Skip to main content

What is Social Psychology?

What is Social Psychology?

Psychology is the science that studies human behavior and mental processes. It's quite broad, so for its study and application, it is divided into two branches: basic psychology and applied psychology.


Basic Psychology: As the name suggests, it forms the foundation of all scientific knowledge behind this profession. This branch focuses on discovering, describing, and defining the concepts, functions, and processes through which people think, learn, feel, communicate, and develop as individuals. Essentially, basic psychology centers on the biological part of the mind.


Applied Psychology: This branch studies the utility of psychology, focusing on problem-solving and optimizing mental processes. Some areas include clinical psychology, child psychology, educational psychology, organizational psychology, health psychology, sports psychology, and one of the most important, social psychology.

What is Social Psychology?

Social psychology is the study of social relationships and how they influence and modify people's behavior, thoughts, and feelings. You might notice that your behavior changes depending on the company or context you are in. It is different when you are among teachers or bosses compared to being with friends and family. These changes are precisely what social psychology studies.


Understanding these differences has an interesting impact on the work, educational, cultural, and political world. Once the factors leading to these behaviors are known, they can be modified, eliminated, or intensified to improve the relationship between groups of people.


Social psychology also analyzes the norms and principles that shape human coexistence. Thanks to this approach, we know more about:

  • Behavior patterns
  • Social roles
  • Collective consciousness
  • Social relationships
  • Social identity
  • Stereotypes
  • Values
  • Teamwork
  • Leadership


Psychology is much more than learning to know ourselves or solving problems; it is a science that helps us understand ourselves as a society and as humans. Without the contributions of this discipline, we wouldn't know the value of understanding, support, love, friendship, respect, and coexistence.if you are interested in learning more about social psychology and its field of action, we invite you to read more about it.


If you would like to learn more about social relationships and understand how social interaction works, then you will surely be interested in studying the degree in Psychology at Anáhuac University.