Social Psychology 6e By Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, Nisbett

「Title:」 Social Psychology (6th Edition) 

「Authors:」 Tom Gilovich, Dacher Keltner, Serena Chen, Richard E. Nisbett 

「Publisher:」 W. W. Norton & Company; includes the Norton Illumine e-book platform

Why this book matters

This edition stakes out an ambitious and timely path: it reaffirms social psychology as a rigorous science while also embracing its relevance to contemporary social issues. As the field has evolved, so has the need for students not merely to learn what is known, but to grapple with how it’s known, and how findings apply in the real world. The 6th edition is designed to sharpen scientific thinking, to confront controversies, and to encourage students to translate research into meaningful insight.

What’s new in the 6th Edition

• A 「new chapter」, “Living in a Prejudiced World,” addresses individuals’ lived experiences of stereotyping and discrimination. It explores both systemic factors and personal coping, situating prejudice as more than a theoretical concept—it is something people navigate daily.
• Updated empirical findings and fresh real-world examples, reflecting current research trends.
• Enhanced pedagogical and digital tools: InQuizitive online assessment has been improved with new interactive elements, retrieval practice, and increased opportunities for students to test and refine their understanding.
• The use of the Norton Illumine e-book platform, which supports active learning (data explorations, predicting outcome, evaluating evidence) rather than passive reading.

Structure and content overview

The text is organized to build from foundational concepts to complex phenomena and applications. Key parts include:

1. 「An Invitation to Social Psychology」 – scope, central questions, and what makes social psychology distinctive.
2. 「Methods of Social Psychology」 – experimental design, observational studies, correlational methods, causation vs. correlation, issues like reliability, validity, and replication.
3. 「Social Self」, 「Social Cognition」, 「Social Perception」 – how we see ourselves, how we think about others, what biases and heuristics affect our judgments.
4. 「Emotion」, 「Attitudes, Behavior, Persuasion」, 「Social Influence」 – the role of affect, how attitudes form and change, how people are influenced by others in various ways.
5. 「Relationships and Attraction」; 「Groups」, 「Aggression」, 「Altruism and Cooperation」 – this section ties individual cognitive and affective processes to interpersonal and group behaviors.
6. 「Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination」 – this is bolstered in this edition by the new material focusing on what it’s like to live in a world where prejudice occurs.

Keys to its pedagogical strength

• 「Integration of scientific thinking」: Students are encouraged not only to learn empirical results, but to understand research methods, critique evidence, and assess strength of claims. This is vital in an age when “information” is abundant but often of varying quality.
• 「Relevance to current social issues」: The inclusion of contemporary examples and the chapter on prejudice reflects sensitivity to issues like race, identity, discrimination—making the book more immediately relevant.
• 「Interactive, technology-enhanced learning」: The Illumine e-book features, along with adaptive assessments, help in engaging different learning styles, reinforcing retention, and encouraging active engagement.

Critical reflections

While this edition achieves a strong integration of research and relevance, a few points are worth attending to:

• Because each edition incorporates so much new material, the density of information can be heavy; students (especially those newer to the field) may feel overwhelmed. It will require careful pacing by instructors.
• The emphasis on updated research and social relevance is commendable; but with fast-moving fields (e.g. online social behavior, AI in social cognition, etc.), there may be subsequent developments soon after publication. Supplementing with recent journal articles may still be necessary.

Conclusion

Social Psychology (6th Edition) by Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, and Nisbett is a substantial, well-crafted contribution to the discipline. It combines rigorous scientific grounding with contemporary relevance, strong pedagogical tools, and an expanded focus on lived experience (especially with respect to prejudice). For students aiming not just to 「know」 but to 「think」 in social psychology—with clarity, criticality, and awareness—this book offers a solid foundation and a launchpad for further inquiry. 👍

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You can get E-book via Link

Social Psychology 6e

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