PSY 530 Social Psychology

Question:

The program will require you to think of a research topic that interests you.

The capstone course (PSY-693) will require you to prepare a research plan.

In order to help you create that proposal, you will have chosen a research topic and begun gathering empirical studies to support your idea.

Your topic must be related to a fundamental social psychological principle. However it can also fall under one of the applied fields (forensic psychology or psychology of religion, health psychology, etc.

You will be required to analyse the current research surrounding your topic.

Compare the research that has been done so far using the empirical articles.

Introduction: The introduction should contain your research question along with a brief explanation about why it is necessary.

Comparing and analysing the literature found in the articles is possible.

Compare the limitations in the data you have gathered.

Conclusion that includes the contribution of your research to the current field.

Answer:

Attitudes refer to the judgments an individual makes about objects, ideas, and events. They may also be about others in society.

Attitudes can either be implicit or explicit.

Explicit attitudes are the most responsive beliefs. These beliefs can aid in making decisions and influencing behavior.

Implicit attitudes are unintentional beliefs, that can still affect decisions and behaviors (Smith, Mackie, Claypool, 2014.

Attitude can be described as cognitive, emotional, or behavioral.

Conformity can be defined as a type of social influence. This includes changing one’s beliefs and behaviors to fit into a group.

It is not always possible to conform to someone’s beliefs or feelings. Behaviors that highlight a particular attitude may be suppressed by a rival, which can serve as a defense against the views of those who disagree with it.

Understanding the relationship between conformity, attitude, and behavior is essential.

This will allow people to see the importance of conformity as well as attitude in society.

The assignment’s purpose is to review the empirical articles related to this topic.

Compare and analyze the literature

According to the collected reviews, Vogel & Wanke (2016) stated that attitude refers to a person’s overall analysis of people and objects.

According to him, attitude is responsible for liking and disliking any object or person.

Attitude is what determines how one should behave.

But conformity is a totally different concept. Szolnoki & Perc (2015) said that conformity refers to a type or social influence. This includes changing behavior or thoughts in order for a person to be accepted or part of a group.

As the cognitive and affective parts of attitude don’t always translate into behavior, it is possible to say that attitude does not always anticipate behavior.

However, conformity can be indicated through behavior. This is because the person alters his/her thoughts and behavior so that it matches the expectations of others.

Attitudes could be either conscious or unconscious beliefs that are viewed as other people or objects. However, conformity is how one acts to impress others.

While conformity is a result of social influence, attitudes drive the behavior.

Literature also includes information about different models of attitudes, among which Pratkanis and Breckler (2014) have mentioned the multicomponent model. They believe that this model is the most important.

The attitude of an individual can be described as an abstract of an analysis of a person or object. It includes affective, cognitive and behavioral features.

Attitudes are developed in response or to objects and conformity is created in response to things that can be both real and imagined.

Social interaction is facilitated by attitudes. People are encouraged to have positive attitudes.

However, conformity is a key part of culture as it encourages cooperation and builds understanding among members.

Literature states that attitude is the most important quality of a person’s mental connection between their ability to perceive and feel and learn.

Further, attitude gives meaning to an experience in a complex social environment.

Conformity, on the other side, is an individual’s ability to adapt their behavior to conform with existing social norms.

Compare The Limitations of the Studies

The literature review has shown that researchers were faced with many limitations in conducting these studies on conformity.

One of the main limitations that can be identified is the short time frame and limited budget.

These two factors are crucial for any research and are the greatest limitations.

However, it was clear from the mentioned studies that researchers couldn’t collect any admissible information from all sources.

The researchers would have had more valuable and worthwhile data if they had more time.

This would have allowed them to produce more quality work.

These studies, however, have revealed that the studies collected for this research have limited data. They focus only on the conceptual aspects of attitude and conformity.

While components like affective and behavioral are crucial for attitude, neither the selected studies have discussed this.

However, conformity can be viewed through three types of eyes: identification, compliance and internalization. This would help readers understand the concept better (Kang & Schuett 2013).

Further, it is not clear what causes an individual to conform. This would have allowed readers to better understand why they do so.

The reasons an individual may choose to conform to a certain group or person in society can be many. These reasons include fear of punishment, isolation, or to avoid responsibility. However, these points are not covered in these studies.

In the same way, there are reasons for attitudes.

Although there are three theories that clearly describe attitude formation, they are cognitive dissonance theories, functionalism and learning. The studies did not touch these theories to give readers a deeper understanding of the causes behind attitudes formation in society.

A second striking limitation is that none of these studies have explained in detail the importance and consequences of conformity or attitude.

Because both conformity and attitude play a significant role in society, they should have highlighted that aspect more.

There are limitations to the collection of data and more detailed research is required.

According to this report, both conformity as well as attitude have a significant impact on society and culture.

Attitudes refer to the way someone views something or someone. It is reflected in what they believe, feel, and how they act.

However, conformity refers to social influence. It is when people change their behavior or thoughts in order to be accepted or liked by others.

While attitudes can be developed towards an object or person, conformity may be real or imagined.

According to cultural importance, attitudes are responsible for the behavior one exhibits in society. Conformity is the modification and adaptation of behaviors to be connected with others.

There are also limitations that are not clearly identified in these studies. This could be due to limited time frames or restricted budgets.

The main problem with these studies is the lack of explanation for the reasons behind conformity and attitude.

These studies have concentrated on the concept-related explanation of attitude, conformity. It has not included the models, components, and theories that relate to attitude and conformity. This is a major drawback.

Why attitudes are important: Determining attitude.

Structure and function of attitude, 429.

Attitudes & social Adaptation: A Person–Situation Interaction Approach to (Vol.

The factors that influence sharing travel experiences on social media.

Attitude structure & function.

Psychology Press.

Psychology Press.

The evolution of social dilemmas is more complicated when conformity is used to increase network reciprocity.

Attitudes, attitudes and attitude change.

Psychology Press.