Book Description

In this national bestseller -- Martin Seligman's most stimulating, persuasive book to date -- the acclaimed author of Learned Optimism introduces yet another revolutionary idea. Drawing on groundbreaking scientific research, Seligman shows how Positive Psychology is shifting the profession's paradigm away from its narrow-minded focus on pathology, victimology, and mental illness to positive emotion and mental health. Happiness, studies show, is not the result of good genes or luck. It can be cultivated by identifying and nurturing traits that we already possess -- including kindness, originality, humor, optimism, and generosity.

Seligman provides the tools you need in order to ascertain your most positive traits or strengths. Then he explains how, by frequently calling upon these "signature strengths" in all the crucial realms of life -- health, relationships, career -- you will not only develop natural buffers against misfortune and negative emotion, but also achieve new and sustainable levels of authentic contentment, gratification, and meaning. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Psychology is taking a positive turn
= POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY =
Until recently psychology has mainly been working within a disease model: a strong emphasis has been placed on discovering deficits in human behavior and finding ways to repair this damage. Psychologist hardly focused on in doing studies acquiring knowledge about healthy functioning and building strengths. In other words: they have focused solely on taking away something negative (the disfunctioning) instead of adding something positive (increasing mental and behavioral health). The result: psychologist know little about healthy and happy functioning. This situation has been changing now since the rise of positive psychology a few years ago. What is Positive Psychology? It is a new movement in psychology, originated by Martin Seligman and a few other prominent psychologists among whom Mihali Csikszentmihalyi (author of FLOW). It aims to be a psychological science about the best things in life. Main topics of study are: positive emotions, positive traits and positive institutions. This book, Authentic Happiness, is the first book on positive psychology. Seligman is its main spokesperson.

= HAPPINESS =
This book mainly deals with the phenomenon of happiness. According to Seligman your enduring level op happiness results from three factors: 1) your SET RANGE ( the basic biologically determined range within which your happiness normally will be), 2) the CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR LIFE (some conditions - like being married and living in a democratic country- somehow seem to contribute to happiness, and 3) your VOLUNTARY CONTROL ( the things you can do to get your happiness to the upper part of your set range. Ok, then how to get this done? Before answering this question Seligman explains that happiness/positive emotion can refer to three domains: the PAST (satisfaction, contentment, fulfilment, pride and serenity), the PRESENT (joy, ecstasy, calm, zest, ebullience, pleasure and flow) and the FUTURE (optimism, hope faith, trust). Then the author comes up with suggestions to improve your happiness:

= HOW TO INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS =
1) to be happier about your past, you need to: 1) let go of the false belief that your past negative experiences determine your present and future, 2) increase your gratitude about the good things in your past and 3) learn how to forgive past wrongs.

2) to be happier in your present, you need to distinguish between PLEASURES and GRATIFICATIONS. Pleasures are delights that have clear sensory and strong emotional components that require little if any thinking. Gratifications are flow-experiences. They are activities we very much like doing but that are not necessarily accompanied by any raw feelings at all. The gratifications last longer than the pleasures and they are undergirded by our strengths and virtues. The key to happiness in past and future lies in enhancing gratifications.

3) to be happier about your future, you need to change your explanatory style in order to become more optimistic and hopeful (for an explanation read my review of Seligman's book LEARNED OPTIMISM).

= AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS BY USING YOUR STRENGTHS =
These explanations imply what Seligman means by AUTHENTIC HAPPINESS. He says we should not rely on shortcuts like television watching, chocolate eating, loveless sex, and buying things to feel happy. He explains that positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, to inauthenticity, and to depression. So we want to feel like we deserved our positive feelings. That's why Seligman says UTHENTIC HAPPINESS comes from identifying and cultivating your most fundamental strengths (so-called SIGNATURE STRENGTHS) and using them everyday in work, love, play, and parenting. This message reminds of the one in Csikszentmihalyi's FINDING FLOW (see my review).

= CORE VIRTUES AND STRENGTHS =
Psychology has devised a classification system (language) for describing abnormal behavior and mental diseases. But it lacked a language describing human effectiveness and sanity. That is why Seligman and a team of scholars researched sources from all kinds of cultures and times in history and found that there is a strong convergence in what these traditions consider to be virtues and strengths. This led to the formulation of a classification system of virtues and strengths. SIX CORE VIRTUES: 1) Wisdom and knowledge, 2) courage, 3) Love and humanity, 4) Justice, 5) Temperance, 6) Spirituality and transcendence. Further they identified 24 strengths corresponding to these virtues. This book contains definitions of this taxonomy and some questionnaires for the reader to complete (the questionnaires can be found on the web too, by the way).

= CONCLUSION =
Some words about the form and style of the book. It is pleasantly written. Seligman writes in a rather personal and honest style which makes the book lively (for instance he exclaims on page 24: "I am a hideous example of my own theory.") I recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology and in happiness (although it is not a self-help book in the first place, I think). The book ends reflectively dealing with the relationship between positive emotions and win-win situations, and speculating that we may be on the threshold of an era of win-win games and good-felling. I enjoyed reading the book and I like positive psychology. It is in many ways reminiscent of humanistic psychology (which I always liked) but has a more scientific approach. I have a good hope it will be a success.

