The Handy Psychology Answer Book. Lisa J. Cohen

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      Introduction

      Ever since I was a child I have been deeply intrigued by the complex drama of the human mind. To me nothing could be more mysterious, more compelling, or more deeply relevant to every aspect of our lives. While artists and poets have long explored the nature of our subjective experience, the scientific study of the human mind lies solely within the field of Psychology. Hence, it was a natural choice for me to become a psychologist. And decades later psychology has lost none of its fascination for me. In this book, I hope to share something of what makes psychology so important and so utterly fascinating to me.

      Psychology is ultimately the foundation of all human endeavor. Why do we think, feel, and act the way we do? Why do we love, hate, eat, work, or dance the way we do? How does our three-pound brain produce the incredible intricacies of human behavior? How much of our psychology is due to genes and how much to our environment? These questions are addressed every day in thousands of laboratories and consulting rooms across the country and the world. And the answers to such age-old questions are closer at hand than at any point in history. While I do not believe we will ever fully understand the extraordinary mystery of the human mind, we certainly can learn—and have learned—a tremendous amount about our mental processes. Moreover, such discoveries have helped reduce the suffering and improve the lives of millions of people.

      Interestingly, the major players in the field of psychology used to be far better known to the general public. Fifty years ago, the average person on the street was more likely to be familiar with the likes of Sigmund Freud, B. F. Skinner, or Jean Piaget. There was a widespread appreciation of the importance of the field of psychology and its relevance to everyday life. In contemporary times, there is far less general awareness of the contributors to the field of psychology. Perhaps psychology—that is, the scientific discipline of psychology—has been a victim of its own success. Certainly, talk shows and magazines are filled with psychological topics. Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and Dr. Joyce Brothers remain household names. But I would suggest that the entertainment value of popular psychology has overtaken the appreciation of serious science.

      Meanwhile, psychology is flourishing within the walls of academia. Psychology remains an incredibly popular major in college and graduate school, and the seriousness of the field has overtaken its inherent entertainment value. Thus, psychology has split into two vectors: popular psychology, which is entertaining but not rigorous, and academic psychology, which is СКАЧАТЬ