Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Managing Social Problems

345 Pages·2008·7.937 MB·English

by  Linda Steg, Abraham P. Buunk, Talib Rothengatter

Applied Social Psychology
Appliedsocialpsychologycombinesthescienceofsocialpsychologywith
the practical application of solving social problems that exist in the real
world.Thisexcitingnewtextbookprovidesathoroughexplanationofhow
social psychologists can contribute to the understanding and management
ofdifferentsocialproblems.Ahighlyprestigiousteamofcontributorsfrom
acrossEuropeandtheUnitedStatesillustratehowsocialpsychologicalthe-
ories, research methods and intervention techniques can be successfully
applied to social problems encountered in the fields of physical and men-
talhealth,integrationandimmigrationissues,genderissues,organizational
issues, economic behaviour, political behaviour, environmental behaviour
and education. Each field studied features an overview of important prob-
lems,theroleofhumanbehaviourintheseproblems,thefactorsinfluencing
relevant behaviour, and effective ways to change this behaviour. This is
an essential volume for all undergraduate and graduate students studying
appliedsocialpsychology.
linda steg is Associate Professor in Environmental Psychology at the
UniversityofGroningen.
abraham p. buunk is Academy Professor on behalf of the Royal
NetherlandsAcademyofArtsandSciencesandProfessorofEvolutionary
SocialPsychologyattheUniversityofGroningen.
talib rothengatter is Professor of Applied Psychology at the
UniversityofGroningen.