Coert Visser, www.m-cc.nl

Happiness & Optimism -- can Pessimism be Constructive ?
The author, Dr. Seligman, is famous for his book Learned Optimism. And his new book, Authentic Happiness, is a useful addition with an especially good web site. Not all psychologists have agreed with, or found research support for, Dr. Seligman's theory of optimism. Some parts of Positive Psychology have been found to be too one-sided and unrealistic about optimism. The academic book about that research and theory is Optimism and Pessimism edited by Dr. Chang. That book has a chapter about constructive pessimism by Dr. Norem, the author of the Positive Power of Negative Thinking. Some psychologists say Dr. Seligman's theory of Positive Psychology is too much a 'one size fits all' model of healthy personality. Individual and cultural differences seem to be more important than Dr. Seligman says. So some people may want to compare his theory to the psychology of constructive pessimism. The surge of research on Resiliency in psychology indicates that individual differences in personality are fundamental -- what helps me won't necessarily help you. Keeping an open mind while exploring psychological health seems to be the key. In any case, Dr. Seligman does present some of the answers for some of the people, and that is worthwhile.

I agree 100% with the review by Mr. Coffee
A gentleman named Mr. Coffee wrote an excellent review here citing information by the great Dr. Denis Waitley and discusing why optimism is a tonic while pessimism is a poisin.

He also cited a review posted here by someone who said that pessimism can be good and that review actually got 34 votes. Mr. Coffee goes on to state that no doubt all 34 votes where from the reviewer who srote it. I couldn't agree more! Who could possibly think that pessimism is anything more than a illness that must be cured.

Great book by Dr. Seligman. I also recommend Dr. Waitley. And whoever wrote that review about pessimism being good for you, I submit that you need these books more than anybody!

Optimism is the real tonic
The great Dr. Denis Waitley conducting one of his outstanding "Seeds of Greatness" speeches asked; "Are you happy because you sing or are you singing because you are happy?" What Dr. Waitley was referring to was that our actions can and usually do lead to the way we feel. In this case, singing makes you happy and by being happy you sing even more.

Dr. Waitley also went on to say that motion is created by emotion. How we feel can lead to actions that are productive.

In this great book by Martin Seligman, you can learn how your feelings can help you succeed. Seligman is no doubt best known for his groundbreaking book Learned Optimism. RE: Optimism is the real tonic.

I foundit amusing that one reviewer wrote a review here asking if pessimism can be a tonic and actually got 34 helpful votes (no doubt placed by the reviewer) How in the world can pessimism be a tonic? Unless you enjoy being sad and unhappy, pessimism is a poisin.

I really enjoyed Dr. Selligmans newest book. In addition, I recommend Millionaire Habits by Brian Tracy and any book by Dr. Denis Waitley that you can get your hands on.

Went from sad and negative to happy & positive!
Over the last few years, like many others, the Clinton recession and bear market has played it's toll on me. I lost a small fortune in the markets and found gaining employment difficult. To make matters worse, several close family members passed away unexpectedly (9 in one month) so I have been tested.

A good friend recommended this book to me. Feeling that it was just another "feel good book" loaded with polyanna type nonsense, I resisted.

Finally, I borrowed the book from my friend and read it. I have to admit, I felt better, but then again I had proved to myself that this was just a "feel good book."

More to the point, I started to apply someof what I had read. I read more and more every day and continued to apply Dr. Seligmans advice. When I called my friend and told him what was happening, he just laughed and siad I told you so.

When I returned the book to my friend, he asked me if I was open to more information. "There's more I thought."

He gave me a copy of Learned Optimism also by Seligman and The 7 Habits of Highloy Effective People by Dr. Covey.

When I finished those he loaned me a few more. My whole attitude had changed from negative to positive. In fact, I no longer refer to positive mind books as "feel good books" in a negative way anymore. Of course they are "feel good books." And when are we at out best, when we feel good or when we feel lousy?

Having been sad and negative for a long time and gone to happy and positive, I can tell you that lif is a lot better when you feel good, happy and positive then by being negative, sad and feeling lousy.

I highly recommend this great book by Dr. Seligman. Perhaps like me, you will find this the first of many books and also find you whole life changed for the better as a result.

Thank you Dr. Seligman! ... Read more

Book Description

Bullying at School is the definitive book on bully/victim problems in school and on effective ways of counteracting and preventing such problems. On the basis of the author's large-scale studies and other research, it is known that bullying is a serious problem in all societies that have been studied so far, and that more than 15 percent of the school population in primary and secondary/junior high schools are involved, either as bullies or victims.The facts about bullying, its causes and consequences, are presented in clear and straightforward language. The book is a milestone in the study of bullying at school in that it offers a scientifically evaluated intervention program. The results of this extensive research are remarkable:a reduction of bully/victim problems by 50 percent or morea considerable drop in antisocial behavior such as vandalism, theft, drunkenness, and truancyclear improvements in the "social climate" of the classroom and student satisfaction with school life.The book gives practical advice to school principals, teachers, and parents on how to implement a "whole school approach to bullying," and contains a valuable guide to help teachers and parents recognize if a child is being victimized or bullies others. Bullying at School is essential reading for all who are involved with children and young people. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good data but needs more specific examples
I was elected to my local board of education and we recently received a credible complaint from a parent that harassment of her son was being overlooked by school administrators. Accordingly, I felt obliged to read up on the issue of bullying. This book sets forth both the problem and the recommended solutions. Prof. Olweus is Norwegian and his studies primarily involve Scandinavian schools. Accordingly, questions came to my mind such as "Is Norway a more homogenious society than the United States? If so, are there any differences in both the problem and the solutions in a more ethnically heterogeneous society?" I don't know the answers but, the reader should keep these issues in mind when reading this book.

