A Synthesis Of Two Social Psychologies*

Abstract

Sociological social psychology (symbolic interactionism) and psychological social psychology (cognitive social psychology) both are rooted in German phenomenology, yet the two have proceeded in different directions. Sociological social psychology is largely an abstract and qualitative enterprise, while psychological social psychology is largely an empirical and quantitative body of work. The reluctance of either social psychology to span the full range of the abstract‐concrete continuum seems to be based on some epistemological difficulties that are no longer considered problems by many philosophers of science. Employing a model developed by Robinson (1968), the present paper shows how the apparent gaps between the abstract and concrete levels may be bridged by a system of propositional statements at the middle‐range level. The unity of the two social psychologies is thus made apparent. As a consequence of this bridging, the symbolic interactionists are provided with a large number of empirical studies that lend credence to their basic assumptions, and the psychologically oriented social psychologists receive a rich theoretical structure to organize and enhance their low‐level theories and the findings that have come from tests of these theories.