Social Psychologist: Role And Functions

Psychology embraces different fields, therefore it has different specializations. We find, for example, the social psychologist, who devotes himself to the study of behaviors, feelings and thoughts associated with interactions between individuals.

Through its intervention, it contributes to improving people’s lives, thus promoting greater well-being. In this article we will focus on the different functions of the social psychologist and on the areas in which his work develops.

Activities of the social psychologist

1. Evaluation, planning and management

The social psychologist is responsible for carrying out an assessment of the environment on which he will intervene, including the people with whom he will work. In this sense:

• Establishes an evaluation objective according to the needs of the group.
• Enhance the skills of the group.
• Evaluate prevention and awareness programs.
• Review the resources available for intervention and set goals based on them.

In this way, he is able to identify the needs of the group or individual and set goals. It initiates projects to meet the needs identified and carries out evaluations to assess the real changes produced by the interventions activated.

In addition to this, it prepares the resources and directs the activities to be carried out. It can intervene on an individual or group level and follows the entire path aimed at achieving the set objectives.

2. Training

The social psychologist is also involved in training. Through psychoeducation, it provides the community or the individual with the various resources to deal with specific situations. In other words, it guides you in solving your own needs through teaching.

In this sense, whether it is a group or a person, we learn to manage emotions, thoughts and behaviors to achieve greater well-being. This improves the lives of the people you work with. Wonderful, isn’t it?

It is also his task to build social fabrics aimed at improving the well-being of the community through the implementation of inclusive projects, after due evaluation and having set goals.

3. Research

Research is another task of the social psychologist. The practitioner obtains new knowledge through the analysis of the social interaction of individuals and the community. To do this, study their behaviors, ideas, and emotions.

Social psychology research is an extremely broad field. For example, researchers Martínez-Tur, Peiró, Ramos and Tordera, in the article published in the International Journal of Social Psychology show the contributions of social psychology to user and consumer satisfaction.

Like this, there are hundreds of social psychology studies and among the most explored fields we have: the psychology of organizations, groups, health, learning, personality, warfare and trauma, etc.

4. The intervention of the social psychologist is essential

As we have seen, the social psychologist intervenes in different ways, which we summarize below:

• Social intervention . Centered on community participation through self-help groups, parenting courses, training workshops on specific skills, group psychotherapy, health promotion and prevention collectives, etc.

• Individual. Through psychotherapy or psychoeducation of the person to be integrated into the community.

• Familiar. Based on psychotherapy interventions and activities in the form of workshops.

• Mediation. Help the parties involved in a conflict reach a satisfactory agreement.

• Environmental. Through ecological models.

Before proceeding, the social psychologist conducts surveys, creates structured groups, assesses resources and needs, and employs different tools and techniques for the benefit of target groups (groups interested in one way or another by the intervention).

Areas of intervention of the social psychologist

The social psychologist can intervene in the following areas :

• Study, assessment and analysis of the needs of a group or community.
• Elaboration of indices and indicators of the aspects relating to interaction within a group.
• Detection of at-risk groups within a community.
• Planning of awareness campaigns.
• Analysis of the social networks of a group or community.
• Research on social behavior, attitudes and perceptions of a community or group.
• Planning of programs, projects and field work in a community or group.
• Design of social inclusion strategies.
• Offering psychosocial assessment tools.
• Cultural activities.
• Group psychotherapy.
• Simplification of resources.

The social psychologist can work in various fields, but although a degree in psychology is the basis of his training, a specialization is required for social intervention. This specialization allows the professional to develop specific skills and more in-depth knowledge.

It is therefore the most suitable professional to promote the well-being of groups and communities, but also of the context in which they are immersed. Through such interventions, the social psychologist initiates wonderful projects to create a better environment for the reference community.