Mapping as a Method: History and Theoretical Commitments

Billig (2008) argues “some of the ideas in today's critical psychology have a longer history than is often supposed” (p. 195). We begin with that premise by excavating the theoretical history of psychological mapping methods in social psychology (including, but not limited to, place/space mapping). We have found deep theoretical linkages between our uses of mapping and the development of social psychological theory over the last 50 years and also see mapping as holding great promise for interrogating the terrain between individual experience and social reality. We highlight three specific studies in which we have used mapping to discuss these theoretical connections, and we explore the possibilities and dilemmas inherent in such a visual and creative method. We conclude by suggesting ways to improve the method in the future. Then, we call on social-personality psychology to consider the increasing importance of methods that are able to resist the hegemony of the written word and draw on the complexities of our interconnected life spaces in a time when individualism is inordinately prioritized amongst psychological theories and methods.