Review of Social Psychology by Floyd Henry Allport
Thomas Vernor Smith
Written in the conviction that social science has suffered by not keeping up with the advancing psychological insight, this treatise attempts to make available for all persons interested in social relationships the best psychological knowledge as yet attained. More specifically, the author has fruitfully exploited the literature of behaviorism, the ever growing contributions in experimental psychology, and finally the varying leads of the Freudians. This survey, so generously conceived, is executed with admirable balance and proportion. In successfully gathering up and synthesizing these various insights, the author has brought not only information but suggestive guidance for those who, though not primarily interested in social psychology, must still use its springboard for entrance into other fields. What some might regard as a disproportional emphasis upon the individual is justified upon the basis that “only within the individual can we find the behavior mechanisms and the consciousness which are fundamental in the interaction between individuals.” The book merits a careful reading by all students of the social sciences, and it will almost certainly prove to be the best text available for courses in social psychology.
