Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Social Psychology, 3rd Editionprovides the only conceptually integrated undergraduate introduction to social psychology, offering a clear synthesis of the cognitive and social, and individual and group influences that shape social behavior.

This textbook offers comprehensive coverage of classic, contemporary, and emerging topics in social psychology. The focus is on underlying, unifying principles that operate across topics, rather than treatment of each topic in isolation, a focus that reflects the increasingly cross-disciplinary developments within and beyond psychology. An emphasis on research carried out in different parts of the world and a sensitivity to cross-cultural perspectives highlight the internationalization of the field in recent years. In addition, the text offers real-world applications of scientific principles to areas such as marketing, law, education, and health. Throughout, the discussion conceptually integrates the pervasive impact of social groups on all aspects of social behavior.

Extensive feedback from reviews of prior editions has helped make this third edition comprehensive, contemporary, and relevant to social psychology students' and instructors' needs. Effective and helpful pedagogical features include chapter summaries, margin glossaries, tables, graphs, and photographs.

An attractive student-friendly format, and a narrative by two leading scholars that is both lively and rigorous, make this text one of the most respected and acclaimed on the market.

This new edition is supported by an extensive online Social Psychology Student Learning Program (SocSLP) and CD-ROM based Instructor Resources, both of which are free of charge to qualifying adopters.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface
• How to Use This Book
• Chapter 1 What Is Social Psychology?
• A Definition of Social Psychology
• The Scientific Study of the Effects of Social and Cognitive Processes on the Way Individuals Perceive, Influence, and Relate to Others
• Historical Trends and Current Themes in Social Psychology
• Social Psychology Becomes an Empirical Science
• Social Psychology Splits From General Psychology Over What Causes Behavior
• The Rise of Nazism Shapes the Development of Social Psychology
• Growth and Integration
• How the Approach of This Book Reflects an Integrative Perspective
• Two Fundamental Axioms of Social Psychology
• Three Motivational Principles
• Three Processing Principles
• Common Processes, Diverse Behaviors
• Plan of the Book
• Summary
• Chapter 2 Asking and Answering Research Questions
• A Note to the Student on How to Use This Chapter
• Research Questions and the Role of Theory
• Origins of Research Questions
• What is a Scientific Theory?
• Testing Theories: From Theory to Research
• Construct Validity and Approaches to Measurement
• Internal Validity and Types of Research Design
• External Validity and Research Populations and Settings
• Evaluating Theories: The Bottom Line
• The Role of Ethics and Values in Research
• Being Fair to Participants
• Being Helpful to Society
• Concluding Comments
• Summary
• Chapter 3 Perceiving Individuals
• Forming First Impressions: Cues, Interpretations, and Inferences
• The Raw Materials of First Impressions
• Interpreting Cues
• Characterizing the Behaving Person: Correspondent Inferences
• When Is a Correspondent Inference Justified?
• Beyond First Impressions: Systematic Processing
• Causal Attributions
• Using Attributions to Correct First Impressions
• Putting It All Together: Forming Complex Impressions
• The Accuracy of Considered Impressions
• The Impact of Impressions: Using, Defending, and Changing Impressions
• Impressions and Judgments
• Defending Impressions
• Dealing with Inconsistent Information
• Concluding Comments
• Summary
• Chapter 4 The Self
• Constructing the Self-Concept: What We Know About Ourselves
• Sources of the Self-Concept
• Learning About Self and Others: The Same or Different?
• Multiple Selves
• Putting It All Together: Constructing a Coherent Self-Concept
• Cultural Differences in the Self-Concept
• Constructing Self-Esteem: How We Feel About Ourselves
• Balancing Accurate Self-Knowledge and Self-Enhancement
• Evaluating Personal Experiences: Some Pain but Mainly Gain
• Social Comparisons: Better or Worse Than Others?
• Why Self-Enhance?
• Self-Esteem in Cultural Context
• Effects of the Self: Processes of Self-Regulation
• The Self and Thoughts About Ourselves and Others
• The Self and Emotions: for Me or Against Me?
• The Self in Action: Regulating Behavior
• Temptations and Other Threats to Self-Regulation
• Taking Accounts of Other People's Standards
• Defending the Self: Coping with Stresses, Inconsistencies, and Failures
• Threats to the Well-Being of the Self
• Defending Against Threat: Emotion-Focused Coping
• Attacking Threat Head-On: Problem-Focused Coping
• How to Cope?Concluding Comments
• Summary
• Chapter 5 Perceiving Groups
• Targets of Prejudice: Social Groups
• Social Categorization: Dividing the World into Social Groups
• Forming Impressions of Groups: Establishing Stereotypes
• The Content of Stereotypes
• Seeking the Motives behind Stereotyping
• Motives for Forming Stereotypes: Mastery through Summarizing Personal Experiences
• Motives for Forming Stereotypes: Connectedness to Other
• Moving for Forming Stereotypes: Justifying Inequalities
• Using Stereotypes: From Preconceptions to Prejudice
• Activation of Stereotypes
• Measuring Stereotypes and Prejudice
• Impact of Stereotypes on Judgments and Actions
• Trying to Overcome Stereotype Effects
• Beyond Simple Activation: Effects of Stereotypes on Consi