Interpersonal rejection ranks among the most potent and distressing events that people experience. Romantic rejection, ostracism, stigmatization, job termination, and other kinds of rejections have the power to compromise the quality of people's lives. As a result, people are highly motivated to avoid social rejection, and, indeed, much of human behavior appears to be designed to avoid such experiences. Yet, despite the widespread effects of real, anticipated, and even imagined rejections, psychologists have devoted only passing attention to the topic, and the research on rejection has been...

Despite its obvious advantages, our ability to be self-reflective comes at a high price. Few people realize how profoundly their lives are affected by self-reflection or how frequently inner chatter interferes with their success, pollutes their relationships with others, and undermines their happiness. By allowing people to ruminate about the past or imagine what might happen in the future, self-reflection conjures up a great deal of personal suffering in the form of depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and other negative emotions. A great deal of unhappiness, in the form of addictions,...

People have a pervasive and ongoing concern with how they are perceived and evaluated by others. No matter what they are doing, people typically desire to make certain impressions on other people, and this focus on social images underlies a great deal of human behavior. Mark Leary offers a thorough, integrative review of the antecedents and consequences of self-presentation, examining why we are concerned with our public images and how our self-presentational motives affect behavior and emotion.Leary uses this self-presentational perspective to provide insight into leadership, aggression,...

Social anxiety is a pervasive part of everyday life. Whether experienced during public speaking, in casual conversation, or in interactions with a boss, a potential romantic partner, or a complete stranger, feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and awkwardness are often the consequence of quite ordinary encounters. Why does social anxiety occur? Why are some people more prone to it than others? A complete and authoritative review of the latest theory and research, this book examines the situational, dispositional, and evolutionary causes of social anxiety, its physiological, cognitive, and...

Virtually every major area of interest in social psychology has implications for understanding, diagnosing, and treating emotional and behavioral problems. The intent of this volume of readings is to locate published articles that apply important theories and concepts from social psychology to the study of psychological difficulties. Sub-sections involve social cognition, attitudes and attitude change, social influence, interpersonal relationships, self and identity, and group behavior.

Interpersonal rejection ranks among the most potent and distressing events that people experience. Romantic rejection, ostracism, stigmatization, job termination, and other kinds of rejections have the power to compromise the quality of people's lives. As a result, people are highly motivated to avoid social rejection, and, indeed, much of human behavior appears to be designed to avoid such experiences. Yet, despite the widespread effects of real, anticipated, and even imagined rejections, psychologists have devoted only passing attention to the topic, and the research on rejection has been...

A colleague recently recounted a conversation she had had with a group of graduate students. For reasons that she cannot recall, the discussion had turned to the topic of "old-fashioned" ideas in psychology-perspectives and beliefs that had once enjoyed widespread support but that are now regarded as quaint curiosities. The students racked their brains to outdo one ofthe historical trivia of psychology: Le Bon's another with their knowledge fascination with the "group mind," Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism, the short-lived popularity of "moral therapy," Descartes' belief that erec tions...

Widely regarded as the authoritative reference in the field, this volume comprehensively reviews theory and research on the self. Leading investigators address this essential construct at multiple levels of analysis, from neural pathways to complex social and cultural dynamics. Coverage includes how individuals gain self-awareness, agency, and a sense of identity; self-related motivation and emotion; the role of the self in interpersonal behavior; and self-development across evolutionary time and the lifespan. Connections between self-processes and psychological problems are also addressed....