Les scénarios de l'amour

by Robert J. Sternberg

Un livre que les couples, les célibataires et les conseillers conjugaux devraient absolument se procurer. Une théorie très originale pour comprendre le fonctionnement amoureux Traduit pour la première fois en français, l'un des géants de la psychologie moderne L'auteur Robert Sternberg est l'un des plus grands psychologues de notre temps, célèbre dans le monde entier pour ses théories innovantes, notamment sur l'intelligence et sur l'amour. Professeur de psychologie à l'université de Yale, doyen de la faculté des Arts et Sciences de la prestigieuse université de Tufts, il a été président de la toute puissante Association de psychologie américaine et a reçu de nombreuses récompenses, dont le prix James McKeen Cattell de la Société de psychologie américaine (en 1999), et le prix E. L. Thorndike de l'APA (en 2003), pour ses contributions à la psychologie. Il est l'auteur de plus de 200 ouvrages traduits dans 40 langues. Le préfacier Frédéric Fanget est psychiatre à Lyon. Il anime des thérapies de couple. Il est l'auteur de Affirmez-vous, et Oser, Thérapie de la confiance en soi, Oser la vie de couple (Odile Jacob) et Où vas-tu ? (Les Arènes). Pourquoi sommes-nous attirés par tel ou tel type de partenaire ? Pourquoi commettons-nous toujours les mêmes erreurs, comme si nous répétions un scénario écrit d'avance ? Pourquoi certains couples durent-ils alors qu'ils se disputent en permanence ? Les relations amoureuses sont bien souvent mystérieuses. Robert Sternberg a voulu les étudier de manière scientifique en observant des centaines de couples. De ce travail d'expert, il a fait un livre destiné au grand public.

318 pages

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Robert J. Sternberg's spectacular research career in psychology had a rather inauspicious beginning. In elementary school he performed poorly on IQ tests, and his teachers' actions conveyed their low expectations for his future progress. Everything changed when his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Alexa, saw that he had potential and challenged him to do better. With her encouragement, he became a high-achieving student, eventually graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University. In a gesture of gratitude, Dr. Sternberg dedicated his book, Successful Intelligence to Mrs. Alexa.

Dr. Sternberg's personal experiences with intelligence testing in elementary school lead him to create his own intelligence test for a 7 th grade science project. He happened to find the Stanford-Binet scales in the local library, and with unintentional impertinence, began administering the test to his classmates; his own test, the Sternberg Test of Mental Abilities (STOMA) appeared shortly thereafter. In subsequent years he distinguished himself in many domains of psychology, having published influential theories relating to intelligence, creativity, wisdom, thinking styles, love and hate.

Dr. Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of (Successful) Intelligence contends that intelligent behavior arises from a balance between analytical, creative and practical abilities, and that these abilities function collectively to allow individuals to achieve success within particular sociocultural contexts. Analytical abilities enable the individual to evaluate, analyze, compare and contrast information. Creative abilities generate invention, discovery, and other creative endeavors. Practical abilities tie everything together by allowing individuals to apply what they have learned in the appropriate setting. To be successful in life the individual must make the best use of his or her analytical, creative and practical strengths, while at the same time compensating for weaknesses in any of these areas. This might involve working on improving weak areas to become better adapted to the needs of a particular environment, or choosing to work in an environment that values the individual's particular strengths. For example, a person with highly developed analytical and practical abilities, but with less well-developed creative abilities, might choose to work in a field that values technical expertise but does not require a great deal of imaginative thinking. Conversely, if the chosen career does value creative abilities, the individual can use his or her analytical strengths to come up with strategies for improving this weakness. Thus, a central feature of the triarchic theory of successful intelligence is adaptability-both within the individual and within the individual's sociocultural context.