Book Descriptions
The following books can be obtained directly from the author:
This volume is written for the general reader and provides specific
numerical scores describing the impressions personal names create. The
survey data for the book were gathered by asking respondents the
following question: "Supposing you were to meet someone for the first
time and you only knew their sex and first name. What kind of person do
you think they would turn out to be?" Respondent impressions for each
name were taken on six basic dimensions: Success, Morality, Health or
Popularity, Warmth, Cheerfulness, Masculinity- Femininity.
Average ratings from all respondents who rated a given name were
summarized using scores that range from zero to 100, with 50 being an
average score. For example, "John" received an average Success score of
86 (extremely high) whereas "Jock" received a Success score of 9
(extremely low). These two names differ substantially in terms of the
impression of Success (which includes connotations of intelligence,
creativity, ambition) they impart.
A key thesis of Mehrabian's approach to naming is that names become part
of a person's self-identity and, furthermore, names determine how others
perceive and react to a person. There is substantial experimental
literature supporting that thesis. Simply, people with desirable or
attractive names are treated more favorably by others than are those
with undesirable or unattractive names. Accordingly, it behooves
parents to discover the impressions that will be generated by the names
they select for their children. And, The Name Game provides the results
of a massive survey summarizing the impression profiles for most
commonly used names.
This volume is written for students of psychology and for researchers
who have a particular interest in the basics of social interaction,
friendliness, fear of rejection, or distinctive individual styles of
verbal and nonverbal communication.
This volume is written for the general reader and provides a
theoretically coherent and straightforward framework for understanding
how our everyday environments (homes, workplaces) influence major
behavior patterns: socializing, work, eating, temptations to overeat,
use of alcohol, reactions to stress.
This volume is written for research psychologists and advanced students.
It presents a general approach for the description, measurement, and
study of a large variety of psychological problems from the perspective
of emotions.