Psychology and Race

Peter Watson

Transaction Publishers

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Since the problems of race relations are worldwide, the international origins and perspectives of this excellent and timely book are especially advantageous. More research has been done in the United States than elsewhere on the psychology of race relations, so it is appropriate that a plurality of the chapters of this book are by American authors--a stellar group that includes leading contributors to our contemporary knowledge of the topic. Contributors from the English-speaking Commonwealth countries are next in number, followed by authors from the United Kingdom, where race-related issues have only recently become a salient concern of politics and social ethics. The editor has assigned topics to his carefully chosen author-experts not by country or region, but by matching the expertise of each author against a need for coherent analysis of the important aspects of psychology and race.'

Psychology and Race is divided into two major parts. The first half of the book looks at the interracial situation itself. The first section concentrates on the majority or dominant group, and describes the development and measurement of racial awareness and prejudice and techniques for reducing prejudice; the second section focuses on the reactions of subordinate or minority groups; and the third deals with specific aspects of interpersonal interaction-attitudes, behavior, and performance--when the people concerned are of different races. The book also looks at those areas of life where race is relevant and where psychology can help in an understanding of the situation.

The scope of this volume, the distinction of its authors, and the hardheaded sense of reality it brings to the discussion of these extremely complex issues will make it an invaluable resource not only for teachers and students but also for everyone concerned in any way with this most pressing issue of our times.

Peter Watson was deputy editor of The New Society and spent a total of four years with The London Sunday Times as part of their Insight Team. He has written several books and since 1998 has been Research Associate at the Illicit Antiquities Research Centre located at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.