Standards and Expectancies

Contrast and Assimilation in Judgments of Self and Others

• By Monica Biernat

This book examines how standards and expectancies affect judgments of others and the self. Standards are points of comparison, expectancies are beliefs about the future, and both serve as frames of reference against which current events and people (including the self) are experienced. The central theme of the book is that judgments can be characterized as either assimilative or contrastive in nature. Assimilation occurs when the target of evaluation (another person, the self) is pulled toward or judged consistently with the standard or expectation, and contrast occurs when the target is differentiated from (judged in a direction opposite) the comparative frame. The book considers factors that determine whether assimilation versus contrast occurs, and focuses on the roles of contextual cues, the self, and stereotypes as standards for judging others, and the roles of internalized guides, stereotypes, and other people for judging the self.

Published September 19th 2005 by Psychology Press.

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Self-Insight

Roadblocks and Detours on the Path to Knowing Thyself

• By David Dunning

People base thousands of choices across a lifetime on the views they hold of their skill and moral character, yet a growing body of research in psychology shows that such self-views are often misguided or misinformed. Anyone who has dealt with others in the classroom, in the workplace, in the medical office, or on the therapist’s couch has probably experienced people whose opinions of themselves depart from the objectively possible.

This book outlines some of the common errors that people make when they evaluate themselves. It also describes the many psychological barriers - some that people build by their own hand - that prevent individuals from achieving self-insight about their ability and character.

The first section of the book focuses on mistaken views of competence, and explores why people often remain blissfully unaware of their incompetence and personality flaws. The second section focuses on faulty views of character, and explores why people tend to perceive they are more unique and special than they really are, why people tend to possess inflated opinions of their moral fiber that are not matched by their deeds, and why people fail to anticipate the impact that emotions have on their choices and actions.

The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in social, personality, and cognitive psychology, but, through the accessibility of its writing style, it will also appeal to those outside of academic psychology with an interest in the psychological processes that lead to our self-insight.

Published January 26th 2005 by Psychology Press.

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The Psychology of Closed Mindedness

• By Arie W. Kruglanski

Closed mindedness is something we all experience on a daily basis. This volume stresses the epistemic functionality of closed mindedness and its essential role in judgment and decision making. It should be of interest to upper level undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in social, cognitive, and personality psychology as well as in sociology, political science, and business administration.

Published June 28th 2004 by Psychology Press.

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Cooperation in Groups

Procedural Justice, Social Identity, and Behavioral Engagement

• By Tom Tyler, Steven Blader

This important new book explores the psychological motives that shape the extent and nature of people's cooperative behavior in the groups, organizations and societies to which they belong. Individuals may choose to expend a great deal of effort on promoting the goals and functioning of the group, they may take a passive role, or they may engage in behaviors targeted towards harming the group and its goals. Such decisions have important implications for the group's functioning and viability, and the goal of this book is to understand the factors that influence these choices.

Published August 24th 2000 by Psychology Press.

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Reducing Intergroup Bias

The Common Ingroup Identity Model

• By Samuel L. Gaertner, John F. Dovidio

Considers situations and interventions that can foster more inclusive representation and ways, both theoretically and practically, and that a common ingroup identity can facilitate more harmonious intergroup relations.

Published July 28th 2000 by Psychology Press.

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The Uncertain Mind

Individual Differences in Facing the Unknown

• By Richard M. Sorrentino, Christopher J.R. Roney

This book discusses individual differences in how people react to uncertainty. The authors show that while some people are relatively comfortable dealing with uncertainty and strive to resolve it (uncertainty-oriented), others are more likely to avoid uncertainty, preferring the familiar or the known (certainty-oriented). They go on to examine the implications of an uncertainty orientation for understanding processes of self-knowledge, social cognition and attitude change, achievement, motivation and performance, interpersonal and group processes, and issues relating to physical and psychological health concerns. Research is discussed which links this uncertainty orientation to each of these issues, raising important practical and theoretical questions for each. The book also considers possible implications for people of both orientations of living in times that may be characterized as being uncertain.

Published January 1st 2000 by Psychology Press.

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Self-theories

Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development

• By Carol S. Dweck

This innovative text sheds light on how people work - why they sometimes function well and, at other times, behave in ways that are self-defeating or destructive. Dweck presents her groundbreaking research on adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-motivational patterns and shows:

*How these patterns originate in people's self-theories
*Their consequences for the person - for achievement, social relationships, and emotional well-being
*Their consequences for society, from issues of human potential to stereotyping and intergroup relations
*The experiences that create them.

This outstanding text is a must-read for researchers in social psychology, child development, and education, and is appropriate for both graduate and senior undergraduate students in these areas.

Published January 1st 2000 by Psychology Press.

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Complex Interpersonal Conflict Behaviour

Theoretical Frontiers

• By Evert Van der Vliert

This book is about reactions to interpersonal conflict such as avoiding, negotiating, and fighting. It breaks away from the prevailing assumption that conflict behaviours are mutually isolated reactions having mutually isolated effects. Instead, reactions are viewed as components of complex conflict behaviour that influence each other's impact on the substantive and relational outcomes. The simultaneous and sequential occurrence of, for example, problem solving and fighting should therefore be studied together and not separately.
The author presents a ladder of stepwise increases in theoretical quality, and designs the sequence of chapters in such a way that the theoretical value increases step by step. The lower steps lead to the description of behavioural components and to a model of integrative and distributive dimensions. The upper steps lead to the dimensions of dual concern for one's own and the other's goals and to complexity explanations in terms of the novel paradigm of conglomerated conflict behaviour. The chapters are summarised into thirty-four interrelated propositions. Six empirical studies demonstrate the validity of crucial propositions at each level of the theoretical framework.
This monograph primarily reaches out to an academic readership. However, due to its clear structure, its comprehensive propositions, its frequent use of figures, and its glossary, the book will also provide an invaluable resource for any student and practitioner interested in conflict management and negotiation.

Published September 26th 1997 by Psychology Press.

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