Social Psychology

Social Psychology, 3rd Edition provides the only conceptually integrated undergraduate introduction to social psychology, offering a clear synthesis of the cognitive and social, and individual and group influences that shape social behavior.

This textbook offers comprehensive coverage of classic, contemporary, and emerging topics in social psychology. The focus is on underlying, unifying principles that operate across topics, rather than treatment of each topic in isolation, a focus that reflects the increasingly cross-disciplinary developments within and beyond psychology. An emphasis on research carried out in different parts of the world and a sensitivity to cross-cultural perspectives highlight the internationalization of the field in recent years. In addition, the text offers real-world applications of scientific principles to areas such as marketing, law, education, and health. Throughout, the discussion conceptually integrates the pervasive impact of social groups on all aspects of social behavior.

Extensive feedback from reviews of prior editions has helped make this third edition comprehensive, contemporary, and relevant to social psychology students’ and instructors’ needs. Effective and helpful pedagogical features include chapter summaries, margin glossaries, tables, graphs, and photographs.

An attractive student-friendly format, and a narrative by two leading scholars that is both lively and rigorous, make this text one of the most respected and acclaimed on the market.

This new edition is supported by an extensive online Social Psychology Student Learning Program (SocSLP) and CD-ROM based Instructor Resources, both of which are free of charge to qualifying adopters.

"In my view, Social Psychology, 3rd Edition, by Smith & Mackie, has many advantages over its competitors. It presents, and consistently reiterates, themes that operate across areas of social psychology, giving social psychology a "unified" feel that is often absent from other textbooks. Even more importantly, this is a text that does not treat social psychology as if it were intellectual candy, but instead presents a meaty, comprehensive, sophisticated, and nuanced view of the field. It manages to maintain intellectual rigor while maintaining a high standard of readability, often conveying and contextualizing findings in terms of engaging real examples. In my opinion, this book is an excellent way to introduce people to the science of social psychology!" - John J. Skowronski, Professor of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, USA

"This book puts an end to the notion that social psychology constitutes a collection of loosely related topics. In a revolutionary organization of the field, Smith & Mackie identify the fundamental principles of human motivation, cognition, and behavior that form a common undercurrent for all of social psychology. Not only does this integrative approach present a more coherent view of the field, but it also encourages students to understand social psychology, rather than simply remember the facts." - Jeffrey W. Sherman, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA