Abstract

What can critical social psychology teach us about our sense of identity? How have psychosocial and feminist approaches challenged our understanding of subjectivity? Where is this complex and fast-moving field heading?
 
This new edition of Critical Social Psychology addresses these questions and more, providing important insight into social psychology. Thoroughly updated and revised, it clearly outlines approaches such as social constructionism and psychoanalysis, and explains how these ideas can illuminate topics like social influence and prejudice.
The second edition of Critical Social Psychology
* includes two new chapters on applied health psychology and applied work psychology
* uses 'critical thinking boxes' to demonstrate the practical application of theory and debates, helping you engage with the different ideas
* contains revised content including an expanded section on research methods, as well as enhanced coverage of action research and critical narrative approaches

Guiding you through the key topics in social psychology and mapping the critical approaches onto each concept, Critical Social Psychology is essential reading for students of both psychology and other social sciences.
"This is an excellent book, written in an engaging and lively style and suitable both to newcomers to Critical Psychology and to practitioners interested in the latest developments in this important area of psychology. Those interested in the future of social psychology have no further to look." – Dr Derek Hook, Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck College, UK

 

"What a clear, comprehensive, and authoritative introduction to the important critical perspectives on social psychology! This text should be required reading for all psychology students early on in their studies." – Tod Sloan, Ph.D., Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon, USA and Editor, Critical Psychology: Voices for Change

Brendan Gough is Professor of Social Psychology at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. He has previously held lecturer posts at Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham Trent University. He is a qualitative researcher interested in gender issues, especially concerning men and masculinities.
Majella McFadden is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, where she teaches Critical Social Psychology. Her research is on female sexualities and includes project work with young women.
Matthew McDonald is a visiting research fellow at Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand. He has taught and supervised undergraduate and postgraduate students on courses including social psychology, the social psychology of work and leisure, personality, abnormal psychology, history and philosophy of psychology, positive psychology and qualitative research methods.
Critical Social Psychology introduces students, in a straightforward, practical and accessible way, to key themes and debates arising from this fast-growing - and often complex - field. The authors contrast mainstream experimental and critical understandings of social psychological topics, and place the criticism and theory in a societal context.