Unlike clinical psychologists, social psychologists examine the group as a vehicle for interaction and performance. They are interested in such topics as how groups make decisions, how working with others influences individual performance, and how conflict arises and is resolved within and between groups.Group Performance and Interaction is the first textbook to address the many recent changes in the field of groups and group decisionmaking from a social psychological perspective. Incorporated in this introductory survey are the latest developments in groups research as well as...

One of the key scientific challenges is the puzzle of human cooperation. Why do people cooperate? Why do people help strangers, even sometimes at a major cost to themselves? Why do people want to punish people who violate norms and undermine collective interests?

This book is inspired by the fact that social dilemmas, defined in terms of conflicts between (often short-term) self-interest and (often longer-term) collective interest, are omnipresent. The book centers on two major themes. The first theme is the theoretical understanding of human cooperation: are people indeed...