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Book Details
Abstract
For courses in Social Psychology
Show how the ever-changing field of Social Psychology is useful in students’ everyday lives.
Social Psychology, Fourteenth Edition retains the hallmark of its past success: up-to-date coverage of the quickly evolving subject matter written in a lively manner that has been embraced by thousands of students around the world. Authors Nyla Branscombe and Robert Baron—both respected scholars with decades of undergraduate teaching experience—generate student excitement by revealing the connections between theory and real-world experiences. The Fourteenth Edition offers updated content to engage students, as well as new “What Research Tells Us About…” sections in each chapter that illustrate how research findings help answer important questions about social life.
Table of Contents
Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Cover | Cover | ||
Title Page | 1 | ||
Copyright Page | 2 | ||
Brief Contents | 4 | ||
Contents | 5 | ||
Preface | 10 | ||
Acknowledgements | 15 | ||
About the Authors | 16 | ||
Chapter 1: Social Psychology The Science of the Social Side of Life | 17 | ||
1.1: Social Psychology: What It Is and Is Not | 20 | ||
1.1.1: Social Psychology Is Scientific in Nature | 21 | ||
1.1.2: Social Psychology Focuses on the Behavior of Individuals | 24 | ||
1.1.3: Social Psychology Seeks to Understand the Causes of Social Behavior | 25 | ||
1.1.4: The Search for Basic Principles in a Changing Social World | 28 | ||
1.2: Social Psychology: Advances at the Boundaries | 30 | ||
1.2.1: Cognition and Behavior: Two Sides of the Same Social Coin | 31 | ||
1.2.2: The Role of Emotion in the Social Side of Life | 31 | ||
1.2.3: Social Relationships: How Important They Are for Well-Being | 31 | ||
1.2.4: Social Neuroscience: The Intersection of Social Psychology and Brain Research | 33 | ||
1.2.5: The Role of Implicit (Nonconscious) Processes | 36 | ||
1.2.6: Taking Full Account of Social Diversity | 37 | ||
1.3: How Social Psychologists Answer the Questions They Ask: Research as the Route to Increased Knowledge | 38 | ||
1.3.1: Systematic Observation: Describing the World Around Us | 38 | ||
1.3.2: Correlation: The Search for Relationships | 40 | ||
1.3.3: The Experimental Method: Knowledge Through Systematic Intervention | 42 | ||
1.3.4: Further Thoughts on Causality: The Role of Mediating Variables | 46 | ||
1.3.5: Meta-Analysis: Assessing a Body of Knowledge | 46 | ||
1.4: The Role of Theory in Social Psychology | 47 | ||
1.5: The Quest for Knowledge and the Rights of Individuals: Seeking an Appropriate Balance | 49 | ||
1.6: Getting the Most Out of This Book: A User’s Guide | 52 | ||
Summary and Review | 52 | ||
Chapter 2: Social Cognition How We Think About the Social World | 54 | ||
2.1: Heuristics: How We Employ Simple Rules in Social Cognition | 57 | ||
2.1.1: Representativeness: Judging by Resemblance | 58 | ||
2.1.2: Availability: “If I Can Recall Many Instances, They Must Be Frequent?” | 59 | ||
2.1.3: Anchoring and Adjustment: Where You Begin Makes a Difference | 61 | ||
2.1.4: Status Quo Heuristic: “What Is, Is Good” | 63 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… People’s Preference for the Status Quo | 64 | ||
2.2: Schemas: Mental Frameworks for Organizing Social Information | 65 | ||
2.2.1: The Impact of Schemas on Social Cognition: Attention, Encoding, Retrieval | 66 | ||
