Social Psychology
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    		Social Psychology
    Irwin A. Horowitz , and Kenneth S Bordens
    Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    1. Psychology Is Social: Readings and Conversations in Social Psychology, 4/e (4th Edition) Psychology Is Social: Readings and Conversations in Social Psychology, 4/e (4th Edition)
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    ASIN: 0874849764

    Book Description

    Social Psychology is a balanced, integrated introduction to social psychology and its many applications. The text is organized around a sociohistorical framework that links historical and cultural events to social psychological theory. This framework encourages critical thinking, stimulates awareness of intercultural differences, and enables students to understand social psychology in the context of their own lives and in world events.
    Preventing Prejudice: A Guide for Counselors, Educators, and Parents
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      		Preventing Prejudice: A Guide for Counselors, Educators, and Parents
      Joseph G. Ponterotto , Shawn O. Utsey , and Paul B. Pedersen
      Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      1. Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling
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      4. Contemporary Intellectual Assessment, Second Edition: Theories, Tests, and Issues Contemporary Intellectual Assessment, Second Edition: Theories, Tests, and Issues
      5. Educational Leadership: Culture and Diversity Educational Leadership: Culture and Diversity

      ASIN: 0761928189

      Book Description

      “A unique and refreshing book that tackles two of the most interrelated and problematic issues in our society: prejudice and racism.  The First Edition was unanimously acclaimed as a major contribution to the field and this second edition is destined to be a classic.  It represents one of the most clear, concise and honest looks at the origins, manifestations, dynamics and psychological costs of prejudice and racism written thus far.  This is truly a superb book that makes a major contribution to the field and should be read by everyone.” -- Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia University  

      “This text is an authentic expression and plea that challenges each of us to build alliances across demographic boundaries in order to fight an insidious social disease.  Drs. Ponterotto, Utsey, and Pedersen succeed in dislodging us from our comfortable categories of intellectual, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual apathy, and invite us to transcend the amount of social disappointment and despair and strive towards a more hopeful and optimistic future.” -- Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D., Distinguished Psychologist, Association of Black Psychologists                           

      “A critical resource book for educators, counselors, and parents to learn more about how to handle prejudice, and should be required reading for all of us who work with diverse populations.  It is a powerful book that helps us to see that we can make a difference in fighting prejudice.” --Nadya A. Fouad, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

      “An impressive, deliberate and problem-oriented second edition.  Prejudice has no boundaries and spares no one.  Preventing Prejudice offers hope and resources to all of us, counselors, educators, and parents.  We are all agents of change.”        --Patricia Arredondo, Ed.D., Arizona State University and President, American Counseling Association

      The Second Edition of Preventing Prejudice: A Guide for Counselors, Educators, and Parents has been completely revised and expanded to provide the most up-to-date and extensive coverage of prejudice and racism available. The new edition of this bestselling text presents a comprehensive overview of these topics and also includes practical tools for combating prejudice development in children, adolescents, and adults.

      Key Features:

      Intended Audience: This text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on prejudice and racism in the fields of multicultural education, counseling, social work, developmental psychology, and human development. It is also an ideal resource for teachers, counselors, administrators, managers, and parents.

      Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice against Older Persons (Bradford Books)
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        		Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice against Older Persons (Bradford Books)

        Manufacturer: The MIT Press
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        GeneralGeneral | Aging | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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        1. Learning to Be Old: Gender, Culture, and Aging Learning to Be Old: Gender, Culture, and Aging
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        5. Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging, and Ageism Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging, and Ageism

        ASIN: 0262640570

        Book Description

        Along with race and gender, people commonly use age to categorize -- and form stereotypes about -- others. Of the three categories, age is the only one in which the members of the in-group (the young) will eventually join the out-group (the old). Although ageism is found cross-culturally, it is especially prevalent in the United States, where most people regard growing older with depression, fear, and anxiety. Older people in the United States are stigmatized and marginalized, with often devastating consequences.

