Introduction: social problems and human cognition and behaviour

Social psychology is a basic science aimed at understanding human social behaviour and the motivations, cognitions and emotions related to such behaviour. For example, social psychologists try to understand why people so easily give into social pressure, why people often seem insensitive to the needs of others, why people become aggressive, why people like each other or why people are unhappy even though they seem to have everything going for them. Social psychology tries to build knowledge primarily through laboratory experiments, and therefore theories and findings from social psychology may sometimes seem remote from the actual problems in society. However, many, if not most, societal problems have social-psychological aspects, that is, they are rooted in behaviour or human cognitions. For example, integration problems may result from conflicts between groups and the inherent human tendency to favour one's own group, and traffic accidents are to a large extent caused by unsafe driving styles and the unrealistic perception that one is a better driver than most others. Moreover, health problems are related to unhealthy eating habits and a sense of not being able to control one's appetite, and environmental problems result in part from growing consumption levels and a tendency to pay attention only to one's immediate interests. Consequently, solutions and prevention of such problems require changes in attitudes, values, behaviour and lifestyles (Zimbardo, 2002). Social psychologists can play an important role in this respect.