000 02656nam a2200313 a 4500
001 ASIN052128774X
003 OSt
005 20180116192420.0
008 140128s1981 xxu eng d
020 _a052128774X (paperback)
_c$66.00
020 _a9780521287746 (paperback)
040 _csada
050 0 4 _aBF458
082 0 4 _a155.2
100 1 _aCsikszentmihalyi, Mihaly.
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245 1 4 _aThe meaning of things :
_bdomestic symbols and the self /
_cMihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Eugene Halton.
260 _a[S.l.] :
_bCambridge University Press,
_c1981.
300 _a304 p. ;
_c23 cm.
520 _aThe 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.
650 0 _aDwellings--Psychological aspects
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650 0 _aEnvironmental psychology
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650 0 _aFamilies
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650 0 _aHouse furnishings--Psychological aspects
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650 0 _aSelf
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650 0 _aSymbolism (Psychology)
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700 1 _aHalton, Eugene.
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856 4 0 _3Amazon.com
_uhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/052128774X/chopaconline-20
942 _2ddc
_cBK
999 _c353867
_d353867