The Social Animal

Focusing on research to introduce modern social psychology, Social Animal takes the patterns and motives of human behavior to analyze distinct topics like terrorism, conformity, obedience, politics, race relations, advertising, war, interpersonal attraction, and the power of religious cults.

Elliot Aronson is one of the most eminent and versatile psychologists of our time. He is the only person in the 120 year history of the American Psychological Association to have won all three of its major awards: Distinguished Researcher (1999), Distinguished Teaching (1980), and Distinguished Writing (1975). In addition, among his many honors are the Gordon Allport Prize for his contributions to the betterment of intergroup relations, and the Donald Campbell Award for distinguished research in social psychology.

In 1981, he was named Professor of the Year by the American Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Inducted in 1992, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2007, he was named a William James Fellow in commemoration of a lifetime of creative contributions to scientific psychology.Joshua Aronson is an associate professor of developmental, social, and educational psychology at New York University. He has won awards for both research and teaching, including, most recently, the Scientific Impact Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. He is best known for his pioneering research on stereotype threat, which has been cited in three Supreme Court cases and is among the most widely cited research programs in psychology and education. He is also known as a pioneer in work on growth mindset, which also has had a wide influence on education. Aronson has authored numerous scholarly articles on this work and is the editor of Improving Academic Achievement: Impact of Psychological Factors on Education (Academic Press). His current work is devoted to enhancing the school experiences of disadvantaged students and their teachers, improving teaching, learning, and well-being by using insights from social psychology alongside innovations such as mindfulness meditation. He directs a laboratory at the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. Education Week lists him among the most influential education scholars in America.

Intro: Why I Wrote This Book
1. What Is Social Psychology?
2. Social Cognition and Emotion
3. Conformity
4. Mass Communication, Propaganda, and Persuasion
5. Self-Justification
6. Aggression
7. Prejudice
8. Liking, Loving, and Interpersonal Sensitivity
9. Social Psychology as a Science