2.2.2: Priming: Which Schema Guides Our Thought? | 66 | ||
2.2.3: Schema Persistence: Why Even Discredited Schemas Can Influence Thought and Behavior | 67 | ||
2.2.4: Reasoning by Metaphor: How Social Attitudes and Behavior Are Affected by Figures of Speech | 68 | ||
2.3: Automatic and Controlled Processing in Social Thought | 70 | ||
2.3.1: Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior | 71 | ||
2.3.2: Benefits of Automatic Processing: Beyond Mere Efficiency | 72 | ||
2.4: Potential Sources of Error in Social Cognition: Why Total Rationality Is Rarer Than You Think | 73 | ||
2.4.1: Our Powerful Tendency to Be Overly Optimistic | 74 | ||
2.4.2: Situation-Specific Sources of Error in Social Cognition: Counterfactual Thinking and Magical Thinking | 78 | ||
2.5: Affect and Cognition: How Feelings Shape Thought and Thought Shapes Feelings | 81 | ||
2.5.1: The Influence of Affect on Cognition | 82 | ||
2.5.2: The Influence of Cognition on Affect | 83 | ||
2.5.3: Affect and Cognition: Social Neuroscience Evidence for Two Separate Systems | 85 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Why Not Controlling Ourselves Can Make Us Feel Good | 86 | ||
Summary and Review | 87 | ||
Chapter 3: Social Perception Seeking to Understand Others | 89 | ||
3.1: Nonverbal Communication: An Unspoken Language | 91 | ||
3.1.1: Basic Channels of Nonverbal Communication | 92 | ||
3.1.2: Nonverbal Cues in Social Life | 96 | ||
3.1.3: Recognizing Deception | 98 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Role of Nonverbal Cues in Job Interviews | 102 | ||
3.2: Attribution: Understanding the Causes of Behavior | 103 | ||
3.2.1: Theories of Attribution: How We Attempt to Make Sense of the Social World | 103 | ||
3.2.2: Basic Sources of Error in Attribution | 108 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Why Some People Conclude They Are Superior to Others | 112 | ||
3.2.3: Applications of Attribution Theory: Interventions and Insights | 113 | ||
3.3: Impression Formation and Management: Combining Information About Others | 115 | ||
3.3.1: Impression Formation | 116 | ||
3.3.2: Impression Management | 119 | ||
Summary and Review | 121 | ||
Chapter 4: The Self Answering the Question “Who Am I?” | 123 | ||
4.1: Self-Presentation: Managing the Self in Different Social Contexts | 125 | ||
4.1.1: Self–Other Accuracy in Predicting Our Behavior | 126 | ||
4.1.2: Self-Presentation Tactics | 128 | ||
4.2: Self-Knowledge: Determining Who We Are | 130 | ||
4.2.1: Introspection: Looking Inward to Discover the Causes of Our Own Behavior | 130 | ||
4.2.2: The Self from the Observer’s Standpoint | 132 | ||
4.3: Personal Identity Versus Social Identity | 133 | ||
4.3.1: Who I Think I Am Depends on the Social Context | 135 | ||
4.3.2: Who I Am Depends on Others’ Treatment | 138 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Importance of Belonging and Group Ties | 140 | ||
4.3.3: The Self Across Time: Past and Future Selves | 141 | ||
4.3.4: Why Self-Control Can Be Difficult to Achieve | 141 | ||
4.4: Social Comparison: How We Evaluate Ourselves | 143 | ||
4.4.1: Self-Serving Biases and Unrealistic Optimism | 146 | ||
4.5: Self-Esteem: Attitudes Toward Ourselves | 147 | ||
4.5.1: The Measurement of Self-Esteem | 148 | ||
4.5.2: How Migration Affects Self-Esteem | 150 | ||
4.5.3: Do Women and Men Differ in Their Level of Self-Esteem? | 152 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Perceived Discrimination and Self-Esteem | 153 | ||