Prof. Olweus describes the problem and he sets forth well organized solutions to the problem which require involvement of teachers, administrators and parents, and further require communication with all students, even those who are neither bullies nor victims. The one problem I have with the book is that there are very few case histories and specific examples given. The book proposes solutions but does not provide a case history in which the specific solution was successfully applied to the problem at hand. Reliable data and sound recommendations are important but a few specific examples of how these recommendations worked would be helpful. For example, Olweus recommends that parents of a bully apply sanctions if the bullying behavior does not improve. He states, "The consequence should be associated with some degree of discomfort or unpleasantness, but corporal punishment must not be used." OK, fine; but what are specific examples of "discomfor or unpleasantness?" Where are the case histories giving examples? Without these, the book does not provide as fulfilling reading as it otherwise might. This book is well worth reading and I recommend it with the reservations expressed above.

This book is the foundation of modern bullying prevention!
This clear, brief, and practical book is based on extensive research and outlines an intervention to prevent bullying. Dr. Olweus's work has become the standard approach to bullying prevention, reflected in such programs as the University of Colorado "Blueprints for Violence Prevention" project ... As a counselor and trainer specializing in bullying prevention, I find this book indispensable, and recommend it highly. ... Read more

Book Description

Clearly written and user-friendly, this comprehensive book defines learning and shows how the learning process is studied. It places learning in an historical perspective, and provides appreciation for the figures and theories that have shaped 100 years of learning theory research.It presents essential features of the major theories of learning in the words of the theorists, introducing readers to the pioneering work of E.L. Thorndike, Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, Clark Hull, Edwin Guthrie, William Estes, the Gestalt psychologists, Jean Piaget, E.C. Tolman, Albert Bandura, Donald Hebb, and Robert Bolles; and examines some of the relationships between learning theory and educational practices.An excellent reference work for those involved in education and learning. ... Read more

Book Description

The thirty-five chapters in this book describe various judgmental heuristics and the biases they produce, not only in laboratory experiments but in important social, medical, and political situations as well. Individual chapters discuss the representativeness and availability heuristics, problems in judging covariation and control, overconfidence, multistage inference, social perception, medical diagnosis, risk perception, and methods for correcting and improving judgments under uncertainty. About half of the chapters are edited versions of classic articles; the remaining chapters are newly written for this book. Most review multiple studies or entire subareas of research and application rather than describing single experimental studies. This book will be useful to a wide range of students and researchers, as well as to decision makers seeking to gain insight into their judgments and to improve them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

my humble opinion
Of course, my humble opinion relative to Nobel award committee will hold little intrinsic value, other than a layman's interpretation and application.

An economist myself, I found this book very interesting and educational to read. Although the book is quite verbose, the fluidity and organization of the content facilitates a smooth read - not a bludgeoning of the mind.

I found this book particularly applicable to research in market behavior, systemic analysis (because this book outlines the individuals and how they act within the system); even policy development (uncertainty).

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology, social psychology, economics, policy, and politics.

Regards,
Tyler Markowsky

This is the best book I've ever seen about probability.
I've never seen better explanations of how probabilities should be calculated. And the book is fascinating -- especially what the authors describe about the results of surveys designed to reveal the most common mistakes people make when estimating probabilities. ... Read more

Book Description

For hundreds of years verbal messages have been the primary means of explaining ideas to learners. Although verbal learning offers a powerful tool for humans, this book explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal. An alternative to purely verbal presentations is to use multimedia presentations in which people learn from both words and pictures--a situation the author calls multimedia learning. Multimedia encyclopedias have become the latest addition to students' reference tools, and the world wide web is full of messages that combine words and pictures. This book summarizes ten years of research aimed at realizing the promise of multimedia learning. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Will Change Your Teaching!
This is a fantastic book! It has a very nice discussion and a summary of the relevant research documenting that students learn best with multimedia presentations (pictures and words). The research results and guidelines for designing figures and computer-based materials will change the way you teach forever, or at least should! As a University Geology Professor, this book has truely been an inspiration to my teaching and writing. The only drawback is that it is a little repetitive, but not enough to detract from the great message contained within.

Good research and a good read
This is a very well presented description of Mayer's research on whether people learn better using multimedia (as opposed to just reading text). He describes the tests he and colleagues have performed to see how much learners are able to remember (retention) and how much learned information they can apply to new situations (transfer), and presents the results in manner that is relatively easy to understand (you have to know a little something about statistics, but not too much). The number of subjects tested is small, and Mayer is sure to point that out - but the basic research should lay groundwork for others to conduct similar tests on larger groups. The design principles Mayer puts forth (e.g. "contiguity") are very much in keeping with the general principles of good visual design (esposed by design notables such as Robin Williams (not the actor)). It's both a good read and good research. ... Read more

Book Description

It's a deadly triad: bullies who terrorize, bullied kids who are afraid to tell, bystanders who watch, participate, or look away, and adults who dismiss the incidents as a normal part of childhood. Drawing on her decades of work with youth, this practical book by bestselling parenting educator Barbara Coloroso explains:

• The three kinds of bullying; and the differences between boy and girl bullies
• Four abilities that protect your child from succumbing to bullying
• Seven steps to take if your child is a bully
• How to help the bullied child heal and effectively discipline the bully
• How to evaluate a school's antibullying policy and much more

Book Description

Since it was first published more than a decade ago, Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice has become the leading resource in the field of health promotion and education. This thoroughly revised third edition provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of health behavior theories relevant to health education and includes the most current information on developments in theory, research, and practice.

