Social Psychology: Using Cognitive and Biological Factors to Decode Behavior

Social psychology is interested in understanding why people behave, individually, within a social context. Whereas psychology unearths the individual behavioral motivators, and sociology examines the whole, social psychologists are interested in understanding the peculiarities of the organs within the organism of humanity. The cognitive and biological factors that move one person to act may move someone else to freeze. Social psychologists must aim to understand cognitive and biological factors affecting human behavior in an effort to isolate the "why's" of certain behavior as it differs in isolation then it does within other social contexts.

Because social psychology focuses on individuals within social contexts, understanding human evolution, in particular the role of biological processes on social behavior (Baron, Byrne & Branscombe 2006) helps these scientists form a point with which to form the original question, "but, why?" If certain biological factors must have been ascertained without language, or without literal proximity, what social cues did we have for determining who was safe to approach, safe to mate with, or interested in working with us in some necessary way?

Fear, attraction, and apathy may all culminate in and involve some biological reaction. Increased adrenaline is the biological result of fear, but why might we have a fear of someone without knowing more about that person aside from the visual cues we have? The branch of psychology called evolutionary psychology, according to the authors of Social Psychology "suggests that our species, like all others on the planet, has been subjected to the process of biological evolution throughout its history, and that as a result of this process, we now possess a large number of "evolved psychological mechanisms" that help (or once helped) us deal with important problems relating to survival." (Baron, Byrne & Branscombe 2006).

In relating to those biological needs that have evolved their unique response behaviors over time, we have developed different cognitive processes to decipher which of our own behaviors to apply toward certain situations, as well as how our behaviors may affect those around us. We've also learned certain cognitive processes toward decoding the presence of others. Can we trust someone we've just met? Can we trust someone we've known for years? Our perception of those around us and how we react to that perception is an important aspect of social psychology because, as Arthur Aron and Elaine N. Aron explain, in "What is Social Psychology, "...most social psychologists strive to make people see that social influences determine their thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, emotions, and even their very selves (Aron & Aron 1989).

Aron, A., & Aron, E. (1989). What is Social Psycology. The Heart of Social Psychology, pp. 1-2, 18-19, 131-150.

Baron, R.A., Donn, B., Branscombe, Nyla R. (2006). Social Psychology, Eleventh Ed., 10-12, 19-25.