This book represents a major revision of my earlier work, Theories of Motivation: From Mechanism to Cognition. A number of shortcomings in the p,revious book became increasingly evident to me. First of all, there were serious omissions. Second, there has been much new knowl­ edge since the inception of the prior book, so that it was becoming out­ dated. And finally, I was dissatisfied with some of the writing, feeling that parts of the book were needlessly complex and that certain topics did not deserve the space that they were allotted. A revision, therefore, was initiated. I attempted to fill some of the gaps by including chapters on psychoanalytic, social learning, and humanistic theory. Furthermore, other topics that could have been dis­ cussed within the outline of Theories of Motivation but were neglected are incorporated into the present volume. These topics include, for ex­ ample, social facilitation, arousal, emotions, personal responsibility, and the irrationality of attributions. In addition to this new material, I up­ dated the ideas examined in Theories of Motivation. Little could be altered in-the sections on H ullian and Lewinian theory, for these con­ ceptions are no longer undergoing modification. The discussion of these theories was merely shortened and simplified, bringing them more in line with their current influence in psychology. But achievement and attribution theories have changed in the past years - or at least our understanding in these areas has changed - and discussion of these topics was greatly altered.

This intriguing new work provides a careful examination of how judgments of ourselves and others relate to problems and, in so doing, yields valuable insight into human interactions and motivational processes. Laying out a general theory of social motivation, the author incorporates a number of well-researched areas in social psychology and motivation to elucidate basic principles that guide human conduct across culture and time. Chapters reveal how responsibility inferences are reached, the manner in which such judgments affect emotions, and the role that "cold" judgments of responsibility versus "hot" feelings, such as anger, play in producing both positive and negative behaviors. The author demonstrates that the ways others are perceived influence the behaviors directed toward them, showing how attributions of personal causality are followed by judgments of responsibility. These inferences then give rise to other-directed emotions such as anger and sympathy which, in turn, generate antisocial and prosocial actions. Providing a conceptual system that permits readers a deeper understanding of motivational processes and suggests guidelines for more effective interventions, this book is insightful reading for a wide range of scholars.

For a long time I have had the gnawing desire to convey the broad motivational significance of the attributional conception that I have espoused and to present fully the argument that this framework has earned a rightful place alongside other leading theories of motivation.--the author

Social Motivation, Justice, and the Moral Emotions proposes an attribution theory of interpersonal or social motivation that distinguishes between the role of thinking and feeling in determining action. The place of this theory within the larger fields of motivation and attributional analyses is explored. It features new thoughts concerning social motivation on such topics as help giving, aggression, achievement evaluation, compliance to commit a transgression, as well as new contributions to the understanding of social justice. Included also is material on moral emotions, with discussions of admiration, contempt, envy, gratitude, and other affects not considered in Professor Weiner's prior work. The text also contains previously unexamined topics regarding social inferences of arrogance and modesty and the role of mediators versus moderators in theory building. Divided into five chapters, this book: *Considers the logical development and structure of a proposed theory of social motivation and justice; *Reviews meta-analytic tests of the theory within the contexts of help giving and aggression and examines issues related to cultural and individual differences; *Focuses on moral emotions including an analysis of admiration, envy, gratitude, jealousy, scorn, and others; *Discusses conditions where reward decreases motivation while punishment augments strivings; and *Provides applications that are beneficial in the classroom, in therapy, and in training programs. Social Motivation, Justice, and the Moral Emotions appeals to practicing and research psychologists and advanced students in a variety of fields including social, educational, personality, political/legal, health, and clinical psychology. It will also serve as a supplement in courses on motivational psychology, emotion and motivation, altruism and/or pro-social behavior, aggression, social judgment, and morality. Also included is the raw material (e.g., questionnaires, surveys, etc.) for 13 experiments relating to core predictions of the proposed attribution theory.