We all share responsibility for vitalizing American education. As Myles Friedman makes clear, many of the changes needed are beyond the ability of educators to implement alone. They need supportive coalitions among government, community, and business leaders and agencies to force change. The purpose of the book is to present a prescription for interesting students in school so that they will want to attend and learn; developing law-abiding, productive citizens who are able to keep our nation at the forefront through innovation; and enabling students to find personal satisfaction while making social contributions. The emphasis is on changing what and how students are taught, rather than on changing the organization or politics of education. Friedman asserts that it is the instruction students receive in the classroom that determines their potential much more than the structure of the educational system or the politics that govern it. We all share responsibility for vitalizing American education. As Myles Friedman makes clear, many of the changes needed are beyond the ability of educators to implement alone. They need supportive coalitions among government, community, and business leaders and agencies to force change. The purpose of this book is to present a prescription for interesting students in school so that they will want to attend and learn; developing law-abiding, productive citizens who are able to keep our nation at the forefront through innovation; and enabling students to find personal satisfaction while making social contributions. The emphasis is on changing what and how students are taught, rather than on changing the organization or politics of education. Friedman asserts that it is the instruction students receive in the class that determines their potential much more than the structure of the educational system or the politics that govern the system. Teaching students how to control outcomes is the thesis that permeates the book. People must learn to control outcomes if they are to benefit themselves or society. They must be able to control outcomes well enough to take care of themselves, become gainfully employed, and to get what they want from life--whatever that may be. This important book is for professionals, academic, and community leaders responsible for improving education.

Nothing is of greater interest to most people than the quality of their lives. They go to great lengths to improve the quality of their lives and engage a variety of professionals to achieve that goal. Despite this, little has been done to increase understanding of quality of life, the factors that contribute to it, or the means of improving it. Friedman redresses this neglect and enhances our understanding of disability and its treatment.

This book addresses the need, felt by professionals as well as the people they serve, for a better understanding of quality of life and how to improve it. Friedman makes a number of important contributions toward this end. He integrates and summarizes the diverse research on quality-of-life indicators and focuses and defines quality of life as a field of study.

Friedman presents a holistic approach to quality of life. While many have recognized the need for such an approach, it has been given little more than lip service. By redressing the lack of understanding of what quality of life means, the factors that contribute to it, and the means to improve it, he has provided a book that will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and professionals in a number of areas, from counseling to nursing, and to interested lay people.

Departing from Myles Friedman's previous versions of prediction theory, this study contends that people seek control as an end in itself. The ability to make accurate predictions is the primary means to that end. When people make accurate predictions, we call them intelligent; when they act on those predictions and control results, we call them successful. Seeking an explanation for human superiority, Friedman and Lackey present a tight formal theory that defines the dynamic relationship between and among predictive processes responsible for human control and success. This new and general theory of purposeful behavior provides a sound basis for relating leading theoretical views to each other. Directed toward psychologists and psychiatrists--educational psychologists, industrial psychologists, and psychotherapists will each discover chapters of specific interest to their areas of expertise.

Friedman and Lackey offer a new control-oriented motivational system for human beings and a distinctly different view of intelligence. Their presentation is divided into three major parts. The first describes prediction theory in a general way including sufficient detail and examples for the reader to excerpt major ideas: Human Motivation, Gaining Control, Maximizing Control, and Impediments to Control. Part II explains important implications of the theory: Achieving Success, Working Effectively, Educating for Control, The Pursuit of Happiness. Part III is a formal presentation of the theory, its basic assumptions, one corollary, and five propositions. Emphasis is placed on the logical integration of contructs and propositions into a general theory of purposeful behavior. Recommendations are made for improving the quality of life. The reader will also derive new insights into leadership, learning, retirement, recreation, defensiveness, intelligence, and psychological disturbance.