On Social Psychological Handy Work: An Interpretive Review of The Handbook of Social Psychology, Second Edition

This paper reviews the new Handbook of Social Psychology, with a special eye towards its utility for political scientists. The review focuses on theory, methodology, substantive areas of social psychological research, and political applications of social psychological findings. Special attention is paid to Handbook articles of particular merit and application to political science. These include articles on cognitive theory, experimentation, observational analyses and sociometry, as well as articles which add to our knowledge of such politically important problems as reasoning, compliance, and decision making. Throughout, important findings relevant to the operations of politics are spotlighted. These include, inter alia, cognitive biases towards the perception of unequal influence, the “risky shift,†constraints on selective perception, and characteristics of leadership behavior. Omissions, theoretical flaws, and errors due to the “datedness†of findings are also discussed.