Great Psychology Books
(Photo Credit: Peter Merholz) Welcome to The All About Psychology Book of The Month page. Only the best, fascinating and most compelling psychology books will be featured here. Anybody looking for recommended psychology textbooks within specific fields of psychology should visit the appropriate branch of psychology listed on the Topic Areas section of the website. March 2010Public Speaking for Psychologists: A Lighthearted Guide to Research Presentations, Job Talks, and Other Opportunities to Embarrass Yourself by David B. Feldman & Paul J. Silvia
Book Description Public speaking is one of the most common fears. Few people look forward to talking in front of others and even fewer do it as effectively as they could. A career in psychology and its related fields involves extensive public speaking, so you will need to learn to do it well. With time and practice, you too can become a confident and effective presenter. "Public Speaking for Psychologists" is a practical and lighthearted guide to planning, designing, and delivering a presentation. The first half of the book covers the nuts-and-bolts of public speaking: preparing a talk, submitting an abstract, developing your slides, managing anxiety, handling questions, and preventing public-speaking disasters. The second half applies these tips to common presentations, such as research talks, poster presentations, job talks, and talks to lay audiences. Throughout the book, the authors - both experienced presenters - offer realistic advice, useful tips, and humorous stories of embarrassing mistakes they'll never make again. See following link for more details: February 201050 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio & Barry L. Beyerstein
Book Description 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience: See following link for more details: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior January 2010Graduate Study in Psychology 2010: American Psychological Association
Book Description Graduate Study in Psychology is the best source of information related to graduate programs in psychology and provides information related to approximately 600 graduate programs in psychology in the U.S. and Canada. Graduate Study in Psychology contains information about: See following link for more details: Graduate Study in Psychology 2010 December 2009Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V.S Ramachandran & Sandra Blakeslee
Book Description Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments; using such low-tech tools as cotton swabs, glasses of water and dime-store mirrors. In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, how we make decisions, deceive ourselves and dream, perhaps even why we're so clever at philosophy, music and art. Some of his most notable cases: A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial. A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience? A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time. Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier - the human mind - yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self. See following link for more details: Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind November 2009The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View by Laura King
Book Description The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View by Laura King (University of Missouri at Columbia) is the first text to bring a truly appreciative view of psychology as a science and for exploring behavior to introductory students. It is built around the idea that students must study the discipline of psychology as a whole, that the sub-disciplines are intricately connected, and that human behavior is best understood by exploring its functioning state in addition to its potential dysfunctions. For example, imagine that you have been asked to create a science of "watchology." You have two watches that both have had the unfortunate "trauma" of being left in the pocket of someone's jeans through the washer and dryer. One watch has suffered the worst possible fate-it no longer tells time. The other has emerged from the traumatic event still ticking. Which watch would you use to develop your new science of watchology? Clearly, the working watch will help you understand watches better than the broken one. What does watchology have to do with psychology? Quite simply, in psychology as in watchology, it makes sense to start with what works: to gain a general understanding of human behavior and then apply that knowledge to those who have emerged from life's experiences in dysfunction. See following link for more details: The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View October 2009Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work by Stephen F. Davis, Peter J. Giordano & Carolyn A. Licht
Book Review by Kenneth D. Keith (University of San Diego ) Your Career in Psychology is the kind of book many, if not most, psychologists, whether teachers, researchers, or practitioners, might have wished for when they were setting out. The editors, experienced psychologists themselves, have assembled a wonderfully diverse group of authors who provide honest, witty, and practical advice to readers contemplating new careers or career changes within the field. They discuss the obvious topics, like teaching roles, private practice, and job finding; and they take on the less pleasant prospects, such as what to do about student loans. From working effectively with mentors to being a good campus citizen, there is something here for anyone serious about psychology as a career field. The advice and counsel comes from psychologists whose wide-ranging experience will prove useful, not only to those seeking or changing careers, but to those of us engaged in teaching the next generation. This is an excellent collection of interesting, successful authors who have ‘been there and done that.’ Readers will find a wealth of useful ideas and pointers. See following link for more details: Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work September 2009Classic Experiments in Psychology by Douglas Mook
