Psychology

Science fiction and fantasy have given programmes such as Star Trek and Doctor Who the freedom to explore controversial social issues and, on a personal level, questions of emotion, identity, memory and the perception of reality. In these books, each comprising 19 or 20 essays, the contributors analyse psychological problems raised by the adventures of the space and time explorers. The three titles included in this set are: Star Wars Psychology (Read more...) Doctor Who Psychology (Read more...) Star Trek Psychology (Read more...)

Long overshadowed by her husband, Emma Jung was a resourceful and intelligent woman who became a noted practitioner of psychoanalysis and made significant contributions to the early development of the movement. This book follows the twists and turns of the Jungs’ personal and professional lives together, from the penniless doctor’s first meeting with the teenage heiress, through the years when his numerous affairs and complex personality tested the marriage, to their achievement of greater harmony and understanding.

Beginning with defining good and evil, the questions tackled in this volume include gender psychology, archetypes, the psychology of religion and the Jedi path in terms of Jung’s theory of individuation.

This wide-ranging account of how Enlightenment philosophers developed a concept of mind explores the intellectual ground covered by English, Scottish, French and German thinkers, including the notion of the mind existing solely within, and nurtured by, the body. The author also demonstrates, with reference to Foucault, how these ideas led to mind sciences, including phrenology and psychology, and why in our own times consensus on the nature of the mind has yet to be achieved.

One night in 1970 Susan Blackmore left her body. Aware of her surroundings – the music, the room, the people – her consciousness began an expansive journey beyond Oxford and out over the ‘astral plane’. Memories of this out-of-body experience (OBE) have driven Blackmore, now a respected psychologist, to explore the nature of OBEs, including their relationship to sleep disorders, dreams, drugs and near-death experiences, and to assess the historical literature and growing scientific research surrounding them. Slightly off-mint.

This definitive collection of Sigmund Freud’s writings covers the major themes he explored in his work, and which form the basis of psychoanalysis: dreams, the unconscious, the instinctual and sexual life, and the structure of the personality.

A physician, professor of neurology and author, Oliver Sacks (1933–2015) has been described by the New York Times as 'a kind of poet laureate of contemporary medicine'. His books are made up of case histories of his patients, and explore both their neurological disorders and the strategies they adopted to cope with them. The seven cases in this volume include a colour-blind painter, prodigious feats of calculation and draughtsmanship by savants, and an autistic professor of animal science. Slightly off-mint.

A physician, professor of neurology and author, Oliver Sacks (1933–2015) has been described by the New York Times as 'a kind of poet laureate of contemporary medicine'. His books are made up of case histories of his patients, and explore both their neurological disorders and the strategies they adopted to cope with them. In this book, Sacks draws on the stories of his patients and his own experiences with hallucinogenics to show how hallucinations have influenced every culture's folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is in all of us and not confined to the mentally ill. Slightly off-mint.

A physician, professor of neurology and author, Oliver Sacks (1933–2015) has been described by the New York Times as 'a kind of poet laureate of contemporary medicine'. His books are made up of case histories of his patients, and explore both their neurological disorders and the strategies they adopted to cope with them. In Seeing Voices, a journey into the world of the profoundly deaf, Sacks examines the consequences of living in silence, including the different ways in which the deaf and the hearing learn to categorize and convey the experience of their respective worlds.

The author of the bestselling Affluenza here examines British society during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, when mental illness grew substantially even though wealth was increasing and education became more accessible. He identifies two causes: pathological comparison of ourselves with others and shifting gender relations. The book was first published in 1998; each chapter in this second edition has a postscript analysing more recent changes in society.

A pioneering work in psychology first published in 1908, this enormously influential book served as a catalyst in the study of the foundations of social behaviour. McDougall's work grounds social behaviour in biology and and he was the first to formulate a theory of human instinctive behaviour. This volume is a reprint of the 1936 (14th) edition.

Why does life speed up as we get older? Why does time seem to slow down when we fear we are about to die? Using research from psychology, neuroscience and biology, the presenter of BBC Radio 4's All In The Mind examines the idea that the experience of time is created by our minds. She also presents her own research into people's visualizations of time and suggests how we can use our brain's warping of it to our advantage.

‘The story of memory is, in the end, the story of freedom.’ From cave paintings to the internet, humans have always sought out ways to store, use and pass on information, and the complexity of human memory is unique in the animal kingdom. In this scientific history of human civilization, Michael Malone reveals how memory has been the driving force behind some of our greatest achievements, whether in terms of safety, invention, or simple human happiness.

With characteristic wit, honesty and clarity, Ruby Wax draws on her personal experiences of depression as well as her studies in psychotherapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to introduce practices that can ‘change your mind and how you think’. Explaining why the way we think about our experiences is so important for our mental health, Wax shows how to regulate mind and moods, creating healthier, happier and more flexible ways of thinking.

‘In the brain’s microscopically small circuitry is etched the history and future of our species.’ The neuroscientist David Eagleman looks deeply into what the latest brain science findings mean for our lives. Without presupposing any specialized knowledge, the book challenges readers’ assumptions as it tackles questions such as how we decide, how we perceive reality, who we are, who’s in control and where we are heading as a species.

Drawing on social, political, cognitive and psychodynamic areas of psychology, László outlines a theory and methodology which provide tools for a better understanding of the relation between the present psychological condition of a society and representations of its past.

