Mathematical Models For Social Psychology

This edited volume presents examples of social science research projects that employ new methods of quantitative analysis and mathematical modeling of social processes. This book presents the fascinating areas of empirical and theoretical investigations that use formal mathematics in a way that is accessible for individuals lacking extensive expertise but still desiring to expand their scope of research methodology and add to their data analysis toolbox. Mathematical Modeling of Social Relationships professes how mathematical modeling can help us understand the fundamental, compelling, and yet sometimes complicated concepts that arise in the social sciences. This volume will appeal to upper-level students and researchers in a broad area of fields within the social sciences, as well as the disciplines of social psychology, complex systems, and applied mathematics.

In this book Lee Rudolph brings together international contributors who combine psychological and mathematical perspectives to analyse how qualitative mathematics can be used to create models of social and psychological processes. Bridging the gap between the fields with an imaginative and stimulating collection of contributed chapters, the volume updates the current research on the subject, which until now has been rather limited, focussing largely on the use of statistics. Qualitative Mathematics for the Social Sciences contains a variety of useful illustrative figures, introducing readers from the social sciences to the rich contribution that modern mathematics has made to our knowledge of logic, structures, and dynamic systems. A beguiling array of conceptual systems, topological models and fractals are discussed which transcend the application of statistics, and bring a fresh perspective to the study of social representations. The wide selection of qualitative mathematical methodologies discussed in this volume will be hugely valuable to higher-level undergraduate and postgraduate students of psychology, sociology and mathematics. It will also be useful for researchers, academics and professionals from the social sciences who want a firmer grasp on the use of qualitative mathematics.

Originally published in 1977, this volume was intended to provide a relatively elementary and clear overview of some of the more important approaches to social psychology at the time. There are a number of perspectives on this discipline, but here, instead of traditional theoretical approaches (e.g. field theory, role theory or S-R) the point of view is from the general perspective. The first chapter approaches social psychology as an experimental science, with the history and philosophic traditions discussed, as well as the current state of the field. Other chapters approach the discipline from the perspectives of symbolic interaction, social development, and ethology. The final chapter is devoted to the uses of mathematical models in social psychology. This volume was intended to serve as a helpful integration of the field, and will still be useful as a text in its historical context.

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

Psychology Library Editions: Social Psychology (30-volume set) brings together an eclectic mix of titles from a wealth of authors with diverse backgrounds, seeking to understand human behaviour and interaction from a socio-psychological perspective. The series of previously out-of-print titles, originally published between 1908 and 1993, includes those from some authors considered to be founders of social psychology and traces the development of the subject from its early foundations.