Social Psychology in Search of a Paradigm

Abstract. This address discusses the nature of Kuhnian paradigms in science, and offers four imperatives tnat social psychology must meet if it is to become a mature science: (1) Person parameters must be taken into account: these interact with treatment conditions or dependent variables and thus make trivial propositions about people-in-general. (2) People are at times active agents who play some part in directing their own behaviors; this sequential process must be studied. (3) A taxonomy ot situations--a complex theory of interactions among people in various settings--must be developed; otherwise, it is impossible to generalize from laboratory situations. (4) An adequate systematic treatment must also allow for behaviors that are not self-directed or even comprehended by the actors them-selves. A popular sport these days among social psychologists is criticizing ourselves and what we are doing. Since this is the third day of the conven