The Psychology of Action Linking Cognition and Motivation to Behavior

Moving beyond the traditional, and unproductive, rivalry between the fields of motivation and cognition, this book integrates the two domains to shed new light on the control of goal-directed action. Renowned social and motivational psychologists present concise formulations of the latest research programs which are effectively mapping the territory, providing new findings, and suggesting innovative strategies for future research. Ideally structured for classroom use, this book will effectively familiarize readers with important theories in the psychology of action.

John A. Bargh is Professor of Psychology at New York University. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1981. He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and is currently President of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. In 1989 he received the Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology from the American Psychological Association for his research on the automaticity of social cognition and perception.

Peter M. Gollwitzer received his Diploma in Psychology from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (Germany) in 1977, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. In 1983 he joined the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychological Research in Munich and started research on the role of volition in motivation. Since 1993, Dr. Gollwitzer has held the social psychology and motivation chair at the University of Konstanz. His research interests focus on aspects of the willful pursuit of goals (e.g., identity goals, mindsets, implementation intentions).