        Although researchers have paid a great deal of attention to racism and sexism, there has been a dearth of research on ageism. A major reason for this neglect is that age prejudice is still considered socially acceptable. As baby boomers approach retirement age, however, there has been increased academic and popular interest in aging. This volume presents the current thinking on age stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination by researchers in gerontology, psychology, sociology, and communication. The book presents theoretical and empirical findings on the origins and effects of ageism, as well as suggestions on how to reduce ageism for the approaching "graying of America."
        On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport
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          		On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport
          Peter Glick , and Laurie A. Rudman
          Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          GeneralGeneral | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
          HistoryHistory | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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          Similar Items:
          1. The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary
          2. Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology) Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology)
          3. Stereotypes and Prejudice: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology) Stereotypes and Prejudice: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology)
          4. The Psychology of Stereotyping (Distinguished Contributions In Psychology) The Psychology of Stereotyping (Distinguished Contributions In Psychology)
          5. Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination

          ASIN: 1405127511

          Book Description

          On the Nature of Prejudice commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Gordon Allport 's classic work on prejudice and discrimination by examining the current state of knowledge in the field. A distinguished collection of international scholars considers Allport 's impact on the field, reviews recent developments, and identifies promising directions for future investigation. Organized around Allport's central themes, this book provides a state-of-the-art, comprehensive view of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it is going.
          Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: Representations of Arabs in Israeli Jewish Society
          Average customer rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
          • Tedious psychobabble...
          • A biased wrong headed text
          		 Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: Representations of Arabs in Israeli Jewish Society
          Daniel Bar-Tal , and Yona Teichman
          Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          GeneralGeneral | Jewish | World | History | Subjects | Books
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          ASIN: 0521807972

          Book Description

          Focusing on the issue of Arab representation in the Israeli-Jewish society, this study describes the negative intergroup psychological repertoire about the enemy (Arabs) that evolves in the context of intractable conflict (Arab-Israeli conflict). This analysis is of special importance because the negative psychological intergroup repertoire feeds the continuation of the conflict, and thus, serves as a major obstacle to conflict resolution and the peace making process. The major challenge of changing the negative psychological intergroup repertoire is emphasized.

          Customer Reviews:

          1 out of 5 stars Tedious psychobabble..........2006-01-18

          Steven Plaut from the University of Haifa said: If you think stereotypes dictate and determine all human achievement and conflict; if you believe psychobabble offers the most promising way out of the Middle East conflict-then this tedious book is for you.

          The authors, both professors of psychology at Tel Aviv University who have long worked on studying stereotypes, cite the enormous literature on stereotyping in general and in textbooks and the media in particular in a list of references nearly fifty pages long. Their thesis goes something like this: whatever the past causes of the Middle East conflict, today the violence and conflict are being perpetuated by the fact that stereotypes of the "other" are common, inculcated by the schools and the media.

          What evidence do the authors provide? Mainly studies of drawings of Arabs made by very young Jewish children, plus some tendentious parsing of the Israeli media. This points to the real problem of Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict: it has a thinly-disguised political agenda and bias shows up everywhere.

          Bar-Tal and Teichman offer no evidence that stereotypes affect economic achievement and success. While citing negative stereotypes about Chinese held by Americans, they omit reference to the phenomenal educational and economic success by Chinese Americans, who out-earn whites. They offer no evidence that those "reverse stereotypes" found in politically-corrected textbooks about women lumberjacks, Jewish hockey players, and Cherokee nuclear scientists have had any impact on social mobility.

          The authors consider stereotypes as racist and as evidence of intolerance, never mind if they are true. That nearly all Palestinians endorse suicide bombers should not be regarded as legitimate empirical grounds for Israelis drawing conclusions about Palestinians. That almost all Israeli Arabs vote for anti-Zionist political parties with Marxist orientations should not serve as empirical evidence. The authors use "prejudice" and "stereotypes" interchangeably, but what happens when an ethnic group actually exhibits certain traits?

