Human Awareness: Its Social Development

Human awareness – which forms the basis of all interpersonal relationships – is perhaps the most fascinating phenomenon of biological and socio-cultural evolution. In this innovative book, originally published in 1987, the author introduces the subject of human awareness from the perspective of developmental and social psychology. Using a wide range of psychological and other sources, both classic and more recent from around the world, the book begins with a discussion of awareness as a biological and cultural-historical phenomenon. The reader is then guided through such issues as one’s awareness of others, self-awareness, interpersonal communication, and the search of human beings for recognition by others. The final chapter focuses on human awareness as a relationship between the self and society, with particular emphasis on social stability and change. Human Awareness provided the first comprehensive account of human consciousness in a text that reflected the most exciting recent research in the field at the time and emphasized the need for an integrated and coherent understanding of the various psychological disciplines.