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Social Psychology, Science, and History: So What?

University of California, Santa Cruz

Reacting to papers in a symposium stimulated by an exchange between Gergen (1973), who argued that social psychology is primarily an historical inquiry, and Schlenker (1974), who defended the traditional scientific view of the discipline, the present paper seeks to refocus attention on pragmatic issues facing the discipline. The pursuit of traditional physical science models in social psychology has not worked well, but social psychology has been much more successful in demonstration studies that result in sensitization to variables and relationships. Social psychology has taken a narrow view of science, and neglected significant opportunities that bring it closer to history. The conception of social psychology as history is developed as liberating, not prescriptive, for research in social psychology.

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