Balancing Power in Relationships

Reviews the book The Psychology of Rights and Duties: Empirical Contributions and Normative Commentaries, edited by Norman J. Finkel and Fathali M. Moghaddam (see record 2004-19014-000). The editors have constructed a scholarly and provocative treatise made up of empirical contributions and normative commentaries. On the basis of the dearth of research, empirical or otherwise, the book is an excursion along an uncharted course into the cultural influences and relationships involving rights and duties. Finkel and Moghaddam have assembled an impressive coterie of international scholars representing social science in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as the United States. The designated goals for this book include highlighting critical research contributions; strengthening the dialogue between empirical psychological research and the normative disciplines; and pinpointing issues that future research should explore. According to the reviewer, these goals are fulfilled. Any notion that American Psychological Association books are exclusively for clinicians is disproved; this book is impressive, and its scholarship portends to earn it classic status in social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)