Book Description The typical survey course in psychology has time for only limited presentation of the research on which our knowledge is based. This book presents, in more depth than textbook treatment permits, the background, conduct, and implications of a selection of classic experiments in psychology. The selection is designed to be diverse, showing that even for research in vastly different areas of study, the logic of research remains the same; as do its traps and pitfalls. See following link for more details: Classic Experiments in Psychology August 2009Getting In: A Step-By-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology by The American Psychological Association
Book Description Getting In: A Step-By-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology, Second Edition is an update of the American Psychological Association's essential resource for anyone considering graduate study in psychology. This handy, readable book simplifies the process for applicants and increases their chances of being accepted. Useful timelines, tips, and tools break the tasks into manageable steps and help readers define their goals, select programs, and navigate the application process. A monthly timetable and detailed worksheets for selecting the best program matches are included, and a resource section provides a list of publications and organizations that are useful in the various phases of applying. Readers will learn what criteria admissions committees use to evaluate applicants, how to improve their qualifications, and how to showcase their talents in personal essays, letters of recommendations, and preselection interviews. The costs of a graduate education and financial aid information specific to graduate students are also discussed. Members of special populations, such as women, ethnic minorities, gay and lesbian applicants, and applicants with disabilities will find resources and guidance particular to their needs. While applying to graduate school can be challenging, this book demystifies the process and allays students' concerns about how to tackle it. See following link for more details: Getting In: A Step-By-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology July 2009Critical Thinking in Psychology by Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger & Diane F. Halpern
Book Description Good scientific research depends on critical thinking at least as much as factual knowledge; psychology is no exception to this rule. And yet, despite the importance of critical thinking, psychology students are rarely taught how to think critically about the theories, methods, and concepts they must use. This book shows students and researchers how to think critically about key topics such as experimental research, statistical inference, case studies, logical fallacies, and ethical judgments. See following link for more details: Critical Thinking in Psychology June 2009Fool's Paradise: The Unreal World of Pop Psychology by Stewart Justman
Book Review By Kenneth Siber From Scientific American The genre of psychological self-help books has grown tremendously, and authors such as Dr. Phil (McGraw), Wayne Dyer and John Gray are repeat visitors to the best-seller lists. Such popularity poses a paradox, though: If the books really worked, why would readers need to keep buying them? In the erudite yet lively Fool’s Paradise, literary scholar Stewart Justman argues that pop psychology texts are ineffective because, among other things, they encourage people to hyperfocus on their own emotional states. The literature is rife with supposed success stories about people overcoming negative emotions and behaviors, many of which are suspiciously sketchy and formulaic. Loose or out-of-context quotations from serious literary and philosophical works are another ill staple of the genre. Citing more than 40 guidebooks, he shows that the field’s problems are serious indeed. See following link for more details: Fool's Paradise: The Unreal World of Pop Psychology May 2009Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews by by Dennis Coon & John O. Mitterer
Book Description Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior attracts and holds the attention of even difficult-to-reach students. The Twelfth Edition's hallmark continues to be its pioneering integration of the proven-effective SQ4R learning system (Survey, Question, Read, Reflect, Review, Recite), which promotes critical thinking as it guides students step-by-step to an understanding of psychology's broad concepts and diversity of topics. Throughout every chapter, these active learning tools together with the book's example-laced writing style, discussions of positive psychology, cutting-edge coverage of the field's new research findings, and excellent media resources ensure that students find the study of psychology fascinating, relevant, and above all, accessible. See following link for more details: Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews April 2009Decoding the Ethics Code: A Practical Guide for Psychologists by Dr. Celia B. Fisher
