You are a member of a social world on a planet containing about 7 billion people. This social world is filled with paradox, mystery, suspense, and outright absurdity. Explore how social psychology can help you make sense of your own social world with this engaging and accessible book.

Roy F. Baumeister and Brad J. Bushman's Social Psychology and Human Nature, 2nd Edition can help you understand one of the most interesting topics of all--the sometimes bizarre and baffling but always fascinating diversity of human behavior, and how and why people act the way they do.

"I am very impressed. The writing is terrific, as are the examples and images. More importantly, however, many books seem to suck the life right out of social psychology-they almost make it seem as if we are studying something other than ourselves. This book makes it clear that social psychology is directly engaged in the study of our shared human nature, with all its trade-offs and complexities but also with its underlying rationality. This is the first book I will be able to assign to my class and not feel a tad guilty.''--W. Keith Campbell, University of Georgia