Current Search: Self-actualization Psychology (x)
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- Title
- An exploratory investigation of self-actualization, social support, and dietary quality in later adulthood.
- Creator
- Toner, Helena May, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
-
Nutrition has been implicated as an influence in the health of older adults. However, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. Dietary patterns mirror lifelong cultural and ethnic influences, and are also responsive to existing medical and economic conditions. Depression, isolation, and cognitive impairment have been associated with inadequate food intake in this age group. Recent concern about malnutrition, including obesity, has prompted a social-psychological approach to nutrition...
Show moreNutrition has been implicated as an influence in the health of older adults. However, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. Dietary patterns mirror lifelong cultural and ethnic influences, and are also responsive to existing medical and economic conditions. Depression, isolation, and cognitive impairment have been associated with inadequate food intake in this age group. Recent concern about malnutrition, including obesity, has prompted a social-psychological approach to nutrition and aging research. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship of self-actualization and social support to dietary quality. Data were obtained from 100 older adults, 60 to 83 years of age. Descriptive analysis of 24-hour dietary records revealed that many subjects, even those of moderate socioeconomic status, were at potential nutritional risk. Calcium, folacin, and zinc were below two-thirds of the Recommended Dietary Allowances. In addition, inadequate intakes of kilocalories and dietary fiber were observed. Small but significant associations were found between the predictor variables and dietary quality. Self-actualization, which was measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory, and social support, which was assessed by the Nutrition Support Questionnaire, accounted for no more than 10% of the variance in dietary quality. Furthermore, except for support from family, friends, and neighbors, relationships were not consistently observed for all measures of the criterion variable, which was defined by individual nutrient adequacy scores and an overall index. Within the exploratory context of the study, several intervening variables were examined. Education and decisions to make dietary changes appeared to positively influence self-actualization and dietary quality. Loneliness, depression, and chronic disease were among a cluster of variables that tended to exert a negative influence on self-actualization. A theoretical model of dietary quality in later adulthood was proposed. Further research is needed to test these linkages empirically.
Show less - Date Issued
- 1987
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11909
- Subject Headings
- Older people--Nutrition, Self-actualization (Psychology), Social interaction
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Gender self-discrepancies in middle childhood: influences on children’s personal and social adjustment.
- Creator
- Cooper, Patrick J., Perry, David G., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
- Abstract/Description
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A self-discrepancy is a cognitive incompatibility between a conception of the desired self and the perception of the actual self (Higgins, 1987; Rogers & Dymond, 1954). The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of the effects of gender self-discrepancies on the personal and social adjustment of preadolescent children. I propose that gender-related stereotypes and self-appraisals can be examined within a self-discrepancy framework. Preadolescent children (N=195)...
Show moreA self-discrepancy is a cognitive incompatibility between a conception of the desired self and the perception of the actual self (Higgins, 1987; Rogers & Dymond, 1954). The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of the effects of gender self-discrepancies on the personal and social adjustment of preadolescent children. I propose that gender-related stereotypes and self-appraisals can be examined within a self-discrepancy framework. Preadolescent children (N=195) completed a variety of self- and peer-report questionnaires in the fall and spring of the school year. Children reported gender stereotypes and self-appraisals for four attributes (body image, athletics, dominance, and popularity). Measures of gender identity and of adjustment were also collected. Results suggested that children who possess a gender self discrepancy are at risk for maladjustment, especially internalizing difficulties and victimization by both girls and boys.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004187, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004187
- Subject Headings
- Adjustment (Psychology) in children, Gender identity, Identity (Psychology) in adolescence, Self actualization (Psychology), Sex differences (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Daily Feedback of Self-Concept Clarity and Grit.
- Creator
- Wong, Alexander E., Vallacher, Robin R., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
- Abstract/Description
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Self-concept clarity and grit are important constructs in the self-concept and selfregulation domains. Though distinct in their focus on identity and goal processes, self-concept clarity and grit similarly emphasize the extent to which self-views and goal-perseverance are strong, clear, consistent, and unshakeable. We hypothesized self-knowledge and goalperseverance may be mutually reinforcing given the role of self-knowledge in directing goal pursuit, and of goal pursuit in structuring the...
