Social Psychology Third Edition Handbook Of Basic Principles

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Florencia Abila

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Jul 31, 2024, 7:45:50 AM7/31/24

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This definitive work--now extensively revised with virtually all new chapters--has introduced generations of researchers to the psychological processes that underlie social behavior. What sets the book apart is its unique focus on the basic principles that guide theory building and research. Since work in the field increasingly transcends such boundaries as biological versus cultural or cognitive versus motivational systems, the third edition has a new organizational framework. Leading scholars identify and explain the principles that govern intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup processes, in chapters that range over multiple levels of analysis. The book's concluding section illustrates how social psychology principles come into play in specific contexts, including politics, organizational life, the legal arena, sports, and negotiation.

New to This Edition
*Most of the book is entirely new.
*Stronger emphasis on the contextual factors that influence how and why the basic principles work as they do.
*Incorporates up-to-date findings and promising research programs.
*Integrates key advances in such areas as evolutionary theory and neuroscience.

Paul A. M. Van Lange, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Social Psychology at VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. His research focuses on human cooperation and trust. Dr. Van Lange has published over 200 articles in psychological and interdisciplinary journals. He is founding editor of Current Opinion in Psychology and Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, and is a past president of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. His work has been recognized by the Kurt Lewin Medal from the European Association of Social Psychology, among other grants and awards. His website is www.paulvanlange.com.

E. Tory Higgins, PhD, is the Stanley Schachter Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, where he is also Professor and Director of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia Business School. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Higgins has received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the Anneliese Maier Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany, the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science, and the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association, among other awards for his research, teaching, and mentoring.

Arie W. Kruglanski, PhD, is Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has published over 400 articles, chapters, and books on motivated social cognition. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science, Dr. Kruglanski is co-founder of the National Center of Excellence for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism. He is a recipient of awards including the Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Donald T. Campbell Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology.

social psychology third edition handbook of basic principles

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Originally published in 1987 this third edition won praise from students and instructors alike for its challenging "no nonsense" approach to the field. Thoroughly updated to reflect current research of the time, the text retains the qualities that had become its hallmarks: a cognitive approach to the process of socialization, and an emphasis on the ideas that give the discipline continuity. It offers clear, conceptually integrated discussions of all of the major topics in social psychology from the time.

Shaver's focus on the concepts of social psychology provides a framework for students to develop their own applications. The principles of social behavior are presented in the text in the same way they develop in the individual moving from internal processes (social perception, self-recognition) to external issues (the environment, the law) that influence behavior. Shaver weaves contemporary issues into his treatment of basic theories, using examples from everyday situations. His supple writing engages students in the complexity of social behavior, and is one reason this title remained one of the most highly regarded texts in the field at the time.

The text provides adequate coverage of the fundamental topics of an introductory course in social psychology. The topics covered are equivalent to those covered in other textbooks. The text does not, however, include an index or glossary. Key...read more

The content is accurate in that it is supported with citations of research studies. At times, it seemed that there was a bias towards evolutionary explanations for social behavior. This is surprising given that social psychology focuses on proximal causes and the power of the situation rather than more distal causes.

The table that showed the heritability of attitudes lacked any discussion of how heritability coefficients are computed. Heritability coefficients have been critiqued on both methodological and conceptual grounds.

In terms of the fundamental content of a social psyc text, it up to date--the relevant topics are covered . In many cases, so-called "classic studies" that are foundational to the field are featured. The classic study can be used as the base for discussing more recent research. The way that the text is arranged would make it easy to update. However, I did not see citations of research published within the last 10 years--it may be time for an update. In at least one instance, a 2001 meta-analysis was referred to as 'recent.' Whereas different people have different definitions of 'recent,' it is likely that college students will not see a study that was conducted the year they were born as 'recent.' The chapter on persuasion uses the Obama 2008 campaign as an opening example. More recent elections could be used.

The text could be brought up to date by incorporating examples from contemporary culture to apply course concepts (e.g., political party differences in the acceptance of masking and COVID-19 vaccines; the "Me too Movement' and the "Black Lives Matter Movement" and climate change). Social psychology can be applied to these examples to help students think more critically about their social world. In particular, the discussion of the commons dilemma could be significantly enhanced by greater attention to global climate change. The text makes a passing reference to climate change, but this is a central issue for Generation Z.

In terms of appearing out of date, the text adheres to the gender binary (discussing gender differences--or differences between men and women). Many millennials and members of Gen Z are attuned to viewing gender in a nonbinary fashion. While research on gender diverse persons may lag, these issues are still important to acknowledge.

The images and figures are clear and easy to navigate. Hyperlinks within the text to videos are a nice touch (although the link to the video on emotions did not work). The inclusion of 'learning objectives' and 'key takeaways' as well as the sections that encourage readers to 'think like a social psychologist' are features of the interface that encourage the reader to actively engage with the text, not just absorb it passively. The inclusion of basic power point slides for each chapter is a benefit for instructors who may be teaching the course for the first time by providing them a foundation upon which to build and add their own content and examples.

Generally speaking, I think the text is adequate--it would provide a foundation in the basic content relevant to an introductory course in social psychology. However, I do think the text could be improved by an update that includes references to more recent research and carefully considers the likely audience for the text (college students) and uses contemporary issues to engage them.

The book includes accurate information, but if I were using this book I would need to supplement the book to include more cultural influences as well as recent social changes related to gender identity.

Overall, I believe the book covers all areas and ideas about social psychology adequately. It does so in chunks of topics relates to the main topic of the chapter. This breakdown is essentially for describing the areas and ideas well. This format also gets the "main idea" of the section clear to students so there is no question about what materials are being covered. One area that I believe the book could improve on is discussing culture and diversity in relation to the topics being covered. For example, there is not much discussion of how culture might impact attributions in the attribution theory section of the textbook. It is important for students to understand how the topics in social psychology are embedded within a cultural context. I also believe that the section on reducing prejudice should be revamped to be more current. There are more details needed about programs implemented that help to reduce prejudice and more broadly what we can do as a society (specifically at the individual level) can do to reduce prejudice and to promote a world with justice, equity, inclusion, and dignity of all people.