Heather J Smith – författare

Issues of social justice have been an important part of social psychology since the explosion of psychological research that occurred during and after World War II. At that time, psychologists began to move away from earlier theories that paid little attention to people's subjective understanding of the world. As increasing attention was paid to people's thoughts about their social experiences, it was discovered that people are strongly affected by their assessments of what is just or fair in their dealings with others. This recognition has led to a broad range of studies exploring what people mean by justice and how it influences their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Issues of social justice have been an important part of social psychology since the explosion of psychological research that occurred during and after World War II. At that time, psychologists began to move away from earlier theories that paid little attention to people's subjective understanding of the world. As increasing attention was paid to people's thoughts about their social experiences, it was discovered that people are strongly affected by their assessments of what is just or fair in their dealings with others. This recognition has led to a broad range of studies exploring what people mean by justice and how it influences their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

The relative deprivation construct has been widely used in the social sciences to explain phenomena from experiencing psychosomatic stress to participating in urban riots. It is currently a valuable tool in research, being used especially to understand processes of social identity and responses to disadvantage by both disadvantaged minorities and privileged majorities. Originally published in 2001, this book assembles chapters by leading relative deprivation researchers in order to present comprehensive synthesis of knowledge. Featuring integrative theoretical and empirical work from social psychology, sociology, and psychology, the book provides a highly detailed reference work. It is relevant to researchers in intergroup relations, prejudice, racism, social identity, group processes, social comparison, collective behavior, and social movements. The book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the topic and its practical application.