EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Eleanor E. Maccoby, Theodore M. Newcomb and Eugene L. Hartley

FOREWORD: TO THE SOCIETY for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Readings in Social Psychology has been a continuing source of pride and satisfaction. The publication of a third edition of this widely used and much appreciated volume is for the Sociely a happy occasion.

Newcomb and Hartley, in their preface to the first edition, spoke of future editions that would keep pace with developments in the field and so meet the needs of teachers and students. They correctly anticipated continuing expansion and development of the field of social psychology. Just as 50 percent of the selections in the second edition consisted of material that did not appear in the first, so does a large proportion of this new version consist of reports of empirical studies that have been carried out since 1952.The task of surveying the literature of social psychology over a five-year period has become an undertaking of truly staggering proportions. To Eleanor Maccoby, who has carried out with devoted care the greater part of this task, the Society owes an enormous debt of gratitude. We here express to her, to her fellow editors whose wisdom in selecting readings we have come to take for granted, and to the contributors to the volume our heartfelt thanks.

Prepared for the Committee on the Teaching of Social Psychology of The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

NEW YORK •HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. 1958. 685p.