The area of intergroup relations and social conflict has once again become a major focus of social psychological theorizing and research. One of the consequences of this advance in knowledge is that social psychologists have increasingly been called upon to apply their ideas in order to advise on existing conflicts. The significant contribution of this book is the way it builds on the research and theory of intergroup conflict and then applies this knowledge to the field. The areas discussed include industrial conflicts, interethnic conflicts and intergroup conflicts. The chapters range from reports of experimental laboratory research, through field studies, to theoretical-conceptual contributions. The new advances offered by this broad spectrum of topics will be of interest not only to social psychologists, but also to sociologists and political scientists.

With insightful chapters from key social psychologists and peace scholars, this handbook offers an integrative and extensive overview of critical questions, issues, processes, and strategies relevant to understanding and addressing intergroup conflict.

This book sheds an illuminating light into the psyche of people involved in macro-level destructive intergroup conflicts. It also describes the changes in the socio-psychological repertoire that are necessary to ignite the peace process. Finally, it elaborates on the nature and the processes of peace building, including conflict resolution and reconciliation.

Originally published in 1966 the author challenges the accepted theories of group conflict of the time, such as frustration and maladjustment. For him conflict and its accompanying aggressiveness are features of interaction between groups and he supports this theory with a detailed experimental study of controlled groups. At the time of publication, Dr Otto Klineberg, Director of the International Centre for Intergroup Relations at the Sorbonne wrote: ‘Social scientists everywhere owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Sherif. The distinguished series of publications for which he and his co-workers are responsible have an honoured place in our libraries. In particular, his contributions to the field of intergroup relations are outstanding; his concept of "superordinate goals", based on a combination of theoretical insight and brilliant experimentation, has become a household word for those concerned with this significant problem. In his new volume, Group Conflict and Co-operation, he carries his analysis much further, not only describing the results of several original investigations, but also building a theoretical appraisal of an extensive research literature. The author has made still another significant contribution toward a better understanding of one of the most complex and disturbing phenomena of our time.’

This book provides an up-to-date integration of some of the most recent developments in social psychological research on social conflict and aggression, one of the most perennial and puzzling topics in all of psychology. It offers an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in research on the nature, antecedents, management, and consequences of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and aggression. The chapters share a broad integrative orientation, and argue that human conflict is best understood through the careful analysis of the cognitive, affective, and motivational processes of those involved in conflict situations, supplemented by a broadly-based understanding of the evolutionary, biological, as well as the social and cultural contexts within which social conflict occurs.

This book analyses recent developments in intergroup research. It diverges from classical approaches that looked at diverse needs and motives, focussing not on what motivates intergroup behaviour, but on how intergroup behavior functions.