... Read more

Reviews (2)

Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and
As I waded through this textbook I at first felt that I had selected the wrong book for my teaching needs. The book is generally a review of current literature in the field of Health that would be an excellent resource for a graduate student who is about to tackle their thesis or dissertation. Contained within the chapters of this book is an extensive overview of what already exists in the field and certainly would be useful in helping a graduate student begin his or her research. This book would also be useful in helping a student who may be searching for a topic to study and research that may have been previously studied but then was found to be needing further work or follow-up. Upon completing the book I realized that although not necessarily perfect for my current needs of working with middle and high school students, it did provide support for things I am doing with them in my classes and broadened my scope as a health educator by making me think in terms of my role in school health education as compared to the roles of other health researchers and practitioners.

Theory based research
This text is a comprehensive review of health related theories. It provides the reader with anlayses of several health behavior theories and extensive bibliographies. To the student who is interested in health behavior research, this text is an important first step because it gives many examples of how specific theories, concepts and constructs are used in research studies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent for those new to cultural anthropology
This is an ideal book to use to try to pull people into the study of cultural anthropology. It successfully stays away from the excessive use of jargon. The articles are short enough that even students with the lowest attention spans can't complain. The articles themselves come from many different angles, and while almost all of them are extremely articulate and well-structured, they also tend to be successful at emotionally engaging the reader. If used in a class, students will respond. ... Read more

Book Description

This cognitively-oriented book focuses on learning and instruction. The applications and implications of learning theories are explained and illustrated using excellent examples ranging from primary school instruction to corporate training. An important theme of the book is reflective practice, which is designed to foster a critical and reflective mode of thinking when considering any particular approach to learning and instruction. For anyone interested in learning and instruction from primary schools to corporate training. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Better than you think.
Just finishing my masters in secondary education, this is the book I find myself using as a reference most often. Just about everything is here in regards to the psychology of education from the elementry stuff like Behaviorism through a hoard of theorists like Piaget, Asubel, Brunner, etc. etc. etc. The contrast presented at the end of the book between Gagne and the constructivists makes the book feel particularly relevant.

Who knows, maybe it is just that so many of the other books for teachers seem lackluster (am I the only one who didn't find Wong particularly useful???), but Driscoll's book is one of the best reference books for teachers I've come across so far.

And yeah, I don't think it was meant as a 'reference' book per se, but this will definitely point you in the right direction and while it is certainly readible, I found it stood out most for me as a stepping stone to the literature.

Intelligent and Practical
Marcy's book was the text for a course I attended, and it was packed with useful information. Her writing style is clear and organized into meaningful content areas. I found her examples to be practical and they easily conveyed the essence of the context. In general, the book exemplified the principles discussed in the materials by being student-centered. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Basic overview of helping skills for use in various settings
I'm currently a psychologist, and this book was assigned for one of my undergraduate courses in counseling techniques. It provides a basic overview of fundamental helping skills appropriate to a wide variety of situations. Particularly useful is the section on "Helping Skills for Understanding," which includes detailed explanations of the various skills which contribute to active listening. The information on problem-solving and other behavior strategies offer some utility as well, but the minimal attention given to more advanced behavioral skills does not do these areas justice. Similarly, the chapter on loss and crisis provides some useful information, but it also oversimplifies an extremely complex area. This book is best utilized as a basic introduction to helping strategies, and it would be useful to such populations as peer counselors, students, volunteers, etc.

So so
Its okay, kind of boring. I would recommend it if your in school but if your looking for something more in depth dont get this one. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

A huge disappointment
I had high expectations for this book because James Surowiecki's New Yorker column is usually so good. But THE WISDOM OF CROWDS is one of the most disappointing books I've read in years. (Indeed, I feel somewhat ripped off by having purchased it and devoted several hours to reading it.)

The main problem with this book is that despite Surowiecki's often breathless tone, nothing he says is new. Every point he makes has been made many times before by many other writers.

For instance, the key theme of his book is that groups can solve certain "cognition problems" better than individuals. No kidding. Ever hear the phrase "Two heads are better than one?" The thesis is so self-evident and widely-known that it comes with its own cliché! Yet Surowiecki devotes more than one-third of the book essentially to arguing that two people can solve a crossword puzzle faster than one person. Amazing, no?

What's more, Surowiecki's central point about the power of "collective intelligence" has long been a staple of business education. If you've ever taken an organizational behavior class, you've done the exercise where groups of varying sizes are stuck on a desert island with a dozen supplies -- and then each group must devise a solution for escaping the island using those supplies. Inevitably, the larger the group, the better the solution -- because larger groups reflect the accumulated experience and expertise of more people. (In other words, five heads are even better than two.) Want another example of how threadbare this idea is? Google the phrase "none of us is as smart as all of us" - and you'll discover that Surowiecki's supposedly "counterintuitive" notion has been talked about in business circles since Bill Gates was in short pants.

If that weren't bad enough, the rest of the book -- particularly Suriowiecki's discussion of "coordination," his second "stunning" insight--- is essentially a retread of arguments that have been made elsewhere for more than a decade. James Gleick made many of these points in CHAOS. Kevin Kelly said everything that Surowiecki says ten years ago in OUT OF CONTROL. Steven Johnson said it again four years ago in EMERGENCE. Howard Rheingold said lots of it last year in SMART MOBS.

