Since the beginning of humanity, people have attempted to understand behavior. Rather, it is a mother trying to understand her son's adamant dislike of broccoli, or a psychologist trying to understand criminal behavior, the “why” has always been a question that has been explored. Psychology, or the study of “why,” has attempted to answer these questions for centuries. Although many answers exist (reflected in the number of psychology schools), social psychology attempts to explain the environmental factors that lead to a person's behavior. By definition, social psychology is “the study of how individual personality, attitudes, motivations, and behavior influence and are influenced by social groups” (Merriam-Webster, 2013). This school of psychology first explores the components that influence emotions, thoughts, beliefs, intentions and goals, then explores how this affects a person's behavior, thus exploring the correlation between the components and behavior. Simply put, social psychology looks at the experiences you have with other people and how they influence what you do. Social psychology, like all forms of psychology, has a short history, however its historical past is long. Although modern social psychology emerged in the 20th century, its original ideas were heavily influenced by early philosophical concepts (McLeod, 2007). Aristotle, who some consider the first social psychologist, believed that “the nature of society…is based on the nature of man” (Gilbert, Fiske, & Gardener, 2003). He argued that to understand human behavior one must be familiar with social environments and the impact they have on an individual. He also believed that the way individuals interpreted circumstances in...... middle of paper ......sty Press.Greenwood, J. (2003). Wundt, Völkerpsychologie and experimental social psychology. Hist Psychol, 77-88. Manstead, A., & Hewstone, M. (1996). Blackwell's Handbook of Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.McLeod, S. (2007). Social psychology. Retrieved from Simply Psychology: http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.htmlMerriam-Webster. (2013). Social psychology. Retrieved from Merriam Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20psychologySharma, R., & Sharma, R. (1997). Social psychology (Vol.1). Vishal Enclave: Atlantic Publisher and distributors. Wikipedia. (November 20, 2013). Cognitive dissonance. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonanceWikipedia. (2013). List of theories of social psychology. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_psychology_theories