- Paperback: 206 pages
- Publisher: Jeremy P Tarcher; New edition edition (24 April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0425183408
- ISBN-13: 978-0425183403
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 317,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Explores the sixteen basic desires that motivate our actions and define our personalities. It includes an individualized personality test.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Although most people are not used to thinking about human behavior in terms of fundamental desires knowledge of our 16 basic desires can help you gain insight into who you are and why you do what you do. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Although most people are not used to thinking about human behavior in terms of fundamental desires knowledge of our 16 basic desires can help you gain insight into who you are and why you do what you do. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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15 reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Essential reading, but repetitive
3 May 2004
Format:Paperback
I have read many books about self help, psychology, and human behavior, and I believe I learned more from this one than from any other book. Reiss's theory is that all human beings are motivated by sixteen basic desires, and your personal prescription for happiness depends on the relative strengths of these desires. He argues that these desires are genetically determined. I believe that the science behind the "Reiss Profile" is sound, unlike the many other similar books that claim to tell you about yourself. The theory of personality originated with William James; Reiss has extended this work and in this book makes his important findings available to the general reader.
My only complaint about this book is that it is very wordy, which is so absolutely typical of self-help books. He presents the theory concisely and clearly, then goes on to apply the theory to many different areas of human behavior. This seems excessively detailed and it makes for tiresome reading, so I skimmed much of the second half of the book. At times the book approaches a catalog in unreadability.
By all means get the book and answer the questions to determine your own desire profile. I believe you will learn more about yourself, more quickly, than you have ever done before.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Not such a bad book.
6 Aug 2009
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
A useful exercise for understanding teammates.
28 Aug 2003
Format:Paperback
Give Dr. Reiss a chance, and he will tune you in to what really turns you on. We each have a distinctive motivational profile, but this book is really about relationships. Learning about what motivates others, and how they differ from us, goes a long way towards building better relationships -- regardless, of whether we're working as part a team or trying to understand our own family. I recommend this book to everyone I can. I also use it in my professional business coaching practice as a tool to help team members know each other better.
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