And Surowiecki's third argument -- that sometimes cooperation is preferable to competition -- is even older. Charles Darwin told us this in the 19th century! Indeed, there's an entire branch of evolutionary psychology devoted to studying cooperation. Just read Robert Wright's THE MORAL ANIMAL if you want a more thorough and engaging account of this point.

If this book were an undergraduate term paper that summarized the self-evident and reviewed what others had already had said, I'd give it a B. But for book that costs 20 bucks from a writer who's obviously got some talent, I'd have to give THE WISDOM OF CROWDS an Incomplete. Please try again, James. But next time, try a lot harder.

Excellent
I'm a big fan of James Surowiecki's "Financial Page" column in The New Yorker. He's consistently able to come up with unusual takes on seemingly familiar topics, and he has a great knack for making business stories compelling and entertaining as well as understandable. But because it's only a page long, I sometimes come away from the column wanting more, and I always wondered how Surowiecki would do if he was able to develop his ideas and arguments more fully. Luckily, "The Wisdom of Crowds" lives up to all my expectations. It's wonderfully readable, full of terrific stories, funny, and its basic argument -- that groups, under certain conditions, can make better decisions than even the smartest individuals -- is counterintuitive without being willfully contrarian.

The roots of the argument obviously stem from the way markets work -- buyers and sellers find each other and reach efficient outcomes without anyone being in charge, while the stock market (at least some of the time) does as good a job as possible of setting prices. But what I really like is the way Surowiecki extends this argument way beyond business and markets, showing how collective wisdom can be seen (and can potentially be used) in a host of other situations, including the racetrack, on the Internet, and on city streets. He also does a good job of drawing out the possible implications of this for everything from the U.S. intelligence community to the way companies are run.

This is definitely a big-idea book, but the author is cautious in laying out his evidence, and is careful to show that groups, even if they're potentially wise, are often stupid and dangerous. The chapter on small groups in particular, which focuses on NASA's mismanagement of the Columbia mission, is powerful stuff, and useful to anyone interested in how to run a meeting well (or badly, for that matter). The least satisfying part of the book is the chapter on democracy, where Surowiecki shies away from pushing his conclusion to its logical end. But on the whole, this is just a wonderful book, elegant and enlightening.

If you're interested in this book, it's also worth checking out Paul Seabright's "The Company of Strangers" and Robert Wright's "Nonzero."

Relevant and surprising
Although the subtitle to THE WISDOM OF CROWDS is an awkward mouthful, it is at least accurate: the book does an exceptional job of illuminating a remarkably wide range of material from politics, everyday life, and the business world. Surowiecki's not offering a grand unified theory of everything, but in the course of investigating how and when groups and crowds are and are not intelligent, he takes you on an exhilarating ride. You can't go more than a couple of pages without coming across some interesting factual tidbit or clever anecdote. Just a short list of stuff Surowiecki writes about includes: crowds on city sidewalks, Navy men trying to find a lost submarine, the Nielsen ratings, Google, scientists trying to find the SARS virus, the stock market, game-show audiences, fashion stores, and the C.I.A. Thankfully, though, he understands that just stringing together stories isn't enough. Instead, he fits his examples into a strong argument that holds the book together. You can get a lot out of this book just by dipping into individual chapters, but reading it from beginning to end is a powerful experience.

One of the things about the book that hasn't been much remarked on is the light it sheds on the flaws in the way the U.S. intelligence community -- and, I would argue, the Bush administration -- approaches the problem of forecasting the future and making good decisions. The book's main subject is the wisdom of crowds, but Surowiecki spends a lot of time on how groups go wrong, and his discussion of how groups make bad decisions seems to me completely relevant to our current problems. When Surowiecki delves into groupthink, into the pressure that's exerted on lower-level employees to conform, and the perils of too little diversity of opinion, he's making a broader point about what good decisions require. But in the process, he clarified for me just why the current administration did such a bad job of figuring out whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and of planning for the postwar period. I was surprised, but it turns out this book has a lot to say about the state we're in right now.

Refreshingly optimistic
It seems naive to mention it, but one of the things I liked best about Surowiecki's take on the intelligence of groups is how optimistic it is. Most of what we hear about crowds and democracy and the potential of average people offers a dismal picture. But I came away from this book in a hopeful mood, and infused with a sense of real possibility. Surowiecki is convincing on the idea that the intelligence of Google, or bettors at the race track, or the audience in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" aren't peculiar anomalies, but are actually connected by the fact that they're tapping into collective wisdom. This makes me think that if we can figure out a way how to use group intelligence in a wider way -- inside companies, governments, whatever -- the decisions society as a whole makes can be improved.

Stylistically, the book is a delight. The sentences are crisp, and the stories are well-told. Occasionally, Surowiecki makes his ideas too involved and ends up in a digression. But I forgave this because it felt like the result of someone who thinks everything is interesting and wants the reader to feel the same. Wonderful stuff.

Engaging
Even after having read it, I'm still not sure what category I'd put THE WISDOM OF CROWDS in. It offers important insights into business, and helped me understand the way markets work. But it also has lots of fantastic and entertaining material about group psychology, and it's an interesting look at a host of questions about everyday life, ranging from the way crowds on a sidewalk move to traffic to the role of trust.