Book Description Decoding the Ethics Code: A Practical Guide for Psychologists introduces those in psychology and related fields to the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. The book helps psychologists apply the Ethics Code to the constantly changing scientific, professional, and legal realities of the discipline. Author Celia B. Fisher addresses the revised format, choice of wording, aspirational rationale, and enforceability of the code and puts these changes into practical perspective for psychologists. Her book provides in-depth discussions of the foundation and application of each ethical standard to the broad spectrum of scientific, teaching, and professional roles of psychologists. This unique guide helps psychologists effectively utilize ethical principles and standards to morally conduct their work activities, avoid ethical violations, and, most importantly, preserve and protect the fundamental rights and welfare of those with whom they serve. This insider’s guide is an essential resource for new and established mental health practitioners. Graduate students of psychology will find this core text a valuable source of information on ethics in psychology. See following link for more details: Decoding the Ethics Code: A Practical Guide for Psychologists March 2009Essentials of Understanding Psychology by Robert Feldman
Book Description Essentials of Understanding Psychology guides students through Introductory Psychology concepts in an accessible manner, bringing comprehension of difficult material into the grasp of all students because when students understand psychology, they learn psychology. The thoroughly revised Eighth Edition integrates a variety of elements that foster students understanding of psychology and its impact on their everyday lives, including a new Neuroscience and Life feature, alerts to key topics, and study skills for specific concepts. This text also provides instructors with a fully integrated supplements package to objectively gauge their students mastery of psychologys key principles and concepts and to create dynamic lectures. See following link for more details: Essentials of Understanding Psychology February 2009The New Psychology of Love by Robert J. Sternberg & Karin Weis
Book Description Love. What is it? Can we define it? What is its role in our lives? What causes love, and what dooms it? No single theory adequately answers all our questions about the nature of love, yet there are many theories that can contribute to our understanding of it. This fascinating book presents the full range of psychological theories on love—biological, taxonomical, implicit, cultural—updated with the latest research in the field. Robert Sternberg and Karin Weis have here gathered more than a dozen expert contributors to address questions about defining love, the evidence for competing theories, and practical implications. Taken together, these essays offer a comprehensive and engaging comparison of contemporary data and theories. See following link for more details: January 2009Graduate Study in Psychology, 2009: by American Psychological Association
Book Description Graduate Study in Psychology 2009 is the best source of information related to graduate programs in psychology and provides information related to approximately 600 graduate programs in psychology in the U.S. and Canada. Graduate Study in Psychology contains information about: Number of applications received by a program. See following link for more details: Graduate Study in Psychology, 2009 December 2008Psychology by Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert & Daniel M. Wegner
Book Description Psychology, the highly anticipated new introductory psychology textbook by Harvard professors Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, and Daniel M. Wegner, takes a fresh approach to the teaching of psychology by focusing on mindbugs: foibles of the mind that are intrinsically fascinating and provide fundamental insights into how the mind works. Believing an introduction to the field of psychology should be every bit as engaging as reading a popular science book, the authors have utilized the skills that made them successful trade authors to present a compelling case for psychological reasoning. Joined with the latest in psychological science and neuroscience, Psychology will provide students with an introduction to psychology that both educates and entices them See following link for more details: November 2008Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn & Jeffrey M. Lohr
Book Description This is the first major text designed to help professionals and students evaluate the merits of popular yet controversial practices in clinical psychology, differentiating those that can stand up to the rigors of science from those that cannot. Leading researchers review widely used therapies for alcoholism, infantile autism, ADHD, and posttraumatic stress disorder; herbal remedies for depression and anxiety; suggestive techniques for memory recovery; and self-help models. Other topics covered include issues surrounding psychological expert testimony, the uses of projective assessment techniques, and unanswered questions about dissociative identity disorder. Providing knowledge to guide truly accountable mental health practice, the volume also imparts critical skills for designing and evaluating psychological research programs. It is ideal for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses in clinical psychology, psychotherapy, and evidence-based practice. See following link for more details: Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology October 2008Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman & Rom Brafman
