Motivated by the desire to explain how Americans perceive and evaluate inequality and related programs and policies, the authors conducted a national survey of beliefs about social and economic inequality in America. Here they present the results of their research on the structure, determinants, and certain political and personal consequences of these beliefs. The presentations serve two major goals; to describe and explain the central features of Americans' images of inequality. Beliefs About Inequality begins with a focus on people's perceptions of the most basic elements of inequality: the availability of opportunity in society, the causes of economic achievements, and the benefits and costs of equality and inequality. The book's analysis of the public's beliefs on these key issues is based on fundamental theories of social psychology and lays the groundwork for understanding how Americans evaluate inequality-related policies. The authors discuss the ultimate determinants of beliefs and the implications of their findings for social policies related to inequality. They propose that attitudes toward economic inequality and related policy are influenced by three major aspects of the current American social, economic, and political environment: a stable "dominant ideology" about economic inequality; individuals' social and economic status; and specific beliefs and attitudes, often reflecting "social liberalism" shaped by recent political debates and events.

This textbook is the only major introduction to social psychology that provides a conceptually and thematically integrated approach to the science of social behavior. Unlike the majority of textbooks that portray social psychology as a list of interesting -- but seemingly unrelated -- phenomena, Smith, Mackie and Claypool show how the major topics and themes in the discipline are, in reality, deeply interconnected. As such, it provides a uniquely rich, meaningful, and logical appreciation of human social behavior that students can relate to the world around them and apply to their own lives.

In addition to the unifying themes and principles that run throughout the book, there is also recognition that social processes are intertwined with cognitive processes which creates much of the tension and dynamic in real-world settings.

Finally, there is the appplication of the science of social psychology and to real-life: this not only includes the major societal institutions, such as law and business, but also to issues as diverse as interpersonal relationships, media and marketing, social support, the environment, nutrition, and international relations.

This fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and includes much richer pedagogy than its predecessors, both within the book and online.

The theories or programs of research described in the chapters of this book move beyond the traditional evaluation model of prejudice, drawing on a broad range of theoretical ancestry to develop models of why, when, and how differentiated reactions to groups arise, and what their consequences might be. The chapters have in common a re-focusing of interest on emotion as a theoretical base for understanding differentiated reactions to, and differentiated behaviors toward, social groups. The contributions also share a focus on specific interactional and structural relations among groups as a source of these differentiated emotional reactions. The chapters in the volume thus reflect a theoretical shift from an earlier emphasis on knowledge about ingroups and outgroups to a new perspective on prejudice in which socially-grounded emotional differentiation becomes a basis for social regulation.

Despite the insights afforded by traditional work on prejudice, understanding intergroup relations now appears to demand knowledge of the antecedents, nature, and consequences of much more complex, modulated, and differentiated reactions to both ingroups and outgroups. The theories or programs of research described in the chapters of this book move beyond the traditional evaluation model of prejudice, drawing on a broad range of theoretical ancestry to develop models of why, when, and how differentiated reactions to groups arise, and what their consequences might be. The chapters have in common a re-focusing of interest on emotion as a theoretical base for understanding differentiated reactions to, and differentiated behaviors toward, social groups. Emotions are seen as arising as events impinging on groups with which one socially identifies, and they regulate responses both within the group and among groups. The contributions also share a focus on specific interactional and structural relations among groups as a source of these differentiated emotional reactions. The chapters in the volume thus reflect a theoretical shift from an earlier emphasis on knowledge about ingroups and outgroups to a new perspective on prejudice in which socially-grounded emotional differentiation becomes a basis for social regulation.

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Motivated by the desire to explain how Americans perceive and evaluate inequality and related programs and policies, the authors conducted a national survey of beliefs about social and economic inequality in America. Here they present the results of their research on the structure, determinants, and certain political and personal consequences of these beliefs. The presentations serve two major goals; to describe and explain the central features of Americans' images of inequality. Beliefs About Inequality begins with a focus on people's perceptions of the most basic elements of inequality: the availability of opportunity in society, the causes of economic achievements, and the benefits and costs of equality and inequality. The book's analysis of the public's beliefs on these key issues is based on fundamental theories of social psychology and lays the groundwork for understanding how Americans evaluate inequality-related policies. The authors discuss the ultimate determinants of beliefs and the implications of their findings for social policies related to inequality. They propose that attitudes toward economic inequality and related policy are influenced by three major aspects of the current American social, economic, and political environment: a stable "dominant ideology" about economic inequality; individuals' social and economic status; and specific beliefs and attitudes, often reflecting "social liberalism" shaped by recent political debates and events. "aa superb piece of scholarship, combining substantive ambition and theoretical depth with analytical clarity and sophistication."--Public Opinion Quarterly James R. Kluegel is chairman of the Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Evaluating Contemporary Juvenile Justice. Eliot R. Smith is professor of psychology at Indiana University. He is the author of Social Psychology.

This textbook is the only major introduction to social psychology that provides a conceptually and thematically integrated approach to the science of social behavior. Unlike the majority of textbooks that portray social psychology as a list of interesting -- but seemingly unrelated -- phenomena, Smith, Mackie and Claypool show how the major topics and themes in the discipline are, in reality, deeply interconnected. As such, it provides a uniquely rich, meaningful, and logical appreciation of human social behavior that students can relate to the world around them and apply to their own lives.

In addition to the unifying themes and principles that run throughout the book, there is also recognition that social processes are intertwined with cognitive processes which creates much of the tension and dynamic in real-world settings.

Finally, there is the appplication of the science of social psychology and to real-life: this not only includes the major societal institutions, such as law and business, but also to issues as diverse as interpersonal relationships, media and marketing, social support, the environment, nutrition, and international relations.

This fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and includes much richer pedagogy than its predecessors, both within the book and online.

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness that a comprehensive understanding of language, cognitive and affective processes, and social and interpersonal phenomena cannot be achieved without understanding the ways these processes are grounded in bodily states. The term 'embodiment' captures the common denominator of these developments, which come from several disciplinary perspectives ranging from neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology, and affective sciences. For the first time, this volume brings together these varied developments under one umbrella and furnishes a comprehensive overview of this intellectual movement in the cognitive-behavioral sciences. The chapters review current work on relations of the body to thought, language use, emotion and social relationships as presented by internationally recognized experts in these areas.

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness that a comprehensive understanding of language, cognitive and affective processes, and social and interpersonal phenomena cannot be achieved without understanding the ways these processes are grounded in bodily states. The term 'embodiment' captures the common denominator of these developments, which come from several disciplinary perspectives ranging from neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology, and affective sciences. For the first time, this volume brings together these varied developments under one umbrella and furnishes a comprehensive overview of this intellectual movement in the cognitive-behavioral sciences. The chapters review current work on relations of the body to thought, language use, emotion and social relationships as presented by internationally recognized experts in these areas.

Most psychology research still assumes that mental processes are internal to the person, waiting to be expressed or activated. This compelling book illustrates that a new paradigm is forming in which contextual factors are considered central to the workings of the mind. Leading experts explore how psychological processes emerge from the transactions of individuals with their physical, social, and cultural environments. The volume showcases cutting-edge research on the contextual nature of such phenomena as gene expression, brain networks, the regulation of hormones, perception, cognition, personality, knowing, learning, and emotion.

The book will be of great intersts to those working in the fields of social and personality, as well as cognitive psychologists; neuroscientists; and graduate students in these fields. It may also serve as a supplemental text in graduate-level courses.