Social Psychology

When we began writing this book, our overriding goal was to capture the excitement of social psychology. We have been pleased to hear, in many kind letters and e-mail messages from professors and students, that we succeeded. One of our favorites was from a student who said that the book was so interesting that she always saved it for last, to reward herself for finishing her other work. With that one student, at least, we succeeded in making our book an enjoyable, fascinating story, not a dry report of facts and figures. There is always room for improvement, however, and our goal in this, the fifth edition, is to make the field of social psychology an even better read. When we teach the course, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing the sleepy students in the back row sit up with interest and say, "Wow, I didn't know that! Now that's interesting." We hope that students who read our book will have that very same reaction. Social psychology comes alive for students when they understand the whole context of the field: how theories inspire research, why research is performed as it is, how further research triggers yet new avenues of study. We have tried to convey our own fascination with the research process in a down-to-earth, meaningful way and have presented the results of the scientific process in terms of the everyday experience of the reader. However, we did not want to "water down" our presentation of the field. In a world where human behavior can be endlessly surprising and where research results can be quite counterintuitive, students need a firm foundation on which to build their understanding of this challenging discipline. Here, in more detail, is how we present a rigorous, scientific approach to social psychology in a way that, we hope, engages and fascinates most students. A STORYTELLING APPROACH Social psychology is full of good stories, such as how the Holocaust inspired investigations into obedience to authority, how reactions to the marriage of the crown prince of Japan to Masako Owada, a career diplomat, illustrates cultural differences in the self-concept, and how Lance Armstrong's successful battle with cancer, and his incredible athletic feats (five consecutive victories in the Tour de France), illustrate social psychological approaches to health. By placing research in a real-world context, we make the material more familiar, understandable, and memorable. Opening Vignettes Each chapter begins with a real-life vignette that illustrates the concepts to come. We refer to this event at several points in the chapter, clarifying to students the relevance of the material they are learning. Examples of the opening vignettes include the tragic death of Amadou Diallo, who was shot forty-one times by four white police officers, as he reached for his wallet in the vestibule of his New York apartment building (Chapter 3, "Social Cognition: How We Think about the Social World"), some amazing acts of altruism at the sites of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (Chapter 11, "Prosocial Behavior: Why do People Help?"), and a murder trial in which an innocent man was sentenced to death because of faulty eyewitness testimony (Social Psychology in Action 3, "Social Psychology and the Law"). "Mini-Stories" in Each Chapter Our storytelling approach is not limited to these opening vignettes. There are several "mini-stories" woven into each chapter that both illustrate specific concepts and bring the material to life. For each one, first, we describe an example of a real-life phenomenon that is designed to pique students' interest. These stories are taken from current events, literature, and our own lives. Second, we describe an experiment that attempts to explain the phenomenon. This experiment is typically described in some detail, because we believe that students should not only learn the major theories in social psychology but also understand and appreciateAronson, Elliot is the author of 'Social Psychology', published 2004 under ISBN 9780131786868 and ISBN 0131786865.