The Oxford Encyclopedia of Social Psychology

Unsurprisingly, people are consumed with interest in people - themselves, other people, how we interact as individuals in close relationships or as members of groups, and how groups interact with other groups. Attraction, love, language, communication, influence, persuasion, leadership, conformity, self and identity, culture, aggression, prejudice, and discrimination are all part of the human condition and of our everyday lives. It is therefore not unexpected that people might be preoccupied to understand the psychology underlying these phenomena, and this is precisely what social psychology offers - more than a century of systematic scientific research on, and associated theorizing of, the breadth and diversity of social behavior. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Social Psychology synthesizes what we know about human social behavior and explores avenues for future research. Across 79 scholarly and exhaustively referenced chapters, all written in an accessible style, nearly every topic that social psychologists study is comprehensively covered. Each chapter, which is self-contained but carefully cross-referenced, is written by a distinguished social psychologist and internationally prominent expert on the topic. The Encyclopedia is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in discovering what social psychology has discovered. It is a trusted source that can be turned to with confidence by students and researchers across the social and behavioral sciences, as well as by those who work in policy and applied settings, or by those who are simply interested in social psychology and human social behavior.