          Far from looking at both sides, the only stereotypes that matter to these professors, citing Edward Said, are those held by Jews concerning Arabs. Discussions in the Palestinian media of Jews drinking blood for Passover, poisoning Palestinian food, spreading AIDS, etc., do not interest the authors. Not a single cartoon drawn by a Palestinian child of a Jew is included in the book. It is only Jewish stereotyping of Arabs that is an obstacle to peace, not Palestinian text books and radio stations calling for genocide of Jews. And the fact that preschoolers might hold stereotypical images about everything in their toddler world, from teachers to tricycles, has not occurred to the authors, who never examine any preschooler drawings about anything besides Arabs.

          And while the learned duo parse Israeli media (which is under the near-hegemony of Israel's far-Left, by the way) and schoolbooks, they just never got around to examining which other stereotypes are inculcated there, such as those about Orthodox Jews, Jewish settlers, kibbutzniks, homosexuals, environmentalists, etc.

          Most of the "findings" in the book are old hat. Other previous studies making essentially the same arguments about Israeli schoolbooks include Adir Cohen's An Ugly Face in the Mirror, articles and books by Hebrew University's Eli Podeh,[Elie Podeh, How Israeli Textbooks Portray the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-2000 (New York: Bergin & Garvey, 2001)] the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace,["Analysis of Israeli Textbooks," Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, accessed June 24, 2005] and quite a few earlier articles by Bar-Tal or Teichman themselves.

          The authors' bias is not surprising. While Teichman seems to be uninvolved politically, Bar-Tal is smack in the center of Israel's far Left. He joined the anti-Zionist fringe by signing his name to a political petition calling for international armed intervention to impose a settlement on Israel.["Israeli Citizens for International Intervention, List of Endorsements," Oznik.com, Apr. 27, 2001] He has justified Palestinian terrorism,[Daniel Bar-Tal, "Is There a Way Out? Occupation, Terror and Understanding," Counterpunch, Apr. 22, 2002] and his work is cited as "evidence" that Israelis are racists, including by the U.N.'s anti-Zionist report on racism and xenophobia.["Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and All Forms of Discrimination," Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, U.N. Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/2002/NGO/152, Feb. 18, 2002] Another indication of this study's bias: the PLO's official website sings its praises for proving how racist Israelis are.["Israeli Textbooks and Children's Literature Promote Racism and Hatred toward Palestinians and Arabs," Palestinian National Authority website, accessed July 11, 2005].

          2 out of 5 stars A biased wrong headed text.......2005-06-15

          The thesis here is that every Israeli is racist and stereotypes Arabs, that these negative stereotypes create the conflict. However there is a major setback in this research. First of all it doesnt ask the question if any of the stereotyping is based on experience. It assumes all stereotyping is illogical. But what is a stereotype and why is it 'bad'? A stereotype is a beleif of a virtue about a certain group of people based on name or visual association. Let us recall that in Israel of 2153 Israeli civilian deaths by terror since the year 2000, 100% have been caused by arabs using terrorism. Does this make the stereotype of arabs as terrorists logical. According to the authors no. According to the authors one must never stereotype and the fact that a child who has seen his mother stabbed by a terrorist dares to draw a picture showing that terrorists as an arab makes the child racist. The theory of this book is that every Israeli is racist, a stereotype unto itself ironically.

          The second setback of this book is that it, of course, ignores the arab stereotypes of Israel. Their are 5 million Israelis and 250 million Arabs. Every Arab also has stereotypes that lend themselves to continuing the conflict. However we dont see the arabs brought in for criticism here. This book is basically a racist text, it argues that based on someone being a Jew they are racist agianst arabs, that every Jew is born hating and that every Jew in Israel is indoctrinated to hate.

          The authors never bothered to ask ther question: were not the suicide bombers also stereotyping the Israelis they kill? Does the terrorism create stereotyping? Does the terrorism also lead to continuation of the conflict. The authors are self haters who want to convince the world that Israel, their country, is evil. A sad commentary, a lesson unto itself of stereotyping.

