The area of intergroup relations and social conflict has once again become a major focus of social psychological theorizing and research. One of the consequences of this advance in knowledge is that social psychologists have increasingly been called upon to apply their ideas in order to advise on existing conflicts. The significant contribution of this book is the way it builds on the research and theory of intergroup conflict and then applies this knowledge to the field. The areas discussed include industrial conflicts, interethnic conflicts and intergroup conflicts. The chapters range from reports of experimental laboratory research, through field studies, to theoretical-conceptual contributions. The new advances offered by this broad spectrum of topics will be of interest not only to social psychologists, but also to sociologists and political scientists.

With insightful chapters from key social psychologists and peace scholars, this handbook offers an integrative and extensive overview of critical questions, issues, processes, and strategies relevant to understanding and addressing intergroup conflict.

This book sheds an illuminating light into the psyche of people involved in macro-level destructive intergroup conflicts. It also describes the changes in the socio-psychological repertoire that are necessary to ignite the peace process. Finally, it elaborates on the nature and the processes of peace building, including conflict resolution and reconciliation.

This book provides an up-to-date integration of some of the most recent developments in social psychological research on social conflict and aggression, one of the most perennial and puzzling topics in all of psychology. It offers an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in research on the nature, antecedents, management, and consequences of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and aggression. The chapters share a broad integrative orientation, and argue that human conflict is best understood through the careful analysis of the cognitive, affective, and motivational processes of those involved in conflict situations, supplemented by a broadly-based understanding of the evolutionary, biological, as well as the social and cultural contexts within which social conflict occurs.

Originally published in 1966 the author challenges the accepted theories of group conflict of the time, such as frustration and maladjustment. For him conflict and its accompanying aggressiveness are features of interaction between groups and he supports this theory with a detailed experimental study of controlled groups. At the time of publication, Dr Otto Klineberg, Director of the International Centre for Intergroup Relations at the Sorbonne wrote: ‘Social scientists everywhere owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Sherif. The distinguished series of publications for which he and his co-workers are responsible have an honoured place in our libraries. In particular, his contributions to the field of intergroup relations are outstanding; his concept of "superordinate goals", based on a combination of theoretical insight and brilliant experimentation, has become a household word for those concerned with this significant problem. In his new volume, Group Conflict and Co-operation, he carries his analysis much further, not only describing the results of several original investigations, but also building a theoretical appraisal of an extensive research literature. The author has made still another significant contribution toward a better understanding of one of the most complex and disturbing phenomena of our time.’

This volume gives a survey of the most recent developments and trends in intergroup research. Diverging from classical approaches that looked at diverse needs and motives (positive distinctiveness, belongingness, etc), the present book focuses not only on the question what motivates intergroup behaviour, but especially on how the motivation of intergroup behaviour functions. The book focuses on the role of emotion and motivation in the development of intergroup conflict, social exclusion, tolerance and other group related phenomena. The sections demonstrate how classical theories in the field have been further developed, enriched, and more sophisticatedly tested over the years, and summarise research on affect and memory. They also develop a group based self-regulation approach, examine several specific emotions as motivational forces of intergroup behaviour, and look at factors of intergroup relations that lead to social change. The chapters are short and easy-to-comprehend summaries referring to a broad range of original work, providing a useful resource for advanced students of Social Psychology and researchers in the field of intergroup relations.

Social psychology is about the people who populate our everyday lives, and how they affect our 'personal universe', defining who we are, and shaping our behaviour, beliefs, attitudes, and ideology. In an age where we've mapped the human genome and explored much of the physical world, the study of people's behaviour is one of the most exciting frontiers of scientific endeavor. In this Very Short Introduction Richard Crisp tells the story of social psychology, its history, concepts and major theories. Discussing the classic studies that have defined the discipline, Crisp introduces social psychology's key thinkers, and shows how their personal histories spurred them to understand what connects people to people, and the societies in which we live. Taking us from the first ideas of the discipline to its most cutting edge developments, Crisp demonstrates how social psychology remains profoundly relevant to everyday life. From attitudes to attraction, prejudice to persuasion, health to happiness - social psychology provides insights that can change the world, and help us tackle the defining problems of the 21st century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This work examines the far-reaching influence of Herbert Kelman, a psychologist who is both a scientist and a peacemaker. Kelman is renowned for his contributions to the study of social influence in social psychology as well as to international conflict resolution and the peace research movement.