Written by noted experts, these lucid, alphabetically organized handbooks define and discuss the central concepts, thinkers and debates in a broad range of academic disciplines.

The many different manifestations of mental illness are the subject of this panoramic work of social history. Its eminent author provocatively argues that we remain far from understanding the roots of madness and that modern psychiatry has much to learn from the responses of past societies. Scull explains how madness has been understood, through the lenses of medicine, pharmacology, religion and psychology, as a frightening challenge to the social fabric, and as a profound influence on the arts.

Lauren Slater approaches this investigation into the discovery and development of mind-altering drugs and treatments from the perspectives of both a psychology PhD and her own experience as a patient ‘sustained on a serotonin booster for decades’. The book examines the scientists, the theory and the impact of drugs from chlorpromazine, which revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia, through Prozac and MDMA (Ecstasy) to deep brain stimulation.

A popular misconception of the controversial Rorschach test, which requires subjects to interpret a series of ten inkblots, is that there are no wrong answers. For professional psychologists, however, who still use the test on defendants, interviewees and patients, certain answers can point to worrying mental health issues. This absorbing ‘double biography’ of the Swiss psychiatrist and his inkblots reveals how modernist tendencies, coupled with clinical success, enabled Rorschach’s test to move from serious psychological practice into pop culture.

Deviate attempts to ‘innovate your thinking by giving you new awareness’ of both your self-perception, which is often fixed by politics, religion or environment, and your perception of reality, which manifests through the senses and is, at best, a representation. Written by a neurologist, the book provides exercises, ‘self-experiments’ and principles which encourage you to engage with ambiguous information and self-doubt in order to gain a more creative understanding of the world.

Combining insights from groundbreaking research with anecdotes from her own life, a neuroscientist here provides an accessible introduction to the evolution and functioning of the human brain. She explains how our personalities, memories and emotions are created, considers the foods, music and activities that can supposedly benefit or harm our intellectual abilities, and examines why our big brains still make bad decisions and reward addictive behaviours.

This groundbreaking work on the science of mood disorders by the distinguished psychiatrist Peter Whybrow has now been updated to include the latest research and considers how the culture surrounding mental illness has progressed since the book was first published in 1997.Off-mint.

From the compassion shown by the Doctor towards others, to the Time Lord’s brain and regeneration, determinism and free will, personality is the main focus of these 19 essays exploring the mind of Doctor Who.

The psychology of exploration, intellect, mental illness in the 23rd century, AI, the role of sacrifice, and group dynamics are among the topics examined in this study of James T Kirk and crew.

Drawn from Western erotic literature this compilation of readings, with commentary, aims to bring into the open sometimes quite shocking sex fantasies (‘psychological stimulants underlying “normal” sexual behaviour’) and thereby reduce sexual anxieties. First published in 1969. Off-mint. Sexually explicit.

The Myers-Briggs personality test was created in the 1920s by a mother–daughter team who had been inspired by Carl Jung. This account of its history and adoption by organizations worldwide acknowledges both believers and sceptics while exploring our need to categorize our ‘true selves’.

Mariano Sigman’s bestselling examination of human thought begins by asking how babies communicate and goes on to explore how we relate to our unconscious mind, what happens when we dream and why the brain is constantly changing. This concise, approachable guide to neuroscience questions how we perceive, reason, feel and communicate, with the aim of better comprehending the inner workings of the human brain and understanding ourselves and others more deeply.

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Eric R Kandel, recipient of a Nobel Prize for his pioneering research, demonstrates how studies of brain disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, have improved our understanding of the close connections between neurological and psychiatric illnesses. He discusses the ways in which these findings are not only contributing to the development of effective treatments but are also helping to explain the mysterious origins of consciousness and creativity in the intricate interactions of brain cells.

The latest techniques for imaging the brain have enabled scientists to see some of the biological mechanisms that create our thoughts, memories, feelings and perceptions. This book describes these first insights into the secrets of the brain, with illustrations based on scans which have helped to explain a range of phenomena, from dyslexia and obsessive behaviour to schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, and reveal how our culture has been shaped by the ebb and flow of our neurotransmitters.

All London cab drivers must pass a formidable test, known as ‘The Knowledge’, on the layout of the city. Licensed cabbie Robert Lordan reveals the tricks used to memorize a bewildering amount of information – techniques applicable in many other areas of life. They include mnemonics, inventing stories, using history, the ‘Room Method’, and personal association. Illustrated with route maps and drawings throughout.

Our heads contain the most complex information-processing device in the known universe, but even a biological supercomputer has its bugs and weaknesses, from déjà vu to our propensity to make stupid decisions. This guide to the brain’s workings explains what neuroscience has revealed about our conscious and unconscious minds, our memories, intelligence and creativity. It also contains experiments that you can do yourself to demonstrate glitches in perception, and offers tips on using your 86 billion neurons more effectively.

Why do some memories remain vivid while others fade; and who are we when we dream or when dementia has altered our personality? Sharing insights from her own clinical practice, a consultant neurologist here sets out the latest research that is revealing how many of our assumptions about consciousness are deeply flawed. She also considers questions of legal responsibility in cases of changed personalities and reveals how neurological disorders can awaken talent and creativity.

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