Gustav Ichheiser in the history of social psychology: An early phenomenology of social attribution

Abstract

Gustav Ichheiser (1897–1969) was a social psychologist in the Austrian phenomenological tradition. He wrote extensively on person perception, social attribution, occupational psychology, ethnic relations and political psychology, always with an eye towards the illusions and misunderstandings inherent in social relations. His personal life and professional career were disrupted in Europe by the rise of Fascism and were impeded in the United States by unemployment, poverty and confinement in a state mental hospital. However, throughout all of these difficulties, he continued to publish his critical observations and analyses of social life. His writings, whether in German, Polish or English, are stylistically and conceptually rich and are remarkably current. His ideas have been used by Allport, Goffman, Heider, Nisbett, Ross and others. This report presents the biographical and bibliographical background necessary for a reappraisal of his work.

Collapsing Self/Other positions: Identification through differentiation

“…First, a necessary condition for the collapse of Self/Other positions through differentiation is an implicit contradiction in the speaker's actions and utterances. One useful way of conceptualizing this contradiction is the mote‐beam divergence described by Ichheiser (1949), who is one of the uncelebrated ancestors of social psychology (Farr & Moscovici, 1984; Rudmin, Trimpop, Kryl, & Boski, 1987). Ichheiser (p. 51) describes the mote‐beam divergence as the tendency to ‘perceive (and to denounce) in others certain characteristics, for example, prejudices, or blind spots, or ideologies, or ethnocentrism, or aggressiveness, which, strangely enough, we ignore in ourselves.’ The name of this divergence comes from a passage in the Bible:…”

Editorial: Steps towards the Renovation of Acculturation Research Paradigms: What Scientists’ Personal Experiences of Migration Might Tell Science

“…As Rudmin (2006) has noted, two of the founders of social psychology, Fritz Heider and Gustav Ichheiser, have both argued that new research paradigms can begin with phenomenological studies (Heider, 1987(Heider, -1989Ichheiser, 1949;Rudmin, Trimpop, Kryl, & Boski, 1987).…”

Enacted Others: Specifying Goffman's Phenomenological Omissions and Sociological Accomplishments

“…Ichheiser's (1949Ichheiser's ( , 1970 expressionimpression distinction was the first footnote in Presentation of Self (Rudkin et al, 1987). More generally the early Goffman seems to have incorporated into his emerging framework Ichheiser's sensitivity to the vagaries of social attribution and person perception in generating misunderstandings.…”