Social Psychology

In this evolutionary development plays an important role in the transmission or social heritage. The contributions of William James and Baldwin were developed further by Mead. Mead developed his social psychology from its conception of "gesture." In man's adaptation to its environment gestures communication plays a fundamental role. Wundt placed the sign in their social context and was this aspect of the work of Wundt that Mead took and developed. Mead's study of the social process in place and noted that it emerged the mind, self and society. The level of symbolic communication in humans through language is what allows the formation and development of the mind to Wundt language was the product of the mind, for Mead, the mind was the product of language. In the social process and through the interaction or communication comes the self, consciousness of self.

In the "conversation of gestures, interacting individuals infer the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others. Through this dynamic is the basis of language, each assumes the other's perspective and adopt the attitudes of others toward himself. In this assumption of roles, the person takes the role of "generalized other" and is the incorporation of these attitudes which is the "Me", so that it develops from a social process in which they acquire characteristics of social context in which we live. In any social process individuals are explained in terms of society and not society from individuals. "Social psychology studies the activity or conduct of the individual as such behavior is rooted in the social process, the conduct of an individual can only be understood in terms of total social group behavior of a member because their individual actions are included in broader social acts that go beyond their own individuality and involve other members of the group.

" Social psychology in the USA did not follow the lines drawn by Mead. The man who became the main focus was Allport. He was a maverick and an experimentalist behaviorist, both converged on it and both fit in the atmosphere of the time. With him was introduced laboratory experiment in social psychology and discipline it entered the experimental field. Reacted against theories that defined social psychology as the study group and against the existence of an entity supraindividual. Allport was against everything that McDougall had been introduced: the instincts and the group mind. Anthropology made contributions to this discipline throughout the twentieth century. They emphasized the importance of knowledge of different cultures to understand social behavior. Contributions can be grouped into three lines of thought: - An individualistic approach and it is situated instinctivists approach of McDougall and the behavioral approach of Allport. - The study of groups and group psychological processes, here is part of the work of Ross, - The third puts its emphasis on society and shall include Mead and anthropological research. According to fantasy baseball , who has experience with these questions. Individuocentrico approach appears to be dominant during these first decades of the twentieth century.