4.6: The Self as a Target of Prejudice | 154 | ||
4.6.1: Concealing Our Identity: How Well-Being Can Suffer | 155 | ||
4.6.2: Overcoming the Effects of Stereotype Threat | 156 | ||
Summary and Review | 159 | ||
Chapter 5: Attitudes Evaluating and Responding to the Social World | 161 | ||
5.1: Attitude Formation: How Attitudes Develop | 168 | ||
5.1.1: Classical Conditioning: Learning Based on Association | 168 | ||
5.1.2: Instrumental Conditioning: Rewards for the “Right” Views | 170 | ||
5.1.3: Observational Learning: Learning by Exposure to Others | 172 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Social Modeling and Eating | 173 | ||
5.2: When and Why Do Attitudes Influence Behavior? | 174 | ||
5.2.1: Role of the Social Context in the Link Between Attitudes and Behavior | 175 | ||
5.2.2: Strength of Attitudes | 176 | ||
5.2.3: Attitude Extremity: Role of Vested Interests | 176 | ||
5.2.4: Attitude Certainty: Importance of Clarity and Correctness | 178 | ||
5.2.5: Role of Personal Experience | 179 | ||
5.3: How Do Attitudes Guide Behavior? | 180 | ||
5.3.1: Attitudes Arrived at Through Reasoned Thought | 180 | ||
5.3.2: Attitudes and Spontaneous Behavioral Reactions | 181 | ||
5.4: The Science of Persuasion: How Attitudes Are Changed | 182 | ||
5.4.1: Persuasion: Communicators, Messages, and Audiences | 183 | ||
5.4.2: The Cognitive Processes Underlying Persuasion | 186 | ||
5.5: Resisting Persuasion Attempts | 189 | ||
5.5.1: Reactance: Protecting Our Personal Freedom | 189 | ||
5.5.2: Forewarning: Prior Knowledge of Persuasive Intent | 189 | ||
5.5.3: Selective Avoidance of Persuasion Attempts | 190 | ||
5.5.4: Actively Defending Our Attitudes: Counterarguing Against the Competition | 190 | ||
5.5.5: Individual Differences in Resistance to Persuasion | 191 | ||
5.5.6: Ego-Depletion Can Undermine Resistance | 191 | ||
5.6: Cognitive Dissonance: What Is It and How Do We Manage It? | 193 | ||
5.6.1: Dissonance and Attitude Change: The Effects of Induced Compliance | 193 | ||
5.6.2: Alternative Strategies for Resolving Dissonance | 194 | ||
5.6.3: When Dissonance Is a Tool for Beneficial Changes in Behavior | 195 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Culture and Attitude Processes | 197 | ||
Summary and Review | 198 | ||
Chapter 6: Causes and Cures of Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination | 200 | ||
6.1: How Members of Different Groups Perceive Inequality | 203 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Biases in Our Beliefs About Inequality | 206 | ||
6.2: The Nature and Origins of Stereotyping | 207 | ||
6.2.1: Stereotyping: Beliefs About Social Groups | 208 | ||
6.2.2: Is Stereotyping Absent If Members of Different Groups Are Rated the Same? | 213 | ||
6.2.3: Can We Be Victims of Stereotyping and Not Even Recognize It: The Case of Single People | 215 | ||
6.2.4: Why Do People Form and Use Stereotypes? | 216 | ||
6.3: Prejudice: Feelings Toward Social Groups | 218 | ||
6.3.1: The Origins of Prejudice: Contrasting Perspectives | 221 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Role of Existential Threat in Prejudice | 226 | ||
6.4: Discrimination: Prejudice in Action | 227 | ||
6.4.1: Modern Racism: More Subtle, but Just as Harmful | 227 | ||
6.5: Why Prejudice Is Not Inevitable: Techniques for Countering Its Effects | 231 | ||
6.5.1: On Learning Not to Hate | 231 | ||
6.5.2: The Potential Benefits of Contact | 231 | ||
6.5.3: Recategorization: Changing the Boundaries | 232 | ||
