Introduction To Social Psychology

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY by WILLIAM McDOUGALL, Originally published in November 1910 PREFACE TO THE FOURTEENTH EDITION: IN this little book I have attempted to deal with adifficult branch of psychology in a way that shallmake it intelligible and interesting to any cultivatedreader, and that shall imply no previous familiarity withpsychological treatises on his part for I hope that thebook may be of service to students of all the social sciences,by providing them with the minimum of psychologicaldoctrine that is an indispensable part of the equipment forwork in any of these sciences, I have not thought itnecessary to enter into a discussion of the exact scopeof social psychology and of its delimitation from sociologyor the special social sciences for I believe that suchquestions may be left to solve themselves in the course oftime with thadvance of the various branches of scienceconcerned. Twould only say that I believe social psychology to offifortfesearch a vast and fertile field, which has been but lihle worked hitherto, and that in this bookI have attempted to deal only with its most fundamental problems, those the solution of which is a presupposition all profitable work in the various branches of the science.If I have severely criticised some of the views from which I dissent, and have connected these views with the names of writers who have maintained them, it is because I believe such criticism to be a great aid to clearness of exposition and also to be much needed in the present state of psychology the names thus made use of werechosen because the bearers of them are authors well knownfor their valuable contributions to mental science. Ihope that this brief acknowledgment may serve as anapology to any of them under whose eyes my criticismsmay fall. I owe also some apology to my fellow workers for the somewhat dogmatic tone I have adopted. I wouldnot be taken to believe that my utterances upon any ofthe questions dealt with are infallible or incapable of beingimproved upon but repeated expressions of deferenceand of the sense of my own uncertainty would be out ofplace in a semipopular work of this character and would obscure the course of my exposition.Although I have tried to make this book intelligibleand useful to those who are not professed students ofpsychology, it is by no means a mere dishing up of currentdoctrines for popular consumption and it may add to itsusefulness in the hands of professional psychologists if Iindicate here the principal points which, to the best of mybelief, are original contributions to psychological doctrine.In Chapter II. I have tried to render fuller and clearerthe conceptions of instinct and of instinctive process,from both the psychical and the nervous sides.In Chapter III.