Show moreSelf-concept clarity and grit are important constructs in the self-concept and selfregulation domains. Though distinct in their focus on identity and goal processes, self-concept clarity and grit similarly emphasize the extent to which self-views and goal-perseverance are strong, clear, consistent, and unshakeable. We hypothesized self-knowledge and goalperseverance may be mutually reinforcing given the role of self-knowledge in directing goal pursuit, and of goal pursuit in structuring the self-concept. The present study tested this hypothesis in the form of whether self-concept clarity and grit reciprocally influence one other across time, and was conducted using a daily diary design with 97 college-aged participants across several weeks. Data were analyzed using multilevel cross-lagged panel modeling. Results indicated daily self-concept clarity and grit both had positive influences on each other across time, while controlling for their previous values. The reciprocal influences were also symmetric: self-concept clarity and grit had equally strong influences on each other. The results of the present study are the first to indicate the existence of reinforcing feedback loops between self-concept clarity and grit, and to demonstrate that fluctuations in self-knowledge trigger fluctuations in goal resolve, and vice versa. The results suggest the two are, in part, both causes and consequences of one another.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004689
- Subject Headings
- Identity (Philosophical concept), Identity (Psychology), Self actualization (Psychology), Self management (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Digit ratio (2D:4D) predicts communion in exploratory structural equation modeling of self-narratives.
- Creator
- Wong, Alexander E., Vallacher, Robin R., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
- Abstract/Description
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Agency and communion are fundamental dimensions underlying psychological processes. Although agency and communion are coherent dimensions, their origins, nature, stability differ across theoretical framework. Common to these frameworks are gender differences in agency and communion. The present study hypothesized that because agency and communion relate to gender, they may also relate to digit ratio. The present study is important because digit ratio may offer clues on the origins and nature...
Show moreAgency and communion are fundamental dimensions underlying psychological processes. Although agency and communion are coherent dimensions, their origins, nature, stability differ across theoretical framework. Common to these frameworks are gender differences in agency and communion. The present study hypothesized that because agency and communion relate to gender, they may also relate to digit ratio. The present study is important because digit ratio may offer clues on the origins and nature of agency and communion, and their gender differences. Agency and Communion factors were extracted from implicit linguistic measures obtained by LIWC analysis of selfnarratives. Exploratory structural equation modeling indicated communion related to digit ratio in men, and gender differences in communion. Although the results supported the distal, biological influences of communion argued by evolutionary accounts, the null finding agency was not related to digit ratio, while not directly interpretable, did not contradict socialization accounts of agency.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004237
- Subject Headings
- Embryology, Human, Fingers -- Sex differences, Human body -- Social aspects, Psychophysiology, Self actualization (Psychology), Sex differentiation
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Aftermath: The End of the Event.
- Creator
- Geiger, Kira, Bucak, Ayse Papatya, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
- Abstract/Description
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My family has always been a source of inspiration to me. In the following sections, I attempt to capture the unique experience of growing up as one of them: how they’ve shaped me as I have grown, and the marks we’ve left on one another.
- Date Issued
- 2017
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004837
- Subject Headings
- Geiger, Kira--Family., Children--Family relationships., Interpersonal relations., Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Absence.
- Creator
- Johnson, Sarah, McConnell, Brian E., Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of Visual Arts and Art History
- Abstract/Description
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Absence is the thesis exhibition resulting from the culmination of my three years in the graduate program. In this documentation, I outline historical and contextual influences that shape my ceramic practice. I specify that my work is centered on my life and describe how my work has evolved since I first started in the program. In the process I have gathered source material and have explored key points in the theory and history of Minimalism. As I developed the work, I was able to discuss how...
Show moreAbsence is the thesis exhibition resulting from the culmination of my three years in the graduate program. In this documentation, I outline historical and contextual influences that shape my ceramic practice. I specify that my work is centered on my life and describe how my work has evolved since I first started in the program. In the process I have gathered source material and have explored key points in the theory and history of Minimalism. As I developed the work, I was able to discuss how my work applied to these sources, and where it differed. I ended with introspective installation work that paralleled the themes I was working with at the start of my graduate experience that shows my evolution from being a child continually bounced around from one family member to another, to being the confidant of my mother and holding her darkest secrets, to feeling alone and unloved, to finally beginning to heal and accept who I am.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004383, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004383
- Subject Headings
- Artists -- Conduct of life, Bee culture, Ceramics -- Exhibitions, Emotional intelligence, Minimalism (Literature), Self actualization (Psychology), Stress (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- In Their Own Words: Older Adults' Perceptions of Effective and Ineffective Learning Experiences.
