Interaction between person and situation drive social behavior

The second common assumption shared among the competing social psychology perspectives is that the continual interaction between person and situation drives social behavior, as individual motivations interact with events. The person carries unique characteristics into social situations. A mix of biological, psychological, and cognitive functions make up individual characteristics (Kenrick, Neuberg, & Cialdini, 2007). Individual attitudes and dispositions also shape behavior. Temporary and fluctuating states like mood and self-perception also influence behavior. One of the big social psychology ideas that fall under this goal is that people create their social identity. Objective reality exists, but people perceive reality through the lens of personal values and beliefs (Hasotf & Cantril, 1954).

The situation is what happens outside the person. One of the big ideas of social psychology is that society shapes behaviors. Asserting that people are social animals, Aristotle observed that people speak and think in words learned from others. Cultures define situations, but both people and situations are malleable. People and contexts mutually shape the other by dynamically interacting over time.

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