Synopses & Reviews
In this sophisticated overview of human emotions, a widely respected psychologist and author addresses the ambiguities and embraces the controversies that surround this intriguing subject. An insightful and lucid thinker, Jerome Kagan examines what exactly we do know about emotions, which popular assumptions about emotions are incorrect, and how scientific study must proceed if we are to uncover the answers to persistent and evasive questions about emotions.
and#160;
Integrating the findings of anthropological, psychological, and biological studies in his wide-ranging discussion, Kagan explores the evidence for great variation in the frequency and intensity of emotion among different cultures. He also discusses variations among individuals within the same culture and the influences of gender, class, ethnicity, and temperament on a personand#8217;s emotional patina. In his closing chapter, the author proposes that three sources of evidenceand#151;verbal descriptions of feelings, behaviors, and measures of brain statesand#151;provide legitimate but different definitions of emotion. Translating data from one of these sources to another may not be possible, Kagan warns, and those who study emotions must acceptand#151;at least for nowand#151;that their understanding is limited to and by the domain of their information.
and#160;
Review
"This wonderful book weaves into a single strand the intellectual trajectory of a remarkable psychologist and the trajectory of his discipline over the same half century. Jerome Kagan did as much as anyone to shape the direction of psychology over that span of time, and the field, in turn, helped shape Jerome Kagan in ways he recounts with his usual combination of grace, incisiveness, and wisdom. His is a rare and special mind."—Kai Erikson, Yale University
Review
"One of the great living psychologists today reflects back on a distinguished fifty year career probing many of psychologys most central and thorny questions. Jerome Kagan is a scholar of unusual breadth who brings to bear his appreciation of history and context to our understanding of the unique properties of the human mind. Kagans penetrating analysis of mind and brain is a must read for contemporary students of both psychology and neuroscience who often fail to appreciate the constraints imposed by context on the inferences that can be drawn from experimental findings."—Richard Davidson, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Review
"Jerome Kagan's book has more wisdom in it than any book I've read in the last few years, or maybe, more than any ever."—Robert J. Sternberg, Yale University, editor of
Why Smart People Can Be So StupidReview
“Written with masterly clarity and accessibility, Kagans history of a young science and of his own contributions to it will inspire and enrich....”—
Publishers WeeklyReview
and#8220;Dr. Kaganand#8217;s book is chock-full of interesting and clever observations as well as novel insights. It is very different from other recent books on emotion and makes a definite contribution to the field.and#8221;and#8212;Lisa Feldman Barrett, Boston College
Review
and#8220;Kaganand#8217;s erudition is rare, and his commentary on issues in emotion theory and research is interesting and controversial.and#8221;and#8212;Carroll E. Izard, University of Delaware
Review
"Be prepared to read a brilliant, erudite, fascinating, and provocative work. Written by one of the few scholars who kept the study of emotion alive when once no one cared, this book tackles the results of the recent flood of emotion studies stemming from the "Affect Revolution." Professor Kagan's book is simultaneously a critical synthesis of fact and theory in contemporary emotion studies, and a controversial set of proposals for the future. This tome may be the author's most provocative and potentially impactful of his many books to date."and#8212;Joseph J. Campos, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
Review
"Just when it seemed impossible to say anything new about human emotions, Jerome Kagan provides us with a fresh perspective on one of psychology's foundational puzzles.andnbsp;Professor Kagan, whose productive career has been characterized by a razor-sharp intellect and at times contrarian stance, challenges investigators who are content to define emotions by their consequences and functions or constrain their study of emotions to events in the brain.andnbsp;Kagan believes we should stop wrangling about the definition of emotion and focus, instead, on what we can observe and describe . . . two things he had done as a research psychologist for half-century as well as anyone."and#8212;Peter Salovey, Dean of Yale College, Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology at Yale University
Review
"Psychologys Ghosts can be enjoyed by both experts and lay readers. For the latter, including persons suffering from some form of mental illness, the book represents a reliable and user friendly source of information about the present status of psychological and psychiatric research and clinical practice. For the expert it provides a compass for rethinking ones own practice and research and for reorganizing this more consistently around the principle of beneficence."—Liana Giorgi, New York Journal of Books
Review
“With its detailed reassessments of well-entrenched principles (including John Bowlbys theory that the quality of the attachment between infant and mother has a profound and enduring impact on every childs future), Psychologys Ghosts should command the interest of anyone interested in the field.”—Glenn Altschuler, The Jerusalem Post
Review
“He makes his case persuasively and readably, with extensive empirical support. For a public enamored of looking inward to genes, brain circuits and medications to find solutions to the problems that plague us privately and politically, the message that most of those solutions require us to look outward—to culture, class and context—can't be repeated often enough.”—Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal
Review
"Kagan is thorough and precise in this remarkable book. He has a chapter of positive recommendations, but as he notes, hes not the first to point out these limitations, which have so far mostly been ignored. What hes basically calling for is some humility, and acknowledgement of complexity, differences and connections."—Bill Kowinski, North Cost Journal
Review
"If anyone has the stature and wisdom to shake a finger at contemporary psychology and say "shame on you," it is Kagan . . . Though not all will agree with his contentions, few can argue with his intentions."—R.E. Osborne, Choice
Review
"Jerome Kagan's own studies of human temperament from infancy to adulthood constitute a masterpiece of research in psychology, and his new book is crammed with fascinating information gleaned from a lifetime's acquaintance with the lab and the literature. The author is immensely informed, and fills his pages with references to myriad facets of Western culture. Slogging through Psychology's Ghosts can be hard work in places, but in the end the slog is well worth the effort."—Barry Gault, Commonweal
Review
“An intellectual tour de force”: “Kagan has written a provocative and challenging book. . . .