Book Description A fascinating journey into the hidden psychological influences that derail our decision-making, Sway will change the way you think about the way you think. Why is it so difficult to sell a plummeting stock or end a doomed relationship? Why do we listen to advice just because it came from someone “important”? Why are we more likely to fall in love when there’s danger involved? In Sway, renowned organizational thinker Ori Brafman and his brother, psychologist Rom Brafman, answer all these questions and more. Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, Sway reveals dynamic forces that influence every aspect of our personal and business lives, including loss aversion (our tendency to go to great lengths to avoid perceived losses), the diagnosis bias (our inability to reevaluate our initial diagnosis of a person or situation), and the “chameleon effect” (our tendency to take on characteristics that have been arbitrarily assigned to us). Sway introduces us to the Harvard Business School professor who got his students to pay $204 for a $20 bill, the head of airline safety whose disregard for his years of training led to the transformation of an entire industry, and the football coach who turned conventional strategy on its head to lead his team to victory. We also learn the curse of the NBA draft, discover why interviews are a terrible way to gauge future job performance, and go inside a session with the Supreme Court to see how the world’s most powerful justices avoid the dangers of group dynamics. Every once in a while, a book comes along that not only challenges our views of the world but changes the way we think. In Sway, Ori and Rom Brafman not only uncover rational explanations for a wide variety of irrational behaviors but also point readers toward ways to avoid succumbing to their pull. See following link for more details: Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior September 200850 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do; Insight and Inspiration from 50 Key Books by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Book Description We would all like to know the secrets of human nature - who we are, how we think, and what we do. 50 psychology classics explores writings from such iconic figures as Freud Adler, Jung, Skinner, James, Piaget, and Pavlov, and also highlights the work of contemporary psychologists such as Howard Gardner, Daniel Gilbert, and Martin Seligman. In addition, there are fascinating insights from writers and thinkers like Isabel Briggs Myers, Eric Hoffer, and William Styron. The focus is on 'psychology for non psychologists', books that everyone can read and be enlightened by, or that were expressly written for a general audience. We are in a new golden age of popular psychology writing, and 50 psychology classics reveals a diversity of ideas: Also exploring some of psychology's most famous experiments and research, such as Stanley Milgram's chilling demonstrations of the human willingness to obey authority, Harry Harlow's work with baby monkeys revealing the importance of physical contact to mental health, and Alfred Kinsey's pot-stirring revelations about people's real sex lives, 50 psychology classics highlights the often surprising scientific work that has changed what we believe about ourselves and what makes people tick. See following link for more details: August 2008The Psychologist as Detective: An Introduction to Conducting Research in Psychology by Randolph A. Smith & Stephen F. Davis
Book Description The Psychologist as Detective conveys the excitement of research methodology through a lively, conversational style. To make the study of the research process interactive and accessible for readers, pedagogical features and critical thinking activities are integrated throughout the volume. Actual student research appears in each chapter to increase relevance and heighten reader interest. This text evaluates the science of psychology, research ideas and hypotheses, ethics, nonexperimental methods and the basics of experimentation variables and control, statistics, designing-conducting-analyzing and interpreting experiments, as well as alternative research designs, external validity, critiquing experimental research and writing and assemblling an APA-format research report. For individuals involved with or interested in psychological research. See following link for more details: The Psychologist as Detective: An Introduction to Conducting Research in Psychology (4th Edition) July 2008The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker
