Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/473

 PRESENT PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 457

psychology of people reared in different civilizations, social formations, or family types, molded by unlike environments, occu- pations, and civil conditions. It should inquire, not only how one person is affected by another, but also how he is affected by variations in Work, Reward, Mode of Life, or Tradition. If these national and class types are ignored by Social Psychology, I should like to know what branch of science will attend to them.

Inter-individual psychology has to deal with two sets of prob- lems those connected with personal relationships and those connected with social groupings. The former call for a descrip- tion of all the types of influence that one person can exert upon another, and an exposition of the content of each of the chief rela- tions in which two human beings can stand to one another. What precisely takes place when one person impresses or imitates, dominates or obeys, teaches or believes, fascinates or antagonizes another? In view of the importance the suggestion theory attaches to the hero, the apostle, and the prophet as initiators of historic movements, these inquiries may mean much for social science. Again, what is implied in such relations as friendship, dependence, discipleship, clientage, pupilage, vassalage, agency, etc. ?

The field of personal interactions and relations has been explored, and it cannot be said to offer us at the moment any serious problems. It would, in fact, not be difficult to glean from the great imaginative writings, diaries, and autobiographies of the world an anthology of selections that would set forth with all the eloquence of genius the possible spiritual attitudes that persons may assume with respect to one another.

What we lack, however, is a clear notion of how such simple inter-individual processes give rise to such massive and diffused products as languages, myths, customs, proverbs, and folk-lore. These were certainly not conceived and imposed by some " super- man," nor are they the outcome of organized, associated effort. To wave them aside as "collective products" is to dodge the question. The building, diffusion, and transmission of languages, myths, and the like appear to depend, not on mass-action of any kind, but on innumerable molecular occurrences too petty to chaJ-