1st Edition

Humans as Self-Constructing Living Systems A Developmental Perspective on Behavior and Personality

By Donald H. Ford Copyright 1987
    804 Pages
    by Routledge

    804 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1987, the purpose of this title was to develop a conceptual framework for understanding individual humans as complex, functional entities. It was felt that a sound developmental theory of human personality and behaviour would help synthesize existing scientific and clinical information into a coherent representation of a person as a functional unit, guide future research, and facilitate the work of the health and human services professions. The volume is aimed at a multidisciplinary-multiprofessional audience.

    Preface.  Part 1: The Conceptual Framework  1. The Nature of Humans  2. Organized Complexity and the Concept of System  3. The Person as a Self-Constructing Living System  4. Processes of Change in Living Systems  5. Principles of Human Development and Change  Part 2: Human Personality and the Content and Organization of Behavior  6. Biological Bases of Self-Organization and Self-Construction  7. Information-Consciousness-Attention (ICA) Arousal  8. Information Transactions and Perception  9. Cognition, Information Processing, and Remembering  10. The Directive Function: Intentions and Personal Goals  11. Control Functions: Problem Solving and Behavior Organization  12. Regulatory Functions: Biochemical, Affective, and Cognitive  13. Energizing Selective Action and Emotional Arousal  14. Transactional Functions: Organization of Actions  15. Transactional Functions: Communication  16. The Person and Personality Development.  Epilogue: Social Implications of the Living Systems Framework.  References.  Author Index.  Subject Index.

    Biography

    Donald H. Ford