An introduction to social psychology

A pioneering work in psychology, this enormously influential book, first published in 1908, served as a catalyst in the study of the foundations of social behavior. One of the first surveys to focus on human motivation, the volume assisted in laying the foundations of a new discipline, separating the field from sociology and general psychology. Popular, long-lived and ever relevant, this landmark book remains invaluable to teachers and students of psychology. 1961 ed. Among the topics covered: The place of instincts in the constitution of the human mind; Primary emotions of man, and the nature of sentiments; Growth of reproductive and parental instincts; Structure of character. was an early 20th century psychologist who spent the first part of his career in the United Kingdom and the latter part in the United States. He wrote a number of influential textbooks, and was important in the development of the theory of instinct and of social psychology in the English-speaking world. McDougall was an opponent of behaviourism and stands somewhat outside the mainstream of the development of Anglo-American psychological thought in the first half of the 20th century; but his work was known and respected among lay people.