by THOMAS ECKES, University of Dresden and HANNS M. TRAUTNER, University of Wuppertal.
Publication Information : Book Title : The Developmental Social Psychology of Gender. Contributors : Thomas B. Eckes – editor, Hanns M. Trautner – editor. Publisher : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Place of Publication : Mahwah, NJ. Publication Year : 2000.
Preface by the authors
Gender research is currently one of the most active and dynamic areas in developmental and social psychology. Since the early 1970s there has been a tremendous increase in the understanding of gender and gender-related phenomena. The advances that have been made in theory and methodology, as well as the insights gained from myriads of empirical studies, are undoubtedly impressive. Yet, from its inception, the field has remained fragmented, making developmental and social psychological approaches to gender look like artificial divisions of a common subject matter. What’s even worse, the relation between both psychological subdisciplines at times resembles well-documented effects of in-group/out-group differentiation : New approaches, concepts, and findings presented by in-group members are received with approval, whereas similarly important contributions to the same topic made by out-group members are largely ignored or overlooked. This volume is intended to overcome this unfortunate situation.