The Selected Works of R.B. Zajonc

Over the last four decades, R. B. Zajonc has continually pushed the limits of social psychology. Whether in the area of cognitive structure, social motives, affect and cognition, family structure and intelligence, or group hostility, Zajonc's contributions have opened up new avenues of thinking and research, and at times have heralded significant new trends in the field.

This impressive collection of Zajonc's papers captures his quintessential style of research ― a style that is characterized by both simplicity and an effort to penetrate the fundamentals of social behavior.

The text will bring historical depth and a strong sense of classical research to one and two semester social psychology courses. It is also the perfect compliment for the other two texts in Wiley's social psychology series: The Selected Works of Edward E. Jones by Daniel T. Gilbert and Social Beings: A Core Motives Approach to Social Psychology by Susan Fiske.

After obtaining his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1955, Robert Zajonc became a professor there until 1994, having held the positions of Director of the Institute for Social Research and Director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics. He then joined the faculty at Stanford University, where he is currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology.

Throughout his long and distinguished career, Professor Zajonc has had research interests in basic processes implicated in social behavior, with a special emphasis on the interface between affect and cognition. In a series of well-known studies, he examined circumstances under which affective influences can take place in the absence of cognitive contributions.

For this ground-breaking work Professor Zajonc has received a number of honors, including Doctorates Honoris Causa from the University of Louvain, the Society for Experimental Social Psychology Distinguished Scientist Award, and the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award.