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Who am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities

Amazon Sales Rank: 66722
Publication Date: 2002-03-05

Publisher: Berkley Trade
ISBN: 0425183408
Type: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 288



Sex? Social standing? Social justice? With this breakthrough study of the motivational forces behind human behavior, and grounded in the most up-to-date psychological research available, Dr. Steven Reiss explains the 16 desires and values that shape our behavior-and shows how the ways we prioritize them determines our personality.

"Well-explained in lay readers' terms." (Library Journal )

"An exciting new way to think about ourselves, an authoritative, research-based understanding of why we do the things we do." (Ellen Langer, Ph.D., author of Mindfulness)

"Offers valuable insight into such matters as why some interpersonal relationships are enduringly satisfying and others are not." (Professor Richard J. McNally, Harvard University)

"Reiss' system can improve our working relationships and enhance our professional lives." (Ruth Luckasson, J.D., Regents' Professor and Professor of Special Education, University of New Mexico)


Average Rating:


Review: 2009-08-06

Not such a bad book.
For those of us unlucky enough to have read various MA Theses or Ph.D Dissertations, the construction of Reiss' book will appear eerily familiar. The book is long-winded and repetitive with little room spent on introspection or variety. The basis of the book is that we are genetically programed to prefer certain values over others,e.g., romance over conservation, status over honor, etc. Our individuality is made up of the combination of things we highly value as well as those we don't. While I enjoyed reading about the basic desires, I found it silly and sophomoric to deny how life's experience affect somebody's personality. After all, no matter how social somebody may "genetically" be, a long history of child abuse will no doubt curb many of the behaviors associated with social people.

Dr. Reiss presents an evolutionary psychological perspective that I found to be more distracting than illuminating. However, that being said, the concept that a person's life is judged by the satisfaction of values close to an individual was something that I enjoyed reading. The book functions well as a quick character study. These are the major flaws as I see it.

1. Repetitive with unimaginative writing.
2. Reiss subjects each "value" to his criticism. Some traits are given moral equivalency,e.g., a high desire for honor implies that somebody is moral (example given: soldier), somebody with a low desire for honor is immoral(example given: bank robber). Under Reiss' definition, a value of honor was defined by upholding ethnic, religious, and traditional duties. The concept of putting morality to the values is my greatest criticism.
3. One very important value: Family, is absolutely off limits to those without children. Family was defined as how important it is to you that you raise children. However for people without children there was no way to "record" our family rating as without children the Family value was moot.


Overall the book is a nice read but not worth a buy.



Review: 2007-07-12

a disappointment
This book purports to based on high quality research. If so, the author has not made a good comunication job of setting it forth. I found the book superficial. It was also looked through by a true scientist resident here and panned it badly. It's a good idea not well done in my opinion


Review: 2007-04-03

Great Book
This book is great. It explains why I make some of the choices I do and how others are different than me. We make different choices because we have different motivations. Example, I love going to eat at new restaurants with my friends. Not suprisingly I score high in eating, curiosity and social activity.


Review: 2007-01-16

A breakthrough
I am a trainer/consultant with a academic degree in the area of adult-education. My work and "want-to-know drive" do put me in a constant search for the best way in guiding and coaching people; discover the truth about themselves. Reading ...Who am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate our Actions and Define our....by Steven Reiss...was really a eye-opener.
I'm working with the ideas and the people I touch with the insights are baffled at the "thruth" of themselves.








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