ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to show the relevance of critical theories to the field of Social Psychology, proposing the revitalization of the analytical category ideology. This is a theoretical and empirical paper divided into four parts: (a) brief history of the concept of ideology, (b) theoretical articulation of ideology with Social Psychology, (c) identification of trends in the production of articles in the journal Psicologia & Sociedade, in order to verify some conceptual paths of ideology in this journal and (d) consideration on how the use of ideology in the critical sense can collaborate with the analysis of the current Brazilian context. We conclude reaffirming that the category ideology is complex and diverse, but still underrated by Social Psychology. A Social Psychology that proposes to be sociological must place ideology in a critical perspective in the center of its concerns, along with communication.
Keywords:
social psychology; ideology; politics; critical theories