Researching Social Psychology

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Interesting paper, although somewhat general. There are many theories in social psychology to choose from or are you more focused on social psychology as a discipline? Is this a research project or just a general explanation of the discipline of social psychology? My understanding it the latter.

Let's look at each question to help you get started.

1. How would you write a paper about social psychology?

Briefly, a paper about social psychology is an academic paper, which usually has the following sections: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Body, Conclusion and References..

Briefly, the Introduction will introduce your topic of social psychology and include a purpose statement, which might look something to the effect: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the discipline of social psychology. Specifically, it looks at the theory of social psychology, what it means and how we can use social psychology in our everyday life. The Body of the paper will include the three sections (e.g., the theory of social psychology, what it means, and how we can use psychology in our everyday lives). The Conclusion will sum up the main points. You will also need to provide a reference list. If this is a term paper, sometimes you do NOT need to include an abstract, however, depending on the instructions from your instructor.

Your tentative outline might look something to the effect:

I. Introduction
II. Social Psychology as a Discipline
III. Meaning of Social Psychology
IV. How it can be used in Everyday Life
V. Conclusion

Also see an excellent resource which discusses how to write a paper using the above section in APA formatting, which provides illustrative examples of Title page and references, and so on.

2. What is the theory of social psychology and what it means?

How far have you gotten with your research of social psychology?

Social Psychology is the science that studies individual beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in settings where other people are present (or merely implied or imagined--which makes the definition pretty broad). Notice the focus is quite different from sociology, where groups of people are studied, but closer to psychology, where individuals are studied. The focus of social psychology is the individual within the group. As such, it is an ideal venue for studying those forces that change humans-- their beliefs, their attitudes, and their behaviors (www.workingpsychology.com/definit.html).

Said another way, "social psychology is the study of the nature and causes of human social behavior. As the mind is the axis around which social behavior pivots, social psychologists tend to study the relationship between mind(s) and social behaviors. In early-modern social science theory, John Stuart Mill, Comte, and others, laid the foundation for social psychology by ...