Those who only know of social psychology know not social psychology: A tribute to Gustav Jahoda’s historical approach

Abstract

This article examines Gustav Jahoda’s late work, focussing on his historical writings which have tended to be somewhat overlooked. In many respects this later work, which needs to be understood as a whole, parallels his earlier work into culture. In his later writings, Jahoda wrote about the history of social psychology but his history served a critical purpose: he was arguing that social psychology was essentially historical. If behaviour was primarily determined by culture then culture was itself historical and, in this regard, social psychological relations were, thus, historical. Because social psychologists need to think historically, as well as culturally, Jahoda considered that it was important that they should not be constrained by artificial disciplinary boundaries. Jahoda’s advocacy of non-disciplinary thinking was not confined to social psychologists. Just as social psychologists should think historically, so sometimes historians need to think social psychologically. As such, C.L.R. James’s famous cricketing motto can be adapted to fit Jahoda’s historical approach to social psychology.