Roy F. Baumeister

John Marion Tierney

The authors review the latest research to report key findings on willpower and offer practical advice for increasing it.

Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

Willpower

John Tierney

"The most important book at the borderland of psychology and politics that I have ever read."--Martin E. P. Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at that University of Pennsylvania and author of Learned Optimism Why are we devastated by a word of criticism even when it's mixed with lavish praise? Because our brains are wired to focus on the bad. This negativity effect explains things great and small: why countries blunder into disastrous wars, why couples divorce, why people flub job interviews, how schools fail students, why football coaches stupidly punt on fourth down. All day long, the power of bad governs people's moods, drives marketing campaigns, and dominates news and politics. Eminent social scientist Roy F. Baumeister stumbled unexpectedly upon this fundamental aspect of human nature. To find out why financial losses mattered more to people than financial gains, Baumeister looked for situations in which good events made a bigger impact than bad ones. But his team couldn't find any. Their research showed that bad is relentlessly stronger than good, and their paper has become one of the most-cited in the scientific literature. Our brain's negativity bias makes evolutionary sense because it kept our ancestors alert to fatal dangers, but it distorts our perspective in today's media environment. The steady barrage of bad news and crisismongering makes us feel helpless and leaves us needlessly fearful and angry. We ignore our many blessings, preferring to heed--and vote for--the voices telling us the world is going to hell. But once we recognize our negativity bias, the rational brain can overcome the power of bad when it's harmful and employ that power when it's beneficial. In fact, bad breaks and bad feelings create the most powerful incentives to become smarter and stronger. Properly understood, bad can be put to perfectly good use. As noted science journalist John Tierney and Baumeister show in this wide-ranging book, we can adopt proven strategies to avoid the pitfalls that doom relationships, careers, businesses, and nations. Instead of despairing at what's wrong in your life and in the world, you can see how much is going right--and how to make it still better.

How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It

The Power of Bad

Inside Human Violence and Cruelty

Evil

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.

How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men

Is There Anything Good About Men?:How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men

Can 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. For years the old-fashioned, even Victorian, value of willpower has been disparaged by psychologists who argued that we're largely driven by unconscious forces beyond our 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. The latest laboratory work reveals that self-control has a physical basis and so is dramatically affected by simple things such as eating and sleeping - to the extent that a life-changing decision may go in different directions depending on whether it's made before or after lunch. You will discover how babies can be taught willpower, the joys of the to-don't list, the success of Alcoholics Anonymous, the pointlessness of diets and the secrets to David Blaine's stunts. There are also fascinating personal stories, from explorers, students, soldiers, ex-addicts and parents. 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.

Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength

Dianne M. Tice

Social Dimension of Sex, The

Why and How We Become Who We Are

Self Explained

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.

Meanings of Life

Força de Vontade

Explores cruelty and violence in human behavior, tracing its roots in psychology, sociology, anthropology, criminology, and history

Eli J. Finkel

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.

The State of the Science

Advanced Social Psychology

This volume provides an integrative theory firmly grounded in current psychology of the self, and offers a fresh, compelling account of one of psychology's most enigmatic behavior patterns. Professor Baumeister provides comprehensive coverage of historical and cross-cultural theories and empirical data on masochism and presents recent, original data drawn from a large data set of anonymous masochistic scripts of fantasies and favorite experiences. Drawn from the latest social psychological research and theories, Professor Baumeister returns the emphasis to the original and proto-typical form of masochism -- sexual masochism - - and explains these phenomena as a means of releasing the individual from the burden of self-awareness. It is the first volume to present a psychological theory compatible with the mounting evidence that most masochists are not mentally ill nor does masochism derives from sadism. Instead, Professor Baumeister finds that masochism emerges as an escapist response to the problematic nature of selfhood and he attempts to foster an understanding of sexual masochism that emphasizes both "escape from self" and "construction of meaning" hypotheses. The book is directed at all those interested in the self and identity in paradoxical behavior patterns and in the construction of meaning, presenting specific clinical recommendations.

Masochism and the Self

"The most important book at the borderland of psychology and politics that I have ever read."—Martin E. P. Seligman, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at that University of Pennsylvania and author of Learned Optimism Why are we devastated by a word of criticism even when it’s mixed with lavish praise? Because our brains are wired to focus on the bad. This negativity effect explains things great and small: why countries blunder into disastrous wars, why couples divorce, why people flub job interviews, how schools fail students, why football coaches stupidly punt on fourth down. All day long, the power of bad governs people’s moods, drives marketing campaigns, and dominates news and politics. Eminent social scientist Roy F. Baumeister stumbled unexpectedly upon this fundamental aspect of human nature. To find out why financial losses mattered more to people than financial gains, Baumeister looked for situations in which good events made a bigger impact than bad ones. But his team couldn’t find any. Their research showed that bad is relentlessly stronger than good, and their paper has become one of the most-cited in the scientific literature. Our brain’s negativity bias makes evolutionary sense because it kept our ancestors alert to fatal dangers, but it distorts our perspective in today’s media environment. The steady barrage of bad news and crisismongering makes us feel helpless and leaves us needlessly fearful and angry. We ignore our many blessings, preferring to heed—and vote for—the voices telling us the world is going to hell. But once we recognize our negativity bias, the rational brain can overcome the power of bad when it’s harmful and employ that power when it’s beneficial. In fact, bad breaks and bad feelings create the most powerful incentives to become smarter and stronger. Properly understood, bad can be put to perfectly good use. As noted science journalist John Tierney and Baumeister show in this wide-ranging book, we can adopt proven strategies to avoid the pitfalls that doom relationships, careers, businesses, and nations. Instead of despairing at what’s wrong in your life and in the world, you can see how much is going right—and how to make it still better.

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.

The Self Explained

This study of human violence begins by describing the magnitude gap between the victim's viewpoint and that of the perpetrator. It then goes on to explore the basic roots of evil, evil as a means to an end, revenge and egotism, and sadism. The final section looks at how people step over the line between acceptable and evil acts, then how evil can grow and spread. There is also a discussion of the human mechanism for suppressing evil - guilt - as well as our natural inclination towards ambivalence, which allows evil to flourish.

Inside Human Cruelty and Violence

Brad J. Bushman

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN NATURE, 4th Edition, offers a remarkably fresh and compelling exploration of the fascinating field of social psychology. Respected researchers, teachers, and authors Roy Baumeister and Brad Bushman give students integrated and accessible insight into the ways that nature, the social environment, and culture interact to influence social behavior. While giving essential insight to the power of situations, the text's contemporary approach also emphasizes the role of human nature -- viewing people as highly complex, exquisitely designed, and variously inclined cultural animals who respond to myriad situations. With strong visual appeal, an engaging writing style, and the best of classic and current research, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN NATURE helps students make sense of the sometimes baffling -- but always interesting -- diversity of human behavior. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Social Psychology and Human Nature, Brief

Bezwingen Sie den Negativitätseffekt! Warum brauchen wir durchschnittlich vier gute Erlebnisse, um ein schlechtes emotional auszugleichen? Warum erschüttert uns ein einziges Wort der Kritik, selbst wenn es mit heftigem Lob daherkommt? Der renommierte Sozialpsychologe Roy F. Baumeister entdeckte den Negativitätseffekt als grundlegenden Aspekt unseres Wesens. Mit ihm lässt sich erklären, warum Länder in katastrophale Kriege geraten, warum Paare sich scheiden lassen, warum Menschen Vorstellungsgespräche vermasseln. Doch wir können lernen, unsere Negativitätsvorurteile zu erkennen, zu steuern und sogar zu überwinden. Die Macht des Schlechten kann perfekt für Gutes genutzt werden. »Dieser faszinierende Blick eines unserer kreativsten Psychologen und Wissenschaftsautoren auf unsere Negativitätsvorurteile kann Ihr Verständnis der menschlichen Natur erhellen, Ihre Weltanschauung ausbalancieren und Sie aufheitern.« Steven Pinker

Nicht mehr schwarzsehen und gut leben

Die Macht des Schlechten

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. Thoroughly updated with the latest research, the new edition includes expanded coverage of social media use and loneliness, findings on mimicry, high divorce rates among attractive people, nonbinary gender theory, and prejudice and what may reduce it. After reading this book, you will have a much better understanding of people. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Social Psychology and Human Nature, Comprehensive Edition

Presents a selected group of influential articles dealing specifically with the social aspects of sexuality, topics covered include differences between male and female sexuality, virginity, harassment, rape and coercion and jealousy.

Roy F. Baumeister

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