This special issue features papers that offer deeply felt, valuable perspectives on diverse aspects of theory construction in social-personality psychology. The goal is to furnish a basis for starting a discussion about the considerable challenges of theorizing, the ways of meeting those challenges, and the great rewards that successful theorizing offers to the discipline as a whole.

This general reader in social psychology takes a nonreductionistic approach to the discipline and is characterized by a multiplicity of perspectives. It is ordered in terms of levels of analysis whereby social phenomena can be understood, starting with the biological level.

This general reader in Social Psychology is unique in its nonreductionistic approach to the discipline and is characterized by a multiplicity of perspectives. It is ordered in terms of levels of analysis whereby social phenomena can be understood, starting with the biological level and then moving on to the cognitive, personal/motivational, interpersonal, group, and cultural level of analysis. No one level of analysis is considered more basic or adequate for explaining social phenomena than any other level, nor do these levels compete. Rather, it is believed that each makes a vital...

The reader begins with an original paper by the editors that introduces the social-personality perspective on motivational science and provides an integrated review of empirical and theoretical contributions. Major issues in motivational science are identified that form the basis for the organization of the book. Each section of the book also has a brief introduction, suggested additional readings, and questions for discussion.

The reader begins with an original paper by the editors that introduces the social-personality perspective on motivational science and provides an integrated review of empirical and theoretical contributions. Major issues in motivational science are identified that form the basis for the organization of the book. Each section of the book also has a brief introduction, suggested additional readings, and questions for discussion.

-A must-read for anyone who wants to understand why they behave as they do.- --Art Markman, Ph.D., author of Smart Thinking
Do you play to win? Or do you play not to lose?
As Tory Higgins and Heidi Grant Halvorson have discovered in their work at Columbia University's Motivation Science Center, everything we do is motivated either by a desire to be better off or to simply hang on to what we've got. And understanding the simple but crucial difference between the two can empower you to motivate yourself and influence everyone around you. Examining how promotion/prevention focus...

How does motivation work? The classic answer is that people are motivated to approach pleasure and avoid pain, that they are motivated by "carrots and sticks." But to understand human motivation, it is necessary to go beyond pleasure and pain. What people want is to be effective in their life pursuits, and there are three distinct ways that people want to be effective. They want to be effective in having desired results (value), which includes having pleasure but is not limited to pleasure. They want to be effective in managing what happens (control) and in establishing what's real (truth),...