CRITICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

CRITICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY INTRODUCES STUDENTS, IN A STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRACTICAL AND ACCESSIBLE WAY, TO KEY THEMES AND DEBATES ARISING FROM THIS BURGEONING - AND OFTEN COMPLEX - FIELD. THE AUTHORS CONTRAST MAINSTREAM EXPERIMENTAL AND CRITICAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF VARIOUS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL TOPICS AND BRING TOGETHER A RANGE OF CRITICAL WORK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY SITUATING THE DISCIPLINE AND ITS SUBJECT - THE INDIVIDUAL - FIRMLY WITHIN SOCIETY. DIFFICULT CONCEPTS SUCH AS 'DISCOURSE', 'SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM' AND 'SUBJECTIVITY' ARE CLEARLY DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED WITH REFERENCE TO CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN AREAS SUCH AS GENDER, RACE, PREJUDICE AND CONFORMITY. IN THEIR REVIEW OF 'CLASSIC' SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY TOPICS FROM A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE, THE AUTHORS USE MANY RESEARCH EXAMPLES TO FACILITATE STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX CONCEPTS AND DEBATES AND TO ENCOURAGE CRITICAL REFLECTION.