The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss

ISBN-13: 9780415178587 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 336 str.

John Archer

Opis

John Archer presents a synthesis of material from evolutionary psychology, ethology and experimental psychology on the process of grief. He argues that grief is a natural reaction to losses of many sorts; to the death of or separation from a loved one, but also to other aspects of life which are important to the individual. In contrast to much prevailing literature on the topic, this book does not regard grief as an illness to be cured or a psychiatric disorder. Instead, it shows how common an experience it is, throughout all human cultures and clearly present in the animal kingdom. This should be of interest to developmental and clinical psychologists and all those in the caring professions.

Recenzje

'I received my copy of The Nature of Grief in the mail earlier today, and I have not been able to put it down. Although I have not completed it, I wanted to compliment you on an absolutely extraordinary work. It is MUST reading for any stress and coping or bereavement researcher, and will learn a lot from reading it. Thank you for your superb contribution to our field.' - Roxane Silver, University of California, Irvine

'A number of psychologists have written about bereavement in recent years, but this is the first to adopt an evolutionary perspective. I am delighted to discover that this point of view can be developed in an original and intelligent way.' - Colin Murray Parkes

Spis treści

List of illustrations, Preface, Acknowledgements, 1 Introduction: what is grief?, 2 The historical background to grief research, 3 Accounts of grief from other sources, 4 The biological context of grief, 5 The grief process: an analytic approach, 6 The grief process: holistic views, 7 The resolution of grief, 8 The mental processes of grief, 9 An evolutionary view of individual differences in grief, 10 The relationship with the deceased, 11 Loss of a son or daughter, 12 Death of a relative or friend, 13 The influence of the age and sex of the bereaved, 14 Conclusions, References, Author index, Subject index

O autorze

John Archer