Linked Life Data

2190505

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/2190505

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
1990-7-12
pubmed:abstractText
This article presents a contextualized treatment of the current configuration of self, some of the pathologies that plague it, and the technologies that attempt to heal it. Of particular interest is the historical shift from the Victorian, sexually restricted self to the post-World War II empty self. The empty self is soothed and made cohesive by becoming "filled up" with food, consumer products, and celebrities. Its historical antecedents, economic constituents, and political consequences are the focus of this article. The two professions most responsible for healing the empty self, advertising and psychotherapy, find themselves in a bind: They must treat a psychological symptom without being able to address its historical causes. Both circumvent the bind by employing the life-style solution, a strategy that attempts to heal by covertly filling the empty self with the accoutrements, values, and mannerisms of idealized figures. This strategy solves an old problem but creates new ones, including an opportunity for abuse by exploitive therapists, cult leaders, and politicians. Psychology's role in constructing the empty self, and thus reproducing the current hierarchy of power and privilege, is examined.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0003-066X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
45
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
599-611
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-9-23
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1990
pubmed:articleTitle
Why the self is empty. Toward a historically situated psychology.
pubmed:affiliation
California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Historical Article