History of Social Psychology

Social psychology is about understanding individual behavior in a

social context.

Baron, Byrne & Suls (1989) define social psychology as ....

'the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of

individual behavior in social situations' (p. 6).

It therefore looks at human behavior as influenced by other people and

the social context in which this occurs.

Social psychologists therefore deal with the factors that lead us to

behave in a given way in the presence of others, and look at the

conditions under which certain behavior/actions and feelings occur.

Social psychology is to do with the way these feelings, thoughts, beliefs,

intentions and goals are constructed and how such psychological factors,

in turn, influence our interactions with others.

Topics examined in social psychology include: the self concept, social

cognition, attribution theory, social influence, group processes, prejudice

and discrimination, interpersonal processes,

aggression, attitudes and stereotypes.

History of Social Psychology

Early Influences

Aristotle believed that humans were naturally sociable, a necessity

which allows us to live together (an individual centered approach),

whilst Plato felt that the state controlled the individual and encouraged

social responsibility through social context (a socio-centered approach).

Hegel (1770–1831) introduced the concept that society has inevitable

links with the development of the social mind. This led to the idea of a

group mind, important in the study of social psychology.

Lazarus & Steinthal wrote about Anglo-European influences in 1860.

“Volkerpsychologie” emerged, which focused on the idea of a collective

mind. It emphasized the notion that personality develops because of

cultural and community influences, especially through language, which

is both a social product of the community as well as a means of

encouraging particular social thought in the individual. Therefore Wundt

(1900–1920) encouraged the methodological study of language and its

influence on the social being.

Early Texts

Texts focusing on social psychology first emerged at the start of the 20th

century. The first notable book in English was published by McDougall

in 1908 (An Introduction to Social Psychology), which included

chapters on emotion and sentiment, morality, character and religion,

quite different to those incorporated in the field today.

He believed that social behavior was innate/instinctive and therefore

individual, hence his choice of topics.  This belief is not the principle

upheld in modern social psychology, however.

Allport’s work (1924) underpins current thinking to a greater degree, as

he acknowledged that social behavior results from interactions between

people.  He also took a methodological approach, discussing actual

research and emphasizing that the field was one of a “science … which

studies the behavior of the individual in so far as his behavior stimulates

other individuals, or is itself a reaction to this behavior” (1942: p. 12). 

His book also dealt with topics still evident today, such as emotion,

conformity and the effects of an audience on others.

Murchison (1935) published The first handbook on social psychology

was published by Murchison in 1935.  Murphy & Murphy (1931/37)

produced a book summarizing the findings of 1,000 studies in social

psychology.  A text by Klineberg (1940) looked at the interaction

between social context and personality development by the 1950s a

number of texts were available on the subject.

Journal Development

• 1950s – Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology

• 1963 – Journal of Personality, British Journal of Social and Clinical

Psychology

• 1965 – Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of

Experimental Social Psychology

• 1971 – Journal of Applied Social Psychology, European Journal of

Social Psychology

• 1975 – Social Psychology Quarterly, Personality and Social

Psychology Bulletin

• 1982 – Social Cognition

• 1984 – Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Early Experiments

There is some disagreement about the first true experiment, but the

following are certainly among some of the most important. Triplett

(1898) applied the experimental method to investigate the performance

of cyclists and schoolchildren on how the presence of others influences

overall performance – thus how individual’s are affected and behave in

the social context.

By 1935 the study of social norms had developed, looking at how

individuals behave according to the rules of society. This was conducted

by Sherif (1935).

Lewin et al. then began experimental research into leadership and group

processes by 1939, looking at effective work ethics under different styles

of leadership.

Later Developments

Much of the key research in social psychology developed following

World War II, when people became interested in the behavior of

individuals when grouped together and in social situations. Key studies

were carried out in several areas.

Some studies focused on how attitudes are formed, changed by the

social context and measured to ascertain whether change has occurred. 

Amongst some of the most famous work in social psychology is that

on obedience conducted by Milgram in his “electric shock” study, which

looked at the role an authority figure plays in shaping behavior. 

Similarly, Zimbardo’s prison simulation notably

demonstrated conformity to given roles in the social world.

Wider topics then began to emerge, such as social perception,

aggression, relationships, decision making, pro social behavior and

attribution, many of which are central to today’s topics and will be

discussed throughout this website.

