History of Social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific attempt to understand and explain how the thought, feeling and behaviour of individuals are influenced by actual, imagined or implied presence of others.

Definition

Formation of theories of social psychology goes way back to the times of Aristotle where he believed that humans are naturally social beings which prompts them to live together.

The Beginning

The earliest text on social psychology is McDougall’s “An Introduction to Social Psychology” published in 1908.

Earliest Writing

It had chapters on sentiment, emotions, morality, etc. which were relevant at those times.

Conditions such as social anxiety, performance pressure or lack of social skills can be worked on in therapy

Social Troubles

Scientists began systematic experiments of social psychology around the 1900s.

Formal Experiments

There on, various experiments were conducted by Triplett, Lewin,  Festinger and others.

Dr. Lewin pioneered the use of scientific methods and experimentation on social behaviour.

Kurt Lewin

He expanded Gestalt psychology and applied the theories on human behaviour