Collaboration in Psychological Science

The essays in this book provide valuable lessons for anyone doing collaborative work— which these days means everyone doing meaningful research in academia, medicine, or business. The essays are written by great psychologists, and their stories and suggestions apply to researchers in every field who hope their collaborations will be more than the sum of their parts.”
– Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of ORIGINALS and GIVE AND TAKE

“As the problems scientists address have increased in breadth and complexity, the once solitary geniuses across our university campuses have changed how they work.  They are now more likely to work in collaborative teams that cut across areas of expertise as well as disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries. Collaboration in Psychological Science demonstrates that this trend holds for psychological scientists, as well, and provides a perspicacious behind-the-scenes view of the challenges and opportunities that collaborative science provides.”
 – John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D., Tiffany & Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago

“This delightful and insightful volume by and about social psychology’s greatest collaborators proves that the marriage of true scientific minds admits no impediment.”
– Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and Timothy Wilson, Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia.

“What makes a good collaboration? With most research now conducted in teams and published with multiple authors, it is important to understand collaboration. In this book, teams of authors explain how and why their collaborations worked. These insightful discussions provide valuable lessons for all who embark on writing with one or more other persons.”
–Alice H. Eagly, Professor of Psychology and James Padilla Chair of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern University

"Zweigenhaft and Borgida have done an excellent job of demonstrating collaboration in putting together and editing this book.... There is a consistent sense of humor, a sense of seriousness, and lots of information not only about how each collaboration came to be but also about how the studies came to be.... There is a great deal of evidence that creativity,efficiency and quality can greatly improve when you are a part of a well-functioning team, and the stories of the collaborations in this book provide so much insight into how to create such a thing. Regardless of your discipline, this is an excellent resource for learning about collaborating."
–Stan Rockwell, PsyD., PsychCentral.com

"Richard L. Zweigenhaft and Eugene Borgida, masterfully selected social psychologists who submitted 21 powerfully written, touching, and thought-provoking essays about the successes and pitfalls involved in collaboration in psychological science...Collaboration in Psychological Science is an important contribution to the field of psychology because it encourages readers to move out from their offices, colleges, or universities to reach out to others to enhance productivity through collaborative work. The reader may learn from the experiences of the authors and avoid mistakes that collaborators typically make. This book is a significant contribution to the field of psychology because it serves as a guide for fostering mentorship relationships with students and early
career psychologists and for enhancing the quality of research in psychological science."
–Kathleen Torsney, William Patterson University for PsycCRITIQUES

"Collaboration in Psychological Science contains snapshots of collaborations in psychology and beyond. Though a line-up of papers/essays we get to go behind the scenes for both an inside look at lifelong writer pairs and peeks at post-mortems for more short-lived projects.The book is made highly readable by the fact that chapters read like a little scientific (auto)biographies, peppered with recent science history, personal observations and (often funny) anecdotes. Most stories are then topped off with short but substantive discussions on the research topic that emerged from the collaborations, and reflections on what makes or breaks collaborations between researchers.

I will be taking nuggets of specific advice away from this book for myself. For instance, wonky collaborations can be analysed in terms of contributions and hierarchies, which may or may not be perceived alike by everyone involved. Such misalignments can muddle communication, bring work to a standstill, or sour credit given. And, sadly, agreeing to too many interesting projects with interesting people at once, may actually end up making you a bad collaborator for everyone.

Every reader, whether professional, student or researcher, will find bits and pieces that match their own situation. While not a textbook or traditional light read, Collaboration in Psychological Science is a fresh peek into the messy process of how science comes to be, and a good primer on productive collaboration more broadly. Enjoy the book alone – or share it with a new collaborator at the rosy outset of your life together."
–Andreas Lieberoth PhD is Assistant Professor at Aarhus University,
Denmark, The Psychologist, 14, 26-27. Retrieved August 29, 2018, from
http://www.bps.org.uk/thepsychologist.cfm