Social Psychology: A Complete Introduction: Teach Yourself

by Paul Seager

Written by Dr Paul Seager, a social psychology specialist who teaches at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, Social A Complete Introduction is designed to give you everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then provides added-value features like summaries of key studies, lists of questions to test your understanding of the concepts covered, and a 'Food for thought' section at the end of each chapter which challenges you to put the academic theories to practical use.The book uses a structure that mirrors many university courses on social psychology - starting off by explaining what social psychology is and how it is researched, before exploring a wide variety of the fascinating areas social psychologists have looked at in both classic and lesser-known studies. Areas covered the self; attributions; social cognition; interpersonal attraction; social influence; attitudes and persuasion; prosocial behaviour; aggression; groups; leadership; group decision making; intergroup behaviour; and prejudice. A final chapter looks at how social psychology can, and has been, applied in the real world to make a difference.'Teach Yourself' titles employ the 'Breakthrough method', which is designed specifically to overcome problems that students face. - "I find it difficult to remember what I've read."; this book includes end-of-chapter summaries and questions to test your understanding. - "Most books mention important other sources, but I can never find them in time."; this book includes fully referenced quotes ready to use in your essay or exam, and each chapter lists further suggested readings for each topic. - "Lots of introductory books turn out to cover totally different topics than my course."; this book is written by a current university lecturer who understands what students are expected to know.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Social Science, Ebooks

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2013

Reviews

[عبدالرحمن عقاب · Rating 4 out of 5]

مقدمة جيدة وشاملة لعلم النفس الاجتماعي. ‏
أردتُ من الكتاب مثل هذه المقدمة، وهي بالنسبة لي مراجعة وتثبيت معلومات لقراءتي كتبًا ‏في الباب من قبل. وقد وجدته كافيًا، ليكون مدخلاً يلزمني في مسيرة طويلة في القراءة في علم ‏الاجتماع إن شاء الله. والله الموفق.‏

[Sana Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for a psychology degree that, two years later, I have approximately 1/6th of due to running out of money. Nevertheless, it was worth reading. Due to the nature of the book as an introductory text, it didn't go into much detail about most of the topics covered, but it's a good jumping off point for further research.

[Cognition · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently reading it and I must say that it's damn good. Plus you can read it without a prior knowledge of psychology since social psychology is the science of everyday life. It scientifically studies topics that we are all intimately aware of (unlike quantum mechanics for example). We simply lack a scientific outlook when it comes to delving into human behaviour and this book gives you all the tools to understand human behaviour like never before.

[Ahmed Al sanhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many social psychology topics in this book that are really interesting. Reading this book enlightens my understanding of how human beings operate among themselves such as how we understand ourselves via observing our behaviors, analyzing people's, surrounding us, viewpoints of our behaviors, and comparing ourselves with others. How our behaviors, belifes, perceptions, and actions are affected by the people around us, and how we play role in shaping and affecting others too. After reading this books, my perception towards the effect of others in almost every decision and action we make or do strengthen and I became more understanding in terms of others' embraced belifes, and actions people do became more explainable to me.

This book is good start to widen one's understanding and perceptions of how we, human beings, work. I consider "We" human beings as very sophisticated machine that understanding the mechanisms of its operation is very challenging as its operation consistently changes and adapts to the environment surrounding it.