Essay on History of Social Psychology

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Introduction

Social Psychology is the scientific study of understanding people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours in a social setting. The root of social psychology can be traced back to time when human beings started interacting with other .In a society, one’s behaviour and thoughts can be influenced by others functioning in it. The aim of social psychology is to understand such influences and the effects of such influences. The history of social psychology in India can be dated back to 1500 BC . India’s understanding of human beings and social interactions were influenced by religious scriptures,narratives,common sense conceptions, philosophical ideas of scholars and socio political events and movements. Religious texts like Rigveda , Manusmriti ,Mahabharata and Ramayana provide an insight into the socio-political and economical interactions of the earlier society . Classical Narratives like Panchatantra and Jatak Kathas used mythology and fantasy to show human interactions . The common sense wisdom included the rich insights of the society The Indian philosophy use to empathize on self development, morality and code of conduct . Dharma was the guide to social life while the western philosophers focussed on rationalism, existence, scepticism and materialism. There were several modifications to these ideas with the emergence of movements and reforms. Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda contributed new ideas to the society. Mahatma Gandhi’s understanding of human psyche and the concept of Ahimsa also became a part of Indian philosophy.

Social Psychology in India during Colonization era

The British Colonization brought a huge impact on the way individuals and communities in a society perceived themselves and others. It mainly involved asserting superiority and viewing themselves or others inferior. The class divide in the society was more evident during this time. The colonizers were viewed as superiors and even as models . Ideas were often modelled after the west as they were the major contributors to the field of Psychology then.

India’s first department of Psychology was established in 1916 in Calcutta University. The second department was established at Mysore University and third at Patna University. In 1924,the Indian Psychological Association was formed and the first Psychology Journal, the Indian Journal of Psychology ,was published. The 1920s witnessed more research and the first textbook in social psychology by Indian psychologists (R.K.Mukherjee & Sengupta,1928). The experimental investigations were modelled on the basis of works done by the west ,for e.g.: The study of group effects and performance (Sengupta & Singh) was based on experiments carried out by Allport et al. Other prominent works included studies on catastrophic situations and rumours. Allport claimed that French Philosopher August Comte should be credited for the emergence of Social Psychology . Comte coined the term la- moral ,a science of sociology with biology .It incorporated ideas about culture and individual interactions in the society .This was later criticized for its struggle to find an identity between sociology and biology.

Social Psychology in India during Post Independence era

The Post World War Two era psychologists researched on group morale, persuasive communication and prejudice. 1950’s was marked by increase in the influence of Gestalt school of Psychology. The works of Kurt Lewin,Muzaffer Sheriff and Solomon Asch incorporated Gestalt school into Social Psychology. Classical experiments like conformity, obedience and theories like cognitive dissonance were developed during this era. By mid 1960s ,it was noticed that attitude does not predict behaviour, which in turn led to the decline of attitude based research. In India, Post Independence saw growth of social psychology. The national concern focused on rebuilding and planning a new India. This influenced the field of Indian social psychology to research on development. Social psychologists like D.Sinha(1966,1983) urged other psychologists to focus on social change and development.

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) was established in 1969.It provided support for training and publications in psychology and other scientific disciplines. The first survey had a single chapter in Social Psychology (Rath,1972) . The second survey(Pareek,1980,1981) included various dimensions and aspects of social behaviour such as poverty, environmental issues, inequality, political processes and dynamics of social change. The further surveys expanded the field of research and included topics like social cognition, social influences, intergroup relations, social tensions ,topics on health ,social disadvantages etc. Indian institutes in 70’s and 80’s provided training programmes and MPhil in psychology. There was a significant growth in basic and applied psychology research.

Seminars were conducted to discuss the social problems and solutions. Post Independence also saw problems like communal riots following the partition. This provided a rich source for studying identity ,stereotypes and prejudice. The caste system in India was another unique source for understanding prejudice. Social psychology researchers also studied national as well intergroup conflicts. Motivation and achievement was another popular research topic. It was found that the root cause of underdevelopment in India was related to low need for achievement (McClelland, 1961). Poverty became important research area with government policies like Garibi Hatao in the forefront. It raised issues of justice and inequality. Such inequalities are due to lack of limited resources. Limited resources in a society affects the way people interact as one who engage in altruism and sometimes darker sides like manipulative behaviours .Environment and health was also studied during the era. Health research incorporated yoga and Ayurveda. It mainly studied how one’s mind affects physical health .

Social Psychology in the current era

Indian psychologists in the previous era faced the problem of identity while researching as majority of the works were modelled after works of western researchers . Many of the early Indian psychologists focused only on conceptual level of understanding. Today’s research has an identity of it’s own as there is more focus on the Indian perspective and incorporation of different cultures. It is now more popular and productive in the country with various social situations becoming the new normal. Psychology researchers find Social Psychology as more affordable and less sophisticated compared to experimental research.

The future of Social Psychology in India

Although social psychology as a field has grown over the years, it still needs some work. Several researchers have identified the flaws which are to be worked on while researching in the future. Proper representation of sample is still a problem in many current research works. The database should be expanded and more cultural aspects of the country should be included. Researchers should be also encouraged to make use of multiple perspectives.

Conclusion

The Three articles discussed the significance of Social Psychology in India through the history . Religious texts, narratives ,common sense ideas and other codes of conduct provided basic understanding of the human interactions in the earlier society. Colonization era reflected the perceived inferior of Indian researchers as most works were modelled after the west. The challenges followed by Independence and partition provided rich source of unique topics for research works. Indian researchers gradually expanded the scope of basic of applied research in the country with the need to focus on more questioning and solving of issues. Indian Social Psychology as a field has come far in terms of original ideas and achievements but the society which is gradually evolving which means the field of research should also evolve and grow.

References

Dalal, A. K., & Misra, G. (2002).Social psychology in India: Evolution and emerging trends.
In A.K. Dalal & G. Misra (Eds.), New directions in Indian psychology: Vol.1. Social psychology. Sage Publications India.
Pandey, J., & Singh, P. (2005).Social psychology in India: Social roots and development. International Journal of Psychology, 40(4).239253.https://doi.org/10.1080/00207590444000186
Verma, J. (2017, April 18-20). Social psychology scenario in India, importance of common sense understanding of social phenomenon in India and envisaging social representations theory in the coming times in India[Paper presentation]. European/International Joint Ph.D. in Social Representations and Communication 33rd International Lab Meeting, Rome-Italy

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