HISTORY OF

SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
There are 3 eras of Social Psychology

❖ The Early Years: Social Psychology Emerges

❖ Social Psychology’s Youth:1940s, 1950s and
1960s
❖ Maturing Field: 1970s, 1980 and 1990s
 The Early Years: Social Psychology Emerges

▪ 1908 and 1924: era during which social psychology

became an independent field.

▪ Important texts containing the word ‘ Social Psychology’

were published:
1 WILLIAM McDougall(1908)
His text was based largely on the
view that social behaviour stems
from ‘innate tendencies’ or
‘instincts’.
However, most psychologists
rejected the idea of fixed,
unchanging instincts as an
important cause of social
behaviour.
2 ALLPORT(1924)
He argued that social behaviour
stems from many different
factors, including the presence
of others and their specific
actions.
He emphasized the value of
experimentation and contained
discussions of actual research.
 The early years also included Research by 2 important
people:
1 MUZAFER SHERRIF (1935)
He studied the nature and impact of
social norms ( rules governing
behaviour).
He contributed to the basic insights
into our understanding of pressures
towards conformity.
2 KURT LEWIN
He carried out revealing research on
the nature of leadership and other
group processes.
His impact on social psychology was
profound as many of his students
were important contributors to the
field and became social psychologists.
 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY’s YOUTH:1940s, 1950s and
1960s
❑After a pause resulting from World War 2, social psychology
continued its growth.
❑Most important event: development of the “Theory of Cognitive
Dissonance” ( Festinger, 1957)
• Theory proposed that human beings dislike inconsistency or ambiguity and
strive to reduce it.
• It argues that people seek to eliminate inconsistency between various
attitudes they hold, or between their attitudes and behavior.
• Most important areas of research during this era were:

o Intrapersonal attraction and romantic love

o Impression formation
o Attribution
o Social perception
o Obedience, conformity, and compliance
o Human aggression
o Effects of the physical environment
 A Maturing Field: 1970s, 1980s and 1990s
• The most important areas of research during these years were:
1) Attribution: the process through which we seek to understand
the causes of others’ behavior.
2) Gender differences and Sex discrimination: investigating the
differences in the behaviors of men and women, the impact of
negative stereotypes.
3) Environmental psychology: investigations of the effect of
environmental noise, heat, crowding, and air quality, on social
behavior.
• Two larger scale trends tool shape during the
1980s:

➢Growing influence of a Cognitive Perspective

➢Growing influence on the Application of Social
Psychology
THANK YOU