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'''Social psychology''' is a type of [[social science]] that is concerned with individuals' thoughts, feelings and behavior as they affect or are affected by other individuals.<ref>David G. Myers, McGraw Hill, 2002.</ref> Scholars in this [[interdisciplinarity|interdisciplinary]] area are typically either [[psychology|psychologists]] or [[sociology|sociologists]], though all social psychologists employ both the [[individual]] and the [[group (sociology)|group]] as their [[Unit of analysis|units of analysis]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=hrydA45eCk0C&q=social+psychology&dq=social+psychology&pgis=1 ''Social Psychology,''] David G. Myers, McGraw Hill, 1993. ISBN:0070442924.</ref>

Despite their similarity, psychological and sociological researchers tend to differ in their goals, approaches, methods, and terminology. They also favor separate [[academic journals]] and [[learned society|professional societies]]. The greatest period of collaboration between sociologists and psychologists was during the years immediately following World War II.<ref>Sewell, W. H. (1989). Some reflections on the golden age of interdisciplinary social psychology. ''Annual Review of Sociology'', Vol. 15.</ref> Although there has been increasing isolation and specialization in recent years, some degree of overlap and influence remains between the two disciplines.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Nvz5Y8e1N84C ''The Psychology of the Social,''] Uwe Flick, Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN:0521588510.</ref> 
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==Psychology==
:''Main article: [[Social psychology (psychology)]]''
Most social psychologists are trained within psychology. Their approach to the field focuses on the individual and attempts to explain how the [[thought]]s, [[feeling]]s, and [[behavior]]s of individuals are influenced by other people. Psychologically oriented researchers emphasize the immediate social situation and the [[social interaction|interaction]] between person and situation variables. Their research tends to be [[empirical]] and quantitative, and it is often centered around laboratory [[experiment]]s, but there are some computational modeling efforts in the field.<ref>Sun, R. (2008). The Cambridge Handbook of Computational Psychology. Cambridge University Press, New York. 2008 </ref>

Psychologists who study social psychology are interested in such topics as [[Attitude (psychology)|attitudes]], [[social cognition]], [[cognitive dissonance]], [[social influence]], and interpersonal behaviors such as [[altruism]], [[aggression]] and [[persecution]]. Three influential journals for the publication of research in this area are the ''[[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]]'', the ''[[Journal of Experimental Social Psychology]]'', and the ''[[Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin]]''. There are also many other general and specialized social psychology journals.

==Sociology==
:''Main article: [[Social psychology (sociology)]]''

Sociologists' work has a greater focus on the behavior of the [[group (sociology)|group]], and thus examines such phenomena as [[Symbolic interactonism|interactions]] and [[Social exchange theory|exchanges]] at the micro-level, [[group dynamics]] and [[group development]], and [[Crowd psychology|crowds]] at the [[macroscopic|macro]]-level. Sociologists are interested in the individual and group, but generally within the context of larger social structures and processes, such as social roles, race, class, gender, ethnicity, and socialization. They use a combination of qualitative research designs and quantitative methods, such as procedures for sampling and surveys.

Sociologists in this area are interested in a variety of demographic, social, and cultural phenomena. Some of their major research areas are social inequality, group dynamics, social change, socialization, social identity, and symbolic interactionism. The key sociological journal is ''Social Psychology Quarterly''.

==See also==
{{Portal|Sociology|Logo_sociology.svg}}
*[[List of social psychologists]]
*[[Social action]]
*[[Sociology]]
*[[Social neuroscience]]
*[[Structure and agency]]
*[[Symbolic interactionism]]
*[[Verstehen]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://dictionary-psychology.com/ Psychology dictionary]

[[Category:Social psychology]]