Critical Social Psychology of Social Class

This book argues for the importance of considering social class in critical psychological enquiry. It provides a historical overview of psychological research and theorising on social class and socio-economic status; before examining the ways in which psychology has contributed to the surveillance, regulation and pathologisation of the working-class ‘Other’. The authors highlight the cost of recent austerity policies on mental health and warn against the implementation of further austerity measures in the current climate The book pulls together perspectives from critical social psychology, feminist psychology, sociology and other critical research which examines the discursive production of social class, classism and classed identities. The authors explore social class in educational and occupational settings, and analyse the intersections between class and other social categories such as gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality. Finally, they consider key issues in debates around social class in the broader social sciences, such as the limitations of approaches informed by poststructuralist theory. This book will be a useful resource for both academics and students studying class from a critical perspective.