The Stag Hunt and the Evolution of Social Structure
Brian Skyrms' study of ideas of cooperation and collective action. - December 15, 2003 -
"Rousseau's story of a stag hunt illuminates his vision of the social contract. Brian Skyrms emulates the master by using the Stag Hunt Game to illustrate his very different vision. Who would have thought there was so much to learn from such a simple game?" Ken Binmore, California Institute of Technology
Brian Skyrms' study of ideas of cooperation and collective action explores the implications of a prototypical story found in Rousseau's A Discourse on Inequality. It is therein that Rousseau contrasts the pay-off of hunting hare (where the risk of non-cooperation is small and the reward equally small) against the pay-off of hunting the stag (where maximum cooperation is required but the reward is much greater.) Thus, rational agents are pulled in one direction by considerations of risk and in another by considerations of mutual benefit.

The Social Mind : Cognitive and Motivational Aspects of Interpersonal Behavior by Joseph P. Forgas (Editor), Kipling D. Williams (Editor), Ladd Wheeler (Editor) - October 27, 2003

"The editors of this book once again collected some of social psychology's best researchers, and allowed them to produce an exciting and wide-ranging collection of chapters that explore how the world within the mind represents, creates, interacts with, and is influenced by the world without." Daniel Gilbert, Harvard University "At last here is a volume that provides a compelling answer to the question of what is `social' about social cognition. The editors have assembled a stellar cast of social psychology researchers to address this question head-on and the result is eye-opening and mind-expanding. From intraindividual to interpersonal to group processes, the consistent message throughout the chapters of the volume is that of the inextricable connections between human cognition and social behavior. Empirically and conceptually the contributors to this project make a convincing case that, for human beings, mental life IS social life." Marilynn B. Brewer, Ohio State University

"...the book makes an important contribution to the field and will be of particular relevance to researchers in social psychology. I was also rather surprised at how relevant the book is to practitioners." Contemporary Psychology

Effective social interaction requires sophisticated mental and motivational strategies. The Social Mind reviews and integrates recent psychological research on the relationship between people's thoughts and motives--their "social mind" -- and their interpersonal strategies. The research shows that success in personal relationships, group behavior and strategic interaction are all significantly influenced by how individuals interpret and explain the social world around them. The implications of this research for personal adjustment, organizational effectiveness and clinical, counseling, and health psychology are also explored.

Introduction to Collective Behavior and Collective Action
David L. Miller

A thorough and involving treatment of an exciting and rapidly changing area of research! Over the last half-century, the field of collective behavior and collective action has generated some of the most innovative research methods in sociology. The second edition of this volume, now titled Introduction to Collective Behavior and Collective Action, provides the first systematic
overview of collective action theory and research written at the undergraduate level. It is also the first to offer a side-by-side presentation of collective behavior and collective action theories, providing clarity of presentation and aiding in comparison and discussion of the two perspectives. The author creates an intuitive feel for the subject matter by using numerous, descriptive narratives that reduce the need for outside readings. The text covers traditional topics in addition to a strong and detailed treatment of protest and social movements. It also provides a comprehensive overview of historical material, various research methods and communication processes are discussed, including modern computer modeling techniques and the increasing influence of the Internet and other electronic media.

Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action (Comparative Politics) by Mario Diani, Doug McAdam (Editors)

For the first time in a single volume, leading social movement researchers map the full range of applications of network concepts and tools to their field of inquiry. They illustrate how networks affect individual contributions to collective action in both democratic and non-democratic organizations; how patterns of inter-organizational linkages affect the circulation of resources both within movement milieus and between movement organizations and the political system; how network concepts and techniques may improve our grasp of the relationship between movements and elites, of the configuration of alliance and conflict structures, of the clustering of episodes of contention in protest cycles.Social Movements and Networks casts new light on our understanding of social movements and cognate social and political processes.

Rational Herds : Economic Models of Social Learning by Christophe P. Chamley - November 24, 2003 "Christophe Chamley brings the reader to the state of the art in formal modeling of social learning. His treatment of this burgeoning literature is extraordinarily clear and comprehensive. This book, by an author who has himself made major contributions to the subject, is destined to become a standard reference in the area." Sushil Bikhchandani, UCLA "Over the past decade there has been an explosion of interest in the field of social learning. Far from being a fad, this field is developing into one of the richest areas of economic research, with an ever-growing list of applications. Christophe Chamley has made profound contributions to the growth of the field, and presents us now with the definitive guide. His book is essential reading not only for graduate students, but also for current researchers trying to stay abreast of new findings. It helps us understand not only where the literature came from, but also where it is going." Andrew Caplin, New York University "This book is a notable achievement. It is ambitious in scope, and provides substantive understanding of how different models in the area work. It offers a deep understanding of the range of validity of different conclusions in the literature and the relations between different possible model results. The general economist will find a rigorous and lucid in-depth introduction to the field.

