Judith Rich Harris. No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality. New York: Norton, 2006.It was evolutionary psychologists The following is a list of evolutionary psychologists or prominent contributors to the field of evolutionary psychology. : Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
Harris carries the idea of specialized spe·cial·ize v. spe·cial·ized, spe·cial·iz·ing, spe·cial·iz·es v.intr. 1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study. 2. mental modules one stop further, using it to explain how children become socialized so·cial·ize v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es v.tr. 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. and how, at the same time, each individual develops a unique personality. She proposes three mental systems--the relationship system, the socialization socialization /so·cial·iza·tion/ (so?shal-i-za´shun) the process by which society integrates the individual and the individual learns to behave in socially acceptable ways. so·cial·i·za·tion n. system, and the status system--to account for the variations of behavior that cannot be attributed to genes. The relationship system collects information about specific individuals; this is the source of our love of gossip. The socialization system collects information about the members of social categories such as"men," "women," "girls," and "boys." It is responsible for adapting children to their culture. The status system has the hardest job: this system collects information about the self. One of the most important things that children have to learn while they are growing up is what sorts of people they are. Are they particularly strong, fast, good-looking, etc.? This self-knowledge is essential for working out a strategy of behavior that will serve them well in their adult lives--a strategy tailored to their own strengths and weaknesses and to the opportunities afforded by their environments. Thus, people become more alike in some respects (due to the way the socialization works) and less alike in others (an effect of the status system). In this book, Harris, the author of The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize Any of a series of annual prizes awarded by Columbia University for outstanding public service and achievement in American journalism, letters, and music. Fellowships are also awarded. ), provides a new answer to the question of why humans are motivated mo·ti·vate tr.v. mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing, mo·ti·vates To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel. mo both to conform and compete. It's the conforming that's responsible for socialization. The competing explains why, among all the people on earth, there are no two alike. REVIEW BY MARTIN H. LEVINSON, PHD |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion