Search results for ""Author Roy F. Baumeister""

Who among us has not at some point asked, ``what is the meaning of life?'' In this extraordinary book, an eminent social scientist looks at the big picture and explores what empirical studies from diverse fields tell us about the human condition. MEANINGS OF LIFE draws together evidence from psychology, history, anthropology, and sociology, integrating copious research findings into a clear and conclusive discussion of how people attempt to make sense of their lives. In a lively and accessible style, emphasizing facts over theories, Baumeister explores why people desire meaning in their lives, how these meanings function, what forms they take, and what happens when life loses meaning. It is the most comprehensive examination of the topic to date.

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The idea of the self is immediately familiar to everyone, yet elusive to define and understand. From pioneering researcher Roy F. Baumeister, this volume synthesizes a vast body of knowledge to provide a panoramic view of the human self--how it develops and functions, why it exists, and what problems it encounters on the journey through life. What are the benefits of self-knowledge, and how attainable is it? Do we have one self, or many? What is the relationship of self and society? In 28 concise chapters, Baumeister explains complex concepts with clarity and insight. He reveals the central role played by the self in enabling both individuals and cultures to thrive.

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The idea of the self is immediately familiar to everyone, yet elusive to define and understand. From pioneering researcher Roy F. Baumeister, this volume synthesizes a vast body of knowledge to provide a panoramic view of the human self--how it develops and functions, why it exists, and what problems it encounters on the journey through life. What are the benefits of self-knowledge, and how attainable is it? Do we have one self, or many? What is the relationship of self and society? In 28 concise chapters, Baumeister explains complex concepts with clarity and insight. He reveals the central role played by the self in enabling both individuals and cultures to thrive.

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Have men really been engaged in a centuries-old conspiracy to exploit and oppress women? Have the essential differences between men and women really been erased? Have men now become unnecessary? Are they good for anything at all? In Is There Anything Good About Men?, Roy Baumeister offers provocative answers to these and many other questions about the current state of manhood in America. Baumeister argues that relations between men and women are now and have always been more cooperative than antagonistic, that men and women are different in basic ways, and that successful cultures capitalize on these differences to outperform rival cultures. Amongst our ancestors---as with many other species--only the alpha males were able to reproduce, leading them to take more risks and to exhibit more aggressive and protective behaviors than women, whose evolutionary strategies required a different set of behaviors. Whereas women favor and excel at one-to-one intimate relationships, men compete with one another and build larger organizations and social networks from which culture grows. But cultures in turn exploit men by insisting that their role is to achieve and produce, to provide for others, and if necessary to sacrifice themselves. Baumeister shows that while men have greatly benefited from the culture they have created, they have also suffered because of it. Men may dominate the upper echelons of business and politics, but far more men than women die in work-related accidents, are incarcerated, or are killed in battle--facts nearly always left out of current gender debates. Engagingly written, brilliantly argued, and based on evidence from a wide range of disciplines, Is There Anything Good About Men? offers a new and far more balanced view of gender relations.

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In spite of its central importance in human relationships, the study of sexuality has been somewhat neglected by social psychologists. This reader brings together a fascinating selection of articles which examine sex as a social phenomenon: as a group of behavior patterns that people engage in together, under the influence of social pressures, and indeed as ways that people relate to each other.

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'Immensely rewarding...filled with ingenious research, wise advice and insightful reflections on the human condition' New York Times Book ReviewCan you resist everything except temptation? In a hedonistic age full of distractions, it's hard to possess willpower - or in fact even understand why we should need it. Yet it's actually the most important factor in achieving success and a happy life, shown to be more significant than money, looks, background or intelligence. This book reveals the secrets of self-control.Here, Roy Baumeister, one of the world's most esteemed and influential psychologists, and journalist John Tierney, turn this notion on its head. They show us that willpower is like a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and improved over time. Based on years of psychological research and filled with practical advice, this book will teach you how to gain from self-control without pain, and discover the very real power in willpower. The results are nothing short of life-changing.

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Throughout history, unrequited love has inspired ballads, arias, poetry, drama, and literature. Almost always, however, the tale of the star-crossed lovers has been told from the point of view of the heartbroken pursuer. This illuminating new work explores unrequited love from both sides--that of the aspiring and eventually brokenhearted lover, and more unusually, that of the beloved, unwilling rejector. Based on systematically collected first-person accounts, BREAKING HEARTS shows how radically different and often contradictory the two experiences actually are.

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From leading authorities, this significantly revised and expanded handbook is a highly regarded reference in a rapidly growing field. It thoroughly examines the conscious and unconscious processes by which people manage their behavior and emotions, control impulses, and strive toward desired goals. Chapters explore such vital issues as why certain individuals have better self-control than others; how self-regulation shapes, and is shaped by, social relationships; underlying brain mechanisms and developmental pathways; and which interventions can improve people’s self-control. The volume also addresses self-regulatory failures and their consequences, with chapters on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, criminality, addictions, and money management challenges. As a special bonus, purchasers of the third edition can download a supplemental e-book featuring two notable, highly cited chapters from the second edition. New to This Edition *Incorporates current topic areas, theories, and empirical findings. *Updated throughout, with 21 new chapters and numerous new authors. *Cutting-edge topics: implicit self-regulation processes, the role of physical needs and processes (such as the importance of sleep), the benefits of dampening positivity, the frequency and consequences of emotional control in the workplace, and self-regulation training. *Expanded coverage of motivational factors, romantic relationships, and lapses of self-control. *Supplemental e-book featuring selected chapters from the prior edition.

