Social Influences

Running Header: SOCIAL INFLUENCES PAPER

Social Influences Paper

Sandra Lattin

Angela Hamp

University of Phoenix

Social Influences Paper

1. Examine basic concepts of human interaction from a psychology perspective. In your examination, describe at least two examples of how human behavior changes based on social situations. In your description be sure to address the following:

a. Describe the specific behaviors. You have chosen two human behaviors: (a) people drinking alcohol to express their feelings or (b) only smoking marijuana at parties because they can't have fun there without it. b. Describe the context in which the behaviors occurred. The context might be a party or a bar or every day use to express feelings, depending on what situation you have in mind for people who drink to express their feelings. The latter context would mean that the person was probable dependent of alcohol e.g.

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alcoholic. Similarly, the marijuana user might be a recreational user to have fun when she or he goes out for entertainment, such as on the weekends, or a daily user, which the latter would mean that the person is addicted and would probably require professional intervention to stop using.

c. Analyze precursors and consequences of the behaviors in terms of social psychology concepts. Most social psychological concepts focus on the person and the situation. A few specific examples include self-esteem, self-concept, and social comparison that might apply to people who use alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism e.g., express example or to have fun. Self esteem is essentially what one person feels about him or her. This would include attitudes about their abilities, their emotions, their social status, and so on. In other words, people who need to drink to express their feelings often have lower self-esteem and do...