          Seth J. Frantzman





          repertoire feeds the continuation of the conflict
          Stereotypes and Prejudice: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology)
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            		Stereotypes and Prejudice: Key Readings (Key Readings in Social Psychology)
            C. Stangor
            Manufacturer: Psychology Press
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

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            5. Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology) Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology)

            ASIN: 0863775896

            Book Description

            There is perhaps no topic that has engaged the interest of social psychologists as that of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Researchers have studied stereotypes and prejudice toward African Americans, women, the elderly, the mentally ill, clinically obese people, homosexuals, the physically handicapped, and individuals with AIDS, to name but a few. Interest in studying stereotyping and prejudice comes both from its theoretical importance as a basic process of person perception, and also from its immense practical importance. As societies are becoming more ethnically diverse, people from different cultures are increasingly coming into contact with each other, with even greater opportunities for stereotypes and prejudice to operate.

            This book contains a collection of classic and contemporary readings that have contributed to our understanding of stereotypes and prejudice from a social-psychological perspective. The selected readings all make an important theoretical contribution, but have alsobeen chosen with an eye on their accessibility and appeal to students.

            The volume also includes an overall review of the current state of knowledge in the field, discussion questions, and a list of relevant references. It will be ideal for courses on prejudice.

            The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              		The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
              Bernard E. Whitley , and Mary E. Kite
              Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Counseling | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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              Social Psychology & InteractionsSocial Psychology & Interactions | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
              Discrimination & RacismDiscrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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              3. Psychology of Prejudice, The (2nd Edition) Psychology of Prejudice, The (2nd Edition)
              4. Psychology of Learning and Behavior, Fifth Edition Psychology of Learning and Behavior, Fifth Edition
              5. The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary The Nature of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary

              ASIN: 0534642713

              Book Description

              In the first comprehensive textbook on prejudice with a strong psychological research base, Whitley and Kite cover a broad range of topics including race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and ageism. By integrating theory and research with students' own experiences, the authors increase students' awareness of influences that shape prejudices. As students are asked to evaluate research results and their personal, subjective beliefs, they develop an appreciation of scientific evidence regarding stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
              Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind
              Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
              • Excellent popular explanation of social psychology
              • What's wrong with footnote numbers?
              • Not quite there yet
              • Types, categories and groups
              • Lacks Focus
              		 Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind
              David Berreby
              Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Hardcover

              GeneralGeneral | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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              4. Stumbling on Happiness Stumbling on Happiness
              5. A Mind of its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives A Mind of its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives

              ASIN: 0316090301

              Book Description

              This groundbreaking and eloquently written book explains how and why people are wedded to the notion that they belong to differing human kindstribe-type categories like races, ethnic groups, nations, religions, castes, street gangs, sports fandom, and high school cliques. Why do we see these divisions? Why do we care about them so much? Why do we kill and die for them? This is the stuff of news headlines. How has a nation gone from peaceful coexistence to genocide? How does social status affect your health? Why are teenagers willing to kill themselves in hazing rituals in order to belong to a fraternity or social group? How do terrorists learn not to care about the lives of those they attack? US AND THEM gets at the heart of these profound questions by looking at their common root in human nature. Politics, culture, and economics play their parts, but its the human mind that makes them possible, and thats the focus of US AND THEM. Were not born with a map of human kinds; each person makes his own and learns to fight for it. This is a crucial subject that touches all of our lives in ways both large and small, obvious and subtle. Human-kind thinkingwhether beneficial or destructiveis part of human nature, as David Berrebys brilliant book reveals.

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars Excellent popular explanation of social psychology.......2007-07-20

              "Us and Them" by David Berreby explores the human faculty for seeing other people as members of groups with group characteristics, or as Berreby calls them, Human Kinds. The book examines classic results of social psychology, such as Sharif's Robber's Cave experiment and Tajfel's arbitrary groups. He tries to present the current evidence for the faculty being an unconscious module in the mind that automatically places people in groups and attaches group qualities to Them.

              The book is well written and has many vivid examples of how people stereotype and why those stereotypes are not reliable guides for rational human behavior. Although he occasionally dives into brain architecture and evolutionary theory, it is not too overwhelming for the intelligent lay reader (that all important Human Kind). The topic is very important, considering that issues of race, gender, religious conflict, and injustice based on economic class dominate our political scene. This book helps the reader get a better scientific footing on the psychological basis of those issues.

