The Atlas of Interpersonal Situations provides a systematic theoretical account for understanding the impact of situations on patterns of social interaction. Structured around descriptions of twenty-one of the most common situations that people encounter daily, this study presents the tools needed to understand how those situations influence interpersonal behavior. These descriptions are freestanding; each providing analysis, research examples, and everyday descriptions of the prototypical situation. The authors build upon interdependence theory, which stresses the manner in which outcomes are determined by the structure of interpersonal interaction. This analysis makes clear exactly what is "social" about "social psychology."
an American social psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His major contributions have been the development of interdependence theory (with John Thibaut), the early work of attribution theory, and a lifelong interest in understanding close relationships processes. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Kelley as the 43rd most cited psychologist of the 20th century.