Encyclopedia Of Social Psychology 2 Volumes

Description:
Not long ago, social psychology was a small field consisting of creative, energetic researchers bent on trying to study a few vexing problems in normal adult human behavior with rigorous scientific methods. In a few short decades, the field has blossomed into a major intellectual force, with thousands of researchers worldwide exploring a stunningly diverse set of fascinating phenomena with an impressive arsenal of research methods and ever more carefully honed theories. The Encyclopedia of Social Psychology is the first resource to present state-of-the art research and ready-to-use facts from this fascinating field. These two volumes include more than 600 entries chosen by a diverse team of experts to comprise an exhaustive list of the most important concepts. This Encyclopedia is written for students who may be encountering concepts such as social loafing, deindividuation, base rate fallacy, ego depletion, and self-handicapping for the first time and want a simple, clear, jargon-free explanation of what they mean.Key Themes ' Action Control ' Antisocial Behaviors ' Attitude ' Culture ' Emotions ' Evolution ' Groups ' Health ' History ' Influence ' Interpersonal Relationships ' Judgment and Decision Making ' Methods ' Personality ' Prejudice ' Problem Behaviors ' Prosocial Behaviors ' Self ' Social Cognition ' Subdisciplines

Review:
'The editors state that 'social psychology is the study of how normal people think, feel and act.' The contributors then describe many behaviors that fall within and outside wide normal limits. They include terms and theories that are used to study, explain and understand human behavior. Most entries begin with a definition and include appropriate subheadings to highlight important aspects, e.g., history, background, usage, verbal illustrations, evidence implications, and other labels that provide focus. See also references and short 'further readings' lists accompany each signed entry. Both volumes have a complete, highly detailed index that includes the subheadings and other relevant mentions of the term. The specialist nature of the vocabulary is evident in the discussion of such terms as 'elevation,' as being the desire to perform acts of charity, and as being moved by excellence in another person; and the 'Ringlemann Effect,' which means expending less effort as part of a group than when working alone. The set offers clear descriptions of commonly used and sometimes misunderstood term, e.g., cultural differences, authoritarian personality, and neuroticism. The field has expanded since publication of 'The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology,' ed. by A Manstead and M. Hewstone et al. (CH, Jan'96, 33-2457), and this work is a valuable response to that. Summing Up: Recommended. All Levels.' -CHOICE -- CHOICE 20080201

Author Biography:
Roy F. Baumeister is currently the Eppes Eminent Professor of Psychology and head of the social psychology graduate program at Florida State University. He grew up in Cleveland, the oldest child of a schoolteacher and an immigrant businessman. He received his Ph.D. in social psychology from Princeton in 1978 and did a postdoctoral fellowship in sociology at the University of California at Berkeley. He spent over two decades at Case Western Reserve University, where he eventually was the first to hold the Elsie Smith professorship. He has also worked at the University of Texas, the University of Virginia, the Max-Planck-Institute, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Baumeister's research spans multiple topics, including self and identity, self-regulation, interpersonal rejection and the need to belong, sexuality and gender, aggression, self-esteem, meaning, and self-presentation. He has received research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and from the Templeton Foundation. He has over 350 publications, and his 20 books include Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty, The Cultural Animal, and Meanings of Life. The Institute for Scientific Information lists him among the handful of most cited (most influential) psychologists in the world. He lives by a small lake in Florida with his beloved family. In his rare spare time, he enjoys windsurfing, skiing, and jazz guitar. Kathleen D. Vohs is assistant professor in the Department of Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. Vohs received her Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Dartmouth College in 2000. She received a postdoctoral research grant from the National Institutes of Health with which she conducted research at the University of Utah and Case Western Reserve University. In 2003, she joined the Marketing Division at the University of British Columbia, where she was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Marketing Science and Consumer Psychology. In 2007, Vohs was named a McKnight Land-Grant Professor at the University of Minnesota. Vohs has contributed over 90 professional publications including editing four books. Her theories highlight the role of the self, broadly-defined, including self-control, self-esteem, feelings of self-threat, dieting, bulimic symptoms, sexuality, impulsive and compulsive spending, interpersonal relationships, emotions, decision making, free will, and morality. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada, the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, the Transformative Consumer Research Council of the Association for Consumer Research, Russell Sage Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. Vohs's leisure activities include yoga, travel, and drinking wine.