Title: Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles – Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition
Headings: Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles
Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles
The History of Social Psychology
The Person and the Social Situation
Evolutionary Adaptation and Human Characteristics
Self-Concern
Other-Concern
The Social Situation Creates Powerful Social Influence
Social Psychology in the Public Interest
Social Influence Creates Social Norms
Different Cultures Have Different Norms
References
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Content: The genetic code that defines human beings has provided us with specialized social skills that are important to survival. Just as keen eyesight, physical strength, and resistance to disease helped our ancestors survive, so too did the tendency to engage in social behaviors. We quickly make judgments about other people, help other people who are in need, and enjoy working together in social groups because these behaviors helped our ancestors to adapt and were passed along on their genes to the next generation (Ackerman & Kenrick, 2008; Barrett & Kurzban, 2006; Pinker, 2002). Our extraordinary social skills are primarily due to our large brains and the social intelligence that they provide us with (Herrmann, Call, Hernández-Lloreda, Hare, & Tomasello, 2007). The assumption that human nature, including much of our social behavior, is determined largely by our evolutionary past is known as evolutionary adaptation (Buss & Kenrick, 1998; Workman & Reader, 2008). In evolutionary theory, fitness refers to the extent to which having a given characteristic helps the individual organism to survive and to reproduce at a higher rate than do other m