From Instinct to Identity: The Development of Personality by Louis Breger

by Louis Breger

From Instinct to Identity begins an account of personalitydevelopment by tracing the legacy of the human speciesfrom its primate heritage to its present form. Findingsfrom ethology, primate studies, linguistics, and othersources are used to construct an account of the uniquefeatures of man. The evolution of early cultures is shownthrough use of anthropological work.The ideas of Sigmund Freud, particularly as modifiedby Erik Erikson, are presented together with the theoriesand findings of Jean Piaget and his collaborators in a seriesof chapters that follow the person from infancy to adolescence.Other chapters examine play, dreams, and fantasy;anxiety and its effects on the development of self; moraldevelopment; and identity. The emphasis throughout ison the growth of self, and its impact on social norms.The author blends together theories and findingsfrom psychoanalysis, psychology, ethology, humanisticpsychology, and child development, develops a model ofhuman motivation in which the basic emotional systemsof love, anxiety, aggression, curiosity and intelligence aretraced from their primate background through the humanlife cycle. He brings together classic ideas on guilt andconscience with research on moral reasoning and ego-development, and clarifies difficult ideas in a clear, directprose style. This classic volume, now available in paperbackwith a new introduction by the author, will find a newaudience among anthropologists as well as psychologistsinterested in the evolution of human behavior.

Genres: Psychology, Science

Paperback

First published January 1, 1974