Books / Systemic & family
Pragmatics of Human Communication: A Study of Interactional Patterns, Pathologies, and Paradoxes
Paul Watzlawick, Janet Helmick Beavin and Don D. Jackson’s Pragmatics of Human Communication (1967) presents a systemic account of communication, interaction and paradox.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Paul Watzlawick, Janet Helmick Beavin and Don D. Jackson
Edition: First published in 1967; a paperback edition appeared in 2011
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Edition year: 1967
Language and origin: English (United States)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1960–1979 · Humanistic, Cognitive & Systemic Turn
Covers: Communication and its interpersonal context; Interaction patterns and paradox; The authors’ account of psychotherapy and communication
APA 7th reference: Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. H., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). Pragmatics of human communication: A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. W. W. Norton & Company.
What it is
This 1967 book presents a systemic approach to human communication. The authors consider communication in the context of relationships and patterns of interaction.
What it covers
A library catalogue describes topics including communication and context, family interaction, paradox and psychotherapy. It lists a 2011 paperback with a later foreword, distinct from the 1967 first publication.
Practice and evidence
The book discusses paradoxical approaches to psychotherapy. Its clinical examples and theoretical arguments do not establish that prescribing a symptom produces change or is appropriate for every person. Communication models should not be used to assign responsibility for abuse or obscure unequal power.
Reading this record
This educational record draws on catalogue information and a publisher page. The full book has not been reviewed for this entry. The 2011 paperback ISBN is not attributed to the 1967 edition.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: The Question of Family Homeostasis (Don D. Jackson, 1957)
Reference: Jackson, D. D. (1957). The question of family homeostasis. The Psychiatric Quarterly Supplement, 31(1), 79–90.
A 1957 paper on family homeostasis by Don D. Jackson, one of the book’s authors. The paper and this book present theoretical frameworks; they do not establish a universal cause of symptoms.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Catalogue records authors, title, publisher and 1967 publication.
Supports: Catalogue lists the 2011 paperback and ISBN 9780393707076. The full book was not reviewed.
W. W. Norton & Company. Pragmatics of Human Communication.
Supports: Publisher page identifies the work; its edition details were not readable in the retrieved page.