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A substantially revised edition of Jon Elster's critically acclaimed book exploring the nature of social behavior and the social sciences.
How can the stunning diversity of social systems and behaviours seen in nature be explained? Drawing on social evolution theory, experimental evidence and studies conducted in the field, this book outlines the fundamental principles of social evolution underlying this phenomenal richness.To succeed in the competition for resources, organisms may either 'race' to be quicker than others, 'fight' for privileged access, or 'share' their efforts and gains. The authors show how the ecology and intrinsic attributes of organisms select for each of these strategies, and how a handful of straightforward concepts explain the evolution of successful decision rules in behavioural interactions, whether among members of the same or different species. With a broad focus ranging from microorganisms to humans, this is the first book to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive account of the evolution of sociality by natural selection.
This compelling volume provides a broad and accessible overview on the rapidly developing field of social neuroscience. A major goal of the volume is to integrate research findings on the neural basis of social behavior across different levels of analysis from rodent studies on molecular neurobiology to behavioral neuroscience to fMRI imaging data on human social behavior.
How we learn from those around us: an essential guide to understanding how people behave. Humans are, first and foremost, social creatures. And this, according to the authors of I'll Have What She's Having, shapes—and explains—most of our choices. We're not just blindly driven by hard-wired instincts to hunt or gather or reproduce; our decisions are based on more than “nudges” exploiting individual cognitive quirks. I'll Have What She's Having shows us how we use the brains of others to think for us and as storage space for knowledge about the world. The story zooms out from the individual to small groups to the complexities of populations. It describes, among other things, how buzzwords propagate and how ideas spread; how the swine flu scare became an epidemic; and how focused social learning by a few gets amplified as copying by the masses. It describes how ideas, behavior, and culture spread through the simple means of doing what others do. It is notoriously difficult to change behavior. For every “Yes We Can” political slogan, there are thousands of “Just Say No” buttons. I'll Have What She's Having offers a practical map to help us navigate the complex world of social behavior, an essential guide for anyone who wants to understand how people behave and how to begin to change things.
Cross-cultural differences have many important implications for social identity, social cognition, and interpersonal behavior. The 10th volume of the Ontario Symposia on Personality and Social Psychology focuses on East-West cultural differences and similarities and how this research can be applied to cross-cultural studies in general. Culture and Social Behavior covers a range of topics from differences in basic cognitive processes to broad level cultural syndromes that pervade social arrangements, laws, and public representations. Leading researchers in the study of culture and psychology describe their work and their current perspective on the important questions facing the field. Pioneers in the field such as Harry Triandis and Michael Bond present their work, along with those who represent some newer approaches to the study of culture. Richard E. Nisbett concludes the book by discussing the historical development of the field and an examination of which aspects of culture are universal and which are culture-specific. By illustrating both the diversity and vitality of research on the psychology of culture and social behavior, the editors hope this volume will stimulate further research from psychologists of many cultural traditions. Understanding cultural differences is now more important than ever due to their potential to spark conflict, violence, and aggression. As such, this volume is a "must have" for cultural researchers including those in social, cultural, and personality psychology, and interpersonal, cultural, and political communication, anthropology, and sociology.
Positive Social Behavior and Morality: Social and Personal Influences, Volume I presents the broad range of influences that encourage or inhibit people to behave positively towards others and how varied forms of positive behavior are determined. The book examines the various aspects of positive social behavior. It starts by providing the definition, significance, and relationship of positive or prosocial behavior to morality. Topics on why people behave prosocially; the determinants of people helping other people in physical distress; effects of harm doing on prosocial behavior; the limitations of current methods; the goals for future study in the field of prosocial behavior; and a theoretical model for predicting prosocial behavior are presented as well. Psychologists, sociologists, researchers, and students in the field of sociology and psychology will find this book interesting.
Social neuroscience is a rapidly growing, interdisciplinary field which is devoted to understanding how social behavior is regulated by the brain, and how such behaviors in turn influence brain and biology. Existing volumes either fail to take a neurobiological approach or focus on one particular type of behavior, so the field is ripe for a comprehensive reference which draws cross-behavioral conclusions. This authored work will serve as the market’s most comprehensive reference on the neurobiology of social behavior. The volume will offer an introduction to neural systems and genetics/epigenetics, followed by detailed study of a wide range of behaviors – aggression, sex and sexual differentiation, mating, parenting, social attachments, monogamy, empathy, cooperation, and altruism. Research findings on the neural basis of social behavior will be integrated across different levels of analysis, from molecular neurobiology to neural systems/behavioral neuroscience to fMRI imaging data on human social behavior. Chapters will cover research on both normal and abnormal behaviors, as well as developmental aspects. 2016 PROSE Category winner - Honorable Mention for Biomedicine and Neuroscience Presents neurobiological analysis of the full spectrum of social behaviors, while other volumes focus on one particular behavior Integrates and discusses research from different levels of analysis, including molecular/genetic, neural circuits and systems, and fMRI imaging research Covers both normal and abnormal behaviors Covers aggression, sex and sexual differentiation, mating, parenting, social attachments, empathy, cooperation, and altruism
Equity and Justice in Social Behavior provides a critical assessment of the social psychological knowledge relevant to justice. This book illustrates how the broad concept of justice pervades the core literature of social psychology. Organized into 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the primary justice theories and identifies some of the focal issues with which they are concerned. This text then provides the necessary theoretical background for the study. Other chapters consider the various individual difference variables known to affect adherence to social justice norms. This book explains as well how the perceived causes of justice affect attempts to seek redress, and how actors and observers diverge in their perspectives about justice. The final chapter deals with the normative and instrumental interpretations that have been offered to explain justice behavior. This book is a valuable resource for social psychologists, social scientists, philosophers, political actors, theorists, and graduate students.
