Description

Derek Layder – Social and Personal Identity – Understanding YourselfHow can you understand yourself? Where do your views, attitudes and values come from and why do they change? This accessible and illuminating book provides a reliable guide to these questions. The book:· Demonstrates that personal identity is formed aroundbasic needs for security and self-esteem and the personaldesires that flow from them· Shows the role of the emotions in personal life· Explores the limits of approaches that deny the existence  of ‘individuals’ and ‘personal experience’· Demonstrates how we build on everyday problems anddilemmas of life to shape our moods, attitudes and feelings.Shrewd and compelling, the book will be of interest to anyone studying Social Psychology and Sociology.ContentsIntroduction 11 Understanding YourSelf 72 Emotional Needs and Desires 293 Your Controlling Heart 464 Desire, Influence and Control 585 Inner Power and the Higher Self 696 Relationships and their Dilemmas 877 Personal Worlds and Private Feelings 1108 The Self as Emergent Narrative 128Afterword 157References 161Index 163