The sociocultural turn in psychology treats psychological subjects, such as the mind and the self, as processes that are constituted, or "made up," within specific social and cultural practices. In other words, though one's distinct psychology is anchored by an embodied, biological existence, sociocultural interactions are integral to the evolution of the person.Only in the past two decades has the sociocultural turn truly established itself within disciplinary and professional psychology. Providing advanced students and practitioners with a definitive understanding of these theories, Suzanne R. Kirschner and Jack Martin, former presidents of the American Psychological Association's Division of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, assemble a collection of essays that describes the discursive, hermeneutic, dialogical, and activity approaches of sociocultural psychology. Each contribution recognizes psychology as a human science and supports the individual's potential for agency and freedom. At the same time, they differ in their understanding of a person's psychological functioning and the best way to study it. Ultimately the sociocultural turn offers an alternative to overly biological or interiorized theories of the self, emphasizing instead the formation and transformation of our minds in relation to others and the world.

AcknowledgmentsThe Sociocultural Turn in Psychology: An Introduction and an InvitationSuzanne R. Kirschner and Jack MartinPart I: Discursive and Constructionist Approaches 1. Public Sources of the Personal Mind: Social Constructionism in ContextRom Harré2. Inside Our Lives Together: Neo-Wittgensteinian ConstructionismJohn Shotter3. Beyond the Enlightenment: Relational BeingKenneth J. Gergen4. Sociocultural Means to Feminist Ends: Discursive and Constructionist Psychologies of GenderEva Magnusson and Jeanne MarecekPart II: Hermeneutic Approaches 5. Hermeneutics and Sociocultural Perspectives in PsychologyFrank C. Richardson and Blaine J. Fowers6. The Space of Selfhood: Culture, Narrative, IdentityMark Freeman7. Agentive HermeneuticsJeff Sugarman and Jack MartinPart III: Dialogical Approaches 8. The Dialogical Self as a MinisocietyHubert J. M. Hermans and João Salgado9. Theorizing Cultural Psychology in Transnational ContextsSunil BhatiaPart IV: Neo-Vygotskian Approaches 10. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory: Foundational Worldview, Major Principles, and the Relevance of Sociocultural ContextAnna Stetsenko and Igor M. Arievitch11. Vygotsky and Context: Toward a Resolution of Theoretical DisputesMichael Cole and Natalia GajdamaschkoList of ContributorsIndex