Author Question: A group of students is discussing whether same-sex marriage should be legal. The students begin the ... (Read 78 times)

burton19126 · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

A group of students is discussing whether same-sex marriage should be legal. The students begin the discussion with opinions that are somewhat in favor of same-sex marriage being legal. If group polarization occurs,

a. students will be more strongly supportive of same-sex marriage after the discussion.
b. students will be more strongly opposed to same-sex marriage after the discussion.
c. students' attitudes will not change as a result of the discussion.
d. a great deal of disagreement and conflict will occur during the discussion.

Question 2

Describe the current trends in social psychology today.

What will be an ideal response?

amanda_14 · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

a

Answer to Question 2

There are at least five identifiable trends in social psychology presently. First, there is a
move to integrate cognition (the cold side of the field) with emotion and motivation
(the hot side of the field) to promote better understanding of how these two sides
function together. Second, the role of genetics and the evolutionary perspectives has
increasing importance in the field. This is no doubt fueled by the development of
technologies that allow better study of the links between biological and social
processes. In fact, technology and its role in our lives represents a third trend in the
field. Technology has not only increased the ability of social psychologists to collaborate
more widely across the globe, but has also created new content areas of studydo
social processes operate similarly online as they do live? A fourth trend is influenced
by technological advancementthe elevation of the importance of understanding
culture in social processes. Being able to collaborate with others around the world has
heightened social psychologists' ability to engage in cross-cultural research. Finally,
there is an increasing move in the field toward interdisciplinary areas of study such as
embodied cognition or behavioral economics. These sorts of areas integrate previously
disparate fields into a more coherent picture of human social experience.