By Tom R. Tyler, New York University ; Roderick M. Kramer, Stanford University and Oliver P. John, University of California, Berkeley.
INTRODUCTION : What Does Studying the Psychology of the Social Self Have to Offer to Psychologists ?
Tom R. Tyler New York University
Roderick M. Kramer Stanford University
Oliver P. John University of California, Berkeley
A core question in social psychology is why people associate with others. Historically, U.S. social psychologists have viewed people as motivated by the desire to exchange resources with others. This motivation is central to social exchange theory explanations of ingroup dynamics, which has argued that judgments about the values of the resources gained and lost through group membership shape both satisfaction in groups and behavioral choices among groups.