social psychology is basic science or an applied science

Is social psychology a basic science or an applied science?

A science is called basic science only when it has an observable subject and some principles or doctrines to explain that subject. It has been said earlier that the behavior of individuals in society is the subject of social psychology. Attitudes, mutual attraction, leadership, conformity, etc. are all social behaviors that can be observed and measured. Social psychologists have been thinking and experimenting since ancient times to explain these behaviors and as a result we have many theories and theories about interpersonal or social behavior. For example, psychologists have various theories about why attitudes change and are constantly being tested. From these experiments or research works we have derived several principles about the various influencing factors of attitudes and how they operate.

Social psychologists are particularly dependent on data from general psychology in providing explanations of social behavior. For example, to examine interpersonal or interpersonal behavior, social psychologists need to know basic behaviors such as the individual’s needs, perceptions, thinking, and learning. These principles of behavior help to understand the social behavior of individuals.

Social psychologists apply basic principles of behavior derived from the laboratory meaningfully to social behavior. Thus many principles and theories related to the explanation and prediction of various social behaviors have established social psychology as a fundamental science.

A science can be called applied science only when that science plays an effective role in practical life. From that point of view, to judge whether social psychology falls in the level of applied science or not, it is necessary to analyze how effective social psychology is in various problems of social life. There are various problems in our social life like crime, prejudice, inter-party conflict, divorce etc. Different thinkers and social reformers suggest different ways to solve these problems. These approaches are guided by their respective field of specialization. Social psychologists can also play a special role in this regard. As he is adept at analyzing social behavior, his job is to analyze social problems, identify their causes, and make specific recommendations about the behavior of those affected by the problem. Let’s take a social prejudice for example. Here the work of the social psychologist will be to find out why people are prejudiced, to point out the reasons for the type and change of these prejudices and on the basis of that to suggest effective ways of changing people’s behavior to eliminate prejudices. One thing to remember here is that a social problem cannot be solved by a single effort of a social psychologist. With individuals at different levels of society such as leaders, administrators, legislative bodies, etc., the social psychologist can also make a special contribution by playing his own role in solving the overall problem with his own expertise.

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Thus, social psychologists continue to participate in solving social problems such as international relations, economic conflict, ethnic hatred etc. As an applied scientist, the social psychologist has to thoroughly analyze the cause of any problem, identify its correct components and recommend specific remedial measures.

is A point to note here is that this approach is not the end of the work of the applied social psychologist. Subsequently, the approach data helps him to better evaluate the proposed approach, and in the light of that information, he can change the technique or invent new techniques at different stages as needed.

So it appears that social psychology is not only a basic science but also has an extensive applied side which is no less important. In short, social psychology as a science is both basic and applied.

Some reference of book where we collect the information 

Midwest and its Children The Prychological Ecology of an American Tenen Evanston, III. Row Peterson, 1954

Social Psychological Research in Bangladesh. An unpublished Paper, 2003.

Bangladesh In G. Shouksmith & Ea Shouksmith (Eds). Psychology the Pacific 1990, Bangkok UNESCO,P. 87-136

Bangladesh Prychological Abstract CPSRT. Dhaka: 1990.