              By exploring how our human minds--and by extension our brains--process group identity, the author is in an area that has been popular lately due in part to Steven Pinker's "How the Mind Works." This research area is called the modular theory of the mind, pioneered by people such as Jerry Fodor and Noam Chomsky. However, Berreby is wary of Pinker's complete programme. He explicitly criticizes Pinker. Never in this book does Berreby refer to a brain "module." Instead, he refers to the mind's code for processing human kind thinking, called kind-sight. To this reader, it amounts to the same thing. A module is a module. Berreby does make the point at length that there is no single chunk of brain that does all human kind code processing. (But, then, I don't think Pinker ever claimed that, either.)

              Berreby does show that the human kind code is automatic, unconscious, and hardwired into the developing brain. This to me qualifies his theory as in the tradition of the modular theory of the mind.

              Berreby also holds evolutionary theory at arm's length. He is wary of strict reductionism from social structures to selfish genes. He seems uncomfortable with Williams and Dawkins and their insistence that the selfish gene is the final arbiter of evolution. He shows that some of the assumptions of this camp are inseparable from the assumptions of "race realists" such as Rushton. This wariness leads to an excellent exploration of the nature of science and "levels of analysis." He describes the "selfish gene" camp and the "plurality of mechanisms" camp as two competing social groups that use stereotypes and intergroup hostility as part of their own human kind thinking. Clearly, he doesn't want to be a blind follower of either camp.

              Nevertheless, it is obvious that he does consider the faculty for kind-sight to be an evolved and distinct mental structure. To that extent, he is, whether he admits it or not, an Evolutionary Psychologist (or Evo Psycho as he mentions in the book).

              Berreby rejects what he sees as Pinker's pessimism about the human kind faculty. He ends to book with a hopeful gesture that we can take control of our own destiny by rationally controlling our irrational kind-sight faculty. But he admits that the faculty that propels us to reach the ideals of our human kinds is inseparable from the faculty that can lead to genocide. So I am not convinced that Berreby's conclusion should lead to optimism. Pinker's outlook was really not that much more pessimistic. All in all, they amount to nearly the same outlook.

              Berreby is critical of thinkers who use this capacity within human nature for group violence to claim that human nature is evil. He expressedly does not want the evil potential for kind-sight to be used to bolster a theologically Christian worldview. But in the end, his conclusions do not eliminate that line of argument. So long as humans have an irrational kind-sight, which is built-in, we will be fully capable of prejudice and evil, and that capacity cannot be eliminated by any kind of socialization. The hope that everyone will rationally control their prejudices over the long-term is contradicted by human history. He leaves us with an unattainable ideal. Perhaps he gives us the ideal in the hopes of improving the actual, but his finale is more hopeful than plausible.

              3 out of 5 stars What's wrong with footnote numbers?.......2006-12-31

              As an academic researcher and a lawyer, I admit I am biased in favor of a more scholarly presentation. I agree that this book is informative and I have found it helpful as a gateway to the professional literature. However, Berreby has made my task doubly difficult by his inexplicable failure to use footnote numbers for his references, instead organizing the references by page number and phrases at the end of sentences; thus giving no indication in the text that a reference even exists, and forcing the reader to labor mightily to locate his authority. Further, some studies he discusses are not even given a reference -- at the very least, a footnote should indicate the study is unpublished and where it might be located if a person needed it. If this information is summarized in any other book, I would buy it instead of this one.

