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Towards a Critical Social Psychology of Social Class

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The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology

Abstract

Social psychologists have paid relatively little attention to class compared with scholars from other disciplines (e.g., sociology). This is a concern as class shapes nearly every aspect of human life and has a profoundly psychological dimension. This chapter critically reviews mainstream social psychological work on class, highlighting the general failure of this to problematise the class system of countries like Britain and the United States. It then moves on to discuss critical social psychological work on class and what this has offered those seeking to alleviate the problems caused by social and economic inequalities. Finally, the chapter reviews the current ‘state of play’ for critical scholarship in this area, considering future directions for this field of study.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

    Katy Day, Bridgette Rickett & Maxine Woolhouse

Authors
  1. Katy Day
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  2. Bridgette Rickett
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  3. Maxine Woolhouse
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK

    Brendan Gough

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Day, K., Rickett, B., Woolhouse, M. (2017). Towards a Critical Social Psychology of Social Class. In: Gough, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Social Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51018-1_23

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