This edited volume addresses key issues relating to the concept of self, an increasingly researched area of social psychology. The self-concept consists of three fundamental self-representations: the individual self, the relational self, and the collective self. That is, people seek to achieve self-definition and self-interpretation (i.e. identity) in three fundamental ways: in terms of their personal traits, in terms of dyadic relationships, and in terms of group membership. Contributions from leading international researchers examine the interrelations among three self-representations. A concluding commentary identifies running themes, synthesizes the extant literature, and points to future research directions.

Constantine Sedikides, Marilynn B. Brewer

Prologue. Preface. C. Sedikides, M.B. Brewer, Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self: Partners, Opponents, or Strangers? Part I: The Individual Self asBasis for Self-definition.C. Sedikides, L.A. Gaertner, A Homecoming to the Individual Self: Emotional and Motivational Primacy. S. Klein, A Self to Remember: A Cognitive Neuropsychological Perspective on How Self Creates Memory and Memory Creates Self. E.T. Higgins, D.May, Individual Self-regulatory Functions: It's Not "We" Regulation, but It's Still Social. Part II: TheRelational and Collective Selves as Bases forSelf-Definition.D.M. Tice, R.F. Baumeister, The Primacy of the Interpersonal Self. A. Aron, T. McLaughlin-Volpe, Including Others in the Self: Extensions to Own and Partner's Group Memberships. E.R. Smith, S. Coats,J, J. Murphy, The Self and Attachment to Relational Partners and Groups: Theoretical Parallels and New Insights. M.A. Hogg, A Social Identity and the Sovereignty of the Group: A Psychology of Belonging. Part III: International Perspectives on the Individual,Relational and Collective Self.R.S. Onorato, J.C.Turner, The "I", the "Me" and the "Us": The Psychological Group and Self-concept Maintenance and Change. R.Spears, The Interaction Between the Individual and the Collective Self: Self-categorization in Context. B.Simon, C. Kampmeier, Revisiting the Individual Self: Towards a Social Psychological Theory of the Individual Self and the Collective Self. M.B. Brewer, S. Roccas, Individual Values, Social Identity, and Optimal Distinctiveness. Part IV: Integrative Models.L.R.Caporael, Parts and Wholes: The Evolutionary Importance of Groups. H.C. Triandis, D. Trafimow, Cross-national Prevalence of Collectivism. Y. Kashima, E. Kashima, J.Aldridge, Towards Cultural Dynamics of Self-conceptions. K. Deaux, T. Perkins, The Kaleidoscopic Self. Epilogue. D. Prentice, The Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self: A Commentary.