(view table of contents)

The meaning of things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling. (view table of contents)

Product Description: To find out what teenagers' lives are like, two psychologists gave beepers to seventy-five adolescents, signaled them at random, and asked them to record their thoughts and feelings as they sat in classrooms, socialized with friends, and ate dinner with their families...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

(view table of contents)

Providing an introduction to 'flow,' a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potentialities, this study explains its principles and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony.

Product Description: Employing a unique research methodology that enables people to report on their normal activities as they occur, the authors examine how people actually use and experience television -- and how television viewing both contributes to and detracts from the quality of everyday life...read more

Product Description: Employing a unique research methodology that enables people to report on their normal activities as they occur, the authors examine how people actually use and experience television -- and how television viewing both contributes to and detracts from the quality of everyday life...read more

A five-year study concludes that gifted teenagers often stop cultivating their talents and identifies conditions that will foster the development of mental abilities of both gifted and average adolescents. (view table of contents)

The author of Flow demonstrates how, with a scientific base to morality, we can transcend cultural and evolutionary programming and become more complex, integrated individuals, working for the common good. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour. (view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

Explains how to attain inner fulfillment and improve satisfaction and control through a total absorption and involvement in the activities, events, and emotions of life. Read by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Book available.

(view table of contents)

Based on research that indicates most people are either in a state of high anxiety or passive boredom but rarely in between, this guide suggests readers challenge themselves with tasks that require skill and commitment in order to balance their lives. Reprint. NYT.

Describes how athletes reach a high level of performance in which they feel perfectly attuned toward their sport

A sociologist and author of The Ambitious Generation explores the relationship between how students feel about their school preparation and after school work and their later sociolization into the work world. (view table of contents)

In a thought-provoking look at business and ethics in the modern world, three world-class psychologists discuss the importance of successful but socially responsible 'good work' in a market-driven world. Reprint.

The author of the best-selling Flow profiles the characteristics of a visionary leader, contending that business and work has replaced religion and politics, and demonstrating how business leaders and employees can find happiness while contributing to society. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

An introduction to 'flow,' a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potential, explains its principles and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony and explaining how to release anxiety and redirect energy to take control of one's life.