The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxix

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Critical Social Psychologies: Mapping the Terrain

      • Brendan Gough

      Pages 3-14

3. Critical Perspectives

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Feminisms, Psychologies, and the Study of Social Life

      • Eva Magnusson, Jeanne Marecek

      Pages 17-35

   3. Marxism as a Foundation for Critical Social Psychology

      • Michael Arfken

      Pages 37-58

   4. Social Constructionism

      • Viv Burr, Penny Dick

      Pages 59-80

   5. The Radical Implications of Psychoanalysis for a Critical Social Psychology

      • Tom Goodwin

      Pages 81-99

   6. Queer Theory

      • Damien W. Riggs, Gareth J. Treharne

      Pages 101-121

   7. Critical Race Studies in Psychology

      • Phia S. Salter, Andrea D. Haugen

      Pages 123-145

   8. Psychology of Liberation Revised (A Critique of Critique)

      • Maritza Montero

      Pages 147-161

4. Critical Methodologies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 163-163

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   2. Phenomenology

      • Darren Langdridge

      Pages 165-183

   3. Narrative Social Psychology

      • Michael Murray

      Pages 185-204

   4. Discourse Analysis

      • Martha Augoustinos

      Pages 205-223

   5. Psychosocial Research

      • Stephanie Taylor

      Pages 225-241

   6. Innovations in Qualitative Methods

      • Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Debra Gray

      Pages 243-266

5. Rethinking Social Cognition

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 267-267

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   2. Attitudes and Attributions

      • Chris McVittie, Andy McKinlay

      Pages 269-289

   3. Social Influence

      • Stephen Gibson, Cordet Smart

      Pages 291-318

This handbook is the first to bring together the latest theory and research on critical approaches to social psychological challenges. Edited by a leading authority in the field, this volume further establishes critical social psychology as a discipline of study, distinct from mainstream social psychology. The handbook explains how critical approaches to social processes and phenomena are essential to fully understanding them, and covers the main research topics in basic and applied social psychology, including social cognition, identity and social relations, alongside overviews of the main theories and methodologies that underpin critical approaches.


This volume features a range of leading authors working on key social psychological issues, and highlights a commitment to a social psychology which shuns psychologisation, reductionism and neutrality. It provides invaluable insight into many of the most pressing and distressing issues we face in modern society, including the migrant and refugee crises affecting Europe; the devaluing of black lives in the USA; and the poverty, ill-health, and poor mental well-being that has resulted from ever-increasing austerity efforts in the UK. 

Including sections on critical perspectives, critical methodologies, and critical applications, this volume also focuses on issues within social cognition, self and identity. This one-stop handbook is an indispensable resource for a range of academics, students and researchers in the fields of psychology and sociology, and particularly those with an interest in social identity, power relations, and critical interventions.

• personality
• poverty
• austerity
• gender
• race

“Jam-packed with excellent overviews - a state of the art collection that will frame the field in new and exciting ways for the years to come.” (Margaret Wetherell  Professor of Social Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand)

• School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

  Brendan Gough

Brendan Gough is a critical social psychologist and qualitative researcher interested in men and masculinities. Now based at Leeds Beckett University, UK, he has previously worked at Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Leeds and Nottingham Trent University. He has published papers on gender identities and relations, and conducted research funded by a variety of bodies including the Economic and Social Research Council, National Health Service, and the British Psychological Society. He is co-founder and co-editor of the journal Qualitative Research in Psychology; he edits the Critical Psychology section of the journal Social & Personality Psychology Compass, and is Associate Editor for the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity. He has co-authored and edited six books in the areas of critical social psychology, reflexivity and qualitative research, body image and men's health.

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