SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Focuses on human behavior in the context of societal rules and norms, how human behavior gets shaped by social interactions and how groups can influence individual behavior. Topics covered include primary vs. secondary groups, group dynamics and "groupthink," in-groups vs. out-groups, gangs, self-help/support groups, attitudes and their sources (cognitive, emotional, visual, social, behavioral), measuring attitudes (polls, Likert scale, semantic differential), Asch and conformity, Milgram and obedience to authority, aggression, theories of altruism (cost-reward, empathy-altruism, evolutionary), cults and brainwashing, prejudice, and stereotypes.