Taking the Social Origins of Human Nature Seriously: Toward a More Imperialist Social Psychology

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilynn B. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Basic Premise ◽  
Social Interdependence ◽  
Human Psychology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

To recognize that human beings are adapted for social living is fundamental to the science of human psychology. I argue that the development of broad social psychological theory would benefit from taking this basic premise more seriously. We need to pay more attention to the implications for personality and social psychology of recognizing that all of the building blocks of human psychology—cognition, emotion, motivation-have been shaped by the demands of social interdependence. In this article I illustrate the generative potential of this basic premise for development of more expansive social theory.

scholarly journals Euripides’ Medea and Jason: A Study in the Social Power of Love

Phronimon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
Kofi Ackah
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Psychological Perspective ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Power Game ◽  
Social Psychological Theory ◽  
Social Psychological Perspective

Euripides’ Medea resonates with modern issues in intimate relationships. However, little has been written on this, especially from the social-psychological perspective. This paper explores the breakdown of the Jason-Medea marriage in terms of the social-psychological theory of love as an exchange in a power game in which a certain degree of imbalance in the exchange could account for such a breakdown. I analyse the Medea text in terms of Olson and Cromwell’s (1975) tripartite theoretical framework, namely: (a) the bases on which social power is built; (b) the processes by which social power is wielded; and (c) the outcomes produced by the use of social power. I find that Medea carried a greater burden of love towards Jason than Jason did towards her, fuelled and sustained by her enduring and greater need for security and happiness. And in intimate relationships, the principle of least interest (Waller and Hill 1951) works: the beloved tends to dominate the lover. Jason, however, overreached himself when he violated the minimum conditions of his own desirability – fidelity to and respect for Medea. I conclude that Medea’s violent reaction to Jason’s conduct indicates the fragility of love as a basis of social power in intimate relationships.

scholarly journals The Limits of Gender and Regional Diversity in the European Association of Social Psychology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boglárka Nyúl ◽  
Nóra Anna Lantos ◽  
Steve Reicher ◽  
Anna Kende
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Cold War ◽  
European Association ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Scientific Standards ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

Academic associations define the scientific standards and affect individual academic careers within a discipline. The European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) was founded in 1966 to become an association for all social psychologists in Europe. However, this was unattainable during the Cold War, and more subtle obstacles, such as women’s underrepresentation in academia prevented EASP from due representation of all social psychologists. Social psychological theory offers insights into why social hierarchies are maintained and how they can be dismantled. We used the case of EASP to analyse challenges to creating a diverse and inclusive association by analysing membership data, participation, distinction and influence throughout the organisation’s history (1966-2020) and conducting a more in-depth analysis for the 2011-2017 period. We found a glass-ceiling effect for women and a persistent underrepresentation of non-Western European scholars on all levels. We conclude that increasing diversity requires more fundamental changes to overcome structural inequalities.

Self-Esteem and Self-Enhancement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary P. Hohman ◽  
Joshua K. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Self ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

Self-esteem and self-enhancement are two critical phenomena that play major roles in social psychological theory and research. Everyone has an idea what self-esteem is; however, from an empirical standpoint, what exactly is self-esteem is hotly debated. The unidimensional definition of self-esteem defines it as a global assessment of one’s worth, with greater self-esteem being associated with greater self-worth. Whereas the multidimensional view of self-esteem defines self-esteem as a ratio of competences and worthiness. Furthermore, self-esteem can be broken down into different types: trait self-esteem is a stable view of the self that does not fluctuate much from day to day; state self-esteem is a more transitory view of the self that fluctuates from day to day; and domain-specific self-esteem relies on decisions we make about ourselves or self-evaluations about how we perform in specific situations. Regardless of type, there is an overall belief that humans have an innate need for high self-esteem and that they are particularly attuned to situations that may threaten this. When self-esteem is threatened, people enact behaviors aimed at increasing it: this is called self-enhancement. The idea that people are driven to self-enhance has become a popular topic in psychology and is found in some of the field’s most influential theories. For example, self-determination theory (SDT) examines both interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of self-esteem and self-enhancement. Terror management theory (TMT) explains why human beings need self-esteem and how they self-enhance. Sociometer theory is concerned with understanding how self-esteem developed in humanity’s past and how it affects self-enhancement in the present. Finally, self-affirmation theory focuses on how people try to self-enhance after their self-integrity has been threatened.

A checklist to facilitate objective hypothesis testing in social psychology research

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony N. Washburn ◽  
G. Scott Morgan ◽  
Linda J. Skitka
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Psychology Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Diverse Area ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

AbstractSocial psychology is not a very politically diverse area of inquiry, something that could negatively affect the objectivity of social psychological theory and research, as Duarte et al. argue in the target article. This commentary offers a number of checks to help researchers uncover possible biases and identify when they are engaging in hypothesis confirmation and advocacy instead of hypothesis testing.

scholarly journals Grief, Care, and Play: Theorizing the Affective Roots of the Social Self

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth Abrutyn ◽  
Omar Lizardo
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Understanding Emotions ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

For several decades, some sociologists have turned to evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and cognitive science to support, modify, and reconfigure existing social psychological theory. In this paper, we build on this momentum by considering the relevance of recent work in affective and cognitive neuroscience for understanding emotions and the self. Our principal aim is to enlarge the range of phenomena currently considered by sociologists who study emotion, while showing how affective dynamics play an important role across every outcome and process of interests to social scientists. : Central to our concern is the way in which external social objects become essential to, and emotionally significant for, the self. To that end, we draw on ideas from phenomenology, pragmatism, classic symbolic interactionism, and dramaturgy. We begin by showing how basic affective systems may graft on, build from, and extend current social psychological usages of emotions as well as the important sociological work being done on self, from both symbolic interactionist (SI) and identity theory (IT) perspectives. Subsequently, we turn to the promising directions in studying emotional biographies and various aspects related to embodiment.

Care of the S: Dynamics of the mind between social conflicts and the dialogicality of the self

Human Affairs ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Madzia
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Conflicts ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Social Psychological Theory

AbstractThe paper deals predominantly with the theory of moral reconstruction in George H. Mead’s thinking. It also points out certain underdeveloped aspects of Mead’s social-psychological theory of the self and his moral philosophy, and attempts to develop them. Since Mead’s ideas concerning ethics and moral philosophy are anchored in his social psychology, the paper begins with a description of his theory and underlines some problematic areas and tries to solve them. The most important of these, as the author argues, is the hypothesis that social conflicts should be seen as the root of reflective, discursive thinking. Unlike some of his contemporaries (such as Vygotsky), Mead failed to appreciate this aspect of the genesis of the dynamics of the self.

Social Psychological Theory: View From Germany

1981 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 611-612
Author(s):  
Stephen G. West ◽  
Anne Maass
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Social Psychological Theory ◽  
Theory View
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