Then a Miracle Occurs: Focusing on Behavior in Social Psychological Theory and Research

Focusing attention on a multiplicity of issues surrounding the study of behavior is timely and important. Some scholars believe that, across various sub-disciplines of the field, social psychology actually has contributed a great deal to our understanding of behavior and its antecedents. From this perspective, there is considerable utility in drawing together such work in one place. Other scholars suggest that, though there has been great progress elucidating the internal cognitive, affective and motivational underpinnings of behavior, much less research focuses on external behavior itself. From this perspective, it is important to identify the theoretical gaps, the empirical needs, and the focal issues that still demand attention. Chapters in this timely volume review some of these key issues, with contributions from some of the world's leading social and personality psychologists.

Christopher R. Agnew is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994. His research focuses primary on close, interpersonal relationships, with particular emphasis on commitment, social influence, and dissolution processes. He has published widely, authoring more than 50 articles and chapters.

Donal E. Carlston is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1977. His primary research interest is in the area of social cognition, with an emphasis on intentional and unintentional mechanisms of impression formation.

William G. Graziano is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1977. His research focuses primary on personality and interpersonal processes, with particular emphasis most recently on prosocial behavior.

Janice R. Kelly is a Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. She received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987. Her primary research interest is in group performance and interaction, with an emphasis on how time pressure and affective influences affect group performance and interaction.