The Social Psychology of Inequality

Economic inequality has been of considerable interest to academics, citizens, and politicians worldwide for the past decade-and while economic inequality has attracted a considerable amount of research attention, it is only more recently that researchers have considered that economic inequality may have broader societal implications. However, while there is an increasingly clear picture of the varied ways in which economic inequality harms the fabric of society, there is a relatively poor understanding of the social psychological processes that are at work in unequal societies. This edited book aims to build on this emerging area of research by bringing together researchers who are at the forefront of this development and who can therefore provide timely insight to academics and practitioners who are grappling with the impact of economic inequality.

This book will address questions relating to perceptions of inequality, mechanisms underlying effects of inequality, various consequences of inequality and the factors that contribute to the maintenance of inequality. The target audiences are students at advanced undergraduate or graduate level, as well as scholars and professionals in the field. The book fills a niche of both applied and practical relevance, strongly emphasizing theory and integration of different perspectives in social psychology. Given the broad interest in inequality within the social sciences, the book will be accessible to sociologists and political scientists as well as social, organizational, and developmental psychologists. The insights brought together in The Social Psychology of Inequality will contribute to a broader understanding of the far-reaching costs of inequality for the social health of a society and its citizens.

Auteur

Jolanda Jetten is internationally recognized for her work on group processes and social identity. She has published extensively in high impact international journals (over 150 peer-reviewed articles). She has contributed 35 chapters to edited books and published 4 books. Jolanda is the former co-Chief Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology and currently serves as co-Chief Editor of Social Issues and Policy Review. She has served as an Associate Editor for the British Journal of Social Psychology, and for Social Psychology and is currently an associate editor with Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology. In 2004, she was awarded the British Psychological Society Spearman Medal, singling her out as the most distinguished mid-career psychologist in the UK for published psychological work of outstanding merit. She was awarded the mid-career Kurt Lewin Medal from the European Association of Social Psychology in 2014. Jolanda is the former President of the Society of Australasian Social Psychology (SASP) and served on the ARC College of Experts. She was elected as fellow of the Association of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) in 2015, and is currently Director of the Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN) at the University of Queensland.

Kim Peters is Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology and Director of the Centre for Business and Organisational Psychology at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on social influence processes (including communication and leadership) in social and organizational settings. She has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals in social psychology and management science. She has also contributed to 12 edited books and produced 13 industry reports for a range of partners including the European Parliament and Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Kim works closely with organisations to examine the role of psychological factors in organisational functioning and design evidence-based interventions. Recent clients include Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the British Medical Association.

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