The book's real strength is its ability to take a complex question -- when are people in groups smart, and when are they foolish? -- and make it accessible and engaging, even to those of us without much background in the field. Surowiecki has a light touch with his ideas, and for me the book flew by (with the exception of a few pages about the NFL, which I had a hard time with). I feel as if I see the world now in a different way. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (9)

Great Introductory Resource
Cognitive therapy/cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is exploding in application to many clinical populations, however there is a need for a basic introduction to its principles. So far, this is the best text for this purpose. I use it in my class of doctoral clinical psychology students, and then have them pick one of the many other population-specific CBT texts. They find Beck to be easy reading, and it helps to talk about the simple cases described in Beck before moving to more complex cases.

Excellent reference
This is an excellent introductory source for anyone who is interested in learning Cognitive Therapy. I am a Master's level Professional Counselor in training, and therefore, needed to learn the basics of Cognitive Therapy. The book progresses from the basics of Cognitive Therapy to using advanced techniques. One of the greatest challenges for a Cognitive Therapist is to "teach" the client how to practice Cogntive techniques on their own. Dr. beck does a great job of explaining the rationale, as well as ways to empower the client to be their own therapist.

Excellent book for the literate patient
I was introduced to cognitive therapy by a therapist
who recommended David Burns's popular "Feeling Good
Handbook". That is certainly a good book to start with,
but I wanted to learn more so I went to a bookstore and
found this book by Judith Beck. It is actually a textbook
for therapists and is not addressed to patients at all.
Nevertheless I have found it very useful because it is
much more structured than Burns's books. I particularly
found her schema of automatic thoughts (also found in
Burns), intermediate beliefs and core beliefs (the latter
two not found in Burns) to be very helpful. My personal
conclusion is that Burns's less disciplined approach is
probably helpful for simpler kinds of problems, whereas
Beck's formalism is going to be more relevant once you
discover that you want or need to get down below the
surface. The strength of Burns's book is he provides
lots of exercises. Since Beck's book is a text for
the therapist, it does not have exercises for the
patient reading it as self help. If you are reasonably
dedicated you can (and must) create your own exercises.
If you think you can make that bridge from text to
self help, then this may be a good book for you.

[ By the way, I think that Burns's discussion of
communication techniques in his "Feeling Good Handbook"
is the single most useful treatment of that subject I
have found for the single person (he doesn't consider
how committed couples can work on their communication
issues together, but there are lots of couples books
for that).]

Missing the Target!
This is an excellent text on cognitive therapy. And it
should be good reading for the layman or laywoman as well
as mental health professionals. Unfortunately, the subject matter needs serious surgery. When we try to smear a
"rational" reference point over a reference point, we are
still left with the whole problem. A reference point!
People with mental problems (as if there is anyone without
"mental problems"), have too many reference points. As the
author explains to us, our pain is caused by "cognitive distortions." That we lost our job or our spouse is
highly undesirable. But it is not "terrible." We can still
go on. Life is still worth living. And so on. This is substituting
a sandwich full of nails for a sandwich full of paste.
We are still left with too many sandwiches and way too much
paste. His Holiness the Dali Lama is the head of the Tibetan
Buddhist Tradition of Gelukpa Buddhism. In these teachings,
it is stated that one did not lose either a job or our spouse.
These are just labels! And they are cognitive distortions
within themselves. In the former case, we were informed that
we would no longer be coming to a place and receiving money.
In the latter case, someone stopped breathing. By taking
out our Label Maker and creating new and apparently more
'rational' labels, we are saying that words are real. And
this is the entire problem with the neurotic and the psychotic (not including the fact that someone labeled them a "neurotic" or a "psychotic"). The cure is seeing through all labels.
Then we can relax and feel friendly in a harshly defined
universe. There is not one interpretation that we can make
of anything that can't be shown as invalid when we view
it from another angle. So why interpret phenemona as anything unless it serves a utilitarian purpose?

Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond
Judy Beck's Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond is an excellent text for graduate students and clinicians beginning to learn Aaron T. Beck's system of cognitive therapy. It is highly readable and includes lots of examples of dialogue between therapist and client. J. Beck also addresses common problems that arise in cognitive therapy, such as failure to do homework and suicidality. In addition, Dr. Beck includes a number of valuable forms to use in cognitive therapy. I've been using this book for practicum students for several years now and am very pleased with the results. ... Read more

Book Description

Learning is becoming an urgent topic. Nations worry about the learning of their citizens, companies about the learning of their workers, schools about the learning of their students. But it is not always easy to think about how to foster learning in innovative ways. This book presents a framework for doing that, with a social theory of learning that is ground-breaking yet accessible, with profound implications not only for research, but also for all those who have to foster learning as part of their responsibilites at work, at home, at school. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A foundation book that helps to put KM in perspective
You'll struggle to work through "Communities of Practice." Yet, if you persevere, you'll have gained a sound basis for evaluating and keeping in perspective the relative business value of all the recent advances in knowledge management.

A good companion book to "Communities of Practice" with respect to how people make meaning is Yankelovich's "The Magic of Dialogue."

brilliant
One cannot be practically effective without being grounded in a philosophy. Philosophy leads to strategy, and strategy leads to a coordinated set of tactics and the opportunity to be proactive. Without it, tactics are reactive.

