Which therapist was not instrumental in the early years of the social psychology movement?

Which therapist was not instrumental in the early years of the social psychology movement?

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Berne
• C. Carl Jung
• D. Alfred Adler

Answer: (B)

In the early years of social psychology, the focus was on how social context shapes thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and on how people influence one another in groups. Freud, Jung, and Adler each contributed ideas about personality and social interaction that fed into that movement: Freud through psychoanalytic theories of unconscious motives that affect social behavior, Jung with concepts about shared cultural symbols and social perception, and Adler by stressing social interest and the importance of community in mental health and behavior. Eric Berne, however, developed transactional analysis in the 1950s, a framework centered on interpersonal transactions and life scripts rather than the foundational social-psychology questions about how social contexts drive attitudes and group dynamics. So Berne isn’t part of the early social psychology movement, making him the best choice in this context.

In the early years of social psychology, the focus was on how social context shapes thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and on how people influence one another in groups. Freud, Jung, and Adler each contributed ideas about personality and social interaction that fed into that movement: Freud through psychoanalytic theories of unconscious motives that affect social behavior, Jung with concepts about shared cultural symbols and social perception, and Adler by stressing social interest and the importance of community in mental health and behavior. Eric Berne, however, developed transactional analysis in the 1950s, a framework centered on interpersonal transactions and life scripts rather than the foundational social-psychology questions about how social contexts drive attitudes and group dynamics. So Berne isn’t part of the early social psychology movement, making him the best choice in this context.