Social Psychology:

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Social Psychology:
What is it and Why is it Important to Us?

Julie Bretado

General Psychology (PSY100)
December 10th, 2011

Social Psychology:
What it is and Why it is Important to Us.

Social psychology is a branch of psychology that studies individual people in the social context. Simple put it is the study of how peoples feelings, actions, and thoughts can be influenced by the real or imagined presence of people around them. Sociology is related to social psychology in this aspect. The difference between the two is that instead of focusing on group factors such as race and socioeconomic class like sociology,social psychology focuses on the individual. This is a simple definition but let's explore the following questions: 1.What does a Social Psychologist do?

2.How does someone become a Social Psychologist?
3.What is the demand for Social Psychologist?
4.How much do Social Psychologist earn?
5.Where did it all begin, why did we start studying social psychology? 6.Most importantly, Why is social psychology important to us? The goal of this paper is to help us understand better what social psychologist really do and to teach us what it took them to get to where they are at.

What Does a Social Psychologist Do?

Some social psychologist do research on human behavior. They might work in a research department of a major university, for a private business, or for the government. They conduct studies on anything from how violence in the media effects people to how our inner self effects our outer being. These researchers want to know why people do the things they do.

Other social psychologist work in the world of advertising. Helping companies develop advertising campaigns that speak to peoples emotions. As a someone who studies human behavior they can develop ads that persuade people to buy a product.

Another are where you might find social psychologist is in a business, helping them hire and train employees. They can evaluate educational programs to see if strategies are working. They often help with conflict mediation. They search for ways to encourage workers that help them with productivity in the work place. These are called applied social psychologists.

Then there are those that want to solve world problems. They want to do more than research why people do what they do. They want to create solutions to real problems like gang violence, racial prejudice, and more.

Some social psychologist work in the education. Teaching rather than researching. There are many teaching positions available at the high school and university level in this field.

How Does Someone Become a Social Psychologist?

So you want to become a social psychologist and don't know where to start. While some social psychologist find work with their masters degree only most obtain their PH.D. To become a social psychologist you must first earn your bachelors in Psychology. It is important to maintain a high GPA while in school. After graduating with you bachelors you must enroll in a graduate program in social psychology. There are programs that follow a two-step process by first having a student earn their masters degree then a doctorate. While others skip the masters degree and have student work for their PhD. This usually takes another four to five years in graduate school. So if someone was looking at becoming a social psychologist they should plan on being in school from 7 to 9 years before earning their doctorate degree and entering the work force. Now this does not mean they can not work while studying. Some states also require you to have a license to practice in certain field, so depending on your position you may still need to complete state exams after completing school.

What is the Demand For Social Psychologist?

The demand for social psychologist is low compared to other fields that require a masters or doctorate degree. The...
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