- Creator
- Duay, Deborah L., Bryan, Valerie, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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The percentage of older adults in the American population is expected to increase from about 12% now to 22% by the year 2030 (Eisen, 2005). Educators can play an important role in managing the effec.,ts of this demographic shift by designing learning opportunities that increase older adults' motivation to participate and their ability to learn. Because older adults themselves can otTer important insights on what helps and hinders their learning, the purpose of this study was to explore the...
Show moreThe percentage of older adults in the American population is expected to increase from about 12% now to 22% by the year 2030 (Eisen, 2005). Educators can play an important role in managing the effec.,ts of this demographic shift by designing learning opportunities that increase older adults' motivation to participate and their ability to learn. Because older adults themselves can otTer important insights on what helps and hinders their learning, the purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of adults over age 64 residing in a large metropolitan area in the southeastern United States on effective and ineffective learning experiences. Utilizing a qualitative design, the researcher interviewed 36 older adults involved in learning experiences at three distinct sites. Data were also collected through observations and document analysis. Five research questions were answered with the following four findings: 1) effective learning experiences are involving, 2) the instructor is a key component in the classroom, 3) familiar or relevant topics are interesting, and 4) the computer and the Internet are both loved and hated. The participants in this study value learning experiences that involve them in the classroom and keep them involved in the world. They enjoy asking questions, discussing ideas, and learning with friends and family members in environments free from the pressures of mandatory assignments and tests. They seek instructors who are knowledgeable about the subject, clear and understandable in their presentation, respectful of their experience, and effective at grabbing their attention through enthusiasm, humor, and relevant stories. When they discover effective instructors, they tend to take classes with them over and over again. However. when instructors' abilities are unknown, they look for learning experiences that will either expand their knowledge abcut something familiar or teach them something that will have some relevance in their lives. Finally, these seniors enjoy the convenience of accessing a wealth of information using computers and the Internet. Yet, they also experience considerable frustration in learning computer tasks and dealing with computer problems. Reommendations are provided for designing, marketing, and delivering quality learning experiences for senior adults.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000663
- Subject Headings
- Continuing education, Learning, Psychology of, Adult learning, Experiential learning, Self-actualization (Psychology) in old age--United States
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy of Senior Adults and Their Use of the Internet.
- Creator
- Masi, Annmarie, Bryan, Valerie, Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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This mixed method research design explored the relationship between the selfefficacy of senior adults and their use of the Internet. Two quantitative research questions guided this study: (a) Is there a relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and their level of use of the Internet? and (b) Do the demographics (gender, age, and race/ethnicity) moderate the relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and their level of use of the Internet? Two qualitative research...
Show moreThis mixed method research design explored the relationship between the selfefficacy of senior adults and their use of the Internet. Two quantitative research questions guided this study: (a) Is there a relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and their level of use of the Internet? and (b) Do the demographics (gender, age, and race/ethnicity) moderate the relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and their level of use of the Internet? Two qualitative research questions guided this study: (a) Is there a difference in views of senior adults in regard to their use of other technologies? and (b) Is there a difference in views of senior adults in regard to barriers and benefits of the Internet? Some of the benefits discovered were that all the Internet users interviewed (a) had knowledge of the Internet; (b) had access to the Internet; (c) are interested in using the Internet; and (d) use the Internet to escape boredom in retirement, view favorite websites and to keep the mind active.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000683
- Subject Headings
- Internet and older people, Adaptability (Psychology), Self-actualization (Psychology), Self-efficacy, Older people--Conduct of life
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The relationship of self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being in HIV-AIDS adults.
- Creator
- Sperry, Jonathan J., College of Education, Department of Counselor Education
- Abstract/Description
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This study investigates the relationship of three protective factors : self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. It is the first study to explore the relationships of these protective factors to well-being. A convenience sample of 115 adults living with HIV or AIDS completed the Self-Transcendance Scale, the Social Interest Index- Short Form-Revised, the Spiritual Perspective Scale, and the Index of Well-Being. The participants...
