Social Psychology and Literature: Toward Possible Correspondence

Aimed at tackling possible correspondences between social psychology and literature, the chapter explores the use of literary texts within the discipline and related research areas. A journey arises along different steps and shifts which have occurred in the field in the arc of several decades, from positivist to post-modern perspectives. The paper is divided into three parts. The first deals with studies carried out in fields close to social psychology; the second with research conducted within cross-cultural approaches; the third with social psychological inquiry, with attention to strengths and weaknesses of the methods employed. The overview reaches the conclusion that a social constructionist and, particularly, a social constructivist approach, mainly framed within social representations theory, appear most suitable for a fruitful interchange between the two considered domains of knowledge.