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Reinvigorating the Concept of Situation in Social Psychology

University of Rochester, New York

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: reis{at}psych.rochester.edu.

	Abstract

The concept of situation has a long and venerable history in social psychology. The author argues that recent approaches to the concept of situation have confused certain important elements. Herein, the author proposes that attention to three of these elements will reinvigorate the concept of situation in social psychology: (a) that the analysis of situations should begin with their objective features; (b) that situations should be conceptualized as affordances; and (c) that the interpersonal core of situations, in particular the extent to which they are influenced by relationships, is the proper and most profitable focus for social psychology. These elements are consistent with recent developments in the study of situated social cognition and may help better define social psychology’s position within the sciences.

First published on September 23, 2008, doi:10.1177/1088868308321721

Personality and Social Psychology Review 2008;12:311.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2008


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