Thus the growth years of social psychology occurred during the decades

following the 1940s.

Social Psychology Key Figures

Allport (1920) – Social Facilitation

Allport introduced the notion that the presence of others (the social

group) can facilitate certain behavior.

It was found that an audience would improve an actors’ performance in

well learned/easy tasks, but leads to a decrease in performance on newly

learned/difficult tasks due to social inhibition.

Bandura (1963) Social Learning Theory

Bandura introduced the notion that behavior in the social world could be

modeled. Three groups of children watched a video where an adult was

aggressive towards a ‘bobo doll’, and the adult was either just seen to be

doing this, was rewarded by another adult for their behavior or were

punished for it.

Children who had seen the adult rewarded were found to be more likely

to copy such behavior.

Festinger (1950) –  Cognitive Dissonance

Festinger, Schacter and Black brought the idea that when we hold

beliefs, attitudes or cognitions which are different, then we experience

dissonance – this is an inconsistency that causes discomfort.

We are motivated to reduce this by either changing one of our thoughts,

beliefs or attitudes or selectively attending to information which

supports one of our beliefs and ignores the other (selective exposure

hypothesis).

Dissonance occurs when there are difficult choices or decisions, or when

people participate in behavior that is contrary to their attitude.

Dissonance is thus brought about by effort justification (when aiming to

reach a modest goal), induced compliance (when people are forced to

comply contrary to their attitude) and free choice (when weighing up

decisions).

Tajfel (1971) –  Social Identity Theory

When divided into artificial (minimal) groups, prejudice results simply

from the awareness that there is an “out-group” (the other group).

When the boys were asked to allocate points to others (which might be

converted into rewards) who were either part of their own group or the

out-group, they displayed a strong in-group preference. That is, they

allocated more points on the set task to boys who they believed to be in

the same group as themselves.

This can be accounted for by Tajfel & Turner’s social identity theory,

which states that individuals need to maintain a positive sense of

personal and social identity: this is partly achieved by emphasizing the

desirability of one’s own group, focusing on distinctions between other

“lesser” groups.

Weiner (1986) – Attribution theory

Weiner was interested in the attributions made for experiences of

success and failure and introduced the idea that we look for explanations

of behavior in the social world.

He believed that these were made based on three areas: locus, which

could be internal or external; stability, which is whether the cause is

stable or changes over time: and controllability.

Milgram (1963) – Shock Experiment

Participants were told that they were taking part in a study on learning,

but always acted as the teacher when they were then responsible for

going over paired associate learning tasks.

When the learner (a stooge) got the answer wrong, they were told by a

scientist that they had to deliver an electric shock. This did not actually

happen, although the participant was unaware of this as they had

themselves a sample (real!) shock at the start of the experiment.

They were encouraged to increase the voltage given after each incorrect

answer up to a maximum voltage, and it was found that all participants

gave shocks up to 300v, with 65 per cent reaching the highest level of

450v.

It seems that obedience is most likely to occur in an unfamiliar

environment and in the presence of an authority figure, especially when

covert pressure is put upon people to obey. It is also possible that it

occurs because the participant felt that someone other than themselves

was responsible for their actions.

Haney, Banks, Zimbardo (1973) – Stanford Prison Experiment

Volunteers took part in a simulation where they were randomly assigned

the role of a prisoner or guard and taken to a converted university

basement resembling a prison environment. There was some basic loss

of rights for the prisoners, who were unexpectedly arrested, given a

uniform and an identification number (they were therefore

deindividuated).

The study showed that conformity to social roles occurred as part of the

social interaction, as both groups displayed more negative emotions and

hostility and dehumanization became apparent. Prisoners became

passive, whilst the guards assumed an active, brutal and dominant role.

Although normative and informational social influence had a role to play

here, deindividuation/the loss of a sense of identity seemed most likely

to lead to conformity.

Both this and Milgram’s study introduced the notion of social influence,

and the ways in which this could be observed/tested.

Summary

Key Features

Objective Measurement

Nurture
Nomothetic

Basic Assumptions

All behavior occurs in a social context, even when nobody else is

physically present.

A major influence on people's behavior, thought processes and emotions

are other people and the society they have created.

