The Success Fearing Personality

Description du phénomène de la "peur du succès", soit à l'image des exemples rapportées par S. Freud de 2 cas de personnes qui ont détruit leur vie après avoir obtenue un important succès dans ce qu'elles avaient chèrement espéré et travaillé à construire.

Nought's had, all's spent, Where our desire is got without content: 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. So speaks Lady Macbeth upon the attainment of the aim of her ambition (act 3, scene 2). Is this expression of a fear of success the consequence of the highly competitive arena in which she is striving to achieve? Will this sentiment later lead to the avoidance of this or other forms of success? Does she fear success because she is a woman? While the fear and avoidance of success are ideas that are not new to psychology or to human behavior, recent work by Matina Homer has excited great interest in the psychological measure of a personal disposition to avoid success and a behavioral measure of that avoidance. It is with this recent wave of research and writing that Part II of this book is concerned. Great personal interest was stimulated in the "fear of success" concept. It is not only the hypochondriacs who find in the idea of a "fear of success" syndrome an explanation for the course of their lives. In Part I are presented the earlier forms which the concept of "fear of success" took, especially in psychoanalytic theory and per sonality theory, originating with Freud's discussion of "those wrecked by success," but citing some of the much older cultural traditions involving a fear and/or avoidance of success.

The first of its kind, this manual presents educational approaches and processes which reflect feminist principles for teachers and leaders of courses and workshops in the psychology of women. Sample syllabi, outlines, references, lists of audio-visual material, organizations, discussion questions, and experiential exercises reflect the content areas typically covered in these courses: achievement, sexuality, health, adjustment, psychotherapy, communication, victimization, methodology, life-style choices, work, and development.

Originally written in 1938 but never published due to its controversial nature, an insightful guide reveals the seven principles of good that will allow anyone to triumph over the obstacles that must be faced in reaching personal goals.