Proposing that personal goals are what make life meaningful, valuable, and worth living, Emmons (psychology, U. of California-Davis) explores the role played by spirituality and religion in investing goals with significance. He contends that locating religion and spirituality within accepted scientific parameters can clarify them, and that ultimate concerns should be part of any attempt to build a motivational theory of personality. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
"Robert Emmons has written a splendid book that revives motivational theory in a most constructive way, highlighting the centrality of developmental issues. We now have a book that moves spiritual striving into the mainstream of psychological theory and research. It also provides an excellent review of the goals and strivings literature and shows us, empirically, that ultimate striving can be uniquely effective in the achievement of integration of the adult personality. Refreshingly, the author makes it clear that value judgments are compatible with science. In his final chapter, Emmons introduces the concept of spiritual intelligence as a means of accounting for ability in the domain of goal choice. This is an important contribution to the discussion of human abilities and developmental goals. This book will be of wide interest to psychologists and other readers. It will serve as a text in courses on human motivation, personality, health psychology, adult development, and the psychology of religion. Emmons has provided a very important resource for anyone interested in religious practice, health and well-being, and adult development." —Michael R. Levenson, PhD, Department of Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis
"This is one of the finest examples of integrative scholarship that I have seen. Emmons, among the world's most distinguished personality researchers, has produced a masterful blend of the best research on personal goals and current concerns, life meaning, subjective well-being, and personality fragmentation and integration. Showing how motivation and spirituality come together in the person, the book presents a compelling argument for the concept of spiritual intelligence as a basic psychological function. Emmons clearly loves his material. Written with a high level of sophistication, the book is nonetheless extremely accessible. It is essential reading for serious scholars in the fields of personality research, intelligence, and the psychology of religion. In addition, I recommend it as a text for personality and psychology of religion courses, and any other in which an integrated look at the whole person is taken seriously." —Raymond F. Paloutzian, PhD, Department of Psychology, Westmont College
"In this book, Robert Emmons provides a sound, humane, and empirically grounded framework for integrating spirituality with the psychology of motivation, well-being, and health. The Psychology of Ultimate Concern is beautifully written, packed with research (much of which comes from Emmons' own laboratory), and replete with helpful case material. This book should be read by all psychologists with a scientific interest in the spiritual side of human functioning. I will be recommending this one to colleagues in social, personality, clinical, and health psychology for years to come." —Michael E. McCullough, PhD, Director of Research, National Institute for Healthcare Research