Even experts in the field will find here many challenges as well as enlightenment. Chamley's book promises to be the key reference on rational models of social learning in economics for some time to come." David Hirshleifer, Ohio State University "Chamley has chosen a topic of great interest to all academics in the social sciences. The tendency of human beings to conformity intrigues social psychologists and anthropologists, and the implications of mass behavior are important in politics, economics, and finance. Chamley fully understands this material and conveys it clearly in this book." Peter Norman Sorensen, University of Copenhagen Social learning involves individuals learning from the behavior of others and may lead to spectacular outcomes such as herding, fads, frenzies, crashes, and booms. Providing a synthesis of the theoretical literature of the last ten years, Christophe Chamley demonstrates how these pathologies may occur in a society of rational individuals. His book provides informal as well as technical analyses for readers interested in social behavior, and more advanced researchers in economics, finance, and other social sciences. A key feature is the inclusion of exercises in each chapter, with proofs written out for students.

Collective Behavior
David A. Locher - Edition 2001
Employing a relaxed, readable writing style, David Locher illustrates all the major sociological perspectives and theories of collective behavior and classical social movements. The book provides a comprehensive and balanced examination of the field and provides recent examples that encourage readers to evaluate different perspectives and think for themselves. Addresses the
study of collective behavior, theory, categories of collective behavior, an analysis of modern episodes of collective behavior and social movements. For those curious about collective behavior.
Employing a relaxed, readable writing style, David Locher illustrates all the major sociological perspectives and theories of collective behavior and classical social movements. The book provides a comprehensive and balanced examination of the field and provides recent examples that encourage readers to evaluate different perspectives and think for themselves. Addresses the
study of collective behavior, theory, categories of collective behavior, an analysis of modern episodes of collective behavior and social movements. For those curious about collective behavior.

Collective Violence
Steven E. Barkan, Lynne L. Snowden

Cults, terrorists, genocide, rebellion : these words scream at us daily from various media sources, but they represent group behavior which few people understand or can respond to effectively. Collective Violence discusses and analyzes this behavior through the eyes of social change researchers and theorists. This book defines a new subfield in the study of collective behavior and social movements, focusing on the characteristics, history, and structure of violent groups.
Collective Violence teaches readers how to understand violent group behavior on the only level at which it can be controlled, at the group level. Rather than focusing on the social conditions that may lead to violence or the characteristics of individuals who might join these groups, this book looks at the actual signposts that might be used to predict whether or not a group of activists or a local community grass-roots movement is likely to use violence to achieve its goals. The book is divided into four major sections, with an introductory and concluding chapter. Each of the topical chapters will include examples of the behavior, theories which attempt to explain the behavior, and the methods which institutions and their agents use to control the violence.
Some solutions come from within a society as a result of seemingly spontaneous creativity, while others are consciously pursued by organized groups. The authors contend that these violent behaviors do not spring from madness, perversion, or intentional
criminality; they begin in the roots of everyday life and mundane issues; and the people who commit these deeds are normal people who become convinced that a time for taking matters into their own hands has come.
For anyone interested in the sociology of group behavior, society, and criminal justice.
Cults, terrorists, genocide, rebellion : these words scream at us daily from various media sources, but they represent group behavior which few people understand or can respond to effectively. Collective Violence discusses and analyzes this behavior through the eyes of social change researchers and theorists. This book defines a new subfield in the study of collective behavior and social movements, focusing on the characteristics, history, and structure of violent groups. Collective Violence teaches readers how to understand violent group behavior on the only level at which it can be controlled, at the group level. Rather than focusing on the social conditions that may lead to violence or the characteristics of individuals who might join these groups, this book looks at the actual signposts that might be used to predict whether or not a group of activists or a local community grass-roots movement is likely to use violence to achieve its goals. The book is divided into four major sections, with an introductory and concluding chapter. Each of the topical chapters will include examples of the behavior, theories which attempt
to explain the behavior, and the methods which institutions and their agents use to control the violence. Some solutions come from within a society as a result of seemingly spontaneous creativity, while others are consciously pursued by organized groups.
The authors contend that these violent behaviors do not spring from madness, perversion, or intentional criminality; they begin in the roots of everyday life and mundane issues; and the people who commit these deeds are normal people who become convinced that a time for taking matters into their own hands has come. For anyone interested in the sociology of group behavior, society, and criminal justice.

Theories of collective behavior and classical social movements