6.5.4: The Benefits of Guilt for Prejudice Reduction | 233 | ||
6.5.5: Can We Learn to “Just Say No” to Stereotyping and Biased Attributions? | 233 | ||
6.5.6: Social Influence as a Means of Reducing Prejudice | 235 | ||
Summary and Review | 236 | ||
Chapter 7: Liking, Love, and Other Close Relationships | 238 | ||
7.1: Internal Sources of Liking Others: The Role of Needs and Emotions | 240 | ||
7.1.1: The Importance of Affiliation in Human Existence: The Need to Belong | 241 | ||
7.1.2: The Role of Affect: Do Our Moods Play a Role in Liking Others? | 243 | ||
7.2: External Sources of Attraction: The Effects of Proximity, Familiarity, and Physical Beauty | 245 | ||
7.2.1: The Power of Proximity: Unplanned Contacts | 245 | ||
7.2.2: Physical Beauty: Its Role in Interpersonal Attraction | 247 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Dramatic Differences in Appearance Between Partners: Is Love Really Blind? | 252 | ||
7.3: Sources of Liking Based on Social Interaction | 254 | ||
7.3.1: Similarity: Birds of a Feather Actually Do Flock Together | 254 | ||
7.3.2: Reciprocal Liking or Disliking: Liking Those Who Like Us | 258 | ||
7.3.3: Social Skills: Liking People Who Are Good at Interacting with Others | 258 | ||
7.3.4: Personality and Liking: Why People with Certain Traits Are More Attractive Than Others | 260 | ||
7.3.5: What Do We Desire in Others? Gender Differences and Changes over Stages of a Relationship | 261 | ||
7.4: Close Relationships: Foundations of Social Life | 263 | ||
7.4.1: Romantic Relationships and the (Partially Solved) Mystery of Love | 263 | ||
7.4.2: What Do We Seek in Romantic Partners? | 266 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Two Factors That May Destroy Love—Jealousy and Infidelity | 267 | ||
7.4.3: Relationships with Family Members: Our First—and Most Lasting—Close Relationships | 269 | ||
7.4.4: Friendships: Relationships Beyond the Family | 271 | ||
Summary and Review | 274 | ||
Chapter 8: Social Influence Changing Others’ Behavior | 275 | ||
8.1: Conformity: How Groups—and Norms— Influence Our Behavior | 278 | ||
8.1.1: Social Pressure: The Irresistible Force? | 279 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… How Much We Really Conform | 281 | ||
8.1.2: How Social Norms Emerge | 282 | ||
8.1.3: Factors Affecting Conformity | 282 | ||
8.1.4: Social Foundations of Conformity: Why We Often Choose to “Go Along” | 285 | ||
8.1.5: The Downside of Conformity | 285 | ||
8.1.6: Reasons for Nonconformity: Why We Sometimes Choose “Not to Go Along” | 288 | ||
8.1.7: Minority Influence: Does the Majority Always Rule? | 292 | ||
8.2: Compliance: To Ask—Sometimes—Is to Receive | 294 | ||
8.2.1: The Underlying Principles of Compliance | 294 | ||
8.2.2: Tactics Based on Friendship or Liking | 295 | ||
8.2.3: Tactics Based on Commitment or Consistency | 296 | ||
8.2.4: Tactics Based on Reciprocity | 297 | ||
8.2.5: Tactics Based on Scarcity | 298 | ||
8.2.6: Do Compliance Tactics Work? | 298 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Using Scarcity to Gain Compliance | 299 | ||
8.3: Obedience to Authority: Would You Harm Someone If Ordered to Do So? | 300 | ||
8.3.1: Obedience in the Laboratory | 300 | ||
8.3.2: Why Destructive Obedience Occurs | 303 | ||
8.3.3: Resisting the Effects of Destructive Obedience | 304 | ||
8.4: Unintentional Social Influence: How Others Change Our Behavior Even When They Are Not Trying to Do So | 305 | ||
8.4.1: Emotional Contagion | 305 | ||
