Rupert Brown Knihy

Advertising, materialism, and consumption are key elements of contemporary Western culture, inundating us with idealized images of bodies, consumer goods, and affluent lifestyles. Psychology is only beginning to explore the significant impact these consumer culture ideals have on individuals' identities and self-worth. This work documents the negative psychological effects of consumer culture on self-perception and emotional well-being. It examines the social psychological aspects of possessing, buying, and desiring material goods, alongside the pursuit of media-driven appearance ideals. Various social psychology approaches, including self-completion, self-discrepancy, and value theory, are integrated to form a comprehensive framework for understanding how internalizing consumer culture ideals affects individuals' self-perception and overall health. This text is relevant for anyone interested in the psychological consequences of living in modern consumer societies, particularly concerning children, adolescents, and adults. It will appeal to students and researchers in social psychology, sociology, media studies, communication, and other social sciences, as well as psychologists, health workers, and practitioners focused on identity, consumption-related issues, body image, and body-related behaviors.

This landmark work offers a tour of the latest developments in Social Identity Theory from the leading scholars in the field. First proposed by Tajfel and Turner in 1979, Social Identity Theory has proved enormously influential in stimulating new theory and research, and in its application to social problems. The field is developing apace and important new lines of work have opened up in the past few years. The three sections of the book cover: theoretical contributions to the field; recent empirical assessments of key elements of the theory; and applications of Social Identity Theory to bring about changes in problematic intergroup relationships.

Group Processes aims to deepen our understanding of relationships within and between groups by means of three key ideas.