In this account of the social factors that affect our experience of work, the author traces the biological and historical origins of work. He then goes on to compare alternative contemporary forms of work organization, for example, those in Japan, Israel and Yugoslavia, and analyzes the role of technology, social organization and personality differences, taking into account the effect of these variables on theories of motivation, leadership, training in social skills and techniques of personnel selection. Michael Argyle has written "The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour".

The first edition of this book outlined what amounted to a breakthrough in the analysis of social behaviour. Since then it has become widely used as an introductory textbook of social psychology. It is invaluable to anyone interested in the subject or whose work involves dealing with people, as well as anyone who wants to know how to make friends and influence people. For this new, fifth edition, Michael Argyle includes the latest research on non-verbal communication, social skills and happiness.