Social Psychologist

Learn how to become a Social Psychologist and why you might want to...

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

What motivates people to do the things they do and develop into a certain type of person has grabbed the interest of people for years, especially social psychologists who are experts at analyzing social influences.

Human condition is a complicated mixture of nature and nurture. Social psychologists study the individual aspects within people such as personality traits, attitudes, and ambitions and also look at the way people think about, relate and affect others. People are social by nature and therefore seek out others and try to adjust themselves in social settings in order to fit in with the social norm; this is when social psychologists learn the most about the influence of others.

Social psychologists provide insight into human interaction and social influences through observation. The settings in which they observe can be natural where the people being studied do not know the psychologist is there, or they conduct research in controlled settings where they outline the parameters and then monitor the actions.

One study that produced fascinating results was a prison simulation done in 1971. College students played the roles of prison guards and prisoners with the plan of having a two week observational study. Social psychologists found that after only six days they had to end the experiment because the students were experiencing negative changes. The guards became brutal and cruel and the prisoners became depressed and stressed.1 This study, although almost 40 years old, has continually been one of the best examples of how much social influence and groups affect others.

Social psychologists’ unique knowledge of human behavior combined with complex research and analytical skills allow them to practice in multiple areas of interest. A career in social psychology provides the opportunity to work outside of a normal psychology setting such as consulting with businesses, political groups, lawyers and medical practioners about human behavior. Request information from schools offering programs in psychology and learn how you can become a social psychologist.

Request information from schools offering Psychology degree programs. Also, learn more about the psychologist licensing process and what the requirements for licensure are: Psychologist Licensure.

Resources:
1 The Stanford Prison Experiment