The Message of Social Psychology

In this book twenty-five of the world's most eminent social psychologists address what they see as the principal lessons to be learned from the study of social psychology. In doing this they provide their own provocative and original answers to the key questions for social psychology and other related social sciences, as well as a wealth of specific, up-to-date insights into the practical applications of social psychology, its key phenomena and theoretical ideas, the history of the field, and the practice conducting social psychological research. 1. Introduction and a short history of social psychology / Craig McGarty and S. Alexander Haslam

2. The theory of cognitive dissonance: The evolution and vicissitudes of an idea / Elliot Aronson

3. Discursive, rhetorical, and ideological messages / Michael Billig

4. On the social origins of human nature / Marilynn B. Brewer

5. Organizing social-psychological explanations / Willem Doise

6. Predicting, understanding, and changing socially relevant behaviors: Lessons learned / Martin Fishbein

7. Let social psychology be faddish or, at least, heterogeneous / Susan T. Fiske and Jacques-Philippe Leyens

8. Social psychology as social construction: The emerging vision / Kenneth J. Gergen

9. Social life as rule-governed patterns of joint action / Rom Harre

10. Beliefs, knowledge, and meaning from the perspective of the perceiver: Need for structure-order / O.J. Harvey

"The contributors include notable social psychologists representing several generations, several theoretical perspectives, and a variety of content areas. Thus, the volume does a nice job of giving the reader a number of different, yet generally representative, opinions to consider. For students with some background in social psychology... the volume is likely to be informative and interesting, and it could serve as the impetus for thought and discussion. The chapters are likely to spark discussion, either by telling readers what has been learned from social psychology or by telling them what social psychology should be. Either way, the volume will stimulate graduate students, teachers, and researchers to reconsider some basic issues and perhaps see their own and other investigators' research in a broader context." Contemporary Psychology

Craig Mcgarty is Professor and Head of Psychology at Western Sydney University. He was previously Director of the Centre for Social and Community Research and Director of the Social Research Institute at Murdoch University and Head of the School of Psychology at The Australian National University. His books include Categorization in Social Psychology and Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, The Message of Social Psychology and Stereotypes as Explanations. In this book twenty-five of the world's most eminent social psychologists address what they see as the principal lessons to be learned from the study of social psychology. In doing this they provide their own provocative and original answers to the key questions for social psychology and other related social sciences, as well as a wealth of specific, up-to-date insights into the practical applications of social psychology, its key phenomena and theoretical ideas, the history of the field, and the practice conducting social psychological research.