The Affordances for Social Psychology of the Ecological Approach to Social Knowing

Abstract

This paper examines the engagement of theory with mainstream social psychology in terms of developments in social cognition and perception. The particular focus is the development and reception of the `ecological' or `mutualist' approach to social perception and cognition. The introduction of some terms of central concern is followed by a brief review of some of the ontological and epistemological issues that have perplexed empirical studies of social knowing. This is followed by documentation and appraisal of attempts over the past twenty-five years to `socialize' ecological psychology and to address the role of language and culture in social knowing. The final section considers some of the conceptual and methodological constraints that have impeded the promulgation of an ecological perspective. Although ecological notions have failed to make much impact on the mainstream, it is concluded that the growing interest in embedded and embodied cognition suggests the continuing relevance of the ecological approach with its relational ontology and emphasis on the reciprocity of perception and action.