This book provides an outstanding philosophical guideline for making sense of the workplace and communities of practice. It is easy to divine practical solutions to common workplace issues and problems as you read it. His vignettes show mistakes that businesses make, and how the communities compensate. Preventing those mistakes in your business allows your communities to solve other problems. Additionally, you will understand where, why, and how your communities and how they help you, and because of this recognition, perhaps you can continuously remove the obstacles to their success.

excellent conceptual thinking
For those grappling with the need to understand and talk about how people come together and interact beyond the org. chart, this book has a lot to offer. Theoretically-based, it focuses on a social theory of learning that is broad enough to cover a wide range of human activities, well beyond what we would normally consider to be 'learning'. 'Communities of practice' offers a comprehensive framework for understanding and analysing what people do in the context of their social milieu. The author includes many examples and uses a work-place vignette to illustrate the relevance and power of his ideas. If you are not afraid of theory and abstraction and are open to new concepts, this book may indeed be revolutionary.

cOMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
This is a very important resource as the Institute of Medicine calls for using a socioecological perspective to solve the nation's health care challenges. Wenger has powerful ideas and examples. Educators and health care experts alike will find this very useful.

The writing style is somewhat dense and requires a quiet space to read and reflect. Be patient, skip around as needed, it is worth the effort.

Learning Organization Pablum
If you are looking for practical, hard hitting insight and knowledge you can use as a practising manager, totally BYPASS this wordy, ivory tower compendium of theoretical jargon. ... Read more

Book Description

Written by a renowned psychologist Roger E. Kirk of Baylor University, this classic text provides the graduate student in experimental design with detailed coverage of the designs and techniques with the greatest potential use in behavioral research. Kirk's book is known for its emphasis on the logical rather than the mathematical basis of experimental design; for its in-depth exploration of the relationship between analysis of variance and regression analysis; for its introduction of the concept of building block designs; and for its comprehensive scope that describes all of the ANOVA experimental designs that are potentially useful in the behavioral sciences and education. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Simply a classic
This text is a great purchase for any student who will be designing and performing experiments as part of his or her own research. For example, a Ph.D. student in marketing who is studying consumer behavior should read this book. As a matter of fact, it would be a great "prep" book to read before showing up to a Ph.D. program (again, only if the research program will involve performing experiments).

It's expensive, it must be good, right?
I have used this book as a graduate student doing social science research. The editorial reviewers got it right; Kirk emphasizes logical explanation, although computational equations are presented in tandem. The book is so expensive because it's so thick and thorough. Everything's here. You won't have to buy a bunch of other books. Just about everything to do with ANOVA and modeling is in here. A good resource. ... Read more

Book Description

David Howell's practical approach focuses on the context of statistics in behavioral research, with an emphasis on looking at data before jumping into a test. This provides students with an understanding of the logic behind the statistics: why and how certain methods are used rather than just doing techniques by rote. Students move beyond number crunching to discover the meaning of statistical results and how they relate to the research questions being asked. FUNDAMENTAL STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES contains an abundance of real data and research studies as a base and moves through an analysis of data. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A clear and comprehensive introductory statistics text
I have been using this text for Levels 1, 2, and 3 social sciences statistics teaching in Britain and abroad for over 8 years now. Although I have tried using other introductory texts, I have yet to find a text as comprehensive and as clearly written as this.

The worst stats book for the social sciences
I hate to be so critical, but I must agree with my colleague who described his/her harrowing experience with this textbook. I have two rules about learning statistics: no one is ever above a review of the most basic topics and an author/professor can never go wrong by providing a variety of examples within the same topic area.

superbly-written and serious intorduction
I've been using the 3rd edition for several years now, and I just think it's an extraordinarily clear, concise, and well-written book. Howell is better at presenting the basic statistical concepts (of ANOVA, for example) than any other author I've seen.

Other introductory books (such as Runyon's "Fundamentals of Behavioral Statistics") may provide more advanced treatments or cover more material, but in general they end up being long-winded and unfocused. Howell's book is crisp.

And in case you're wondering about the title, statistical methods for the behavioral sciences are not different than statistical methods in any other quantitative discipline. It's just that Howell draws his examples from psychology, sociology, etc., and may make mention of some of the conventions used by researchers in these fields.

A rare jewel
This may be the single best textbook I have ever used, or it may just seem that way because of the difficulty most stat textbooks have in explaining their concepts. Unfortunately, I only discovered it after two semesters of incoherent text books and bad teaching; it was only later, through his book, that I got the entire picture. Howell starts with the "why?" of statistical tests (necssary, but often not done), takes you through the equations relatively painlessly, and provides realistic commentary on actual uses, strengths and weaknesses, and controversies surrounding statistical techniques. I now tutor in statistics (really), and I just rely on Howell for the simplest and best method of explication. Now, if only he wrote an advanced text...

An outstanding introductory text in statistics.
This text is the most clearly written and useful of four different introductory statistics texts that I have examined. Its emphasis on insight rather than rote learning of formulae makes the subject easily understood and retained.

This book is a "keeper".

The author stresses the use of computers discusses several statistics programs available. He also thoughtfully provides exercise data for input to several a computer program. It is unfortunate, however, that he failed to mention the most powerful of these programs on the market today. I hope that he will examine this in future editions. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A standard text
If you practice in the behavioral sciences, this book should be on your shelf. Features updated information on the diagnosis and treatment of all the DSM diagnoses as well as interesting historical information. Takes what's in the DSM and expands on it at some length, including psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions. Written with a surprisingly even hand towards all interventions, I have found it more useful than the DSM most of the time, especially in guiding treatment decisions. My only complaint is their decision to drop material on some of the older medications. Still, a terrific resource for the working pracitioner!

