http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/366866966

Metamorphosis; on the development, of affect, perception, attention and memory

"The theme of this major new work is a problem central to both psychology and philosophy--how does adult man become what he is, how do his capacities and his limitations become what they are? What are the changes, the continuities, and the conflicts in the stages of development from birth to adulthood? Rather than attempt to encompass all aspects of this metamorphosis, the author deals with some crucial factors in the development of affect, perception, attention, and memory. A salient theme in this examination of human growth is the conflict of becoming, of turning potentiality into actuality. Freud believed that the newborn, in complete helplessness, strives only for reduction and discharge of tension and wants to abolish the stimuli of the world into which he is born. Dr. Ernest G. Schachtel shows that, side by side with this tendency, the newborn infant also turns toward the world, is attracted by an increasing variety of stimuli, has an increasing capacity for active searching for satisfaction, and enjoys the exercise of his growing capacities in active discovery and exploration. The conflict between the development of these tendencies and the regressive ones emphasized by Freud, together with parental and other sociocultural influences, determines the degree to which the adult is free to realize his potentials. Drawing on philosophy, literature, and the arts as well as biological and psychological studies. Metamorphosis not only arrives at a critique and significant revision of some key concepts of psychoanalytic theory; it also contributes to a deeper, fuller understanding of human development and creativity"--Jacket. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

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