Baumeister, R.F. (2005).
The Cultural Animal: Human Nature, Meaning, and Social Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
What makes us human? Why do people think, feel and act as they do?
What is the essence of human nature? What is the basic relationship
between the individual and society? These questions have fascinated
both great thinkers and ordinary humans for centuries. Now, at last,
there is a solid basis for answering them, in the form of accumulated
efforts and studies by thousands of psychology researchers. We no
longer have to rely on navel-gazing and speculation to understand why
people are the way they are - we can instead turn to solid, objective
findings. This book, by a hard-working social psychologist at the peak of
his career, not only summarizes what we know about people - it also
offers a coherent, easy-to-understand, though radical, explanation.
Turning conventional wisdom on its head, the author argues that
culture shaped human evolution. Contrary to theories that depict the
individual's relation to society as one of victimization, endless
malleability, or just a square peg in a round hole, he proposes that
the individual human being is designed by nature to be part of
society. Moreover, he argues that we need to briefly set aside the
endless study of cultural differences to look at what most cultures
have in common - because that holds the key to human nature. Culture
is in our genes, although cultural differences may not be. This core
theme is further developed by a powerful tour through the main
dimension of human psychology. What do people want? How do people
think? How do emotions operate? How do people behave? And how do they
interact with each other? The answers are often surprising, and along
the way the author explains how human desire, thought, feeling, and
action are connected.
Note that a 20% discount is available to ISSI members. Enter Promotional Code "24458"
(on the online order form...UK...
US).
Leary, M. R. (2004).
The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism,
and the Quality of Human Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
Although the capacity for self-awareness is an essential aspect of
human nature, self-reflection comes at a high price. Self-awareness
and its accompanying egoism profoundly affect people's lives,
interfering with their success, polluting their relationships with
other people, and undermining their happiness. Drawing from work in
psychology and other behavioral sciences, in The Curse of the Self,
Mark Leary explores personal and social problems that are created by
the human capacity for self-reflection and offers insights regarding
how these problems may be minimized.
Note that a 20% discount is available to ISSI members. Enter Promotional Code "24458"
(on the online order form...UK...
US).
Hassin, R. R., Uleman, J. S., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.) (2004),
The New Unconsious. New York: Oxford University Press.
This first book in Oxford's Social Cognition and Social Neuroscience series examines the cognitive
unconscious from social, cognitive, and neuroscientific view points. A
collection of 20 original chapters by leading researchers in social cognition
presents a coherent picture of the latest research and theory on
the growing array of complex, higher-order psychological processes that
people perform without awareness--indeed, often without intention.
Areas covered include fundamental questions, basic mechanisms,
intention and theory of mind, self regulation, and perceiving and
engaging others.
Contributors include Daniel Wegner, John Bargh,
Elizabeth Phelps, Tory Higgins, Alexander Todorov, Keith Payne, Larry
Jacoby, Alan Lambert, Susan Andersen, Peter Gollwitzer, Yaacov Trope,
Ayelet Fishbach, Ap Dijksterhuis, Henk Aarts, Pamela Smith, Nalini
Ambady, Tanya Chartrand, James Uleman, Art Markman, Dedre Gentner, Jack
Glaser, John Kihlstrom, Neal Roese, Lawrence Sanna, Adam Galinsky, Ran
Hassin, Bertram Malle, Jodie Baird, Janet Astington, Angeline Lillard,
Lori Skibbe, Susan Choi, Meather Gray, Steven Blader, Ute Bayer, and K.
C. McCulloch.
Note that a 20% discount is available to ISSI members. Enter Promotional Code "24458"
(on the online order form...UK...
US).
Greenberg, Koole, & Pyszczynski (Eds.) (2004).
Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology. New York: Guilford.
From the Guilford website...(Social and personality psychologists traditionally have focused their
attention on the most basic building blocks of human thought and behavior, while existential
psychologists pursued broader, more abstract questions regarding the nature of existence and
the meaning of life. This volume bridges this longstanding divide by demonstrating how rigorous
experimental methods can be applied to understanding key existential concerns, including death, uncertainty,
identity, meaning, morality, isolation, determinism, and freedom. Bringing together leading scholars
and investigators, the Handbook presents the influential theories and research findings that collectively
are helping to define the emerging field of experimental existential psychology.)
Note that a 15% discount is available if you order online. Enter in Promotional Code 4L
(on the online order form).
Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (Eds.) (2004).
Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications. New York: Guilford.
Bringing together a stellar array of self-regulation researchers, this comprehensive and authoritative handbook
addresses the breadth of current theories, findings, and practical applications in the field. Examined are the
conscious and nonconscious processes by which people regulate their thoughts, emotions, attention, impulses or
appetites, and task performances; the developmental trajectories of these capacities; and implications for personal
relationships, addictions, consumption, and mental health. The ways individuals differ in their basic abilities
and styles of self-control are considered, as are strategies for enhancing functioning in this area. Offering
cutting-edge coverage of a key dimension of human experience, the Handbook also identifies important questions
for future investigation.
Note that a 15% discount is available to SPSP members from now until March 31, 2004. Enter in Promotional Code 8U
(on the online order form).
Tesser, A., Stapel, D. A., & Wood, J. W. (2002).
Self and motivation: Emerging psychological perspectives. Washington, DC: APA.
From the APA website...(Strong on theory and empirical work, Self and Motivation showcases cutting-edge research that
asks a variety of intriguing questions: Can goals be activated outside our awareness? How do
interpersonal dynamics affect the self? How do we maintain a distinctive identity in a group context?
Is too much choice or self-determination "bad"? How does self-esteem and morality influence the self?)
Wegner, D. M. (2002).
The illusion of conscious will. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
From the MIT Press website...(Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us?
Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the
existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding
of the issue. )
Wilson, T. D. (2002).
Strangers to ourselves: Discovering the adaptive unconscious. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
From the Harvard Press website...(This is not your psychoanalyst's unconscious. The adaptive unconscious that
empirical psychology has revealed, and that Wilson describes, is much more than a repository of primitive drives
and conflict-ridden memories. It is a set of pervasive, sophisticated mental processes that size up our worlds,
set goals, and initiate action, all while we are consciously thinking about something else.)
Antony, V.S. (forthcoming 2001). The Disappearance of the Self. Cochin: Impress.
(A multi-disciplinary exploration of the phenomenology of depersonalization, a
condition in which a person appears a stranger to one's own self. This may be
accompanied by a sense of unreality. This obscure phenomenon has deep
implications in the study of post-modernism.)
Duval, T. S., & Silvia, P. J. (2001, October). Self-awareness and causal
attribution: A dual systems theory. Boston: Kluwer.
A lot has happened in self-awareness research since Duval and
Wicklund (1972) first proposed objective self-awareness theory. This book
presents a new theory of self-awareness dynamics, and how the self relates
to motivation and emotion.
Stout, M. (2001).The myth of sanity: Divided consciousness and the promise of
awareness. New York: Viking-Penguin.
Dissociative identity in everyday life.
Williams, K. D. (2001).
Ostracism: The power of silence. New York: Guilford.
Sorrentino, R. M. & Roney, C. J. R. (2000). The Uncertain Mind: Individual Differences
in Facing the Unknown. New York: Psychology Press.
This book presents fifteen years of research demonstrating how different self-regulatory styles
for coping with uncertainty affect behavior. Following a description of the uncertain mind in an uncertain world,
chapters describing our research on self-identity, thought, action, the interpersonal context, health,
and motivation and emotion are presented.
Owens, T. J., Stryker, S., & Goodman, N. (forthcoming 2000). Extending Self-Esteem Theory and Research: Sociological and Psychological Currents. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Stryker, S., Owens, T. J., & White, R. W. (forthcoming 2000). Self, Identity, and Social Movements. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Hoyle, R., Kernis, M., Leary, M., & Baldwin, M. (1999). Selfhood: Identity, esteem, regulation. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ovanessian, Vahik (1999). Symbols and Deception, and the Social Murder of Identity. Glendale, CA: Human View Publishing.
Owens, T. J. (1999). Advances in Life Course Research: Self and Identity Through the Life Course in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Vol. 5). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Kowalski, R. M. (Ed.) (1997). Aversive interpersonal behaviors. New York: Plenum.
Swann, W. B., Jr. (1996). Self-traps: The elusive quest for higher self-esteem. New York: W. H. Freeman.
Kernis, M. (Ed.). (1995). Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem. New York: Plenum.
Leary, M. R. (1995). Self-presentation: Impression management and interpersonal behavior. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Baumeister, R. F. (Ed.) (1993). Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-regard. New York: Plenum.