This article examines characteristics of stories in self-improvement books and the values they promote. The analysis of 36 stories from four self-improvement books shows that they are used to illustrate advice. By focusing on grammatical features (e.g., personal pronoun you, interrogative clauses) in the story components (e.g., evaluation, coda), my study shows that these stories promote the idea that individuals, as the primary agent, are responsible for improving their lives (i.e., happier and more fulfilled lives). A study of the coda components also shows that human beings are viewed as having the ability and freedom to choose to improve their status quo. My study shows that stories in self-improvement books are a resource for promoting values.

中文翻译：

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自我提升书籍中的故事所宣扬的价值观

本文考察了自我提升书籍中故事的特征及其所宣扬的价值观。对来自四本自我提升书籍的 36 个故事的分析表明，它们被用来说明建议。通过关注故事组成部分（例如评价、尾声）中的语法特征（例如，人称代词 you、疑问从句），我的研究表明，这些故事宣扬了个人作为主要代理人有责任改善他们的生活的观点（即，更快乐和更充实的生活）。对尾声成分的研究还表明，人类被视为具有选择改善现状的能力和自由。我的研究表明，自我提升书籍中的故事是提升价值观的资源。