Understanding Social Psychology: Behavior and Thought
Defining Social Psychology
Defining a discipline characterized by a great diversity of fields and a rapid pace of change is challenging. However, it can be defined as the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior and thinking in social situations.
Is Social Psychology a Science?
The term science refers not to a select group of highly advanced disciplines, but rather to a variety of methods. Therefore, when deciding whether a particular field is scientific, we must ask if it uses scientific procedures. To the extent that a discipline uses these methods, it can be viewed as scientifically oriented.
Conversely, disciplines not generally seen as scientific often make statements about the natural world and...