First introduced to the literature in 1942by Herbert Hyman in his famous study The Psychology of Status, the reference group concept has enjoyed extreme popularity and has been employed in a great number of sociological writings, though unevenly and not without criticism of its applicability to many solutions.
This new work on the theory carries Hyman's work forward and provides the first synthesis of reference group literature. It may be the definitive work on the subject.
To facilitate his synthesis Schmitt employs the term reference other, which he carefully defines and applies to his implementation of the theory. Through emphasizing sociological social psychology, and employing a distinctly theoretical form, the author finds much in the theory that is concretely applicable.
