Research and theory on intergroup contact have become one of the fastest advancing and most exciting fields in social psychology in recent years. The work is exciting because it combines basic social psychological concerns -- human interaction, situational influences on behavior -- with an effective means of improving intergroup relations at a time when the world is witnessing widespread intergroup hatred and strife. This volume provides an overview of this rapidly progressing area of investigation - its origins and early work, its current status and recent developments, along with criticisms of this work and suggestions for future directions. It covers a range of research findings involving contact between groups drawn from the authors' extensive meta-analysis of 515 published studies on intergroup contact. This meta-analysis, together with the authors' renowned research on intergroup contact, provides a solid foundation and broad overview of the field, to which have been added discussions of research extensions and emerging directions. When Groups Meet is a rich, comprehensive overview of classic and contemporary work on intergroup contact, and provides insights into where this work is headed in the future. For research specialists, this volume not only serves as a sourcebook for research and theory on intergroup contact, it also provides the entire 515-item bibliography from the meta-analysis. The clear structure and accessible writing style will also appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology and other social sciences.

Cookie White Stephan and Walter G. Stephan This is a book about the two social psychologies-psychological social psychology and sociological social psychology--written by social psychologists from both disciplines. It focuses on the benefits and costs of interchange between psychological social psychology and sociological social psychology, with the ultimate goal of encouraging interaction among scholars in the two disciplines. The primary questions addressed are: What do the two disciplines have to offer each other? What are the barriers to fruitful interchange? How can these barriers be overcome? In this introductory chapter we will first examine some historical reasons for the lack of interchange between the two social psychologies. Then we will provide a brief preview of the chapters to follow. The Development of the Two Social Psychologies The beginning of concern with the "social animal" can be traced to the ancient Greeks. However, social psychology's formal beginning is usually dated from Norman Triplett's 1897 publication of his findings on the effects of competition or from the publication in 1908 of two books including the words "Social Psychology" in their titles, one by the psychologist William McDougall and the other by the sociologist Edward Alsworth Ross. Thus, from its inception, social psychology was already divided into two distinct academic units, housed in the disciplines of sociology and psychology.

These readings chronicle the triumphs and failures of race relations in our nation, unfolding the tensions and struggles of racial conflict through the analyses of sociologists writing since the late nineteenth century.

The forty-five articles gathered here are drawn from four of the most respected journals in the field: "American Journal of Sociology," "American Sociological Review," "Social Forces," and "Social Problems." Together, they document the problem of the 'color-line', providing for various eras the contemporary rationale for the status quo as well as farsighted calls for change. Thus, the readings reveal how sociological thought reflected racial tensions in this century while simultaneously serving as a force for reform.

"The Sociology of Race Relations" covers seven historical periods, each introduced by an incisive discussion of the racial milieu of the time. It begins with the era of Jim Crow laws and the great black migration from the South and proceeds to the reappearance of the Ku Klux Klan in the '20s, the Depression years, the Japanese-American internment during the Second World War, the deceptively quiet '50s that culminated in the civil rights movement of the '60s. It concludes with a look at desegregation in the '70s, the aftermath of the policies of the preceding decade. Although the majority of selections deal with the problems of black Americans, articles on Mexican-Americans and Japanese-Americans as well as on prejudice in general broaden the scope of the book. The editor's introduction places the entire volume in historical and sociological context.

A time capsule for viewing race relations, and the development of sociological understanding of race relations, "The Sociology of Race Relations" illustrates two of the discipline's major contributions to American life: its ability to heighten our sensitivity to unnoticed relationships and to debunk simplistic beliefs.

Using vivid examples of both historical and current events, acclaimed scholar Thomas Pettigrew’s compelling book advocates for a robust contextual social psychology, maintaining that far more attention should be paid to the social context of various phenomena relevant in the world today.   The volume traces the author's 65-year career, and offers a contextual, three-level approach for studying and theorizing about a variety of social psychological phenomena, combining cultural, situational, and personality levels of analysis. Each chapter illustrates concepts important to the field and provides insight into its advantages, applying these analyses to critical topics such as prejudice, far-right voting patterns, relative deprivation, and intergroup contact. The book describes milestones in establishing a theoretically and methodologically sound contextual approach, including major statistical advances that have made this research easier to conduct, more rigorous, and more commonplace.   As the book demonstrates, in an educational capacity, contextual social psychology opens the possibility for joint undergraduate and graduate courses with other social science classes, such as sociology and political science. Pettigrew paints a broad picture of how social science truly operates at multiple levels.

The monumental Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups is the most authoritative single source available on the history, culture, and distinctive characteristics of ethnic groups in the United States. The Dimensions of Ethnicity series is designed to make this landmark scholarship available to everyone in a series of handy paperbound student editions. Selections in this series will include outstanding articles that illuminate the social dynamics of a pluralistic nation or masterfully summarize the experience of key groups. Written by the best-qualified scholars in each field, Dimensions of Ethnicity titles will reflect the complex interplay between assimilation and pluralism that is a central theme of the American experience. In Prejudice, the history and psychology of discriminatory policies is contrasted with efforts to overcome discrimination.