Routledge Psychology and the Conduct of Everyday Life

Psychology and the Conduct of Everyday Life moves psychological theory and research practice out of the laboratory and into the everyday world. Drawing on recent developments across the social and human sciences, it examines how people live as active subjects within the contexts of their everyday lives, using this as an analytical basis for understanding the dilemmas and contradictions people face in contemporary society.   Early chapters gather the latest empirical research to explore the significance of context as a cross-disciplinary critical tool; they include a study of homeless Māori men reaffirming their cultural identity via gardening, and a look at how the dilemmas faced by children in difficult situations can provide insights into social conflict at school. Later chapters examine the interplay between everyday life around the world and contemporary global phenomena such as the rise of the debt economy, the hegemony of the labor market, and the increased reliance on digital technology in educational settings. The book concludes with a consideration of how social psychology can deepen our understanding of how we conduct our lives, and offer possibilities for collective work on the resolution of social conflict. Review "This book addresses key and missing questions at the cutting edge of psychological research and social theory. It presents a generative theoretical and methodological approach to the study of everyday practice – relevant and inspiring not only for psychologists, but for scholars across the social sciences." – Jean Lave, Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley, USA "Schraube and Højholt have done psychologists a great service; we can now move out of the laboratory and into the actual contexts where people conduct their everyday lives together. This impressive book provides us with theoretical, methodological, and empirical ideas about what a psychology that is relevant to human life might look like. I recommend it to all students, researchers, and practitioners of the discipline."– Svend Brinkmann, Professor of Psychology, University of Aalborg, Denmark "This is a remarkable and fascinating collection, putting in place a radical new way for psychology to relate to people. For a sociologist committed to starting with and remaining with people's everyday lives, it is wonderful to discover a psychology that takes the same route. We can be friends, we can learn from one another, and here’s a book that gives us a place to start. It provides a conceptual framework, applications to psychological practice, approaches to and examples of research, and it all adds up to an important innovation." – Dorothy Smith, Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto, Canada "Each chapter is a thought-provoking, intellectual adventure that serves as a fresh perspective within psychological theorizing and research. Challenging mainstream conceptualizations and providing examples of alternative ways to conduct research, this book is a must read for academics interested in the conduct of everyday life."                           --I. I. Katzarska-Miller, Transylvania University, CHOICE About the Author Ernst Schraube is Associate Professor of Social Psychology of Technology in Everyday Life in the Department of Psychology and Educational Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark. Charlotte Højholt is Professor of Social Psychology of Everyday Life in the Department of Psychology and Educational Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark.