One of the most interesting and fundamental concepts I have learned this semester is the role of social psychology. Specifically, I will remember the following three or four concepts: the fundamental attribution error, the person versus situation debate, and the role of conformity and obedience. Each of the these concepts has important implications on people's actions and teaches a lesson on the powerful effects of social situations, and direct and indirect social influences. The person versus situation debate investigates whether people behave a certain way as a result of their personality, or as a result of the situation in which they find themselves, while the fundamental attribution error is defined, by the book, as the tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional influences on other people's behavior. The roles of conformity and obedience investigate how other people's actions, or other's authoritative roles, influence how we act. 
These are important concepts for me because a lot of my work at church, especially in the service, involves working with other people and understanding their actions. My roommates, my mentors, and I have had many conversations about people as social beings because I tend to forget that people are more than just their actions; a person's thoughts, values, opinions, morals, etcetera may be poorly represented in a solution as a result of these social influences. This plays a fundamental role when one attempts to be a leader or attempts to do service, especially within a church. I think that another thing I can, and will, take away from psychology is the power of the fundamental attribution error. Many times I excuse/justify my actions, while I place judgment on someone else for their similar or identical actions. For example, there is a specific group of people from my church who is seen as "wild," so when I see them speeding on the highway, I attribute that to this trait and completely neglect the reasons that they might be rushing. I tend to do this a lot without even realizing it. One of the biggest things my church has always taught me as I was growing up was giving people the benefit of the doubt, and I think the ability to excuse and justify my own actions, as well as that of others, is a critical in my role as a leader and my work at church for the service. Sometimes, this just takes a little thinking outside of the box, and because I, as a cognitive miser attempt to use the least amount of effort, it's easier to just say "Oh well he is being rude because he's a rude person" versus "Well, maybe he's being a little snappy as a result of things going on, so I'll ask him about what's going on." 
The other concepts (the role of obedience and conformity) are important because, at times, I have to recognize that someone may have been influenced or pressured to do something. One of the mentors was talking to my friend and me, and he told us that we have to remember that there are disagreements as a result of different ideas/mentalities; he specifically told us to remember that just because a person acts a certain way doesn't mean they necessarily hold that belief or value, and because my church stresses the importance of morals, values, and ethics, it's important to remember to understand the person beyond their actions when working with them, leading them, or serving them. Sometimes, it's hard for me to understand this and I say "Well, I would never do that," but after having been taught the power of conformity and obedience, I see that, even in little things, I have, too, conformed and that I'm not above or more powerful than these direct and indirect influences. 
Remembering these things will help me develop better, and less judgmental relationships with people! In addition, sometimes it's better to, rather than change a person, change how we see them instead! As we defined our leadership philosophy in my Dean's Scholars class, I placed great emphasis on my relationships with others and how that helps one become an effective leader, and the first place I hope to implement these thoughts and these levels of understanding of others is at church and in my service, and I hope that that will make me a more effective and personable leader!
