Choice Review

A comprehensive, thoughtful integration of the voluminous social psychology literature on female-male relationships, presented (with varying success) from a social cognition perspective. This collection offers a useful complement to Women, Gender and Social Psychology, ed. by V. O'Leary, R. Unger, and B. Wallston (CH, Sep '85). Half the book is written by the editors, well-known psychologists; the rest includes invited chapters. The first section provides a comprehensive discussion of gender identity, with a particularly strong section on alternative gender identities and two parallel chapters on gender stereotypes and attitudes. Chapters on groups include a discussion of personal relationships, an excellent contribution on role relationships, and a rather dry review chapter on task groups. The conclusion is a fine attempt to bring together these vast terrains of research. The greatest strength of the volume is at the same time its major weakness. The attempt to integrate this body of research is laudable, but some of the integration is forced, leading to rather eccentric emphases or distortions. On the whole, however, the collection is an admirably up-to-date review of an enormous research area, generally well integrated theoretically. An extremely useful resource for graduate students and researchers.-J.A. Howard, University of Washington