Psychologys Ghosts . . . provide[s] a template for students and the profession to carefully consider whether our science matches our clinical practice. This consideration, in turn, provides a moment to determine whether we as psychologists feel a moral obligation to match science to practice for those we so zealously purport to serve.”—Robert G. Frank,
PsycCRITIQUES, American Psychological Association
Review
“Kagan is a master prose artisan. . . . Frankly, this book is quite amazing—James Joyce with logic and rigor, or perhaps a twenty-first century version of Montaigne. Reading this book is a rich learning experience for almost anyone.”—Jay Schulkin, Georgetown University
Synopsis
A revered psychologist invites us to re-examine our thinking about controversial contemporary issues, from the genetic basis for behaviors to the functions of education
In this thought-provoking book, psychologist Jerome Kagan urges readers to sally forth from their usual comfort zones. He ponders a series of important nodes of debate while challenging us to examine what we know and why we know it. Most critically he presents an elegant argument for functions of mind that cannot be replaced with sentences about brains while acknowledging that mind emerges from brain activity.
Kagan relies on the evidence to argue that thoughts and emotions are distinct from their biological and genetic bases. In separate chapters he deals with the meaning of words, kinds of knowing, the powerful influence of social class, the functions of education, emotion, morality, and other issues. And without fail he sheds light on these ideas while remaining honest to their complexity.
Thoughtful and eloquent, Kagan s On Being Human places him firmly in the tradition of Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne, whose appealing blend of intellectual insight, personal storytelling, and careful judgment has attracted readers for centuries."
Synopsis
In this elegantly written book, Jerome Kagan melds the history of the field of psychology during the past 50 years with the story of his own research efforts of the same period and an analysis of what he terms the currently rocky romance between psychology and biology.” As Kagan unwinds his own history, he reveals the seminal events that have shaped his career and discusses how his assumptions have changed. With full appreciation for the contributions to psychology of history, philosophy, literature, and neuroscience, he approaches a wide range of fascinating topics, including:
· the abandonment of orthodox forms of behaviorism and psychoanalysis
· the forces that inspired later-twentieth-century curiosity about young children
· why B. F. Skinner chose to study psychology
· why the study of science less often ignites imaginations today
· our societys obsession with erotic love
· the resurgence of religious fanaticism and the religious Right
Embedded in Kagans discussions is a rejection of the current notion that a mature neuroscience will eventually replace psychology. He argues that a complete understanding of brain is not synonymous with a full explanation of mind, and he concludes with a brief prediction of the next five decades in the field of psychology.
Synopsis
A leading psychologist takes a hard look at his profession today and argues for important changes in practices and attitudes
Synopsis
This book is the product of years of thought and a profound concern for the state of contemporary psychology. Jerome Kagan, a theorist and leading researcher, examines popular practices and assumptions held by many psychologists. He uncovers a variety of problems that, troublingly, are largely ignored by investigators and clinicians. Yet solutions are available, Kagan maintains, and his reasoned suggestions point the way to a better understanding of the mind and mental illness.
Kagan identifies four problems in contemporary psychology: the indifference to the setting in which observations are gathered, including the age, class, and cultural background of participants and the procedure that provides the evidence (he questions, for example, the assumption that similar verbal reports of well-being reflect similar psychological states); the habit of basing inferences on single measures rather than patterns of measures (even though every action, reply, or biological response can result from more than one set of conditions); the defining of mental illnesses by symptoms independent of their origin; and the treatment of mental disorders with drugs and forms of psychotherapy that are nonspecific to the diagnosed illness. The author's candid discussion will inspire the debate that is needed in a discipline seeking to fulfill its promises.
Synopsis
A revered psychologist invites us to re-examine our thinking about controversial contemporary issues, from the genetic basis for behaviors to the functions of education
Synopsis
In this thought-provoking book, psychologist Jerome Kagan urges readers to sally forth from their usual comfort zones. He ponders a series of important nodes of debate while challenging us to examine what we know and ask why we know it.
Kagan aims to reinvigorate interest in thought, feelings, and emotions as distinct from their biological and genetic bases. In separate chapters he deals with the meaning of words, kinds of knowing, the powerful influence of social class, the functions of education, emotion, morality, and other issues. And without fail he sheds light on these ideas while remaining honest to their complexity.
Thoughtful and eloquent, Kagan’s On Being Human places him firmly in the tradition of Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne, whose appealing blend of intellectual insight, personal storytelling, and careful judgment has attracted readers for centuries.
About the Author
Jerome Kagan is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Harvard University. During his pioneering career in developmental psychology, he received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Psychological Association, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and the author of hundreds of research papers, two textbooks, and fifteen books. He lives in Belmont, MA.