Design for a Life: How Behavior and Personality Develop [Hardcover]

Patrick Bateson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2000

Explores how behavior and personality develop through an examination of various factors, including biology, genetics, and psychology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nicholas Humphrey author of A History of the Mind: Evolution and the Birth of Consciousness Life never strikes twice in the same place. Every individual human being is a new -- and always unexpected -- variation on the human theme....The best book yet about the biological principles involved: wise, authoritative, packed with novel information, a delight on every page. -- Review

About the Author

Patrick Bateson is Professor of Ethology (the biological study of behavior) at Cambridge University; Provost of King's College, Cambridge; a Fellow of the Royal Society; and Biological Secretary of the Royal Society. He has a B.A. in zoology and a Ph.D. in animal behavior from Cambridge, has held a Harkness Fellowship at Stanford University, and was Director of the Sub-Department of Animal Behavior at Cambridge for ten years. He has been the author and editor or coeditor of several books.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684869322
• ISBN-13: 978-0684869322
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Developmental Biology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars scratching the surface, August 6, 2001

By 

Peter Gray - See all my reviews

This review is from: Design for a Life: How Behavior and Personality Develop (Hardcover)

This book endlessly frustrated me while reading it. Expecting much from the authors, experts in behavioral biology, it was disappointing to only scratch the surface of topic after topic. While discussing a range of issues within life history theory and development--7 ages of life, heritability, the relationships between genes and behavior, effects of birth order on behavior, play, mating preferences--each issue gains little space, and little more than a superficial treatment. This is a shame because the authors show they are capable of explaining potentially confusing topics like heritability as clearly as anyone. Furthermore, the authors commonly employ quotes from Shakespeare, references to popular literature, etc. in place of real evidence. These fictional accounts and popular references may be useful for illustrations, but don't much bolster the author's arguments. In sum, this book may serve as an enjoyable informal introduction to the subjects of development, life history, etc. but will only frustrate those looking for in depth treatment of these issues.