Social psychology is about the people who populate our everyday lives, and how they affect our 'personal universe', defining who we are, and shaping our behaviour, beliefs, attitudes, and ideology. In an age where we've mapped the human genome and explored much of the physical world, the study of people's behaviour is one of the most exciting frontiers of scientific endeavor.In this Very Short Introduction Richard Crisp tells the story of social psychology, its history, concepts and major theories. Discussing the classic studies that have defined the discipline, Crisp introduces social psychology's key thinkers, and shows how their personal histories spurred them to understand what connects people to people, and the societies in which we live. Taking us from the first ideas of the discipline to its most cutting edge developments, Crisp demonstrates howsocial psychology remains profoundly relevant to everyday life. From attitudes to attraction, prejudice to persuasion, health to happiness - social psychology provides insights that can change the world, and help us tackle the defining problems of the 21st century.ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Richard J. Crisp is an author, blogger, scientist and Professor of Psychology at Durham University. He is co-originator of the imagined contact hypothesis and a major contributor to the field of social psychology.
Utterly fascinating. Generally in physics we know of the four fundamental forces that guide the universe, yet we seem to have a very weak understanding of the forces that guide human behavior. In this one, we move away from the cosmic universe to the social universe with all of its intangible forces and intricacies. Attitude formation, prejudice, obedience, conformity and finally love are discussed in this condensed little introduction, which is far from hindered by its brevity. I recommend this book to everyone who has ever observed the dynamics of group behavior and who is genuinely interested in the forces that shape our behavior. This book is "all about us", it makes sense that it is both compelling and powerful.
Chapter 1: All about us Chapter 2: The social mind Chapter 3: Attitudes and influence Chapter 4: Obedience, oppression, and agression Chapter 5: Intergroup relations Chapter 6: Love and other attractions
An excellently written book that serves as a great entry point into the topic of social psychology. I particularly like its non-patronising tone - although it is an introduction to the topic, it does not make the reader feel like an ignoramus. I learned lots of interesting things from this book.
An easy-to-read overview of social psychology, suitable for those who want to get started. It gathers all the important concepts in a short amount of time. However, for those who have read or studied this genre before, it will feel superficial and doesn't delve deep enough.
It's a field of patterns, mechanisms, frameworks — and I actually appreciate that, because of its architecture. It gives me something useful to layer into my interdisciplinary view.
This was a very short introduction and sadly, that impacted on the amount of material and the level of discussion of topics raised. If you have read any books on psychology (especially Adam Cash’s “Psychology For Dummies”), there is very little new information or discussion. It is a small book and the first chapter is spent discussing the origins of social psychology, which was a waste of time. I read the first couple of chapters and then just skimmed the rest. Not really worth the bother.
The book basically lists all relevant theories and experiments to social psychology. But while reading, I thought that immediate and relatable examples could really benefit readers who are just getting into psychology. Also, there are a variety of specializations within psychology that quite frequently interchange concepts and ideas, and discussing those are also useful especially when social psychology is now paired with a lot of other disciplines such as social computing or even the academic study of social and personality psychology.