other people.

TOGETHER AS A GROUP

 The word “group” is often used to refer to two or more people coming together. However, a social
group consists of two or more people who interact recurrently in a patterned way and who recognize
that they constitute a distinct social unit.

 In social situations where people work and do things together for a purpose, two things may happen:

 1. Social Facilitation – the performance of each individual member of the group is improved.
 a situation in which an individual is stimulated by the presence of others.
 Social Inhibition - a situation in which the presence of others blocks or retards one’s performance

 2. Social Loafing – a phenomenon when working or being with a group may reduce individual effort.
 refers to the concept that people are prone to exert less effort on a task if they are in a group
versus when they work alone. The idea of working in groups is typically seen as a way to
improve the accomplishment of a task by pooling the skills and talents of the individuals in that
group.
 Conformity refers to yielding to group pressure to act as everyone does, even when no direct request
has been made.
 It is the tendency to behave like others in the group do.
 It is brought about by two motivations: to gain reward (approval) or avoid punishment
(disapproval); and to gain information.
Some factors make conformity more likely to exist in a group (Lahey, 2009):
• Size of the group.
The more people there are in a group, more likely a member tends to conform.
• Unanimous groups.
Conformity is highest when an individual faces a group in which all members feel the same way
about a topic, a problem, or an issue.
• Culture.
Conformity occurs in all cultures. However, some cultures emphasize the welfare of the
individual; thus, people are less conforming. Others focus on collective welfare so people tend
to be more conforming. A high degree of conformity leads to faster accomplishment of a task or
work.
• Gender.
In the past, females were more likely to conform than males, but research has shown that it is
no longer the case (Eagly, 1978; Eagly & Johnson, 1990)

Social Roles and Social Norms

• Social roles specify the part or position in society. It also specifies behavior expected to be exhibited by
an individual in practicing his/her role. Whether aware or not, a person may play several roles, each of
which influences the behavior of another individual.
• Sociogram indicates the social structure of a group and the relationship of people within that group. It
shows who are popular, isolates, islands, and mutual friends.

Nature and depth of relationships

Relationships are among the most important aspects of our lives. They can be positive or conflicted, but
the lack of relationships could be the worst of all, as it creates loneliness.

Familiarity
This refers to being comfortable with another person and is necessary condition for a close
relationship to develop. Friends and lovers are those who have been around together for so long; who
have grown up together; who have gone to school together. Research has shown that people like to
associate with others who are similar to them in terms of the following attitudes, behaviors patterns,
personal characteristics, taste in fashion or clothes, intelligence, personality and the like.

Attraction
Attraction may lead to deeper relationships (Santrock, 2003). One person may be drawn or
attracted to another due to reasons like similarities or differences in interests, personality
characteristics, life goals, and lifestyles, to name a few. Attraction paves the way for enjoying the
company and being comfortable with the other person, and for feelings of ease and confidence.

Love
 Love is a special attachment one has for himself/herself or for somebody else. It is an intense
feeling of deep or constant affection and emotion in which a person always sees to the good, happiness,
and welfare of the other. The person is willing to sacrifice or to give up something for the good of the
object of his/her love. it can manifest as love for God, spouse, children, family, or country, among
others.
Three of the most common kinds of love are as follows:

1. Romantic Love also called passionate love, it concludes as intermingling of different emotions: fear,
anger, sexual desire, joy and jealousy, among others. It is one of the major reasons for getting married.
In a study by Berscheid, Snyder, and Omoto to 1989, college students chose a romantic partner, rather
than a parent or a sibling, as their closest relationship. This result suggests that college students put a
higher premium on romantic relationship.

2. Affectionate Love also referred to as compassionate love, it is the type of love that occurs when
someone has deep and caring affection for a person and desires to have him/her near constantly.

3. Consummate Love it is the strongest and fullest type of love (Sternberg, 1985). This ideal form of love
involves passion, intimacy, and commitment.

The triangular theory of love

In 1985, Sternberg postulated that love is made up of three components: passion, intimacy, and
commitment. Passion has something to do with physical and sexual attraction to another.

Intimacy is characterized by the emotional feelings of warmth, closeness, and sharing of the
relationship.

Commitment is the cognitive appraisal of the relationship and the intent to maintain it even in the face
of problems. One or a combination of these ingredients forms a kind of love or love-like feeling.

• Attitudes are beliefs that predispose people to act and feel in certain ways towards people, objects or
ideas. They can either be positive or negative.

A positive attitude is reflected in a happy, pleasant, or optimistic disposition. While, negative attitude
is associated with pessimism or a general feeling of dislike.

Stereotype
• These are generalizations in which the same traits or characteristics are assumed to be possessed by
all members of a group (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2002).
• Negative stereotypes are accompanied by prejudice and discrimination.

Prejudice is an unfair, biased or intolerant attitude or opinion towards the members of a group.
Discrimination is the specific unfair behavior or treatment towards the members of a group.