Examines the major aspects of giving and receiving help in interpersonal and intergroup relations This unique book extends the traditional emphasis on interpersonal help-giving in order to consider a wider spectrum of interpersonal and intergroup helping relations. Help giving is viewed as reflecting people’s care for others, while at the same time dependency on help and giving help imply lower and higher places on the social hierarchy, respectively. It studies the psychology of what goes into helping someone and integrates experimental work conducted in the social psychological laboratory with applied research from volunteer organizations, schools, and work and family environments. In addition to research on the giving of help, the book considers the recipient of help and reviews research and theory on people's readiness to seek and receive help. Unlike much of past research in this context that has been interested in the “generosity question” (i.e., whether or not people help others) the book considers how different kinds of assistance (i.e., autonomy and dependency-oriented help) shape helping interactions. It then goes beyond the analyses of the immediate helping interaction to consider the long-term consequences of giving and receiving help. Finally, the book addresses theory and research on intergroup helping relations. Social Psychology of Helping Relations: Solidarity and Hierarchy begins with a general introduction to the topic. It then offers a series of broad perspectives, covering the philosophical and psychological theory, evolution, and overview of social psychological research. Next, the book looks at the social psychology of helping relations, examining the parties involvedt, and the “why” behind their actions. The positives and negatives of giving and receiving assistance, and the links between status and interpersonal and intergroup helping relations are also covered. It considers how giving, seeking and receiving help maintains or challenges status relations between individuals and groups. The book finishes with a conclusion that wraps up the many lessons learned. Looks at solidarity and inequality in social interactions Examines why people are ready to give and receive help Studies the consequences of giving and receiving help Highlights important implications to different kinds of help beyond the dichotomy between giving/receiving help or not Addresses research and theory on interpersonal and intergroup helping relations The implications of helping relations for personal and social change Social Psychology of Helping Relations: Solidarity and Hierarchy is an ideal book for advanced students, researchers and individuals interested in social psychology, counselling, social work, Sociology, and Political Science.

The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior provides original contributions that examine current perspectives and promising directions for future research on helping behaviors and related core issues. Covers contributions which deal explicitly with interventions designed to foster out-group helping (and to improve its quality) in real world settings Provides the reader with a cohesive look at helping and prosocial behaviors using a combination of theoretical work with research on interventions in applied settings Examines helping from multiple perspectives in order to recognize the diverse influences that promote actions for the benefit of others Contributors to this volume include cutting-edge researchers using both field studies and laboratory experiments

Each of the chapters in this reader is written by leading scholars in the area of relationships, reflecting the diversity of the field and including both contemporary and key historical papers for comprehensive coverage of research.

This volume gives a survey of the most recent developments and trends in intergroup research. Diverging from classical approaches that looked at diverse needs and motives (positive distinctiveness, belongingness, etc), the present book focuses not only on the question what motivates intergroup behaviour, but especially on how the motivation of intergroup behaviour functions. The book focuses on the role of emotion and motivation in the development of intergroup conflict, social exclusion, tolerance and other group related phenomena. The sections demonstrate how classical theories in the field have been further developed, enriched, and more sophisticatedly tested over the years, and summarise research on affect and memory. They also develop a group based self-regulation approach, examine several specific emotions as motivational forces of intergroup behaviour, and look at factors of intergroup relations that lead to social change. The chapters are short and easy-to-comprehend summaries referring to a broad range of original work, providing a useful resource for advanced students of Social Psychology and researchers in the field of intergroup relations.

Why are we attracted to some people and not to others? Are first impressions accurate? Why do some romantic relationships succeed while others fail? Are our romantic choices influenced by evolution? In tackling questions like these, The Social Psychology of Attraction and Romantic Relationships reviews the theory and research behind this fascinating area. It combines real-life anecdotes and popular media examples with the latest psychological studies, making it a lively and engaging read. Ideal for students of social psychology and intimate relationships courses, this is a comprehensive introduction to an everyday subject that, on closer investigation, proves to be a dynamic, intriguing, and sometimes surprising area.

The Social Psychology of Female-Male Relations: A Critical Analysis of Central Concepts covers the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours of individuals in social interaction and explicitly considers women and men in relation to one another - as individuals, as representatives of social categories, and as significant social groups. Chapter One lays out the parameters of the social psychology of female-male relations. Chapter Two contains two major insights: that gender identity is a complex, multifaceted construct and that the structure and degree of differentiation of gender identity develop and change over the life course. Chapters Three and Four present a relatively general cognitive social-psychological framework for two important constructs, sex stereotypes and gender-related attitudes. Chapter Five offers a critique of analyses that explain the behavior of women and men in close, personal relationships in terms of sex differences in the individual dispositions of the participants. Chapter Six presents a strong and straightforward critique of the current usage of the term sex role to describe a global set of behavioral prescriptions that apply to all women and to all men. Chapter Seven presents a comprehensive review of research on gender-related patterns of behavior in task groups that cannot be found elsewhere. The concluding chapter summarizes points made in earlier chapters and offers a set of notes toward a theory of female-male relations. Social scientists (especially, psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists) doing research on women, on men, or on women and men in relationships or in social interaction.

The Social Psychology of Personal Relationships provides a concise and highly readable introduction to the major social psychological perspectives on the study of personal relationships. The contributors, all internationally recognized scholars in their respective fields, address the study of personal relationships from the following key social psychological perspectives: attachment theory evolutionary psychology interdependence relations interracial relationships self-expansion theory self-presentation theory This important text also contains an innovative chapter on how to analyze data from dyadic relationship studies, along with meta-theoretical commentaries by Ickes and Duck, and by Acitelli, Duck and West. A useful reference for professionals whose research and/or clinical practice focuses on personal relationships, this book is also intended for advanced students in the areas of social psychology, clinical and counseling psychology, communication studies, family studies and sociology courses. The Social Psychology of Personal Relationships is one of a series of paperbacks dedicated to the study and application of processes by which individuals relate to each other in social and family settings. Each book provides an expanded and up-to-date version of a section in the original Handbook of Personal Relationships (second edition) edited by Steve Duck.