Field Social Psychology

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Field social psychology is a conceptual and methodological approach to describe, examine, and explain psychological phenomena at multiple levels of analysis with emphasis on the sociocultural environments in which people are embedded, the unfolding of psychological processes over time, and the use of ecologically valid multiple methods in conjunction. In this essay, we first define a contemporary form of field social psychology from its roots in the history of psychological study. Second, we argue for the necessity of the reemergence of this approach given the limitations of the dominant current social psychological paradigm exposed by the replication crisis. Third, we outline an integrative and actionable model of field social psychological research. We describe two contemporary examples of field social psychological research concerning climate change protests in Norway and restorative justice in the U.S.A. to illustrate this framework. We end with implications of field social psychology for developing psychological science.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAmerican Psychologist
Volume77
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)940-952
ISSN0003-066X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

    Research areas

  • ecological validity, field social psychology, history of social psychology, replication crisis, qualitative methods

ID: 297044438