Instruction
1. Social psychology differs from other fields of psychology because other fields of psychology focuses on one individual and the aspects of their life while social psychology focuses on the influences that others have on an individual.
Social psychology appears in the criminal justice system by studying an offenders actions and feelings and the influences he/she has by his/her surroundings. Counselors and case mangers can use this when an offender is in a housing unit. For example, if a male inmate would get into a fight they can look back at who he hung out with, who his cell mate is, gang involvement, and the harshness of the fight he committed while in prison. Social psychology is important to consider when working with offenders because it deals with how people act or behave according to their social interactions.
There are three different aspects that contribute to the concept of self, self-image, self-esteem or self-worth, and ideal self. Self-image is how you view yourself, Self-esteem or self-worth is how much value you place on yourself, and ideal-self is what you wish you were really like. They intertwine by making you the person you are, how you feel about yourself, and what you want to be. 2. Social psychology differs from other forms of psychology as it focuses on how the social environment effect the individual's psychology. Although some people think social psychology is more or less "people watching" it is very scientific in nature. In social psychology, how the outside world views that specific person due to age, race, gender, sexual preference, political views and other aspects of their being can influence how that person reacts to these judgements in different ways. Facing discrimination or even the thought that they will be discriminated against because of who they are is very harmful to someone's self esteem and their well being. This is especially true of disadvantaged groups compared to advantaged groups.
Social psychology appears in the criminal justice system as the lawyer of the defendant might show the court why the person did certain things that were bad but might have seemed like the only solution given that person's social environment and upbringing. Social psychology is very important when working with offenders as to try to get them to see the social world as a more accepting place so they can learn to thrive instead of just survive. Understanding someone's past and how they view the social world is very important so you can work with offenders to show them different ways to view the world and open up exciting possibilities in their life.
There are many aspects that contribute to the concept of self. Those would be certain traits that you think you have, those characteristics that you lack or excel at and the values that you hold. They can all be put into 3 categories that encompass your physical self, your intellectual self and your spiritual self. All of these aspects intertwine to create your own unique self that is at some levels different then anyone else.