Advances in Applied Social Psychology

Book excerpt: First Published in 1983. This volume is the second in a series of volumes on applied social psychology. The contents of the contributions represent the richly diverse approaches and settings in which social psychology is being used. In preparing their chapters, the contributors were asked to focus on how social psychologists,' as scientists and advocates, could contribute to the resolution of the debates that often surround important social problems. Each author was asked to place his or her attempts to use social psychological knowledge in the context of his or her own specific problem. If one consistent theme emerges from this collection, it is the emphasis on employing social psychology to enlighten and understand decisions at the level of public policy. This book is a vital display of how existing literature and methods in the field can work to illuminate and inform issues of national and even international importance.