              3 out of 5 stars Not quite there yet.......2006-08-19

              There is plenty of excellent material to read here. The substance is good, but the form is bad. Major areas of concern:

              a. While there is an overall theme to the book, I got lost moving from one chapter to another. Each chapter, while not written in a vacuum, seems to be disjointed from the preceding chapter.
              b. Each chapter should have contained some concluding remarks to emphasize the major points with a bridge to the next chapter, rather than leaving the conclusion for the end of the book. The conclusion at the end of the book had some good points, but was not well written. The author seemed to be in a hurry to finish the book.
              c. The author seemed to be all over the place at times.
              d. The chapter headings and quotes at the beginning of the chapters did not seem to make a lot of sense.
              e. Was not able to grasp fully the author's ultimate objective

              5 out of 5 stars Types, categories and groups.......2006-06-27

              "Prejudice", we are told, isn't "reasonable". "Race" is an "illogical" or "unscientific" concept. Christians tell us we must "love all others as our brothers" - and sisters in a more ecumenical world. Yet Chief Executives can label entire nations as elements of an "Axis of Evil" and make or threaten war with impunity. And masses of the population support them. Why should this be so? David Berreby sought out philosophers, psychologists and other scholars in an extensive quest for some answers. He found a good many and recounts them in this nearly exhaustive study. In a well organised and captivating account, he weaves together many threads in building a picture of how we view ourselves and others.

              Biology tells us that our DNA makes us one with our fellows. Yet, somewhere between conception and our ability to distinguish ourselves from others, we begin to categorise those "others". We may find them acceptable, and join their company. In other cases, we deem the differences unacceptable. "Us" and "Them" become the basis for value judgements. Berreby recognises that the distinctions are in our minds. He asks how they come to be there in the first place. He examines the various forms of prejudice, both positive and negative, in tracing both their histories and manifestations. Heart disease, for example, was once considered more prevalent among the rich and powerful. Now, studies show that those carrying burdens of pressures from "above" feel more stressed. Hence, their bodies react and heart problems follow. Classes of people, often the poor and ill-considered such as the "cagot" peasants in France, were despised and relegated to menial roles in society. Over time, the classification fell into disuse. In Berreby's words, they were "recategorised".

              The author traces the mental patterns of how we "type" people. The process involves focussing on particular aspects while ignoring the rest. His favourite example is the motorist stopped by a police officer. The officer turns out to be a dark-skinned female. Does the motorist view the officer as a cop, as an Arab, as a light-skinned African or as a woman? For some of us, by the time we work it out, the ticket has been dispensed! The delay is due to our propensity to carry the "type" in our minds, then select characteristics that seem to fit. We generally select an essential characteristic and focus on that. Skin colour is an obvious "essential", but left-handedness or dress can be just as suitable.

              These essentials, he argues, can be reinforced within ourselves, as well. In a famous study, Asian women were set into groups, some reminded that Asians are considered to excel in math, others that women are deficient in those skills. When tested, the ones who believed Asians are superior in math had higher test scores. "Type" reinforcement has many ways of developing and expressing beliefs. The best example of this is the military person. Recruits are trained to shed previously held categories, which are replaced with new values. Society at large dims as new loyalties to the squad are instilled. Sacrifice is raised in merit, and hierarchically, running from one's immediate mates, through the levels of the force and finally the nation as an entity. This training is not easily shed, as one marine demonstrated when he left his drinking chums to chat with a uniformed individual. Their shared experiences were more powerful than the friendship bonds.

              How we acquire these in the first place is difficult to assess. It seems that it is essential for our dealing with the world at large. That condition dictates that the process is both universal and in the mind. Berreby offers a fine chapter on the areas of the brain involved in various body processes and emotional states. He briefly discusses the devices that indicate where in the brain various activities are recorded. PET and fMRI scanners are given their due, with some history of how the brain's "modules" were identified. He stresses, however, that seeking a "centre" for categorising others is fruitless. The mind's actions are too widely scattered and diverse. This situation may explain both why we may hold prejudices deeply, but can also shift them to lesser importance or even replace them with a new circumstance. With so many ways to "type" our fellows, emphasis can vary quickly and easily. While we like to think we can "top-down" direct our feelings about somebody, there may be equal signals from "bottom-up" to deflect or override our "reasoned" approach to others. Following this vein, Berreby examines the role of emotion as a driving force for categorising.

