Table of contents

Table of contents :
Cover
Title
Copyright
Brief Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 Introducing Social Psychology
What Is Social Psychology?
How Much of Our Social World Is Just in Our Heads?
If You Were Ordered to Be Cruel, Would You Comply?
Would You Help Others? Or Help Yourself?
What Are the Major Themes of Social Psychology?
We Construct Our Social Reality
Our Social Intuitions Are Often Powerful but Sometimes Perilous
Social Influences Shape Our Behaviour
Personal Attitudes and Dispositions Also Shape Behaviour
Social Behaviour Is Biologically Rooted
Relating to Others Is a Basic Need
Social Psychology’s Principles Are Applicable in Everyday Life
How Do Values Affect Social Psychology?
Obvious Ways in Which Values Enter Social Psychology
Not-So-Obvious Ways in Which Values Enter Social Psychology
Is Social Psychology Merely Common Sense?
Research Methods: How Do We Do Social Psychology?
Forming and Testing Hypotheses
Correlational Research: Detecting Natural Associations
Experimental Research: Searching for Cause and Effect
Generalizing from Laboratory to Life
Summing Up
PART ONE: Social Thinking
Chapter 2 The Self in a Social World
Spotlights and Illusions: What Do They Teach Us About Ourselves?
Self-Concept: Who Am I?
At the Centre of Our Worlds: Our Sense of Self
Social Comparisons
Self and Culture
Self-Knowledge
What Is the Nature and Motivating Power of Self-Esteem?
Self-Esteem Motivation
The Trade-off of Low vs. High Self-Esteem
Self-Efficacy
What Is Self-Serving Bias?
Explaining Positive and Negative Events
Can We All Be Better Than Average?
Unrealistic Optimism
False Consensus and Uniqueness
Temporal Comparison
Explaining Self-Serving Bias
How Do People Manage Their Self-Presentation?
Self-Handicapping
Impression Management
What Does It Mean to Have Perceived Self-Control?
Learned Helplessness versus Self-Determination
Summing Up
Chapter 3 Social Beliefs and Judgments
How Do We Judge Our Social Worlds, Consciously and Unconsciously?
Priming
Intuitive Judgments
Overconfidence
Heuristics: Mental Shortcuts
Counterfactual Thinking
Illusory Thinking
Mood and Judgment
How Do We Perceive Our Social Worlds?
Perceiving and Interpreting Events
Belief Perseverance
Constructing Memories of Ourselves and Our Worlds
How Do We Explain Our Social Worlds?
Attributing Causality: To the Person or the Situation?
The Fundamental Attribution Error
Why Do We Make the Attribution Error?
Why Do We Study Attribution Errors?
How Do Our Social Beliefs Matter?
Teacher Expectations and Student Performance
Getting from Others What We Expect
What Can We Conclude from Research on Social Beliefs and Judgments?
Summing Up
Chapter 4 Behaviour and Attitudes
How Well Do Our Attitudes Predict Our Behaviours?
Are We All Hypocrites?
When Attitudes Predict Behaviour
When Does Our Behaviour Affect Our Attitudes?
Role-Playing
When Saying Becomes Believing
The Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon
Low-Ball Technique
Door-in-the-Face Technique
Immoral and Moral Acts
Social Movements
Why Does Our Behaviour Affect Our Attitudes?
Self-Presentation: Impression Management
Self-Justification: Cognitive Dissonance
Self-Perception
Comparing the Theories
Summing Up
PART TWO: Social Influence
Chapter 5 Persuasion
What Paths Lead to Persuasion?
The Central Route and the Peripheral Route
Different Routes for Different Purposes
What Are the Elements of Persuasion?
Who Says? The Communicator
What Is Said? The Message Content
How Is It Said? The Channel of Communication
To Whom Is It Said? The Audience
Extreme Persuasion: How Do Cults Indoctrinate?
Group Indoctrination Tactics
Attitudes Follow Behaviour
Persuasive Elements
Group Effects
How Can Persuasion Be Resisted?
Attitude Strength
Information-Processing Biases
Reactance
Strengthening Personal Commitment
Inoculation Programs
Implications of Attitude Inoculation
Summing Up
Chapter 6 Conformity
What Is Conformity?
What Are the Classic Conformity and Obedience Studies?
Sherif’s Studies of Norm Formation
Asch’s Studies of Group Pressure
Milgram’s Obedience Studies
What Breeds Obedience?
Reflections on the Classic Studies
What Predicts Conformity?
Group Size
Unanimity
Cohesion
Status
Public Response
No Prior Commitment
Why Conform?
Who Conforms?
Personality
Culture
Gender
Social Roles
Do We Ever Want To Be Different?
Reactance
Asserting Uniqueness
Summing Up
Chapter 7 Group Influence
What Is a Group?
Social Facilitation: How Are We Affected by the Presence of Others?
The Mere Presence of Others
Crowding: The Presence of Many Others
Why Are We Aroused in the Presence of Others?
Social Loafing: Do Individuals Exert Less Effort in a Group?
Many Hands Make Light Work
Social Loafing in Everyday Life
Deindividuation: When Do People Lose Their Sense of Self in Groups?
Doing Together What We Would Not Do Alone
Diminished Self-Awareness
Group Polarization: Do Groups Intensify Our Opinions?
