Social Psychology and the Influence of Floyd Allport

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Floyd Allport

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY DEFINED The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

THEORIES Theories of social psychology are often grouped into five main categories: The behaviour of others Cognitive processes Ecological variables Cultural and biological processes, and Personality 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY As well as controlled experiments, social psychologists conduct studies in more naturalistic settings outside the laboratory. Other methods for study available for social psychology include observations of behaviour made in field studies, the use of case studies, the use of surveys, and the use of archival data.

HISTORY Social psychology grew out of the German discipline of folk psychology , in the mid 1800s which studied the collective, or group, mind. Meaning a societal way of thinking and behaving. William McDougall, 1908. McDougall sparked a debate about the role of instincts in social life, as well as, what constituted the group mind .

WHO IS FLOYD ALLPORT? In 1924 Allport wrote a book that attacked McDougall s view of the origins of social psychology, and argued for social psychology to be concerned with the scientific study of individual human behaviour. He advocated the use of a behaviourist approach to the study of social psychology. This was the start of experimental social psychology as we currently know it.

ALLPORT Floyd Allport argued that social behaviour is derived from the behaviour and actions of others, and introduced such ideas as social conformity, the facial expression of emotions and the influence of an audience on individual behaviour. The American psychologist, is often considered the father of social psychology due to his contribution to the field of study.

ALLPORT After the publication of Allport s book, social psychology was a recognised area of study and important new theoretical developments including the study of: Social norms, and Conformity Social psychology expanded rapidly in the 1950s, when social psychologists started looking at groups and group membership.

OVERALL He played a key role in bringing about the acceptance of social psychology as a legitimate field of behavioural science. His book, Social Psychology (1924), impacted all future writings in the field. Allport believed that: personality may be defined as the individual's characteristic reactions to social stimuli, and the quality of his adaptation to the social features of his environment .

He found that When individuals work side-by-side in groups rather then in isolation, speed and quantity of work increase, especially when the task involves an overt, physical reaction rather then simply an intellectual response. The extent of any increase varies by age, ability, and personality of the subjects and is generally greatest for the least able and least for the most able. Quality of work, on the other hand, generally shows no average improvement and in some tasks (e.g., reasoning) may even decline.