Social psychology of gender and race

Daniel G. Renfrow

Judith A. Howard

pp. 491-531

in: Amanda Ward (ed), Handbook of social psychology, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

In this chapter, we review social psychological literature on gender and race. We provide an overview of how three key social psychological theories – social exchange, social cognition, and symbolic interaction – have addressed gender, race, and their intersections. We then discuss prevailing social psychological methodological techniques and their implications for research on the dynamics of gender and race. We argue that the methods social psychologists employ may advance and/or constrain the questions about gender and race that can be explored. We conclude by locating research on gender and race in current and possible future trends shaping the field of social psychology. We argue that the future social psychology of gender and race will reflect cultural and demographic shifts in these systems, the continuing destabilization of the categories of gender and race, and technological advances that facilitate new methodological and theoretical approaches to gender and race, as well as other systems of societal inequalities.