Social Psychology Quarterly

Psychology, focusing on processes that occur inside the individual and Sociology, focusing on social collectives and social institutions, come together in Social Psychology to explore the interface between the two fields. The core concerns of social psychology include the impact of one individual on another; the impact of a group on its individual members; the impact of individuals on the groups in which they participate; the impact of one group on another. This book is a successor to Social Psychology: Social Perspectives and Sociological Perspectives in Social Psychology. The current text expands on previous handbooks in social psychology by including recent developments in theory and research and comprehensive coverage of significant theoretical perspectives.

Cookie White Stephan and Walter G. Stephan This is a book about the two social psychologies-psychological social psychology and sociological social psychology--written by social psychologists from both disciplines. It focuses on the benefits and costs of interchange between psychological social psychology and sociological social psychology, with the ultimate goal of encouraging interaction among scholars in the two disciplines. The primary questions addressed are: What do the two disciplines have to offer each other? What are the barriers to fruitful interchange? How can these barriers be overcome? In this introductory chapter we will first examine some historical reasons for the lack of interchange between the two social psychologies. Then we will provide a brief preview of the chapters to follow. The Development of the Two Social Psychologies The beginning of concern with the "social animal" can be traced to the ancient Greeks. However, social psychology's formal beginning is usually dated from Norman Triplett's 1897 publication of his findings on the effects of competition or from the publication in 1908 of two books including the words "Social Psychology" in their titles, one by the psychologist William McDougall and the other by the sociologist Edward Alsworth Ross. Thus, from its inception, social psychology was already divided into two distinct academic units, housed in the disciplines of sociology and psychology.

This text presents the most important and influential social psychological theories and research programs in contemporary sociology. Original chapters by the scholars who initiated and developed these theoretical perspectives provide full descriptions of each theory, its background, development, and future. The first four chapters cover general approaches, organized around fundamental principles and issues--symbolic interaction, social exchange, distributive justice, and rational choice. The following chapters focus on specific research programs and theories, examining identity, affect, comparison processes, power and dependence, social exchange, status construction, and legitimacy. A concluding chapter provides an analysis of and commentary on the state of the theoretical programs in sociological social psychology. Contributors: Peter J. Burke, Joseph Berger, Coye Cheshire, Karen S. Cook, Pamela Emanuelson, Alexandra Gerbasi, Karen A. Hegtvedt, Michael A. Hogg, Guillermina Jasso, Edward J. Lawler, Michael W. Macy, George J. McCall, Linda D. Molm, Cecilia L. Ridgeway, Dawn T. Robinson, Lynn Smith-Lovin, Jan E. Stets, Jonathan H. Turner, Murray Webster Jr., David Willer, and Morris Zelditch, Jr.

This handbook provides a broad overview of the field of social psychology and up-to-date coverage of current social psychological topics. It reflects the recent and substantial development of the field, both with regard to theory and empirical research. It starts out by covering major theoretical perspectives, including the inter actionist, identity, social exchange, social structure and the person perspectives. Next, it discusses development and socialization in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In addition to updated discussions of topics that were included in the first edition, the part examining personal processes includes entirely new topics, such as social psychology and the body and individual agency and social motivation. Interpersonal processes are discussed from a contemporary perspective with a focus on stress and health. The final section examines the person in sociocultural context and includes another topic new to the second edition, the social psychology of race and gender and intersectionality.

This fully revised and updated edition of Social Psychology is an engaging exploration of the question, "what makes us who we are?" presented in a new, streamlined fashion. Grounded in the latest research, Social Psychology explains the methods by which social psychologists investigate human behavior in a social context and the theoretical perspectives that ground the discipline. Each chapter is designed to be a self-contained unit for ease of use in any classroom. This edition features new boxes providing research updates and "test yourself " opportunities, a focus on critical thinking skills, and an increased emphasis on diverse populations and their experiences.

Social Psychology takes a sociological approach to the study of the individual in relationship to society. It's main purpose is is to highlight how social psychology provides varied, yet inter-related, explanations for individuals’ experiences in groups. The text tells the story of how these dynamics unfold, beginning with the central social characteristics of the individual, to processes of perception and of interaction. In the telling of this story, it also notes some of the interesting cross-cultural comparisons in regard to these dynamics.