Show moreThis study investigates the relationship of three protective factors : self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. It is the first study to explore the relationships of these protective factors to well-being. A convenience sample of 115 adults living with HIV or AIDS completed the Self-Transcendance Scale, the Social Interest Index- Short Form-Revised, the Spiritual Perspective Scale, and the Index of Well-Being. The participants were adults diagnosed with HIV or AIDS residing in a large southeastern U.S. city. Data were analyzed with correlational and multiple regression methods. Statistically significant positive moderate to strong relationships were found between well-being and self transcendance (r=.66, p<.001 ), social interest (r=.51, p<.001), and spirituality (r=.39, p<.001). A stepwise regression demonstrated that self transcendance held the highest variance on well-being among the three protective factors (43%). Additionally, self-transcendane and social interest accounted for 45% of the variance in well-being. In short, the hypothesized positive relationship among these protective factors with well-being was supported. This study provides theoretical and empirical support for linking self transcendance, social interest, and spirituality to well-being among adults living with HIV or AIDS. The clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3320105
- Subject Headings
- Medical ethics, Religious aspects, AIDS (Disease), Social aspects, AIDS (Disease), Patients, Care, Spirituality, Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Articulation, Narrative, Integrity, and the Practice of Self-Formation in the Work of Charles Taylor, Alasdair Macintyre, and David L. Norton.
- Creator
- Miller, David Glen, Shusterman, Richard M., Florida Atlantic University
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation addresses the following questions and concerns related to the formation of the moral self: (1) The relationship between certain moral choices and a person's sense of personal or moral identity: specifically, how is it that certain choices, actions, character traits, or goods come to be interpreted as either constituting, or as being inseparable from, one's conscience, one's moral identity, or one's moral self? (2) The relationship between the conception of the good with...
Show moreThis dissertation addresses the following questions and concerns related to the formation of the moral self: (1) The relationship between certain moral choices and a person's sense of personal or moral identity: specifically, how is it that certain choices, actions, character traits, or goods come to be interpreted as either constituting, or as being inseparable from, one's conscience, one's moral identity, or one's moral self? (2) The relationship between the conception of the good with which one identifies and the conception of the good of one's community of origin: how does one develop a conception of the good, how does one understand one's relationship to that conception, and how does one conception relate to one's origins? (3) The fact that a person's moral identity and capacity for moral judgment must develop over time: if the capacity to make moral judgments develops over time, how are changes in one's conception of the good and of oneself to be reconciled with moral accountability or responsibility? Drawing on Alasdair Macintyre's conception of "practice" and his discussion of narrative, on Charles Taylor's conception of ·~rticulation," and on David L. Norton's conceptions of "participatory enactment" and "emulation," I argue that self-formation is a practice, the primary activity of which consists in an interpretive analysis and articulation of one's self-understanding in the form of a narrative. That narrative is based in one's evolving and experientially based conception of the good and is critically informed by one's imaginative projection of oneself into the positions of others or of possible future selves and by one's emulation of moral exemplars. I suggest that, in Western societies, the primary good internal to the practice of self-formation is authenticity and that the virtue most conducive to the pursuit of authenticity is a specific form of integrity. Selfformation as a practice requires an on-going commitment to exercising integrity in the pursuit of authenticity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000988
- Subject Headings
- Compromise (Ethics), Self-realization, Self-actualization (Psychology), MacIntyre, Alasdair C, Taylor, Charles,--1931-, Norton, David L
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- More than "just a hunch": meaning, feminine intuition and television sleuths.
- Creator
- Dominguez, Sheela Celeste., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
- Abstract/Description
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The rise in popularity of the female sleuth television programs makes it important to explore representations of gender and knowledge. This investigation analyzes interpretations of intuition in the television sleuth genre and relevant paratexts, examines gendered public and private spheres and raises broader questions about gendered knowledge in the series Medium, Crossing Jordan, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Veronica Mars, Monk, The Profiler and True Calling. Rooted in feminist cultural...