Editorial Review From Publishers Weekly In his last outing, How the Mind Works, the author of the well-received The Language Instinct made a case for evolutionary psychology or the view that human beings have a hard-wired nature that evolved over time. This book returns to that still-controversial territory in order to shore it up in the public sphere. Drawing on decades of research in the "sciences of human nature," Pinker, a chaired professor of psychology at MIT, attacks the notion that an infant's mind is a blank slate, arguing instead that human beings have an inherited universal structure shaped by the demands made upon the species for survival, albeit with plenty of room for cultural and individual variation. For those who have been following the sciences in question including cognitive science, neuroscience, behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology much of the evidence will be familiar, yet Pinker's clear and witty presentation, complete with comic strips and allusions to writers from Woody Allen to Emily Dickinson, keeps the material fresh. What might amaze is the persistent, often vitriolic resistance to these findings Pinker presents and systematically takes apart, decrying the hold of the "blank slate" and other orthodoxies on intellectual life. He goes on to tour what science currently claims to know about human nature, including its cognitive, intuitive and emotional faculties, and shows what light this research can shed on such thorny topics as gender inequality, child-rearing and modern art. See following link for more details: The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature June 2008The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil By Philip Zimbardo
Book Description What makes good people do bad things? How can moral people be seduced to act immorally? Where is the line separating good from evil, and who is in danger of crossing it? Renowned social psychologist Philip Zimbardo has the answers, and in The Lucifer Effect he explains how–and the myriad reasons why–we are all susceptible to the lure of “the dark side.” Drawing on examples from history as well as his own trailblazing research, Zimbardo details how situational forces and group dynamics can work in concert to make monsters out of decent men and women. Zimbardo is perhaps best known as the creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Here, for the first time and in detail, he tells the full story of this landmark study, in which a group of college-student volunteers was randomly divided into “guards” and “inmates” and then placed in a mock prison environment. Within a week the study was abandoned, as ordinary college students were transformed into either brutal, sadistic guards or emotionally broken prisoners. By illuminating the psychological causes behind such disturbing metamorphoses, Zimbardo enables us to better understand a variety of harrowing phenomena, from corporate malfeasance to organized genocide to how once upstanding American soldiers came to abuse and torture Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib. He replaces the long-held notion of the “bad apple” with that of the “bad barrel”–the idea that the social setting and the system contaminate the individual, rather than the other way around. This is a book that dares to hold a mirror up to mankind, showing us that we might not be who we think we are. While forcing us to reexamine what we are capable of doing when caught up in the crucible of behavioral dynamics, though, Zimbardo also offers hope. We are capable of resisting evil, he argues, and can even teach ourselves to act heroically. Like Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem and Steven Pinker’s The Blank Slate, The Lucifer Effect is a shocking, engrossing study that will change the way we view human behavior. See following link for more details: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil May 2008Psychology and Life by Richard J. Gerrig & Philip G. Zimbardo
Book Description This classic book is built around the central theme of presenting psychology as a science and applying that science to our daily lives. Psychology and Life continues to provide a rigorous, research-based presentation that demonstrates that this research has immediate in daily life. For Intro Psychology students, or anyone with an interest in the subject. See following link for more details: Psychology and Life (MyPsychLab Series) April 2008Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research by Roger R Hock
Book Description This unique book closes the gap between psychology books and the research that made them possible. Its journey through the “headline history” of psychology presents 40 of the most famous studies in the history of the science, and subsequent follow-up studies that expanded their findings and relevance. Readers are granted a valuable insider's look at the studies that continue to be cited most frequently, stirred up the most controversy when they were published, sparked the most subsequent related research, opened new fields of psychological exploration, and changed most dramatically our knowledge of human behavior. See following link for more details: March 2008Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Editorial Review Aristotle observed 2300 years ago that more than anything men and women seek happiness. Csikszentmihalyi (psychology, Univ. of Chicago) has for 25 years made similar observations regarding "flow," a field of behavioral science examining connections between satisfaction and daily activities. A flow state ensues when one is engaged in self-controlled, goal-related, meaningful actions. Data regarding flow were collected on thousands of individuals, from mountain climbers to chess players. This thoroughly researched study is an intriguing look at the age-old problem of the pursuit of happiness and how, through conscious effort, we may more easily attain it. Recommended for general readers. (Terry McMaster, Utica Coll. of Syracuse Univ. Lib., N.Y). See following link for more details: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience Go From Psychology Books Back To The Home Page
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