Research on groups has been a major focus of concern among psychologists and sociologists for many years. The study of groups certainly deserves a central role in these disciplines since much of our behavior occurs in groups and many important social phenomena involve groups. Issues such as leadership, conformity, group decision-making, group task performance, and coalition formation have had a long history of research. However, recently a number of other areas of research have blossomed that provide interesting new perspectives on group processes (e.g., social impact). In addition, topics of...

This book is concerned with the psychological effects of unemployment. In writing it I had two main aims: (1) to describe theoretical approaches that are relevant to understanding unemployment effects; and (2) to present the re sults of studies from a program of research with which I have been closely involved over recent years. In order to meet these aims I have organized the book into two main parts. I discuss background research and theoretical approaches in the first half of the book, beginning with research concerned with the psychological effects of unemployment during the Great...

"Individuals who live in groups hold common beliefs which define their reality, not only as persons, but also as group members. This reality becomes especially important when group members become aware that they share beliefs and are convinced that these beliefs characterize them as a group. In this case common beliefs become group beliefs." With this statement, Dr. Bar-Tal begins his far-reaching analysis of beliefs as a group phenomenon. Group beliefs are shown to have important behavioral, cognitive, and affective implications for group members and the group as a whole. They may contribute...

This book summarizes theoretical and empirical work that was performed in a large-scale, cross-university research project on the relationship between attitudes and behavior. The entire program has been funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), an institution that operates similarly to the American National Science Foundation. In 1981 the DFGruled to release the project for a five-year period with the option to extend if th extension proposal would suggest a major alteration of research goals. The participants are presently in the stage of transition between the first five-year...

Intuitive Judgments of Change represents the first systematic attempt to understand how people perceive change. Historically, social psychological work has emphasized the importance of stability and continuity among cognitive elements in analyzing cognitive processes. The author develops an hypothesis together with supporting evidence which suggests that change judgments are unique, ubiquitious, and pose no particular problem for people's cognitive apparatus. Intuitive Judgments of Change offers an innovative direction for future research on a topic which has as yet received...

This is a book about moods. Though I will define the term somewhat more carefully in Chapter 1, it might help to note here that I use the word "mood" to refer to affective states which do not stimulate the relatively specific response tendencies we associate with "emotions." Instead, moods are pervasive and global, having the capability of influencing a broad range of thought processes and behavior. My interest in mood was provoked initially by the empirical and conceptual contri butions of Alice Isen and her colleagues. What fascinated me most was the sugges tion first made in a paper by...

It is often said that one of the key determinants of a book's wmth is the extent to which it fulfills the reader's expectations. As such, we welcome this oppor- tunity to help formulate the expectations of our readers, to express our view of what this book is and what it is not. We believe that fully appreciating this volume requires understanding its mission and how it differs from that of other books on research methodology. We have not prepared a primer on research techniques. We offer no "how- to" guides for researchers-nothing on how to conduct interviews, how to design studies, or how...

Several years ago Coleman (1981) reported that in 1979 one of the many in ternational cosmetics companies had an annual sales figure of $2. 38 billion, nearly 1. 25 million sales representatives, and over 700 products, the majority of these being for the face. Cash and Cash (1982) noted that in 1979 U. S. consumers spent over $4 million on cosmetic products. They stated that, "Although this practice would seem to be a fascinating aspect of human be havior on the basis of its generality and resilience, social-behavioral scientists have largely ignored the phenomenon so plainly (or pleasingly)...

In the fall of 1983, we began to organize a symposium entitled "General Social Psychological Theories of Group Behavior." Our goal was to encourage the extension and application of basic current social psychology to group behavior. The symposium was presented in the spring of 1984 at the Eastern Psychological Association convention in Baltimore and the interest that it generated led to discussions with colleagues and friends about similar efforts by social psychologists, eventually resulting in the present book. Some clarification about the contents is in order. First, the theories presented...