Show moreThe rise in popularity of the female sleuth television programs makes it important to explore representations of gender and knowledge. This investigation analyzes interpretations of intuition in the television sleuth genre and relevant paratexts, examines gendered public and private spheres and raises broader questions about gendered knowledge in the series Medium, Crossing Jordan, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Veronica Mars, Monk, The Profiler and True Calling. Rooted in feminist cultural studies, historical and sociological analysis, television and film theory and work on the detective genre, this investigation establishes common frames, or filters, through which the television sleuth genre represents intuition and the gendered experience of knowledge. Women with intuition are depicted as unstable, dangerous and mentally ill. Though framed similarly, intuitive men have more freedom. This study expands on academic research on television representations of gender and knowledge. Societal implications include further understanding of meaning-making in regard to gendered knowing.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/165938
- Subject Headings
- Women detectives in mass media, Popular culture, History, Self-actualization (Psychology), Sex differences (Psychology), Thought and thinking, Sex differences, Women in television
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Third age adult English language learners in informal library settings.
- Creator
- Cassell, Mary Anne., College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
- Abstract/Description
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There is little research-based and theoretical literature about adult education or English literacy classes in nonformal settings such as library literacy programs in the community (Mathews-Aydinli, 2008; McCook & Barber, 2002b). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the motivation, learning supports, learning barriers, and program change recommendations of Third Age Learners in a nonformal library ESOL setting. This study provides insight into the demographic...
Show moreThere is little research-based and theoretical literature about adult education or English literacy classes in nonformal settings such as library literacy programs in the community (Mathews-Aydinli, 2008; McCook & Barber, 2002b). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to explore the motivation, learning supports, learning barriers, and program change recommendations of Third Age Learners in a nonformal library ESOL setting. This study provides insight into the demographic variable of linguistically-isolated Third Age English Language Learners (ELLs) participating in a library conversationally-based ESOL program. The results can guide libraries offering services, as well as those considering offering services to these customers (American Library Association [ALA], 2008a). Data collected included in-depth, face-to-face interviews, classroom observations, documents, learner and teacher essays, researcher journals, and analytic memos. The researcher coded all data with NVIv o 8 qualitative software then half of the data was coded with Atlas-TI 5 software by a second coder. A thematic analysis was completed in order to triangulate the data. The purposeful sample consisted of 21 participants at a Florida library adult ESOL program which included 11 learners and 10 teachers. The 11 learners were selected based on their ethnic background, predominantly those of Hispanic background. Eight learner findings and four teacher-perceived findings were identified in this study., The learner findings included: (a) to understand people at work; (b) to find or expand employment; (c) to practice conversation, pronunciation, listening, grammar and language rules; (d) to meet and get to know people; (e) assiduous teaching; (f) self-directed learning strategies support second language learning success; (g) more publicity, more classes, tutoring, language learning labs, study skills classes, and classroom management training; and (h) lack of family/community support and opportunities to practice English. Teacher-perceived findings mirrored learner findings (a) through (f) and (h), and included: (a) to increase teacher support, communications, and training; (b) to encourage the use of library resources: children's materials; language and music CDs; audiovisual materials, and Internet websites; (c) libraries are safe, supportive, and welcoming environments; and (d) how the give and take between learners and teachers is helpful to both. Discussion of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations are included.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3174503
- Subject Headings
- English language, Study and teaching, Foreign speakers, Minorities, Education, Language arts, Adult education, Self-actualization (Psychology) in middle age, Second language acquisition
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A search for self in the postmodern novel: Don DeLillo's Americana, Mao II, and Falling Man.
- Creator
- Neudecker, Jaime Frances., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
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In my thesis I look at three novels by Don DeLillo: Americana, Mao II, and Falling Man. These three novels, published in 1971, 1991, and 2007 respectively, represent the full range of DeLillo's body of work, and demonstrate a clear progression of the major themes in his writings. Each of these novels presents a protagonist who is on a journey of self-discovery, effectively seeking what many critics have identified as an outdated form of self--a Modernist notion of self. The problematic nature...
Show moreIn my thesis I look at three novels by Don DeLillo: Americana, Mao II, and Falling Man. These three novels, published in 1971, 1991, and 2007 respectively, represent the full range of DeLillo's body of work, and demonstrate a clear progression of the major themes in his writings. Each of these novels presents a protagonist who is on a journey of self-discovery, effectively seeking what many critics have identified as an outdated form of self--a Modernist notion of self. The problematic nature of identity in these novels is exacerbated by changes in representation and warfare, particularly the perceived loss of originality and the rise of terrorism. Thus, I not only trace the continuation of the search for self in these novels, but also DeLillo's inclusion of terrorism in the novel. The changes in warfare give rise to an anxiety that further complicates the search for self in America.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77681
- Subject Headings
- Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Psychology in literature, Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)