Introduction

Social psychological research and theorising has investigated a wide range of behavioural processes, such as anxiety, aggression and altruism, in terms of the personality structure and dynamics of the individual or within the confines of limited experimental paradigms. Historically there seem to have been phases where either the traitist or the situationalist viewpoint and method has been more popular. Also, within certain research areas one has seen the predominance of one or other approach at different times (Hollander, 1978).

It seems, however, that despite the situationalist approach, which is often very behaviouristic in its definition of, and experimentation with, situational variables, the concept of the social situation has been neglected in social psychology. This has led to two anomalies. Firstly, some areas of social psychological research, such as conformity or anxiety research, have consistently paid attention to social situational variables and often the process has been conceived of in interactional terms, while other areas, such as impression formation, have often ignored situational variables. This means that the study of some psychological processes has taken cognizance of the role of the social situation in that process, while in the study of others it has been completely ignored. There are many reasons for this – theoretical, experimental and historical. Further, it is possible to conceive of the processes as being on a continuum, much the same as the environmentgenetic continuum, from purely situationally determined to purely personality determined; hence the patterns of emphasis and the neglect of situational variables.