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From leading authorities, this significantly revised and expanded handbook is a highly regarded reference in a rapidly growing field. It thoroughly examines the conscious and unconscious processes by which people manage their behavior and emotions, control impulses, and strive toward desired goals. Chapters explore such vital issues as why certain individuals have better self-control than others; how self-regulation shapes, and is shaped by, social relationships; underlying brain mechanisms and developmental pathways; and which interventions can improve people’s self-control. The volume also addresses self-regulatory failures and their consequences, with chapters on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, criminality, addictions, and money management challenges. As a special bonus, purchasers of the third edition can download a supplemental e-book featuring two notable, highly cited chapters from the second edition. New to This Edition *Incorporates current topic areas, theories, and empirical findings. *Updated throughout, with 21 new chapters and numerous new authors. *Cutting-edge topics: implicit self-regulation processes, the role of physical needs and processes (such as the importance of sleep), the benefits of dampening positivity, the frequency and consequences of emotional control in the workplace, and self-regulation training. *Expanded coverage of motivational factors, romantic relationships, and lapses of self-control. *Supplemental e-book featuring selected chapters from the prior edition.

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Why does a bad impression last longer than a good one? Why does losing money affect us more than gaining it? What makes phobias so hard to shake?The answer is the negativity bias - or in other words, the power of bad. As John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister show, we are wired to react to bad events more strongly than good ones. It makes sense in evolutionary terms, but in our modern world the lure of bad is more powerful than ever. It governs our moods, drives marketing and dominates the news. It can explain everything from why wars start or couples divorce, to why we mess up job interviews or feud with neighbours. But there is good news. By using smart strategies from new science, we can train our brains to get better at spotting our own negativity bias, fighting back with our rational minds to manage the bad in our lives - and even using its power for positive results.

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You are a member of a social world on a planet that is home to about 8 billion people. This social world is filled with paradox, mystery, suspense and outright absurdity. Explore how social psychology can help you make sense of your own social world with this engaging and accessible book. Roy F. Baumeister and Brad J. Bushman's SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN NATURE, 5th Edition, can help you understand one of the most interesting topics of all -- the sometimes bizarre and baffling but always fascinating diversity of human behavior, and how and why people act the way they do. After reading this book, you will have a much better understanding of people. Thoroughly updated with the latest research and thinking, the new edition includes expanded coverage of social media use and loneliness, findings on mimicry, nonbinary gender theory, anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice and more.

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Social psychology uses clever, even ingenious, research methods to explore the most essential questions of the human psyche: Why do we help some people and harm others? Why do we pay so much more attention to high-powered people than they pay to us? If humans evolved from great apes, why are human selves so much more elaborate? How does our attachment to our parents when we are infants influence the success or failure of our romantic relationships when we are adults? Can behaving morally "license" us to behave immorally shortly afterward? How do social relationships make us more versus less prone toward physical illness? This volume -- an update to the original, 2010 edition -- provides a graduate-level introduction to social psychology. The target audience consists of first-year graduate students (MA or PhD) in social psychology and related disciplines (marketing, organizational behavior, etc.), although it is also appropriate for upper-level undergraduate courses. The authors are world-renowned leaders on their topic, and they have written state-of-the-art overviews of the discipline's major research domains. The chapters are not only scientifically rigorous, but also accessible and engaging. They convey the joy, excitement, and promise of scientific investigations into human sociality.

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Our species is misnamed. Though sapiens defines human beings as "wise" what humans do especially well is to prospect the future. We are homo prospectus. In this book, Martin E. P. Seligman, Peter Railton, Roy F. Baumeister, and Chandra Sripada argue it is anticipating and evaluating future possibilities for the guidance of thought and action that is the cornerstone of human success. Much of the history of psychology has been dominated by a framework in which people's behavior is driven by past history (memory) and present circumstances (perception and motivation). Homo Prospectus reassesses this idea, pushing focus to the future front and center and opening discussion of a new field of Psychology and Neuroscience. The authors delve into four modes in which prospection operates: the implicit mind, deliberate thought, mind-wandering, and collective (social) imagination. They then explore prospection's role in some of life's most enduring questions: Why do people think about the future? Do we have free will? What is the nature of intuition, and how might it function in ethics? How does emotion function in human psychology? Is there a common causal process in different psychopathologies? Does our creativity change with age? In this remarkable convergence of research in philosophy, statistics, decision theory, psychology, and neuroscience, Homo Prospectus shows how human prospection fundamentally reshapes our understanding of key cognitive processes, thereby improving individual and social functioning. It aims to galvanize interest in this new science from scholars in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, as well as an educated public curious about what makes humanity what it is.

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