Social Motivation, Justice, And The Moral Emotions: An Attributional Approach [Paperback]

Bernard Weiner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805855270 | ISBN-13: 978-0805855272 | Publication Date: August 12, 2005

Social Motivation, Justice, and the Moral Emotions proposes an attribution theory of interpersonal or social motivation that distinguishes between the role of thinking and feeling in determining action. The place of this theory within the larger fields of motivation and attributional analyses is explored. It features new thoughts concerning social motivation on such topics as help giving, aggression, achievement evaluation, compliance to commit a transgression, as well as new contributions to the understanding of social justice. Included also is material on moral emotions, with discussions of admiration, contempt, envy, gratitude, and other affects not considered in Professor Weiner's prior work. The text also contains previously unexamined topics regarding social inferences of arrogance and modesty and the role of mediators versus moderators in theory building. Divided into five chapters, this book: • Considers the logical development and structure of a proposed theory of social motivation and justice; • Reviews meta-analytic tests of the theory within the contexts of help giving and aggression and examines issues related to cultural and individual differences; • Focuses on moral emotions including an analysis of admiration, envy, gratitude, jealousy, scorn, and others; • Discusses conditions where reward decreases motivation while punishment augments strivings; and • Provides applications that are beneficial in the classroom, in therapy, and in training programs. Social Motivation, Justice, and the Moral Emotions appeals to practicing and research psychologists and advanced students in a variety of fields including social, educational, personality, political/legal, health, and clinical psychology. It will also serve as a supplement in courses on motivational psychology, emotion and motivation, altruism and/or pro-social behavior, aggression, social judgment, and morality. Also included is the raw material (e.g., questionnaires, surveys, etc.) for 13 experiments relating to core predictions of the proposed attribution theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...readers who have done work in or related to attribution theory will greatly appreciate the author's mix of insight, wry observation, and research tenacity....this book is a worthy capstone to a distinguished academic career....Weiner claims that 'this is certainly my final book product....'Social and personality psychologists will agree...that his scholarly creativity will continue--may another book be forthcoming."
—PsycCRITIQUES

"... this book is about Weiner's thinking and research and is of interest to a number of readers...It...includes novel ideas..."

—Nancy Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University

"In his highly readable style, Weiner communicates the theoretical conceptualization, along with the results of dozens of studies, and applies them to moral emotions...This book further develops Weiner's rationalist approach to emotions and social judgment...[he] specifically shows how culture, personality, and political ideology play a role in his theory. It works."

—Chris Crandall, Ph.D.
University of Kansas

About the Author

Bernard Weineris Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Weiner is a past recipient of the Donald T. Campbell Distinguished Research Award from the American Psychological Association and the Palmer Johnson Publication Award from the American Educational Research Association. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Bielefeld, Germany and the University of Turku, Finland. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (August 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805855270
• ISBN-13: 978-0805855272
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,479,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of Attribution Theory, July 14, 2007

By 

Christopher Williams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Social Motivation, Justice, And The Moral Emotions: An Attributional Approach (Paperback)

As Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UCLA, Bernard Weiner is quintessential experimentalist and theoretician. In great tradition of Wilhelm Wundt, William James, Edwin Boring and other empiricists, Weiner has advanced understanding and prediction of behavior in social environment

Weiner's latest book "Social Motivation, Justice, and the Moral Emotions: An Attributional Approach" summarizes nicely his theory to cognition, emotion, and behavior. Nearly 40 years of research supports Weiner's position that perceived rather than objective reasons for social outcomes influence interpersonal behavior.

But for my money, Weiner is far more important in historical analysis than his Attribution Theory. For here is an experimentalist and scholar dedicated to reliable prediction of behavior as criteria for assessing theory rather than popularity or anything else.

As with other publications by Weiner, the current book is well written, easily accessible to lay audiences and scholars alike.

Wundt, James, & Boring would be proud.