              Is Berreby aiming to dislodge prejudice from our brains? Nothing so simplistic. Does he think training will deter a child from associating with an errant group? Not likely, since one of his primary examples is that of a group of boys who might have been social and ethnic clones dividing them into hostile groups. The separation grew intense until adults stepped in. Berreby is a realist, and provides a plausible structure for how we view others. Unfortunately, the thrust is sociological rather than cognitive, which is where he might have gained further insights. Although he spoke with many researchers, he ignored Daniel C. Dennett's "Consciousness Explained" which might have provided him with an expanded framework for how the process evolved and now works. While that shortcoming is serious, it doesn't detract from the value of this work's theme. Prejudices are not rigid dogma, and with a little effort we can examine and assess them in ourselves as well as in others. We can rebel against their dictates if we wish. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

              3 out of 5 stars Lacks Focus.......2006-06-27

              Us and Them by David Berreby is an attempt to understand the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of intergroup conflict. As such, it is only partly successful. Berreby begins with a discussion of "human kind" which covers everything from race to nation to a happenstance group of strangers in a woman's restroom. This is an overly broad definition that conflates true social groups with temporary collectives or "aggregates." The former develop identity, structure, and rivalries, while the latter do not. This broad beginning foreshadows a book that tends to lose its focus from chapter to chapter. Berreby leaves his thesis for pages at a time, often to discuss irrelevant though admittedly interesting neuroscience research. Nevertheless, the reader is often left wondering what happened to the tribal mind. Truth be told, neuroscience cannot yet explain the area of group conflict. Don't let yourself be dazzled into persuasion.

              In addition to being overly broad and unfocused, at times Berreby is simply wrong. On page 36 he refers to the "flawed" research on similarity and interpersonal attraction, suggesting that people may join a group and then begin to act like them. This may well be true (due to various social influence effects), but the observation that people seek out similar others is one of the most robust and replicated findings in social psychology. Berreby is a little too eager to prove his point, and this leads him to distort and go beyond the evidence throughout the book.

              I don't want to be completely negative in this review. Certainly, Berreby is a competent writer, and to some extent, this book fills an important niche. Still, I wish he had gone about it in a different way. There is plenty of good research on group relations that he ignores. His neuroscience approach is clever, but ultimately futile as an explanation.
              Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
              Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
              • Stigma and identity
              • Erving Goffman: Stigma
              • A Sociological Classic
              • A Classic that is more relevant than ever
              • Breaking Down Barriers Between the Normal and Stigmatized
              		 Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
              Erving Goffman
              Manufacturer: Touchstone
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0671622447

              Book Description

              Stigma is an illuminating excursion into the situation of persons who are unable to conform to standards that society calls normal. Disqualified from full social acceptance, they are stigmatized individuals. Physically deformed people, ex-mental patients, drug addicts, prostitutes, or those ostracized for other reasons must constantly strive to adjust to their precarious social identities. Their image of themselves must daily confront and be affronted by the image which others reflect back to them.

              Drawing extensively on autobiographies and case studies, sociologist Erving Goffman analyzes the stigmatized person's feelings about himself and his relationship to "normals" He explores the variety of strategies stigmatized individuals employ to deal with the rejection of others, and the complex sorts of information about themselves they project. In Stigma the interplay of alternatives the stigmatized individual must face every day is brilliantly examined by one of America's leading social analysts.

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars Stigma and identity.......2007-09-21

              If you are looking for this book, you probably already know that it is THE seminal text on stigma and social identity. If you are just curious, read on and discover what it means to be stigmatized.

              5 out of 5 stars Erving Goffman: Stigma.......2007-05-07

              I was assigned a few chapters out of this for my graduate seminar in social psychology. It is an incredibly powerful book that completely changed my outlook on life and society. I realized by reading this that I - who thought I was a pretty accepting, liberal guy - still harbored some serious prejudices against groups like homosexuals and the physically handicapped. The reason this book is so powerful is that it weaves theory in with a tremendous amount of statements from members of stigmatized groups (like, again, homosexuals or the physically handicapped). To read the words of these people, talking about the incredibly heavy oppression that has characterized their lives, all for no reason other than an mostly arbitrary societal decision as to what things are acceptable and what things aren't....well, it changes you. I recommend this book to (1) social scientists, (2) those who want to be better persons, and most of all (3) social scientists who want to be better persons.

