Synopses & Reviews
Documents the drama of extraordinary inquiries into human psychology, bringing to life stories with unforgettable protagonists. LAUREN SLATER delivers a witty and stunningly perceptive view of the progress of the science of the human mind in the last century. Beginning with B. F. Skinner and the legend of a child raised in a box, she takes us from a deep empathy with Stanley Milgram's obedience subjects to a funny and disturbing recreation of an experiment questioning the validity of psychiatric diagnosis. We observe cognitive dissonance among cult members whose apocalypse fails to arrive, and we see the groundwork being laid for a pill that promises to rescue the memories of aging baby boomers. Through nine examples of ingenious experiments by some of psychology's most innovative thinkers. Slater traces the evolution of the century's most pressing concerns--free will, authoritarianism, conformity, and morality. Previously described only in academic journals and textbooks, these often daring experiments have never before been narrated as stories, chock-full of plot, wit, personality, and theme.
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"A vivid, insightful account....Told with wit and warmth." Kirkus Reviews
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Irresistible storytelling.
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Neither clinical nor dispassionate....This combination of expert scientific and historical context, tough-minded reporting and daringly subjective re-creation. --Publishers Weekly
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Slater creates for the reader a sense of intimacy with scientists and their subjects. --Psychology Today
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Irresistible storytelling. --Elle
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"" Peter Singer
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"" New York Times Book Review
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"Worth reading for the provocative questions it asks and for the way it lingers over the fragile, human side of psychology." Joy Press
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"A very readable, if highly personal, account of what we know, and don't know, about human nature, and of the ethical issues raised by our efforts to find out more." Peter Singer
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"I've been riveted by her witty explorations of everything from lying to Prozac." New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Beginning with B. F. Skinner and the legend of a child raised in a box, Slater takes us from a deep empathy with Stanley Milgram's obedience subjects to a funny and disturbing re-creation of an experiment questioning the validity of psychiatric diagnosis. Previously described only in academic journals and textbooks, these often daring experiments have never before been narrated as stories, chock-full of plot, wit, personality, and theme.
Synopsis
Through ten examples of ingenious experiments by some of psychology's most innovative thinkers, Lauren Slater traces the evolution of the century's most pressing concerns--free will, authoritarianism, conformity, and morality.
About the Author
'\'Lauren Slateris a psychologist and the author of Welcome to My Countryand Prozac Diary. She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.\''