Essential Social Psychology

This textbook introduces students to the core theories, approaches, and findings that are the necessary foundations for developing an understanding of social psychology. For students taking psychology for the first time, either as single honours psychologists or 'elective' students taking social psychology as an option in other degree programmes, it covers the essential topics (self and identity, social cognition, attitudes, group processes, social influence, prejudice, aggression, pro-social behaviour and intergroup relations) in a memorable, readable manner. The text focuses specifically on theory and basic level empirical demonstrations of the key phenomena, to ensure that the key concepts are as accessible as possible. The aim is to be informative without swamping students with too much information. Each chapter provides an overview of an important topic in social psychology, complete with tables, graphs and illustrations that communicate the key findings and concepts. Each chapter also comes with text boxes that provide in-depth information about classic and contemporary studies, and interesting real-life applications of theory and research. Essential key terms and definitions that students need to know are highlighted and explained throughout. To help students consolidate what they have learnt, each chapter ends with a summary, suggested further readings and example essay questions. Each chapter is also accompanied by a corresponding 'mental map' to demonstrate the interconnections between the different aspects of each topic. This will help students organize their knowledge in a way that will be most useful in answering those crucial exam questions. The textbook also comes with a companion website delivering a range of lecturer and student-friendly features.