A Stanford University Press classic.

This book challenges much that has been written about the decline of sociology as a vital, essential area of inquiry into the human condition. Against this Greek chorus of woe, these papers show by example that sociology can make progress, select significant problems, and cumulate an integrated and coherent set of findings and theoretical understandings. Although the twenty papers in the book engage a wide variety of issues, they are united by their adherence to one of the most active and successful traditions in sociology, the group process tradition. Group process research programs can examine tractable problems posed by social psychological phenomena for which sociology has the best methods of study; they have the potential for a hardware-based, technological research front that discovers new phenomena; and they come closest of all approaches in sociological research to using cognitive criteria in the choice of problems and to studying immutable phenomena. The overall aim of the book is to provide models for researchers struggling to develop, construct, and integrate coherent sociological theory and knowledge. The papers are grouped around three themes: (1) the problem of theory construction in sociology, including what is meant by "theory” and the methods of testing it, particularly empirical testing; (2) the extension and elaboration of existing theories of group processes, notably in the study of status, sentiment, and the comparison process; and (3) the theoretical issues at the intersection of social structures, the pattern of connection in social networks, and the process of rational choice.

Written by well-known sociologists John D. DeLamater, Daniel J. Myers, and Jessica L. Collett, this fully revised and updated edition of Social Psychology is a highly accessible and engaging exploration of the question "what is it that makes us who we are?". With hundreds of real-world examples, figures, and photographs and grounded in the latest research, the text explores such topics as self, attitudes, social influence, emotions, interpersonal attraction and relationships, and collective behavior. The book also explains the methods that social psychologists use to investigate human behavior in a social context and the theoretical perspectives that ground the discipline. Each chapter is a self-contained unit for ease of use in any classroom.

Publishes theoretical analyses, reviews, and theory based empirical chapters on group phenomena. This title examines topics such as: graded status characteristics and expectation states; standardizing open interaction coding for status processes; creating community through language among San Pedro Longshoremen; and, more.

How do various social theories explain gender inequality? Are these theories infused with masculinist biases that need to be redressed with insights from feminist theory? To address these questions, this collection of original essays features prominent sociologists discussing the strengths and the limitations of the theoretical traditions within which they have worked. Among the theoretical perspectives included are those of Marxism, world system theory, macrostructural theories, rational choice theory, neofunctionalism, psychoanalysis, ethno-methodology, expectation states theory, poststructuralist symbolic interactionism, and network theory. Each of the chapter-length essays of the first two sections provides an overview of the theory, explains its implications for gender inequality, reviews empirical research, and comments upon sexist biases or other limitations of the perspective. The final section contains chapters on feminist debates over methodology, critical commentaries on the preceding papers by four feminist scholars, and replies by the original authors.

Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions Volume II presents all new chapters in the ever developing area of the sociology of emotions. The volume is divided into two sections: Theoretical Perspectives and Social Arenas of Emotions. It reviews major sociological theories on emotions, which include evolutionary theory, identity theory, affect control theory, social exchange theory, ritual theory, and cultural theory among others. Social arenas where emotions are examined include, but are not limited to, the economy and the workplace, the family, mental health, crime, sports, technology, social movements and the field of science. All the chapters review the major theories and research in the area and each chapter ends with some discussion of directions for future research. The Sociology of Emotions is a fast growing and vital field in the broad discipline of Sociology. This volume II follows the Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions which was first published in 2006. In 2008, this first handbook received the “Outstanding Recent Contribution” in the Emotions Section of the American Sociological Association. With contributions from leading scholars from different areas in the discipline, such as neurosociology, culture, economics, mental health, gender, social movements, discussing state-of-art theory and research on emotions in sociology this volume will generate wider appeal to the sociological community.

Reflecting a range of novel approaches from leading scholars in the field, this volume explores the relevance of group processes in analysing social status, iniquities and behaviors.

This wide-ranging handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the field of education as viewed from a sociological perspective. Experts in the area present theoretical and empirical research on major educational issues and analyze the social processes that govern schooling, and the role of schools in and their impact on contemporary society. A major reference work for social scientists who want an overview of the field, graduate students, and educators.

This book shows students the steps involved in the research process, the various strategies for conducting a valid social inquiry, and most importantly, the persuasiveness and elegance of reliable social research. It highlights the link between academic research and the real world. Included are carefully chosen examples of each of the major methodological techniques-survey, interviews, fieldwork observations, experiments, content analysis, secondary analysis and program evaluation. Also included are selections on sampling strategies, research ethics and both qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

Theories of Small Groups: Interdisciplinary Perspectives brings together the threads that unify the field of group research. The book is designed to define and describe theoretical perspectives on groups and to highlight select research findings within those perspectives. In this text, editors Marshall Scott Poole and Andrea B. Hollingshead capitalize on the theoretical advances made over the last fifty years by integrating models and theories of small groups into a set of nine general theoretical perspectives. Theories of Small Groups is the first book to assess, synthesize, integrate, and evaluate the body of theory and research on small groups across disciplinary boundaries.