Quelques leçons d'une histoire de la psychologie sociale/ Some teachings from the history of social psychology

Bibliographic Data

ID3137935
AuthorsErika Apfelbaum (corresponding author)
Year1993
Volume13
Issue1
Pages13-24
Publication date1993-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociétés contemporaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1150-1944 • E-ISSN: 1950-6899
PublisherPERSEE Program (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3406/socco.1993.1096
OpenAlexW2061406567
LanguageEN
Citations received4

ERIKA APFELBAUM SOME TEACHINGS FROM THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Thepaperexploresthe following questions : Whileremainingdedicatedadvocates of the social psychological enterprise, why do we simultaneously have the urge to look back at our past and reflect on the conditions of the construction and elaboration of knowledge in social psychology ? How, and with what effects, do we construct this history ? And what exactly is at stake, both for us and for the discipline, when we are "doing history" ? The paper first examines the "Golden Age" (1945-1970), when social psychologists were primarily concerned with defining their different fields and paradigms, building their theories, and verifying hypotheses. During this period, there was little time and/or need for reflexive thoughts on our own research practice. What was known of our roots was limited to Allport's (1954 ; 1968) "official" history, which was designed to solidify a shared way of thinking within a scientific community and to serve as a warrantor and as a place of memory. This can be contrasted with a second type of historical representation which demonstrates a more critical aim and starts by questioning the underlying fundamental fictions of a discipline. The paper explores the 1970s - the beginning of an era of doubts, critique and crisis - during which the constituted knowledge bases started to be undermined. Such critical history, it is suggested, has a heuristic function for social psychology, and examples are given. Finally, the question is raised about howtoconducthistorical inquiry, especially in aproblematic framework; the development of social psychology in France is cited as an example

Aesthetics · Epistemology · History of psychology · Humanities · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Reflexivity · Social representation · Social science · Sociology · Theoretical psychology · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Education, sociology, and vocational training · Law · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Social Psychology