Introduction to Applied Social

Psychology 
By- Manali Naphade (FYMA Psychology) 
Applied Social Psychology
• The branch of social psychology that draws on social psychological
theories, principles, methods and research evidence to contribute to:
• A) Understanding of social and practical problems
• B) Development of Intervention strategies for improving the
functioning of individuals, groups, organizations, communities and
societies with respect to social and practical problems. 

• Functioning is broadly viewed as encompassing how well people

perform or operate with respect to any one of many criteria including,
for example; emotional and social adjustment, physical health and
performance in school, work or athletics. It is the concern with the
development of intervention strategies that is unique to applied social
psychology and set's it of as a branch
Applied Social Psychology as a
Science
• The 5  Core Values of Science: 
• 1) Accuracy- A precise, error-free measurement and collection of
information and social behaviour
• 2) Objectivity- Minimization of the bias in data collection and
proposition testing
• 3) Skepticism- A commitment to accepting findings as accurate only to
the extent they have been verified over and over again; and can be
replicated. 
• 4) Open Mindedness- Readiness to accept as valid evidence that may
be inconsistent with one's initial; and perhaps strongly held, beliefs or
theories
• 5) Ethics- Acceptance of absolute importance of ethical behavior in
conducting research 
Applied Social Psychology as a
Science
• The 5 Goals of Science: 
• 1) Description- Identifying and reporting the details and nature of a
phenomenon
• 2) Prediction- Requires knowing what factors are related and correlated
systematically to the phenomenon of interest
• 3) Determining Causality- Between the two factors; determining the
factors in one variable that produce changes in the other variable
• 4) Explanation- Pertains to establishing 'why' of a phenomenon or a
relationship
• 5) Control- Being able to manipulate conditions that will cause changes
in a phenomenon
Applied Social Psychology as a
Science
• Broad Obligations as a scientific field: 

• 1) Scientific Obligation: Our responsibility to test the theoretical

rationales and hypotheses underlying intervention strategies.

• 2) Ethical Obligations: Need to ensure not only that the intended

beneficiaries of interventions gain from them but also that they do not
experience unintended negative consequences. 
Role of Personal Values
• The construct of values is central to many fields in the social sciences
and humanities.
• Individuals act in ways that allow them to express their important
values and attain the goals underlying them.
• Thus, understanding personal values means understanding human
behavior.
• Values are internalized cognitive structures that guide choices by
evoking a sense of basic principles of right and wrong, a sense of
priorities, and a willingness to make meaning and see patterns. Like
other cognitive constructs, values can be studied at the individual
level.
Role of Personal Values
• Although one of the core values of science is objectivity, it is widely
recognized that the individual's personal values influence many
decisions that he or she makes as a scientist. 
• Personal Values- broad desirable goals that motivate people's actions
and serve as guiding principles in their lives

• E.g. Choosing research topics that involve around one's concerns and
prejudices. 
Role of Personal Values
• As social psychologists become involved in implementing control-
developing strategies to change people's lives; personal values take on
an added importance. 
• In contributing to the development of an intervention, the applied
social psychologists has determined that a problem exists. 
• However, the determination of what constitutes a problem is not
always the objective, personal values might play an important role
here. 
• Interventions developed by applied social psychologists are value
laden in that the psychologist's value play a role in determining what
social and practical problems to address 
A Problem Focus
• Problems of the social psychology of personality include-

• Problems associated with study of the direction in which it is going,

its self -evaluation, sense of self, and self -respect, stability of
personality and conformability , collectivism and individualism and
problems associated with personality sets.
A Problem Focus
• A) Social Problems: 
• At the very heart of social psychology is a regard for addressing social
problems

• At the centrality of the field of social psychology is: To eliminate

many of the most serious problems facing us today, changes must
occur in the very phenomenon that constitutes the core subject matter
of the field of social psychology- people's attitudes, values and
behaviour or lifestyle
A Problem Focus
• B) Practical Problems:

• Applied social psychology addresses other undesirable or

unsatisfactory circumstances that do not qualify as social problems in
the conventional sense
• e.g. Improvements to team cohesiveness and communication as a a
way to deal with poor team performance.
• Such unsatisfactory circumstances are referred to as "practical
problems" to distinguish them from conventional social problems and
to acknowledge their centrality to applied social psychology.
A Problem Focus
• C) Personal Causes/ Uses:
• With respect to issues in everyday life
• Personal use of applied social psychology- how each of us can use
social psychological  knowledge to improve his or her own life

• E.g. To improve the size of a tip, a restaurant server might draw on the
research on server behaviour. Higher tips tend to be given when the
server engages in positive verbal communication and also in positive
nonverbal behaviour
THANKYOU!!