Leading theoreticians and researchers present current thinking about the role played by group memberships in people's sense of who they are and what they are worth. The chapters build on the assumption, developed out of social identity theory, that people create a social self that both defines them and shapes their attitudes and behaviors. The authors address new developments in the theoretical frameworks through which we understand the social self, recent research on the nature of the social self, and recent findings about the influence of social context upon the development and maintenance of the social self.

About the Author
Tom R. Tyler, Roderick M. Kramer, Oliver P. John

Reviews

"Social psychologists have long grappled with questions surrounding people's motivation to interact with others. More specifically, inquiry has often focused on two questions: (1) What motivates people to engage in group interaction? and (2) How are such motives mediated through social context? The contributors to this edited volume address these questions in innovative and thought provoking ways by elaborating on social identity and self-categorization theories.

"Taken as a whole, The Psychology of the Social Self will undoubtedly be a useful resource to mainstream social psychologists whose research interests revolve around the relationships between personal identity, social identity, and group membership. This text will also benefit graduate courses in social psychology, self and society, experimental methods, social networks, and perhaps inequality."
-Contemporary Sociology

"...a provocative alternative model of the self that is sure to stimulate new developments for years to come....provides a valuable counterpoint to the prevailing emphasis on the personal, private, individual, unique self that has dominated much research on social personality psychology...these chapters elaborate and extend the theme of social identity theory in many theoretically rich ways....This volume continues to nudge researchers toward a more full-orbed, thoroughtly social theory of the self."
-Contemporary Psychology

Book Information
ISBN 9780805828504
Author Tom R. Tyler
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Psychology Press
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 530g