Social psychology studies the life of human society, as well as how a group of people can be exposed to certain emotional phenomena. This science tries to imagine society as a separate isolated organism, it is at the intersection of sociology and psychology, and the problems of social psychology also lie in the space between these two disciplines.
Pre-scientific stage
Despite the fact that people at the dawn of civilization did not realize themselves as a society, some phenomena and traditions from their lives can be attributed to the subject studied by social psychology, this is an absolutely indisputable fact. For example, the various rituals and ceremonies, as well as the social traditions that governed the stability and integrity of the tribe, are the subject of study for social psychology.
Philosophical stage
Philosophers have posed questions from the field of social psychology since ancient times, and they do not stop doing this today. For example, Aristotle and Plato, recognized philosophers of antiquity, considered socio-psychological problems from the point of view of philosophy. Then Rousseau, Hegel, and later Hobbes and Locke got down to business. Philosophers are gradually coming to the conclusion that knowledge about social psychology is divided into theoretical and applied parts.
Phenomenological stage
This is the stage immediately before which social psychology was recognized as a separate science. In many ways, its spread was influenced by criminology, urban development and an increase in the urban population. The accumulated information about the history and way of life of different peoples of the past helped to determine the important points that later formed the basis of the new science. Scientists at that time were engaged in exactly what they compared and analyzed the available materials, they did not set up experiments and did not conduct research. You can also identify a class of psychological factors: the collective spirit, crowd behavior, imitation of the leader, and others.
Formation of social psychology
In the middle of the 19th century, social psychology was singled out among other sciences, at the same time the main problems that it studies were identified. At this time, most of the works were created and published, which today express the prevailing point of view in this science on many topics.
Division into schools and solving practical problems
This stage began in the 40s of the XX century and continues to the present day. The fundamental theory has been sufficiently developed, more and more people are inclined towards practical research, focusing on the applied aspects of social psychology. Particular attention is paid to "small theories", that is, the psychology of the behavior of individual groups. For example, this is the psychology of advertising or business, the psychology of behavior of a children's group, and others.