              5 out of 5 stars A Sociological Classic.......2006-05-21

              A sociological classic. The author shows stigma through the normal lens of everyday living and extends to the extreme. Most sociologist just summaries their theory either at the end and beginning of the book and then stuff their chapters with useless information hoping the reader will connect the information. Goffman, however, does it. He continues his theorizing from the first page until the end, being very comprehensive about it.

              Goffman is a rarity. Few sociologists' works can be viewed in the scientific light that Goffman has produced.

              This classic is worth owning.

              5 out of 5 stars A Classic that is more relevant than ever.......2004-04-22

              Although this is a slim book it is more rich in detail and insight than many texts twice its size. Goffman is both a genius and a brilliant writer. His theory is clearly elucidated throughout the text by real life anecdotes. The book opens with a letter to a "lonelyhearts" column from a girl "born without a nose" which concludes "Ought I commit suicide?" This sets the tone for a book that pulls no punches and comprehensively addresses the alienation of those different from what is perceived to be "normal". I hope that this text is being promoted at secondary school level, and it is certainly essential reading for anyone whose work involves dealing with people.

              4 out of 5 stars Breaking Down Barriers Between the Normal and Stigmatized.......2003-11-11

              These the second Erving Goffman book that I've read this year (the other being "Asylums", please see my review on Amazon.com if interested).

              I work as a criminal defense attorney and I read "Asylums" in an effort to gain perspective on the attitudes of institutionalized persons (i.e. convicts). I was suprised by how brilliant "Asylums" was, so I picked up "Stigma". I was similarily impressed with Stigma.

              Where "Asylums" dealt with the relationship of individuals and institutions, "Stigma" deals more with inter personal relationships. The role of instituions in forming identity is noted in footnotes throughout, but the primary focus is in discussing the relationship between identity and stigma.

              Goffman, of course, defines the dickens out of his concepts. If you gain nothing else from this book, you will have a thorough understanding of what it means to have a "stigma". The heart of the book consists of Goffman defining a five phase process which individuals with stigma go through. First you learn what it is to be "normal". Then you learn you're not "normal". Then you learn to control disclosure of information about your stigma, then you learn to "pass" as someone without a stigma and then you learn how to "voluntarily disclose" your stigma.

              I don't have a degree in sociology, so I'm not sure about the theoretical backgrounding of this approach, but it made sense to me.

              The best part of this book was the end, where Goffman argues (persuaively, I thought) that even "Normal" people have to deal with some sort of stigma at some time in their life. In that way, by studying people with stigma we study the interactions of "normals" with each other. So really there's no difference, just a continuum of stigma, ranging from those who are always suffering frm stigma, to those who rarely ever have to deal with it.

              I thought that was an interesting insight. I recommend this book highly, and I look forward to reading his classic: "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life."
              Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination
              Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
              • Excellent Book
              		 Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination
              Scott Plous
              Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0072554436

              Book Description

              This anthology, edited by Scott Plous, can be used as a main text or supplementary text for courses on prejudice, discrimination, and diversity. It includes a unique collection of readings edited, adapted, or updated specifically for this anthology — some of which have never been published before. Interdisciplinary in scope and wide-ranging in approach, the anthology combines research articles, opinion polls, legal decisions, news reports, personal narratives, and more. Several readings come from people on the receiving end of prejudice (often referred to as "targets" of prejudice), whereas other readings focus on perpetrators, bystanders, and social institutions. Note: The book can also be used in conjunction with UnderstandingPrejudice.org, a web site that includes interactive exercises and demonstrations, multimedia materials, tips for instructors, and other prejudice-related resources.

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars Excellent Book.......2005-07-19

              This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn about prejudice and disrimination. It is comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics. It is also very interesting to read. A must for anyone who wants to learn about prejudice then and prejudice now. It is a misconception that prejudice and discrimination is a thing of the past or something that was dealt with in the sixties. This book will show you how racism still exists today in a much more subtle ( and sometimes not so subtle ) form. I recommend this book to professors who are teaching classes on prejudice and discrimination.

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