This volume on close relationships in adulthood discusses the central issues in the field and points the way towards the construction of an integrated body of knowledge about human relationships. The
Both biologists and social scientists have much to say about human behaviour. Yet attempts to combine their approaches to provide a deeper understanding of human nature have not so far been generally successful. First published in 1987, this book offered an original way of bridging the gap between them. The key to bringing the two approaches together is, Professor Hinde suggests, to recognise crucial distinctions between levels of social complexity (individuals, interactions, relationships and groups), whilst at the same time bearing in mind that all are processes in dialectical relations with each other and with the socio-cultural structure of institutions, beliefs, values, norms and so on. Professor Hinde argues that principles derived from ethology are essential for understanding some aspects of behaviour at the lower levels of social complexity, but have severe limitations at higher ones. This innovative approach will interest research workers, lecturers and students of
An increasing number of people accept competitiveness as a basis for living. However, while competitiveness may have its place, cooperation is more important in many contexts, and interpersonal relationships are the most important elements in our lives. This is true not only of individuals, but also of groups and nations. In this book, prominent authors have come together to consider the nature of cooperation and prosocial behaviour at levels of social complexity ranging from the individual to the international. Successive sections cover key topics such as the relations between cooperation in animals and humans; the development of prosocial propensities in humans; aspects of the situation and of personality that increase the probability that individuals will behave prosocially; the relationships between trust, cooperation and commitment; and cooperation between groups and nations. Case studies illustrating the important issue of international cooperation are also included. The
The importance in social relationships of the exchange of information by non-verbal gestures and expressions, though long appreciated by artists and writers, has only recently become the subject of serious scientific study. The subject has been approached from different angles by psychologists studying the relevance of non-verbal communication to interpersonal relationships, by anthropologists interested in how these processes help to integrate societies, and by ethologists extrapolating the results of animal studies to human behaviour. The scope of the volume ranges from formal analysis of the communication process by an information theorist (Professor Mackay) and by a linguist (Professor Lyons), to accounts of the role of expression in the theatre (Dr Jonathan Miller) and in the visual arts (Professor Gombrich). There are contributions to the discussion written from the point of view of the zoologist, the ethologist, the psychologist and anthropologist.
An increasing number of people accept competitiveness as a basis for living. However, while competitiveness may have its place, cooperation is more important in many contexts, and interpersonal relationships are the most important elements in our lives. This is true not only of individuals, but also of groups and nations. In this book, prominent authors have come together to consider the nature of cooperation and prosocial behaviour at levels of social complexity ranging from the individual to the international. Successive sections cover key topics such as the relations between cooperation in animals and humans; the development of prosocial propensities in humans; aspects of the situation and of personality that increase the probability that individuals will behave prosocially; the relationships between trust, cooperation and commitment; and cooperation between groups and nations. Case studies illustrating the important issue of international cooperation are also included. The
What is it about religion that appeals to people? Why do religions and religious beliefs persist in the face of increasing secularisation, harsh criticism and even political persecution? Robert Hinde
Culture - broadly defined as all we learn from others that endures for long enough to generate customs and traditions - shapes vast swathes of our lives and has allowed the human species to dominate t
