The second edition of the hugely successful "Essential Social Psychology" is now even more indispensable! Social psychology is an enormous discipline and it can be easy to get swamped in that enormity. But does that mean you need an enormous textbook, especially for your first course? "Essential Social Psychology" gives an accessible and thorough grounding in the key concepts, the fundamentals - the essentials of social psychology, while providing a lively introduction to the major theoretical debates, new approaches, and findings in the discipline. It tells the fascinating story of social psychology but also gets you through your exams. The second edition still has everything students need: short, lively chapters covering the classic and contemporary studies, plenty of illustrations, an extensive glossary and those memory maps to help you remember it all. But now, the textbook has been expanded to include even more essential elements. The authors have added two more chapters, the newest cutting edge research, and detailed the latest exciting and emerging debates and controversies.Key features of the new edition include: brand new chapters on Attribution and Intergroup Processes; alternative perspectives integrated into each chapter to reflect the fascinating range of approaches and encourage critical thinking; extended chapters that provide more detailed coverage of each topic; and, new and improved companion website, that comes now with even more lecturer and student support.