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The Me I Know

A Study of Adult Identity

  • Book
  • © 1986

Overview

Authors:
  1. Susan Krauss Whitbourne

    1. Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, USA

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. Adult Identity Processes

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Who Am I?

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 3-15

    3. A Theory of Adult Identity Processes

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 17-36

  3. Family Identity

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 37-38
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    2. Love Is Not Enough

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 39-60

    3. Men and Women in the Family

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 61-79

    4. Parents and Children

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 81-97

  4. Work Identity

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 99-100
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    2. The Competent Worker

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 101-128

    3. A Spoonful of Sugar

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 129-160

    4. “Just a Housewife”

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 161-181

  5. Integrative Themes

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183
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    2. Family and Work Identities: Conflict or Compatibility?

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 185-212

    3. Purpose in Life

      • Susan Krauss Whitbourne
      Pages 213-240

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 241-264
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Keywords

About this book

For the last 5 years I have been living with 94 adults. These 94 adults made up the sample of people in a study on adult development that Dale Dannefer and I began in 1980. This book represents my efforts to condense the almost 200 hours of tape-recorded material from the 94 adults into a form that captures at least some of the diversity and also some of the commonalities in their answers to the ques­ tion "Who am I?" My version of their answers is based on their reflections about themselves as family members, workers, and people with a goal in life. In arriv­ ing at the conclusion that adults attempt to see themselves as loved, competent, and good human beings, I believe that I have done justice to these people and their answers to my interview questions. Arriving at the point of being able to write about these 94 people's identities has not been an easy process. Countless attempts at numerically based rating systems were tried and discarded progressively, until finally I decided to read all the trans­ cripts in sequence, person by person rather than question by question. What I found when I approached them as total individuals was surprising to me. I found a vibrant theme of certainty and self-assuredness in their identities that flew in the face of my previous ideas about developmental change in adulthood.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, USA

    Susan Krauss Whitbourne

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Me I Know

  • Book Subtitle: A Study of Adult Identity

  • Authors: Susan Krauss Whitbourne

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8618-6

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1986

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-0-387-96261-0Published: 17 July 1998

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4613-8618-6Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: 264

  • Topics: Personality and Social Psychology, Psychology Research

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