Handbook of the History of Social Psychology

Arie W. Kruglanski · Wolfgang Stroebe

Oct 2012 · Psychology Press

About this ebook

For the first time in the history of social psychology, we have a handbook on the history of social psychology. In it, leading luminaries in the field present their take on how research in their own domains has unfolded, on the scientists whose impact shaped the research agendas in the different areas of social psychology, and on events, institutions and publications that were pivotal in determining the field’s history.

Social psychology’s numerous subfields now boast a rich historical heritage of their own, which demands special attention. The Handbook recounts the intriguing and often surprising lessons that the tale of social psychology’s remarkable ascendance has to offer. The historical diversity is the hallmark of the present handbook reflecting each of this field’s domains unique evolution.

Collectively, the contributions put a conceptual mirror to our field and weave the intricate tapestry of people, dynamics and events whose workings combined to produce what the vibrant discipline of social psychology is today. They allow the contemporary student, scholar and instructor to explore the historical development of this important field, provide insight into its enduring aims and allow them to transcend the vicissitudes of the zeitgeist and fads of the moment.

The Handbook of the History of Social Psychology provides an essential resource for any social psychologist’s collection.

About the author

Arie W. Kruglanski is Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland. He is recipient of the National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Award, the Donald Campbell Award for Oustanding Contributions to Social Psychology, the University of Maryland Regents Award for Scholarship and Creativity and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. He was Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, and is Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. He has served as editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, and as editor of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and as Associate Editor of the American Psychologist. His interests have been in the domains of human judgment and decision making, the motivation-cognition interface, group and intergroup processes, the psychology of human goals, and the social psychological aspects of terrorism. His work has been disseminated in over 250 articles, chapters and books and has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, Deutsche Forschungs Gemeineschaft, the Ford Foundation and the Israeli Academy of Science. He has been members of several NAS panels on the social and behavioral aspects of terrorism and presently serves as co-director of the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism.

Wolfgang Stroebe received his PhDs from the Universities of Muenster (Germany) and the London School of Economics (UK) in 1966 and 1968, after which he held academic positions in the USA, Great Britain and Germany, before moving to the Netherlands, where he is now Professor of Social Psychology at Utrecht University. He has recently also taken up a position at the University of Groningen. A past president of the European Association of Social Psychology, he is Fellow of many associations, including the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology and the British Psychological Society. He is founding editor (jointly with Miles Hewstone) of the European Review of Social Psychology and also (co-)edits the highly successful European textbook of social psychology. He has published half a dozen books and more than 200 articles and chapters on topics that range from productivity loss in brainstorming groups to the health consequences of bereavement. His most recent research focus has been on subliminal advertising and the self-regulation of eating. He has received numerous awards, including the Tajfel distinguished scientist award of the European Association of Social Psychology, the lifetime achievement award from the German Psychological Association, the research award from the American Association of Death Counseling and Education and a honorary doctorate from the University of Louvain (Belgium). In 2006 he was made a Knight of the Royal Order of the Nederlandsche Lieuw in recognition of his contribution to Dutch and European social psychology.