The history, development and perspectives of the social psychology. Resumen En este articulo se analiza a la psicologia social en su etapa de emergencia y se senalan los planteamientos centrales que distintos autores -desde la filosofia, la sociologia, la propia psicologia social y otras disciplinas- fueron haciendo, a lo largo del periodo, acerca de su objeto de estudio, la metodologia para abordar este, la teoria con la cual explicarlo y/o comprenderlo y el enfoque epistemologico que deberia usarse. Se menciona que no obstante su caracter variopinto respecto de sus fuentes, objetos y teorias -que la hizo moverse en un marco de dualismos y tensiones-, pudo finalmente constituirse como un campo del saber enteramente autonomo, alcanzando dos grandes consensos metodologicos: uno en torno al holismo y vision colectivista, sostenido basicamente por autores europeos, que sirvio para llamarla psicologia social sociologica, y otro identificado como individualismo metodologico, cultivado mas tarde en tierras norteamericanas, que por tener al individuo como centro de analisis, merecio ser denominada psicologia social psicologica. Palabras clave: Individuo-Sociedad; Vision Holistica; Psicologia Colectiva; Masas-Publicos; Individualismo Metodologico. Abstract In this article the social psychology is analyzed in its emergency phase and is pointed the central ideas that different authors – from philosophy, sociology, the social psychology itself and other disciplines- were doing among a long term, about its study object, the methodology to take up, the theory to explain and understand, and the epistemological approach that should be used. It’s mentioned that nevertheless its varied nature respect of its sources, objects, and theories, that made her move in a framework of dualisms and tensions, could finally become a field of knowledge entirely autonomous, reaching two major methodological consensus: the first on a holistic and collectivist view, promoted primarily by European authors, which served to call it sociological social psychology, and the second identified as methodological individualism, later cultivated in North American lands that, by having the individual as the centre of analysis, deserved the nomination of psychological social psychology. Keywords: Individual-Society; Holistic vision; Collective psychology; Mass-Publics; Methodological individualism.