Abstract
This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in
an exercise of reading and learning from each other’s work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great
importance for both disciplines. Social psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise
their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history
but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other hand historians can enhance their
analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can “test” these
tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions
to this special issue amply demonstrate, psychology’s “historical turn” has the potential to shed a new light on striking,
yet underexplored, similarities between contemporary public spheres and their pre-modern counterparts. This issue thereby
calls into question the dichotomy between traditional and de-traditionalized societies—a distinction that lies at the heart
of many social psychology accounts of the world we live in. The present editorial will introduce and consider this act of
bridging history and social psychology by focusing on three main questions: What is the bridge made of? How can the two disciplines
be bridged? and Why we cross this interdisciplinary bridge? In the end a reflection on the future of this collaboration will
be offered.
an exercise of reading and learning from each other’s work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great
importance for both disciplines. Social psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise
their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history
but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other hand historians can enhance their
analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can “test” these
tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions
to this special issue amply demonstrate, psychology’s “historical turn” has the potential to shed a new light on striking,
yet underexplored, similarities between contemporary public spheres and their pre-modern counterparts. This issue thereby
calls into question the dichotomy between traditional and de-traditionalized societies—a distinction that lies at the heart
of many social psychology accounts of the world we live in. The present editorial will introduce and consider this act of
bridging history and social psychology by focusing on three main questions: What is the bridge made of? How can the two disciplines
be bridged? and Why we cross this interdisciplinary bridge? In the end a reflection on the future of this collaboration will
be offered.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Regular Article
- Pages 1-9
- DOI 10.1007/s12124-012-9213-z
- Authors
- Vlad Glăveanu, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
- Koji Yamamoto, Department of History, King’s College London, London, UK
- Journal Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science
- Online ISSN 1936-3567
- Print ISSN 1932-4502