Critical social psychologies

mapping the terrain

Brendan Gough

pp. 3-14

in: Brendan Gough (ed), The Palgrave handbook of critical social psychology, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

This chapter introduces readers to the wide-ranging field of critical social psychology. Key cross-cutting themes and debates are highlighted, and the structure of the handbook is described. Diverse theories and methodologies are referenced, and the respecification of psychological/cognitive concepts is summarised. The spectrum of social psychological topics covered in the handbook is cited, including social categories such as gender, race and disability, and group-related topics such as prejudice, social influence and altruism. The deployment of critical social psychological theories and methods to applied domains such as health, education and work is then promoted.