PS4047: Describe each of these approaches, compare and contrast them, and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages: Social Psychology 2 Essay, UOL, Ireland

Section A:

1. In this module we have compared two meta-theories for understanding social psychological phenomena: individualism and interactionism. Using examples, describe each of these approaches, compare and contrast them, and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

2. Describe Solomon Asch’s conformity studies in detail and critically contrast the individualistic interpretation with more interactionist interpretations. Apply these different interpretations to a real-life example, such as the US Capitol Riots of 2021, to show the usefulness of the different perspectives.

Section B:

3. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, critically discuss how individualistic approaches to conceptualizing health behavior differ from dynamic and interactionist approaches, and what these approaches have to offer in understanding how to address the crisis.

4. High-level social identity transforms low-level experience, and strategic behavior can transform identity. Using the climate crisis as an example, critically discuss how conventional individualistic models and dynamic interactionist models of social psychology understand this problem differently, and what these approaches have to offer in understanding how to address the crisis.