8.4.2: Symbolic Social Influence | 307 | ||
8.4.3: Modeling: Learning from Observing Others | 308 | ||
Summary and Review | 309 | ||
Chapter 9: Prosocial Behavior Helping Others | 311 | ||
9.1: Why People Help: Motives for Prosocial Behavior | 313 | ||
9.1.1: Empathy-Altruism: It Feels Good to Help Others | 313 | ||
9.1.2: Negative-State Relief: Helping Can Reduce Unpleasant Feelings | 315 | ||
9.1.3: Empathic Joy: Feeling Good by Helping Others | 315 | ||
9.1.4: Competitive Altruism: Why Nice People Sometimes Finish First | 316 | ||
9.1.5: Kin Selection Theory | 317 | ||
9.1.6: Defensive Helping: Helping Outgroups to Reduce Their Threat to Our Ingroup | 318 | ||
9.2: Responding to an Emergency: Will Bystanders Help? | 319 | ||
9.2.1: Helping in Emergencies: Apathy—or Action? | 320 | ||
9.2.2: Is There Safety in Numbers? Sometimes, but Not Always | 320 | ||
9.2.3: Key Steps in Deciding to Help—Or Not | 321 | ||
9.3: Factors That Increase or Decrease the Tendency to Help | 325 | ||
9.3.1: Factors That Increase Prosocial Behavior | 325 | ||
9.3.2: Factors That Reduce Helping | 328 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Paying It Forward: Helping Others Because We Have Been Helped | 329 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… How People React to Being Helped | 332 | ||
9.4: Crowdfunding: A New Type of Prosocial Behavior | 333 | ||
9.4.1: Emotion and Prosocial Behavior: Mood, Feelings of Elevation, and Helping | 334 | ||
9.4.2: Gender and Prosocial Behavior: Do Women and Men Differ? | 335 | ||
9.5: Final Thoughts: Are Prosocial Behavior and Aggression Opposites? | 336 | ||
Summary and Review | 338 | ||
Chapter 10: Aggression Its Nature, Causes, and Control | 339 | ||
10.1: Perspectives on Aggression: In Search of the Roots of Violence | 342 | ||
10.1.1: The Role of Biological Factors: Are We Programmed for Violence? | 342 | ||
10.1.2: Drive Theories: The Motive to Harm Others | 344 | ||
10.1.3: Modern Theories of Aggression | 345 | ||
10.2: Causes of Human Aggression: Social, Cultural, Personal, and Situational | 347 | ||
10.2.1: Basic Sources of Aggression: Frustration and Provocation | 347 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Role of Emotions in Aggression | 349 | ||
10.2.2: Social Causes of Aggression | 350 | ||
10.2.3: Why Some People Are More Aggressive Than Others | 355 | ||
10.2.4: Gender and Aggression: Are Men More Aggressive Than Women? | 357 | ||
10.2.5: Situational Determinants of Aggression: The Effects of Heat, Alcohol, and Gun Availability | 358 | ||
10.3: Aggression in the Classroom and Workplace | 362 | ||
10.3.1: What Is Bullying? | 362 | ||
10.3.2: Cyberbullying: Electronic Means of Harm Doing | 364 | ||
10.3.3: Can Bullying Be Reduced? | 364 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Workplace Aggression | 366 | ||
10.4: The Prevention and Control of Aggression: Some Useful Techniques | 367 | ||
10.4.1: Punishment: Revenge or Deterrence? | 367 | ||
10.4.2: Self-Regulation: Internal Mechanisms for Restraining Aggression | 369 | ||
10.4.3: Catharsis: Does “Blowing Off Steam” Really Help? | 370 | ||
10.4.4: Reducing Aggression by Thinking Nonaggressive Thoughts | 371 | ||
Summary and Review | 372 | ||
Chapter 11: Groups and Individuals The Consequences of Belonging | 374 | ||
11.1: Groups: When We Join . . . and When We Leave | 377 | ||
11.1.1: Groups: Their Key Components | 379 | ||
