ABSTRACT
Alongside direct geopolitical influences, the future of social psychology may be affected by other emerging social demands. With increasing lifespans and a resulting ageing population in many countries, issues which affect those who are older are likely to become increasingly important. Social cognition is limited by the relative coarseness of the measures it has at its disposal, and new developments in this field may help bridge the gap between this area of the field and others. Across social psychology's history and over the various debates, research fads and fashions, and changing methods it can be argued that a number of core themes are present. Social psychology encompasses an enormous range of methods, each of which is particularly suited to answering its own particular set of research questions. The backdrop against which social psychology 'happens' also changes: variation across cultures and changes within a given culture over time often limit the generalizability of findings.