The Gold Standard in Psychiatry
This is a superb book for both the psychiatric and mental health prfessional reader and for the general public. It is well-written, thoroughly referenced and totally up-to-date. With the revolution in drug treament the authors provide a comprehensive survey of all drugs used in psychiatry. They also cover the psychodynamic concepts of Freud, Jung, Erikson and other theorists. This book is a must for anyone interested in this field.

An excellent work but there is another one better
I find this a concise and useful summary of the current state of development of Psychiarty.

However personally I prefer the Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiarty a little bit more.

LOTS of information...perhaps a bit too detailed
Professionals and the truely interested will appreciate this book for its extensivly packed-full-of-information chapters. Current DSM criteria and DSM case studies are illustrated throughout. Bulleted outlines, black and white pictures, and colored boxes help break up the endless text. Downfalls: The pages are thin, and the print is smaller than most texts, and the book is very heavy and not one most would chose to tote around. It is detailed with both Pscyh 101 and Ph.D level information that is great for advanced students who REALLY want to learn all there is to know. However, for those just trying to get through a psychopathology course, the book is a bit too extensive and the long chapters are a bit overwhelming Exams off this book need to be created with care and understanding as so much information is contained in the chapters that it is difficult for students to distinquish between whats important for an exam and what is more information than you really need to know at that point. Student have trouble remembering the tiny details and oftentimes miss information that more advanced professionals have already learned and take for granted. Give a study guide to reduce exam anxiety and give multiple exams. Okay text book but not for courses only giving midterm and final exams. You really weekly exams to keep students on track and not overwhelmed. EXCELLENT resouce book personal growth or research.

Comprehensive
This a very comprehensive textbook (even though it says synopsis) of psychiatry. I have heard it is great preparation for the psych boards. However, it is quite dry and at times dense and difficult to read. A great book but I wish it was easier to read. ... Read more

Book Description

This first edition successfully synthesizes research on learning and memory in a coherent and unbiased manner. Lieberman integrates cognitive and behavioral approaches to learning and memory to show how these two approaches are complementary, with associative and cognitive processes jointly shaping our behavior. Using a stimulating, integrative, and practical approach that presents rigorous concepts with exceptional clarity, Lieberman ensures that students aren't lost in a forest of facts. To help make the information come alive, he interweaves material on laboratory research and practical applications in every chapter, as well as thoroughly integrating the text with SNIFFY THE VIRTUAL RAT, Pro Version and COGLAB, to offer students unique, hands-on experience. ... Read more

Book Description

This introductory text provides students with a conceptual understanding of basic statistical procedures, as well as the computational skills needed to complete them. The clear presentation, accessible language, and step-by-step instruction make it easy for students from a variety of social science disciplines to grasp the material. The scenarios presented in chapter exercises span the curriculum, from political science to marketing, so that students make a connection between their own area of interest and the study of statistics.

Unique coverage focuses on concepts critical to understanding current statistical research such as power and sample size, multiple comparison tests, multiple regression, and analysis of covariance. Additional SPSS coverage throughout the text includes computer printouts and expanded discussion of their contents in interpreting the results of sample exercises.

Book Description

The noted Stanford University psychiatrist distills the essence of a wide range of therapies into a masterful, creative synthesis, opening up a new way of understanding each person's confrontation with four ultimate concerns: isolation, meaninglessness, death, and freedom. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Good Reminder
Existential Psychotherapy is a convincing and moving reminder of the vagaries of life and the dignity with which we might respond to them. It's a hopeful exploration of death, separation, fantasies of rescue and regression, and the impossibility of transcending our earthly limitations.

Yalom writes with clarity and compassion. By reminding us of the timeless and undeniable, Yalom grounds us, gives us a foundation to begin building a more realistic version of our lives upon. Well done.

an insight to the soul of man
within the space of a lifetime, ugly realities inevitably arise in both our outer and inner worlds. i have tended to accept this and assume there are not any answers, only more troubling truths. yalom's book explores this risky terrain with a brilliance and lucidity that i had not thought possible. i read this over two years ago, i have read it again in pieces many times since then. it would not be an exageration to say it has changed my life. i have often thought that god's secret instruction book has been revealed to the struggling human species and am grateful to live in a place and time that i could glimpse into the ummeasurable profound.

An excellent book! Makes mid-life crisis understandable.
Quenches a thirst for understanding during a time of life that demands introspection. Yalom's writing style is easily understood, and his statements are backed up with examples to drive home his point. An excellent piece of work!

Simply great stuff!
This book is a very enriching and expanding experience, not only for the person reading the book, but also for the people around the reader, as you simply can't help discussing the themes with friends and family. It is admirable how Yalom treats the subject without neither moral judgement nor dogmatic lecturing, opening a challenging universe, leaving it to the reader to find his or her own way through the chaos of life. Compulsory reading for anyone interested in psychology, philosophy or simply oneself and other human beings.

Yalom's diluted existentialism
Yalom is a fine writer, but his encounter with existentialism is piecemeal and often un-understanding. He seems to think that just dealing with certain *themes*- death, meaninglessness, etc. makes him existential. It doesn't. Existentialism is not just a school of thought that looks at these things, but it also includes a very special *way* of looking at them called *phenomenology.* Phenomenology is a research method and way of understanding human beings that is indispensible for true existential thought. It is phenomenology that makes existential psychology *better* at understanding human beings than other psychologies, and without phenomenology, "existential psychology" is nothing more than, as Yalom himself suggests, a psychodynamic theory with a different clinical focus. This is pretty watered-down stuff, and readers would be better off reading true existential psychologists like Medard Boss, and, more recently, Louis Sass. ... Read more