Together: The Science of Social Psychology
This “ready-made textbook” is a compilation of relevant modules from the much larger family of NOBA modules. Together they cover standard topics (persuasion), some less-standard ones (the family), and one applied area (I/O psychology). Unfortunately, the key area of intergroup relations and intergroup conflict receives extremely short shrift; the closest coverage is a single module on stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Curiously, the available module on the “replication crisis” was not selected for inclusion. A stand-alone combined glossary is provided at the end, as well as a helpful module-specific glossary at the end of each module.
I would have no qualms about assigning these modules to students as a supplementary/reference text. With that said, social psychology is in flux and there are some questions about the replicability of studies that are reviewed herein. I urge instructors who may want to adopt this book to be proactive in providing commentary to their students as this situation develops. See also my comments on international bias, below.
NOBA as a whole has shown itself able to capture trajectories in the field better than most traditional textbooks do. It is also helpful that the modules are written by some of the most central figures in the research they are describing (e.g., Jerry Burger, who published a major update of the Milgram study, authored the module on social influence). The authors for the most part selected evergreen examples – such as the Channel Tunnel construction as a “hook” into the topic of cooperation.
The writing is clear across all the modules.
The same elements are included in each module (e.g., discussion questions) and terminology, where appropriate, appears consistent. With that said, each module was written by (a) different author(s) and there are points of disconcerting overlap. The modules may provide similar coverage yet not be in productive conversation with each other. I think it would be possible for an instructor to turn this into a useful feature of the textbook by creating assignments where students engage more actively with the material by, for example, contrasting the coverage of attachment theory, cultural relativism, etc. across modules.
The book is designed intentionally to prioritize modularity, and this ends up being both a bug and a feature (see above and below).
The book is organized somewhat arbitrarily, with disparate topics loosely grouped under slightly more abstract topical headings and no segues between these groupings. (Or perhaps the organization is not as arbitrary as it seems, but there is nothing like an introduction to explain the logic of the sequence we are provided.) This modular experience may work best for an instructor who wants her students to have a supplementary/reference text for a few topics. However, I do not think it works well as a primary text for a social psychology course that relies heavily on the text to provide internal coherence, synthesis, overarching questions and frameworks, etc.
The interface is easy to use. Useful ancillary materials are provided both in the modules – though the depth of these varies considerably across modules -- and (password-protected) elsewhere online.
Generally the grammar and proofreading are good; I caught only a few typos in one module.
Although not insensitive as a rule (I did see one instance of the word "lame" used as an insult), the book is extremely intrapsychic in focus; avoids any explicit coverage of qualitative research methods; and in other ways signals strongly that it takes a North-America-centric perspective.
In addition to my comments above, I would have liked to see more critical perspectives on the research described – particularly regarding the “lore” that has sprung up around many of the field’s classic studies, which are often covered somewhat superficially.