In the late 1960s a ‘crisis’ erupted in social psychology, with many social psychologists highly critical of the ‘old paradigm’, laboratory-experimental approach. Originally published in 1989, The Crisis in Modern Social Psychology was the first book to provide a clear account of the complex body of work that is critical of traditional social psychological approaches. Ian Parker insisted that the ‘crisis’ was not over, showing how attempts to improve social psychology had failed, and explaining why we need instead a political understanding of social interaction which links research with change. Modern social psychology reflects the impact of structuralist and post-structuralist conceptual crises in other academic disciplines, and Parker describes the work of Foucault and Derrida sympathetically and lucidly, making these important debates accessible to the student and discussing their influence. He assesses the responses from both mainstream social psychology and from avant-garde textual social psychology to the influx of these radical ideas, and discusses the promises and pitfalls of a post-modern view of social action.

In the late 1960s a ‘crisis’ erupted in social psychology, with many social psychologists highly critical of the ‘old paradigm’, laboratory-experimental approach. Originally published in 1989, The Crisis in Modern Social Psychology was the first book to provide a clear account of the complex body of work that is critical of traditional social psychological approaches. Ian Parker insisted that the ‘crisis’ was not over, showing how attempts to improve social psychology had failed, and explaining why we need instead a political understanding of social interaction which links research with change. Modern social psychology reflects the impact of structuralist and post-structuralist conceptual crises in other academic disciplines, and Parker describes the work of Foucault and Derrida sympathetically and lucidly, making these important debates accessible to the student and discussing their influence. He assesses the responses from both mainstream social psychology and from avant-garde textual social psychology to the influx of these radical ideas, and discusses the promises and pitfalls of a post-modern view of social action.

What are discourses? Are discourses ‘real’, and what is real outside language? In this book, originally published in 1992, Ian Parker provides one of the clearest and most systematic introductions to discourse research and the essential theoretical debates in the area. At the time it was one of the few texts to defend a realist position, discuss accounts of postmodernity and set out criteria for the identification of discourses. Discourse Dynamics is essential reading to anyone interested in project research and an understanding of the theoretical issues involved in discourse analysis. The book will also be of use to students other than those studying psychology. It addresses the concerns of all those looking at qualitative textual research in the human sciences and is still very much relevant today.

The vast majority of research in social psychology focuses on momentary events: an attitude is changed, dissonance is reduced, a cognition is primed, and so on. Little attention is a paid to the unfolding of events over time, to social life as an ongoing process in which events are related in various ways as life unfolds. Originally published in 1984, Historical Social Psychology opens a space for theory and research in which temporal process is central. Contributors to this broad-ranging work provide a rich range of perspectives, from the theoretical to the methodological, from micro-sequences to the life-span, and from contemporary history to the long durée. Together, these authors set the stage for a major shift in the focus of social psychological inquiry.

This ground-breaking and innovative textbook offers a uniquely global approach to the study of social psychology. Inclusive and outward-looking, the authors consciously re-orientate the discipline of social psychology, promoting a collectivist approach. Each chapter begins with an illustrative scenario based on everyday events, from visiting a local health centre to shopping in a supermarket, which challenges readers to confront the issues that arise in today's diverse, multicultural society. This textbook also gives a voice to many indigenous psychologies that have been excluded from the mainstream discipline and provides crucial coverage of the colonization experience. By integrating core social psychology theories and concepts with critical perspectives, Social Psychology and Everyday Life provides a thought-provoking introduction suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of social psychology and community psychology. It can also be used by students in related subjects such as sociology, criminology and other social sciences. Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/social-psychology. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.

A History of Modern Psychology provides students with an engaging, comprehensive, and global history of psychological science, from the birth of the field to the present. It examines the attempts to establish psychology as a science in several countries and epochs. The text expertly draws on a vast knowledge of the field in the United States, England, Germany, France, Russia, and Scandinavia, as well as on author Per Saugstad's keen study of neighboring sciences, including physiology, evolutionary biology, psychiatry, and neurology. Offering a unique global perspective on the development of psychology as an empirical science, this text is an ideal introduction to the field for students and other readers interested in the history of modern psychology.

Originally published in 1975, this book is a completely rewritten, revised version of Michael Argyle’s standard work, Religious Behaviour, first published in 1958. A great deal of new research had appeared since that date, which threw new light on the nature and origins of religious behaviour, beliefs and experience. Trends in religious activity in Britain and the United States since 1900, and the state of religion in these two countries at the time, are examined. Evidence is presented on the origins of religious activity – including the effects of stress, drugs, meditation, evangelistic meetings, personality variables, and social class. Other studies examine the effects of religion, for example on mental and physical health, political attitudes, racial prejudice, sexual behaviour, morals, and the relation between religion and scientific and other achievements. The findings are used to test the main theories about religion which have been put forward by psychologists and other social scientists, such as Freud’s father-projection theory, cognitive need theories, and deprivation-compensation theories.