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Questions tagged [social-psychology]

For questions about the empirical and theoretical study of how perception, feelings, behavior, and cognition are affected by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Questions are addressed both from the individual perspective (American school) and group perspective (European school).

Social psychology is the empirical and theoretical study of how perception, feelings, behavior, and cognition are affected by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Questions are addressed both from the individual perspective (American school) and group perspective (European school).

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Why did Karl Popper criticize Freud's theories?

Why didn't Karl Popper accept Freud's psychological theories and believed that they are not scientific in essence?
keramus
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Why don't people listen to smart people?

Generally speaking, I feel like there are two things everyone can agree on when it comes to intellectuals: They don't know everything. They know more than me (at least about a particular topic). It's #2 that's tripping me up. The words of a…
Noob Saibot
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Is it true that acting can affect one's behavior?

Is it true that acting can affect one's behaviour? For example, if someone plays a protagonist, can this affect them to be a good person? Is there any solid evidence for this?
Jamal Senjaya
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How is the Stanford Prison Experiment connected to Conformity?

I am still not very clear with what the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Zimbardo was trying to conclude about from the experiment. From Wikipedia, it says the conclusion was to: demonstrate the impressionability and obedience of people…
xenon
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What are the psychological mechanisms behind arrogance?

According to this Wiktionary defintion, arrogance is 1.The act or habit of arrogating, or making undue claims in an overbearing manner; that species of pride which consists in exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, estimation, or power, or which…
user3554
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Self-fulfilling stereotypes: Have researchers tried inventing new group stereotypes?

Studies on the stereotype threat have typically used stereotypes that that are common in contemporary culture, i.e. the canonical example being the study that showed African American SAT scores lowered when faced with the stereotype that African…
ChickenGod
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Denial of evidence and reason

Some people form a belief and become absolutely resistant to any contrary evidence or reasoning. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, these people stick to their beliefs. I'm pretty sure this is something that has been investigated by…
DarkDust
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When a group of people laugh, people will instinctively look at the person they feel closest to in that group

Many people online seem to claim that: When a group of people laugh, people will instinctively look at the person they feel closest to in that group. You can find the claim in 31 Psychological Life Hacks That You Can Exploit To Give Yourself An…
Online User
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What happens psychologically to a Robinson Crusoe?

In 2000 film Cast Away Tom Hanks's hero is stranded on an uninhabited island, Robinson Crusoe style, and after a while starts talking to a volleyball. And I thought: what would actually happen to a person with total social isolation (not necessarily…
Mirzhan Irkegulov
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Can an individual having strong identity associations with groups be used to infer anything about them?

I've been reading a few articles and papers about individuals identifying with groups and their behaviors and attitudes, however I haven't yet found an answer to one of the questions that I was trying to learn about. What does a strong identity…
Thomas Owens
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What research gives insight into the terms "low status" and "high status"?

Folk explanations of human behaviour often refer to "high status" or "low status", and the phrase sometimes pops up in more formal contexts (e.g. this question). However, one of the most cited sources cited as exposition of these concepts is a…
Morendil
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How can I prime aversion to conflict?

I'm looking for a way to prime subjects in an experiment to dislike exposure to conflict (arguments, anger between people, incivility, etc.). Does anyone know of a good method for this?
user7340
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Is there any scientific evidence that lack of physical affection has adverse effects in human adults?

There is an often-cited quote by Virginia Satir, saying “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” This has been cited a lot, but I could not find a source for said quote.…
MechMK1
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Why do people try to make themselves feel better by treating others poorly?

I'm looking for an explanation for why people will try to make themselves feel better by treating others poorly. For example, imagine a group of girls are sitting in a cafe. Within that group are two girls in particular, Sally and Anne. Sally is…
ttmarek
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Why do people say they hate drama?

On social sites sometimes people will state, "I hate drama!", as if to say "if you cause drama, please go away." My theory is the people who say this, in fact, actually like drama... as evidenced by the apparent hatred for it. Has there been any…
Randy
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