This book argues for the importance of considering social class in critical psychological enquiry. It provides a historical overview of psychological research and theorising on social class and socio-economic status; before examining the ways in which psychology has contributed to the surveillance, regulation and pathologisation of the working-class Other. The authors highlight the cost of recent austerity policies on mental health and warn against the implementation of further austerity measures in the current climate

The book pulls together perspectives from critical social psychology, feminist psychology, sociology and other critical research which examines the discursive production of social class, classism and classed identities. The authors explore social class in educational and occupational settings, and analyse the intersections between class and other social categories such as gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality. Finally, they consider key issues in debates around social class in the broader social sciences, such as the limitations of approaches informed by poststructuralist theory. This book will be a useful resource for both academics and students studying class from a critical perspective.

Katy Day is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK. She is a feminist and critical social psychologist who has authored numerous publications examining discourses around social class and related issues such as austerity and worklessness, classed identities and intersections between gender and class. 

Bridgette Rickett is Head of Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK, and Past Chair of the British Psychological Societys POWES Committee. She is a feminist social/organisational psychologist whose research focusses on critical social psychological explanations of social class, health in the workplace, embodied consumption and mothering and families.

Maxine Woolhouse is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK, with interests in feminist and critical perspectives in social psychology. Her research focuses on the gendered and classed dimensions of consumption and body management practices. She is a member of the BritishPsychological Societys POWES Committee.

Chapter 1: Social class: What is it and why does it matter?.- Chapter 2: Psychology and social class: The working class as Other.- Chapter 3: Conceptualising social class: Towards a critical social psychological approach.- Chapter 4: Class discourse and the media.- Chapter 5: Classed identities: Submergence, authenticity and resistance.- Chapter 6: Critical analyses: Real world applications.- Chapter 7: Debates, issues and future directions.