The Self-Society Dynamic

Sociologists generally study macrolevel institutions and social processes with little reference to the individual. Psychologists, on the other hand, tend to study individual-level processes with little reference to society. This volume, featuring contributions from influential scholars in US social psychology, brings the link between the individual and society into focus. The chapters in the volume are distinguished by their concentration on either cognitive, affective or behavioural processes. These analyses eschew the traditional psychological approach to individual-level processes and instead offer intriguing accounts of how thought, emotion and action are embedded in social context and are central to the dynamic between self and society. Together, the 14 chapters present a synthesis of theory and research that are a major force in stimulating and influencing investigations of the link between the individual and the larger society.

Contributors; Preface and acknowledgments; Introduction: the self-society dynamic Judith A. Howard; 1. Exploring the relevance of social cognition for the relationship of self and society: linking the cognitive perspective and identity theory Sheldon Stryker; 2. Toward a sociology of cognition Peter L. Callero; 3. The cerebral self: thinking and planning about identity-relevant activity Richard T. Serpe; 4. Growing up: the development and acquisition of social knowledge Kathleen Carley; 5. The social contexts of self-feeling Ralph H. Turner and Victoria Billings; 6. Self-processes and emotional experiences Morris Rosenberg; 7. An affect control view of cognition and emotion Lynn Smith-Lovin; 8. The self-concept as a basis for a theory of motivation Viktor Gecas; 9. Attitudes, behavior, and the self Peter Burke; 10. From changing selves toward changing society Judith A. Howard; 11. Possible selves and social support: social cognitive resources for coping and striving Paula Nurius; 12. Is the road to helping paved with good intentions? Or inertia? Jane A. Piliavin; 13. Social structure and the moral self Michael L. Schwalbe; 14. The production of selves in personal relationships Philip Blumstein; 15. Conclusion Peter L. Callero; Indexes.