For the first time in 90 years since the publication of its first edition, The Handbook of Social Psychology is now available globally and accessible digitally – for free. Made available and hosted by Princeton University Library (PUL), this is a significant development in the field of open access.

The Handbook of Social Psychology is considered the standard professional reference in the field of social psychology, with comprehensive coverage of the major topics in the discipline. And while this edition includes enduring topics like “Self and Identity” and “Gender,”  it also introduces timely new topics such as “Using Big Data,” and “The Psychology of Robots and Artificial Intelligence.” 

These chapters are among 50, written by the world’s leading authorities in each subject, that are now accessible by anyone who has access to the internet. PDFs and e-pubs are also available for each chapter.

“The contents of this book are copyrighted by Situational Press, the publisher of record, but the authors of these chapters own their own work,” said Dan Gilbert, one of the four editors of the Handbook. “Situational Press gives them full permission to share it, post it, print it, and distribute it in any way they wish. We believe that the further the fruits of our field are flung, the better off the world will be.”

The sixth edition is edited by Eli Finkel from Northwestern University, Susan Fiske of Princeton University, Dan Gilbert from Harvard University, and Wendy Mendes of Yale University. It is the first edition of ”The Handbook” to be published without Gardner Lindzey, whose two-volume edition debuted to critical acclaim in 1954. Lindzey, who passed away in 2008, was an editor of the Handbook of every edition until this one. 

PUL has a long history as a champion of open access (OA), with investment in OA for nearly 15 years, aligning with the Library’s strategic priorities. PUL’s OA services include OA publisher agreements so Princeton authors do not need to pay article processing charges and a repository so Princeton authors can deposit and broaden access to OA copies of their scholarly works. PUL’s Scholarly Communications Office also offers consultations and workshops for understanding publisher agreements, licensing, fair use, and intellectual property.

You can learn more about PUL’s resources and tools for Open Access via the Scholarly Communications Office.