Strengths

Social psychology provides clear predictions. This means that

explanations can be scientifically tested and support with evidence.

Emphasizes objective measurement

Many experiments to support theories

Methodology / Studies
Experimental MethodQuestionnairesMilgamStanford Prison Experiment

Areas of Application

Social Influence: ConformitySocial Influence: Obedience Self-concept

Discrimination

Aggression

Relationships

Limitations

Underestimates individual differences

Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone)

Provides only 'superficial snapshots of social processes' (Hayes, 1995)

Self Concept

The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how

someone thinks about, evaluates or perceives themselves. To be

aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself.

Baumeister (1999) provides the following self-concept

definition:

"The individual's belief about himself or herself, including

the person's attributes and who and what the self is".

The self-concept is an important term for both social and

humanistic psychology. Lewis (1990) suggests that development

of a concept of self has two aspects:

(1) The Existential Self This is 'the most basic part of the self-

scheme or self-concept; the sense of being separate and distinct

from others and the awareness of the constancy of the self' (Bee,

1992).

The child realizes that they exist as a separate entity from others and that

they continue to exist over time and space.

According to Lewis awareness of the existential self begins as young as

two to three months old and arises in part due to the relation the child

has with the world. For example, the child smiles and someone smiles

back, or the child touches a mobile and sees it move.

(2) The Categorical Self

Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being,

the child next becomes aware that he or she is also an object in the

world. Just as other objects including people have properties that can be

experienced (big, small, red, smooth and so on) so the child is becoming
aware of him or her self as an object which can be experienced and

which has properties.

The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill.

Two of the first categories to be applied are age (“I am 3”) and gender

(“I am a girl”).

In early childhood. The categories children apply to themselves are very

concrete (e.g., hair color, height and favorite things). Later, self-

description also begins to include reference to internal psychological

traits, comparative evaluations and to how others see them.

Carl Rogers (1959) believes that the self-concept has three different

components:

• The view you have of yourself (self-image)

• How much value you place on yourself (self-esteem or self-worth)

• What you wish you were really like (ideal-self)

Self-image (how you see yourself)

 This does not necessarily have to reflect reality. Indeed a person

with anorexia who is thin may have a self image in which the person

believes they are fat. A person's self image is affected by many factors,

such as parental influences, friends, the media etc.

Kuhn (1960) investigated the self-image by using The Twenty

Statements Test.

He asked people to answer the question 'Who am I?' in 20 different

ways. He found that the responses could be divided into two major

groups. These were social roles (external or objective aspects of oneself

such as son, teacher, friend) and personality traits (internal or affective

aspects of oneself such as gregarious, impatient, humorous).

The list of answers to the question “Who Am I?” probably include

examples of each of the following four types of responses:

1) Physical Description: I’m tall, have blue eyes...etc.

2) Social Roles: We are all social beings whose behavior is shaped to

some extent by the roles we play. Such roles as student, housewife, or

member of the football team not only help others to recognize us but

also help us to know what is expected of us in various situations.

3) Personal Traits: These are the third dimension of our self-

descriptions. “I’m impulsive...I’m generous...I tend to worry a lot”...etc.

4) Existential Statements (abstract ones): These can range from "I’m a

child of the universe" to "I’m a human being" to "I’m a spiritual

being"...etc.

Typically young people describe themselves more in terms of personal

traits, whereas older people feel defined to a greater extent by their

social role

Self-esteem (the extent to which you value yourself)

Self-esteem (also known as self-worth) refers to the extent to which we

like accept or approve of ourselves, or how much we value ourselves.

Self-esteem always involves a degree of evaluation and we may have

either a positive or a negative view of ourselves.

High self-esteem (we have a positive view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to

 Confidence in our own abilities

 Self-acceptance

 Not worrying about what others think

 Optimism

Low self-esteem (we have a negative view of ourselves)

This tends to lead to

 Lack of confidence

 Want to be/look like someone else

 Always worrying what others might think

 Pessimism

There are several ways of measuring self-esteem. For example, Harrill

Self Esteem Inventory is a questionnaire comprising 15 statements about

a range of interest. Another example is the Thematic Apperception

Test (TAT), which is a neutral cartoon given to the participant who then

has to devise a story about what's going on.