The Case of the “Risky Shift”
Impact of Group Discussion on Individuals’ Opinions
Explaining Polarization
Groupthink: Do Groups Hinder or Assist Good Decisions?
Symptoms of Groupthink
Critiquing Groupthink
Preventing Groupthink
Group Problem-Solving
Leadership: How Do Leaders Shape the Group’s Actions?
Task Leadership and Social Leadership
Transactional Leadership
Transformational Leadership
The Influence of the Minority: How Do Individuals Influence the Group?
Consistency
Self-Confidence
Defections from the Majority
Summing Up
PART THREE: Social Relations
Chapter 8 Altruism: Helping Others
Why Do We Help?
Social Exchange
Social Norms
Evolutionary Psychology
Comparing and Evaluating Theories of Altruism
When Will We Help?
Number of Bystanders
Helping When Someone Else Does
Time Pressures
Similarity to the Victim
Who Helps?
Personality Traits
Gender
How Can We Increase Helping?
Reduce Ambiguity, Increase Responsibility
Guilt and Concern for Self-Image
Socializing Prosocial Behaviour
Postscript: The Kitty Genovese Case Revisited
What To Do When You Need Help
Conclusions
Summing Up
Chapter 9 Aggression: Hurting Others
What Is Aggression?
What Are Some Theories of Aggression?
Aggression as a Biological Phenomenon
Aggression as a Response to Frustration
Aggression as Learned Social Behaviour
What Are Some Influences on Aggression?
Aversive Incidents
Arousal
Aggression Cues
Media Influences: Pornography and Sexual Violence
Media Influences: Television and the Internet
Another Media Influence: Video Games
Group Influences
How Can Aggression Be Reduced?
Catharsis?
A Social Learning Approach
Culture Change and World Violence
Summing Up
Chapter 10 Attraction and Intimacy: Liking and Loving Others
What Leads to Friendship and Attraction?
Proximity
Physical Attractiveness
Similarity versus Complementarity
Liking Those Who Like Us
Relationship Rewards
What Is Love?
Passionate Love
Companionate Love
What Enables Close Relationships?
Attachment
Equity
Self-Disclosure
How Do Relationships End?
Divorce
The Detachment Process
Summing Up
Chapter 11 Sources of Prejudice
What Is Prejudice?
Defining Prejudice
Prejudice: Implicit and Explicit
What Are the Social Sources of Prejudice?
Social Inequalities: Justifying the Status Quo
Socialization
Institutional Supports
What Are the Motivational Sources of Prejudice?
Frustration and Aggression: The Scapegoat Theory
Social Identity Theory: Feeling Superior to Others
Motivation to Avoid Prejudice
What Are the Cognitive Sources of Prejudice?
Categorization: Classifying People into Groups
Distinctiveness: Perceiving People Who Stand Out
Attributions: Is It a Just World?
Motivation to See the World as Just
Summing Up
Chapter 12 Consequences of Prejudice
What Are the Consequences of Racial and Gender-Based Prejudice?
Racial Prejudice
Gender-Based Prejudice
Can Prejudice Create Its Own Reality?
Self-Perpetuating Prejudgments
Discrimination’s Impact: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Stereotype Threat
Do Stereotypes Bias Judgments of Individuals?
How Do People React to Facing Prejudice and Stereotyping?
Perception of Discrimination
Can We Overcome Prejudice?
Through Contact
Through Cooperation
By Reconciling Group and Superordinate Identities
Summing Up
MODULES: Social Psychology Applied
Module A: Social Psychology in Conflict and Peacemaking
What Creates Conflict?
Social Dilemmas
Perceived Injustice
Misperception
How Can Peace Be Achieved?
Bargaining
Mediation
Arbitration
Conciliation
Summing Up
Module B: Social Psychology in the Clinic
What Influences the Accuracy of Clinical Judgments?
Illusory Correlations
Hindsight and Overconfidence
Self-Confirming Diagnoses
Clinical Intuition Versus Statistical Prediction
Implications for Better Clinical Practice
What Cognitive Processes Accompany Behaviour Problems?
Depression
Anxiety and Shyness
What Is Health Psychology and the Psychology of Illness?
Reactions to Illness
Emotions and Illness
How Do Social Relationships Support Health and Well-Being?
Close Relationships and Health
Close Relationships and Happiness
Summing Up
Module C: Social Psychology in Court
How Reliable Is Eyewitness Testimony?
How Persuasive Is Eyewitness Testimony?
When Eyes Deceive
The Misinformation Effect
Retelling
Reducing Error
What Influences a Jury?
Physical Attractiveness of the Defendant
The Judge’s Instructions
The Story of the Trial
Statistical Information
Increasing Jurors’ Understanding
Group Influences in Juries
From Lab to Life: Simulated and Real Juries
Summing Up
Module D: Social Psychology and the Sustainable Future
How Can Humanity Create a Sustainable Future?
Psychology and Climate Change
New Technologies
Reducing Consumption
Does Money Buy Happiness?
Increased Materialism
Wealth and Well-Being
Materialism Fails to Satisfy
Toward Sustainability and Survival
Summing Up
Glossary
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References
Name Index
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Subject Index
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