Social Psychological Foundations of Health and Illness is a summary of current research in social-health psychology. The chapters, written by distinguished leaders in the field, provide brief surveys of classic developments in each area of study followed by extended discussion of the authors' research programs.

• Includes state-of-the-art descriptions of new findings and theories concerning social aspects of physical health and illness.
  
• Discusses virtually all of the major topics studied in the contemporary field of social-health...

This books describes how and why distant social influences, such as socialization practices, interpersonal relationships, and social organization, are often just as important as medical considerations in determining an individual's tendency toward health or illness. The essays describe some of the pathways through which these social influences are exerted and also offer suggestions as to how these influences can be swayed in the direction of good health. The editors' broader aim is to stress the importance of social psychological orientation as a useful conceptual tool for the analysis of...

Comparison of objects, events, and situations is integral to judgment; comparisons of the self with other people comprise one of the building blocks of human conduct and experience. After four decades of research, the topic of social comparison is more popular than ever. In this timely handbook a distinguished roster of researchers and theoreticians describe where the field has been since its development in the early 1950s and where it is likely to go next.

The primary aim of this volume is to present the most recent advances in the psychological study of the self with a special emphasis on the factors that contribute to self-concept and self-esteem. This volume offers the following features:

* state-of-the-art testimonies of important new research programs on the self

* valuable reviews and literature on measurement of self-concept

* analysis of sociocultural influences on self -- an understudied topic until recently

* new theory on the origins of self-enhancement

This books describes how and why "distant" social influences, such as socialization practices, interpersonal relationships, and social organization, are often just as important as medical considerations in determining an individual's tendency toward health or illness. The essays describe some of the pathways through which these social influences are exerted and also offer suggestions as to how these influences can be swayed in the direction of good health. The editors' broader aim is to stress the importance of social psychological orientation as a useful conceptual tool for the analysis of...