![]() Do opposites attract? Research findings answer “Probably not,†but they do confirm that birds of a feather tend to flock together (similarity is the basis for attraction and friendship). Further, it offers the possibility of new discoveries that challenge long-held beliefs. What fascinated me then—and still does—is the fact that social psychology uses scientific methods to investigate such topics as friendship formation, prejudice, sexual behavior, aggression, and attitude formation. ![]() Over the next few years, though, I slowly realized that my true interests, which focused mainly on interpersonal attraction, were in social psychology. This first attempt at research (and my first publication) should have provided a clue that my future would not be as a clinician, but I stuck to my original plan and earned a Ph.D. I found it both interesting and surprising that a student’s social life could be determined in part by an instructor’s seating chart. When seats are assigned randomly (or alphabetically), any two students who sit side-by-side are likely to become acquainted—and subsequently friends. I found that the primary variable was physical proximity and not race, religion, college major, or other seemingly important factors. My first research project dealt with the way in which friendships are formed in a college classroom. Like many psychology majors, I was attracted to the idea of becoming a clinical psychologist, but once I was a student, and began working on research, I found that my interests clearly involved social rather than clinical psychology. decided to pursue graduate studies in psychology. but two months before classes as medical school were to begin, my father had a heart attack and I had to change my plans. When we asked him to explain why he was attracted to social psychology in the first place, here’s how he replied: “When I was a child, I wanted to become a physician. This commitment to change, and to an optimistic view of human nature, is reflected in comments by Donn Byrne (a well known social psychologist and a former co-author of the first twelve editions of this textbook). The scope of social psychological research (and knowledge) has expanded rapidly in the past few years (even, in fact, since publication of the previous edition of this book), and our field, far from blocking or resisting the many change now occurring all over the world, continues to embrace it fully. ![]() On the contrary, it continues to be the vibrant, adaptable field it has always been and, we predict, always will be. We’re happy to report that as we move deeper into the 21st century, social psychology is in no danger of becoming obsolete or a barrier to continued social change. The central message for social psychology as a field, and for any book that seeks to represent it, is simple: Keep up with these social and technological changes or become irrelevant—or even worse—an obstacle to continued change. Further—and a key point we’ll emphasize throughout the book—these changes have important implications for the social side of life, and for social psychology, the branch of psychology that studies all aspects of our behavior with and toward others, our feelings and thoughts about them, and the relationships we develop with them. ![]() So the founders of Google, Facebook, Apple Computers, and many other high-tech companies have in fact attained their ambitious goals of changing how people live—all over the globe.Ĭlearly, then, the world—and the social world that is the primary focus of this book—have changed tremendously in recent years, perhaps more quickly and dramatically than at any time in the past. Probably you cannot, because this technology has become woven into the very fabric of our lives so that we take our electronic gadgets for granted and use them as if they are extensions of ourselves. In fact, just try to imagine life without your iPod, computer, wireless internet access, GPS in your car and on your phone, or the many forms of social media we use practically every day. And, as you know, these goals have indeed been met—to “google†something has become a verb in everyday language and Facebook use is almost as common as cell phone use. The goals stated in these quotations are truly impressive ones—producing basic changes in the ways people live, work, and relate to others—or, as Steve Jobs put it, in everything (the universe!). ![]()
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