The first edition of this book outlined what amounted to a breakthrough in the analysis of social behaviour. Since then it has become widely used as an introductory textbook of social psychology. It is invaluable to anyone interested in the subject or whose work involves dealing with people, as well as anyone who wants to know how to make friends and influence people. For this new, fifth edition, Michael Argyle includes the latest research on non-verbal communication, social skills and hap...

In the 10 years or so prior to original publication in 1978 new theories and discoveries in the social sciences had given a scientific basis and new impetus to the development of social skills training as a form of therapy. This book explores the progress made with this idea and gives practical guidance for therapists based on several years’ experience with the technique.The book provides an account of the latest ideas at the time, about the analysis of social behaviour – non-verba...

This is the first book-length work to reflect the recent trend in social psychology away from artificial laboratory test results. It focuses directly on the detailed, concrete elements of social behavior as they are observed in a real-life setting. Michael Argyle's approach here differs from that more generally taken in two respects. First, he discusses human interaction in terms of the basic elements of behavior-bodily and facial movements, gestures, eye-movements, facial expression, prox...

First published in 1964, Psychology and Social Problems looks at a changing society and research into problems of the time. Many of the themes in the book, such as delinquency, mental health and racial conflict, are still familiar and current topics of discussion today.Social scientists had carried out extensive research into problems of urgent public concern, yet their findings were not widely known or understood and they had often been diffident in advocating policies ba...

What is happiness? Why are some people happier than others?This new edition of The Psychology of Happiness provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of research into the nature of happiness. Major research developments have occurred since publication of the first edition in 1987 – here they are brought together for the first time, often with surprising conclusions.Drawing on research from the disciplines of sociology, physiology and economics as well as psych...

Is human nature cooperative?Man is often said to be a social animal – but what does that mean? Michael Argyle believed that one of the most important components – our capacity to cooperate – had been overlooked and indeed that the whole notion of cooperation had not been properly understood.In this book, originally published in 1991, the author showed he was critical of earlier approaches, and put forward a new and extended understanding of what cooperation consists of, sho...

Is psychology good for our health? What is the effect of class on social behaviour? In this comprehensive and fully up-to-date accoung of the psychology of everyday life, Michael Argyle looks at the most interesting and practically important areas of social psychology. He takes social psychology out of the laboratory into real-life settings and helps us to understand the world in which we live. He covers many of the pressing concerns of the day - conflict and aggression, racial prejudice, ...

The efficiency of an organization and the well-being of those working within it are often dependent to a large extent on the social skills deployed by certain key personnel. The analysis of these skills and the training of people in their use had reached a stage of considerable sophistication.Originally published in 1981, this volume, edited by the foremost authority in the field, presents a wealth of ideas and information on how best to employ social skills training in health and ...

Although widely taught to undergraduates, teachers, managers and adult students, practical work and demonstrations in social psychology were often found very difficult to carry out satisfactorily. Originally published in 1962, this book presented for the first time a series of experiments which would work in a classroom setting: some are modified versions of classical experiments, others were new. Several experiments are presented, together with discussion of their background and implicati...

Originally published in 1957, this book presented an up-to-date account of psychological research into human social behaviour of the time. There are chapters on interaction between pairs of people, behaviour in small social groups, and human relations in industry. The author avoided the adoption of any particular theoretical position, and concentrated on the established empirical findings of the time. The results of several hundred investigations are summarised and compared, so that the pr...

Originally published in 1975, this book is a completely rewritten, revised version of Michael Argyle’s standard work, Religious Behaviour, first published in 1958. A great deal of new research had appeared since that date, which threw new light on the nature and origins of religious behaviour, beliefs and experience.Trends in religious activity in Britain and the United States since 1900, and the state of religion in these two countries at the time, are examined. Evidence ...

Because society is increasingly secular, it may seem irrelevant to consider the psychology of religion. But the diversity of our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society in fact makes religion more important to the social sciences than it has ever been before. What are the social consequences of religion? Every day the news is full of events that can be blamed on religion perpetrated by a range of groups from whole societies to individuals. Beit-Hallami and Argyle are renowned for their cle...