The journalist Walter Lippmann introduced the notion of stereotypes in 1922 and described them as “pictures in our heads”. Current psychological theory conceptualizes those “pictures” as cognitive structures or schemas that represent widely shared beliefs about the defining characteristics of social groups (Operario & Fiske 2004). Any group might be subject to stereotypes, but the
Social learning theory – is one of the most popular explanatory perspectives in the marital violence literature. Often conceptualized as the ‘‘cycle of violence’’ or ‘‘intergenerational transmission theory’’ when applied to the family, the theory states that people model behavior that they have been exposed to as children. Violence is learned through role models provided by
The concept of social capital dates back more than 100 years and has intrigued academics, policymakers, and activists interested in understanding intergroup relations and social change in a variety of fields including communication, public health, sociology, and political science (Portes 1998). It has been seen as a promising way to examine how interaction and association
Interest in social support as an important determinant of people’s health stemmed from a number of influential papers published in the 1970s (e.g., Cobb 1976). These early writings suggested that people’s interpersonal relationships with members of their social network can reduce the negative impact of stress on their health. The specific mechanisms by which these
Social Sciences Careers Background Have you ever wondered what future generations will make of our culture? What do you think they’ll dig up on the archaeological digs of tomorrow? Old Beanie Babies? iMac computers? Volkswagen beetles? If you’ve got a bit of the social scientist in you, you may be intrigued by the bit of
Social Services Careers Background In the earliest civilizations, those in need were faced with prejudice and discrimination. Ancient civilizations believed that people with mental disorders were being penalized by the gods and punished or banished them from society. It wasn’t until 1597 that the Poor Laws were established in England to handle the needs of
The concept of social capital has been widely used in educational research. However, researchers have yet to come to an agreement over what constitutes social capital and what its effects are on educational and other social outcomes. There are at least two distinct theories of social capital commonly used by educational researchers. The first, by
Theories of human behavior differ in their conceptions of human nature and what they regard as the basic determinants and mechanisms governing self-development, adaptation, and change. Social cognitive theory is rooted in an agentic perspective. To be an agent is to influence one’s own functioning and events that affect one’s life. In this view people
The central idea of social comparison theory is that individuals often assess how well they are doing by comparing themselves with others around them. When Festinger (1954) originally developed the theory, he argued that individuals want an accurate assessment of their opinions and performance, and that in the absence of objective standards, they look to
Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner 1979) was originally developed to explain prejudice and discrimination, and the circumstances under which societies would move from relatively cooperative and harmonious arrangements to overt conflict. The theory has since expanded enormously, and has become the basis for a general social identity approach to social psychological and communicative phenomena.