2. Psychological Aspects of Social Work
Vocabulary
affiliation (with)
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присоединение
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attitude (about; of; to,
towards)
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позиция, отношение
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attribution
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атрибуция, установление авторства
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avoid
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избегать, остерегаться, сторониться
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cognitive dissonance
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когнитивный диссонанс (столкновение в сознании индивида противоречивых знаний, убеждений, поведенческих установок в отношении какого-л. объекта или явления)
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conduct
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поведение
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conformity
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соответствие, согласованность
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decision making
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принятие решений
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encompass
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окружать, заключать
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evidence
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основания, доказательства
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interpersonal behavior
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межличностное поведение
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measure
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измерять
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obedience
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послушание, повиновение
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owe
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быть обязанным
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persuation
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убеждение, убедительность
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precise
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точный, определенный
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social perception
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восприятие общества
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suppose
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допускать, полагать
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Exercise 1. Work in pairs. Answer the following questions.
1. What is social psychology? What does it study?
2. Does it draw on any other disciplines? If yes, which ones?
3. Do you know anything from the history of social psychology?
4. What are the main areas of research in social psychology?
5. What else would you like to know about social psychology?
Exercise 2. Read the text and say what social psychologists investigate.
Social Psychology
Social psychology is the study of the psychological basis of people’s
relationships with one another. Social psychologists investigate such processes
as communication, co-operation, competition, decision-making, leadership, and
changes in attitude.
Social psychologists begin their research by developing theories. They then
collect evidence to support their theories. For example, the American social
psychologist Leon Festinger developed the theory that people become uneasy
when they learn new information that conflicts with what they already believe.
He suggested that people would do much to avoid this uneasiness, which he
called cognitive dissonance. To demonstrate Festinger’s theory, researchers
collected data showing that people who believe they are failures often avoid
success, even when they can easily achieve it. Success would conflict with their
belief in themselves as failures.
Social psychologists often support their theories through experiments.
For example, one study investigated how people’s opinions of an essay were
affected by the supposed sex of the author. People who believed the writer was
a man had a higher opinion of the essay than those who thought the author was a woman. Social psychologists also use other sources of information, including
public opinion surveys, recorded observations of behaviour, and statistics from
government agencies.
Many social psychologists teach and conduct research at colleges and
universities. Others work for government agencies, businesses, or other
organisations. They may help plan personnel programs or measure the potential
sale of new products.
The first textbooks on social psychology were published in the early 1900’s.
Modern social psychology owes much to the behavioural psychologists of
the 1930’s, who called for the scientific study of observable behaviour. Today,
social psychology continues to stress the precise measurement of people’s
actions.
Another major influence on social psychology was the work of George
Herbert Mead and Kurt Lewin. Mead, an American psychologist and philosopher,
argued that people’s ideas about themselves are developed through social contact.
Lewin, a German-born psychologist, investigated how individuals in groups
are affected by other members. Both Mead and Lewin claimed that behaviour
depends primarily on how people interpret the social world. The work of these
early researchers continues to influence social psychologists who study people’s
perception of themselves and others.
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