11.1.2: The Benefits—and Costs—of Joining | 384 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Dissent and Criticism of Our Groups—“Because We Care” | 388 | ||
11.2: Effects of the Presence of Others: From Task Performance to Behavior in Crowds | 390 | ||
11.2.1: Social Facilitation: Performing in the Presence of Others | 390 | ||
11.2.2: Social Loafing: Letting Others Do the Work | 393 | ||
11.2.3: Effects of Being in a Crowd | 394 | ||
11.3: Coordination in Groups: Cooperation or Conflict? | 396 | ||
11.3.1: Cooperation: Working with Others to Achieve Shared Goals | 397 | ||
11.3.2: Responding to and Resolving Conflicts | 399 | ||
11.4: Perceived Fairness in Groups: Its Nature and Effects | 402 | ||
11.4.1: Rules for Judging Fairness: Distributive, Procedural, and Transactional Justice | 402 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Importance of Being Treated with Respect | 403 | ||
11.5: Decision Making by Groups: How It Occurs and the Pitfalls It Faces | 405 | ||
11.5.1: The Decision-Making Process: How Groups Attain Consensus | 405 | ||
11.5.2: The Downside of Group Decision Making | 406 | ||
11.6: The Role of Leadership in Group Settings | 409 | ||
Summary and Review | 412 | ||
Chapter 12: Dealing with Adversity and Achieving a Happy Life | 414 | ||
12.1: Social Sources of Stress and Their Effects on Personal Well-Being | 416 | ||
12.1.1: The Impact of Social Relationships on Health | 416 | ||
12.1.2: How Self-Views Affect Outcomes | 420 | ||
12.1.3: The Struggle to “Belong” | 422 | ||
12.2: Social Tactics for Decreasing the Harmful Effects of Stress | 424 | ||
12.2.1: Using Social Groups to Improve Health | 424 | ||
12.2.2: Social Identification as a Means for Managing Stress | 425 | ||
12.2.3: Accepting Ourselves | 426 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… Reducing Post-Traumatic Stress Among Veterans | 427 | ||
12.3: Making the Legal System More Fair and Effective | 430 | ||
12.3.1: Social Influence in the Legal Process | 430 | ||
12.3.2: The Influence of Prejudice and Stereotypes in the Legal System | 434 | ||
12.4: Fostering Happiness in Our Lives | 438 | ||
12.4.1: How Happy Are People, in General? | 438 | ||
12.4.2: Factors That Influence Happiness | 439 | ||
12.4.3: Does Monetary Wealth Create Happiness? | 439 | ||
12.4.4: Is Happiness Getting What You Want or Enjoying What You Have? | 441 | ||
12.4.5: Differences Between Happy and Unhappy People | 441 | ||
What Research Tells Us About… The Relationship Between Emotions and Life Satisfaction Within Different Cultures | 443 | ||
12.4.6: Benefits of Happiness | 444 | ||
12.4.7: Is It Possible to Be Too Happy? | 445 | ||
12.4.8: Increasing Happiness Levels | 446 | ||
12.4.9: Entrepreneurship as a Means of Seeking Happiness | 448 | ||
Summary and Review | 451 | ||
Glossary | 453 | ||
References | 460 | ||
Credits | 497 | ||
Name Index | 501 | ||
A | 501 | ||
B | 501 | ||
C | 503 | ||
D | 504 | ||
E | 504 | ||
F | 505 | ||
G | 505 | ||
H | 506 | ||
I | 507 | ||
J | 507 | ||
K | 507 | ||
L | 508 | ||
M | 509 | ||
N | 510 | ||
O | 510 | ||
P | 510 | ||
Q | 511 | ||
R | 511 | ||
S | 512 | ||
T | 513 | ||
U | 514 | ||
V | 514 | ||
W | 514 | ||
X | 515 | ||
Y | 515 | ||
Z | 515 | ||
Subject Index | 516 | ||
A | 516 | ||
B | 517 | ||
C | 517 | ||
D | 518 | ||
E | 518 | ||
F | 518 | ||
G | 519 | ||
H | 519 | ||
I | 519 | ||
J | 520 | ||
K | 520 | ||
L | 520 | ||
M | 520 | ||
N | 521 | ||
O | 521 | ||
P | 521 | ||
Q | 522 | ||
R | 522 | ||
S | 522 | ||
T | 524 | ||
U | 524 | ||
V | 524 | ||
W | 524 | ||
Z | 524 |