...carefully argued, this book will have special appeal to graduate students, faculty, social psychologists (notably those yearning for Lewinian Approaches), and group-oriented sociologists. —Choice What kind of shared beliefs in a society are of importance to social systems? What functions do they fulfill? How are they informed and disseminated? What are the societal consequences of shared beliefs? All of these questions are addressed in this book in which Daniel Bar-Tal develops the notion of societal psychology, which he states can contribute a social-psychological perspective to the study of a wide range of social problems in a society. He shows how societal psychology can fulfill the promise of early social psychologists by directing attention to the societal and cultural contexts in which individuals live and by examining the reciprocal influence between these contexts and individuals. In this comprehensive volume, four themes of societal belief: patriotism, security, siege mentality, and deligitimization, are examined through well-defined examples and systematic analysis. Researchers, students and practitioners in social psychology, sociology, political science and anthropology will be stimulated and engaged by this important contribution to the field.
In The Development of a Theory of Social Structure and Personality Melvin Kohn, a pioneer in the cross-national, comparative and collaborative study of social structure and personality examines his sociological research spanning a six-decade career to articulate a theory of social structure and personality.
The Social Structure of Right and Wrong focuses on formulations that predict and explain the nature of social control throughout the world and across history. The publication first offers information on social control as a dependent variable, crime as a social control, and compensation and the social structure of misfortune. Discussions focus on the theory of compensation, traditional self-help, concept of social control, varieties of normative behavior, models of social control, and quantity of normative variation. The text then elaborates on social control of the self and elementary forms of conflict management. The manuscript takes a look at the theory of third party and on taking sides, including legal, latent, and slow partisanship, social gravitation, models of partisanship, settlement roles, partisanship in tribal societies, and typology of third parties. The text then examines the factors involved in making enemies, as well as social repulsion, moral evolution, and third-party and unilateral moralism. The publication is a dependable source of data for sociologists and researchers interested in the social structure of right and wrong.
This new printing is not a newly revised edition, only an enlarged one. The revised edition of 1957 remains intact except that its short introduction has been greatly expanded to appear here as Chapters I and II. The only other changes are technical and minor ones: the correction of typographical errors and amended indexes of subjects and names.
Self and Society explores the ways in which society, culture, and history affect how we define our experiences and ourselves. This reader contains 24 essays divided into four topical sections: the social construction of reality, sociology of thought and emotions, the self in social context, and interaction and inequality.
A notable contribution to our understanding of ourselves. This book explores the realm of human behavior in social situations and the way that we appear to others. Dr. Goffman uses the metaphor of theatrical performance as a framework. Each person in everyday social intercourse presents himself and his activity to others, attempts to guide and cotnrol the impressions they form of him, and employs certain techniques in order to sustain his performance, just as an actor presents a character to an audience. The discussions of these social techniques offered here are based upon detailed research and observation of social customs in many regions.