Applied Social Psychology
Understanding and Managing
Social Problems
Editedby
Linda Steg, Abraham P. Buunk and
Talib Rothengatter
cambridge university press
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Contents
Listoffigures page xi
Listoftables xiv
Listofboxes xv
Listofcontributors xvii
Acknowledgements xix
1 Introductiontoappliedsocialpsychology 1
linda steg and talib rothengatter
Introduction:socialproblemsandhumancognitionandbehaviour 1
Definitionofappliedsocialpsychology 4
Correspondencebetweenbasicandappliedsocialpsychology 8
Developingandtestingtheories 8
Basicandappliedsocialpsychologyasscience 9
Goalsofscience 11
Causesofbehaviourandcognitions 12
Featuresofappliedsocialpsychology 15
Theroleofpersonalvalues 15
Theuseofmultipletheories,interventiontechniquesand
researchmethods 17
Interdisciplinaryresearch 18
Fieldsettings 19
Socialutility 20
Rolesofappliedsocialpsychologists 22
Overviewofthebook 24
2 TheUSEoftheoryinappliedsocialpsychology 28
p. wesley schultz and mica estrada-hollenbeck
Introduction 28
Theroleoftheoryinthefieldofappliedsocialpsychology 29
Theories,principlesandconstructs 32
Social-psychologicaltheories 35
Socialthinking 35
Socialinfluence 39
Socialrelationships 42
v
vi Contents
Thingstoconsiderwhenusingtheoryinappliedwork 47
Howbasic,appliedanduse-inspiredresearchers
developtheory 49
3 Applicationsofsocialpsychologytoincreasetheimpactof
behaviour-focusedintervention 57
philip k. lehman and e. scott geller
Introduction 57
Abehaviour-analysisapproachtointervention 57
Behaviouralinterventionstrategies 59
Antecedentstrategies 59
Consequencestrategies 62
Enhancinginterventionsthroughsocialinfluence 67
Consistency 67
Authority 75
Liking 76
Reciprocity 77
Scarcity 79
4 Researchdesignsinappliedsocialpsychology 87
melissa burkley and hart blanton
Researchdesignsinappliedsocialpsychology 87
Selectingaresearchmethod 87
Trueexperiments:maximizingprecision 89
Definingfeaturesoftrueexperiments 89
Advantagesoftrueexperiments 90
Disadvantagesoftrueexperiments 94
Minimizingthedisadvantagesoftrueexperiments 95
Correlationalresearch:generalizingtosituations 97
Definingfeaturesofcorrelationalresearch 97
Advantagesofcorrelationalresearch 99
Disadvantagesofcorrelationalresearch 99
Minimizingthedisadvantagesofcorrelationalstudies 100
Quasi-experiments:compromisingbetweenprecisionand
generalizabilitytosituations 103
Definingfeaturesofquasi-experimentalresearch 103
Advantagesofquasi-experimentalresearch 106
Disadvantagesofquasi-experimentalresearch 107
Surveyresearch:generalizingtopeople 107
Definingfeaturesofsurveyresearch 108
Advantagesofsurveyresearch 110
Disadvantagesofsurveyresearch 110
Minimizingdisadvantagesofsurveyresearch 111
Contents vii
5 Socialpsychologyandeconomicbehaviour:heuristicsand
biasesindecisionmakingandjudgement 117
w. fred van raaij
Introduction 117
Economictheoryofutilitymaximization 117
Anomalies 118
Social-psychologicalfactors 119
Personal,socialandsituationalreference 119
Personalreference 119
Socialreference 120
Situationalreference 121
Lossaversion 122
Introduction 122
Endowmenteffect 130
Status-quobias 131
Sunk-costseffect 132
Timepreference 133
Towardsanew‘rationality’ofeconomicbehaviourofconsumers,
investorsandentrepreneurs 135
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext 136
6 Socialpsychologyandimmigration:relationsbetween
immigrantsandhostsocieties 141
jan pieter van oudenhoven, charles judd and
colleen ward
Introduction 141
Migrationandculturaldiversityinthetwenty-firstcentury 141
Acculturationtheoryandresearch 143
One-dimensionalmodelsofacculturation 143
Multidimensionalmodelsofacculturation 144
Social-psychologicaltheoriesandresearch 149
Acculturationresearchandsocial-psychologicaltheories 152
Interventions 154
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext:theinfluenceofglobalization
onhost–immigrantrelationships 155
7 Applyingsocialpsychologytotheclassroom 162
pascal huguet and hans kuyper
Introduction 162
Socialcomparison 163
Upwardsocialcomparisonintheclassroom 165
Students’‘Theories’ofintelligenceandacademicself-concept 168
Entityversusincrementaltheoryofintelligence 168
viii Contents
Academicself-conceptoffailureandperformance 169
Academicself-conceptofsuccessandtheBFLPE 173
Stereotypethreat:theroleofnegativestereotypes 175
Classroomclimate 176
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext 177
Finalthoughts 178
8 Socialpsychologyandenvironmentalproblems 184
linda steg and robert gifford
Introduction 184
Environmentalinfluencesonwell-beingandbehaviour 185
Effectsofbehaviourontheenvironment 188
Environmentalproblemsandhumanbehaviour 188
Understandingenvironmentalbehaviour 189
Promotingpro-environmentalbehaviour 198
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext 201
9 Genderissuesinworkandorganizations 206
tineke m. willemsen and
annelies e. m. van vianen
Introduction 206
Womenandmenatwork 206
Quantitativedifferences 206
Qualitativedifferences 207
Earlystudies 207
Stereotypingmen,womenandjobs 208
Women’schoicesanddecisionsregardingjobsandcareers 209
Self-efficacy 210
Outcomeexpectancies 210
Selectionandassessment 211
Gendertypingofapplicantsandtheirbehaviours 212
Gendertypingofjobs 213
Explainingtheglassceiling 213
Gendertypingofleadershipandmanagement 214
Genderdifferencesinleadershipstyleandeffectiveness 214
Emergentleadership 215
Structureandcultureoforganizations 217
Structure 217
Organizationalculture 218
Interventions 218
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext:whatotherdisciplinessay
aboutgenderdifferencesinwork 220
Economics:humancapitaltheory 220
Economics:statisticaldiscriminationtheory 221
Sociology:socializationtheory 221
Contents ix
10 Socialpsychologyofhealthandillness 226
arie dijkstra and alexander rothman
Descriptionofproblemsinthefield 226
Thesocietalburdenofunhealthybehaviours 226
Thesocietalburdenofchronicillnesses 228
Contributionsofsocialpsychologytopreventandsolvehealth
problems 228
Understandinghealthandillnessbehaviours 229
Motivationandself-efficacyexpectations 229
Initiationandimplementationofbehaviour 232
Illnessbehaviour 233
Stagemodels 235
Researchmethodstoassesschangesovertime 236
Promotinghealthbehaviour 237
Tailoringmessages 238
Framingmessages 242
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext 243
11 Socialpsychologyandmentalhealth 249
abraham p. buunk and pieternel dijkstra
Introduction 249
Disturbedbodyimage 249
Genderdifferencesinbodyimage 251
Consequencesofdisturbancesinbodyimage 252
Theoreticalexplanationsofdisturbedbodyimage 253
Preventingbodyimagedisturbances 254
Depression 255
Genderdifferencesindepression 256
Socialcomparisontheoryanddepression 256
Preventingdepression 257
Relationshipproblems 259
Attachmenttheory 260
Attachmentstyleandrelationshipquality 260
Socialexchangeandinterdependencetheory 262
Preventingrelationshipproblems 264
Appliedsocialpsychologyincontext 266
12 Socialpsychologyandmodernorganizations:balancing
betweeninnovativenessandcomfort 271
karen van der zee and paul paulus
Introduction 271
Socialcontextofmodernorganizations 271
Strengthsofactiveexploration 273
Socialidentitytheory 276