Social Psychology In Action. Evidence-based Interventions From Theory To Practice

Kai Sassenberg Michael L. W. Vliek Editors Social Psychology in Action Evidence-Based Interventions from Theory to Practice Social Psychology in Action Kai Sassenberg  •  Michael L. W. Vliek Editors Social Psychology in Action Evidence-Based Interventions from Theory to Practice Editors Kai Sassenberg Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien/ Knowledge Research Center and University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany Michael L. W. Vliek Department of Psychology Social Psychology program group University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, The Netherlands ISBN 978-3-030-13787-8    ISBN 978-3-030-13788-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13788-5 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Introduction: Nothing as Practical as a Good Theory “Nothing as Practical as a Good Theory” The above maxim is often attributed to psychologist Kurt Lewin. Shortly after his death in 1947, the psychological historian E.  C. Tolman wrote of Lewin: “Freud the clinician and Lewin the experimentalist – these are the two men whose names will stand out before all others in the history of our psychological era” (Marrow, 1969). Although Freud has become a household name, Lewin’s ideas and work are mostly unknown to the general public. Among psychologists, however, Kurt Lewin is well known as one of the founders of modern experimental social psychology and recognized for his early contributions in applying psychological science to real human society. His interest in the social uses of psychological research is evident not only from his work on “group dynamics”—a term he coined, involving, for example, research on leadership, communication, and group performance— but also from the applied research institutes he established, such as the Committee on Community Interrelations (McCain, 2015). Indeed, for Lewin, research served a double purpose: “to seek deeper explanations of why people behave the way they do and to discover how they may learn to behave better” (Marrow, 1969, p. xi; Italics added). Science was, in other words, a way to discover general laws of human functioning as well as a way to solve practical problems, a combination Lewin labeled “action research.” To achieve this goal, Lewin proposed, there is nothing as practical as a good theory—a maxim Lewin himself attributed to “a business man” he once met (Lewin, 1943). For Lewin, social psychological theories were useful guides that could help practitioners by providing them with the tools and c