UNIT 1. Becoming a Person: Foundations 1. Carl Rogers' Life and Work: An Assessment on the 100th Anniversary of His Birth, Howard Kirschenbaum, Journal of Counseling & Development, Winter 2004Carl Rogers' was a quintessential humanistic psychologist. Kirschenbaum reviews Rogers' life and work as well as his now famous theory. 2. Mysteries of the Mind, Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, U.S. News & World Report, February 28, 2005According to this article, our inner lives are rich and interesting but often inaccessible. As Freud suggested, much of our everyday behavior is not conscious or volitionally controlled. Brain imaging and other forms of innovative research are leading the way toward understanding what may occur in the unconscious.3. Skepticism of Caricatures: B.F. Skinner Turns 100, Scott Gaynor, Skeptical Inquirer, January/February 2004Noted American behaviorist B. F. Skinner would turn 100 this year were he still alive. His theory of human behavior dominated psychology for decades. Today, there are many myths about what Skinner said and what his work really demonstrated. The author of this article deftly examines each myth and shatters it using Skinner's own words. 4. The Big Five and You: How Personality Traits Affect Behavior, Scott Geller, Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, July 2004Psychological scientitsts have identified five personality traits that appear to be universal in humans. Geller explains the five clusters of traits and describes the effect of each on everyday behavior.UNIT 2. Determinants of Behavior: Motivation, Environment, and Physiology5. What Makes You Who You Are, Matt Ridley, Time, June 2, 2003The debate about what shapes us most, environment or genes, is very old. After combing through the data, some scientists are certain that it is a combination of nature and nurture, not one or the other, that determines who we are and how we behave.6. The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, Discover, October 2002A few scientists come down heavily on the genetic explanation for human nature. That is, scientists such as Steven Pinker discredit the notion that parents mold their children. Instead, our inherited background plays a far greater role. 7. Genetic Influence on Human Psychological Traits, Thomas J. Bouchard, Current Directions in Psychological Science, August 2004Bouchard offers an important review about exactly which psychological traits are influenced by heredity. He provides information about the magnitude of genetic influence for each characteristic, but first he offers important commentary about why it is important to study the influence of genes on behaviors.8. Nature vs. Nurture: Two Brothers With Schizophrenia, Norman L. Keltner, et al., Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, July/September 2001The case of two brothers with schizophrenia is presented. Each brother was affected by multiple but sometimes different causal factors, leading the author to discuss various implications for the nature/nurture controversy. 9. The Amazing Brain: Is Neuroscience the Key to What Makes Us Human?, Richard Restak, The World & I, November 2004Neuroscience is helping psychologists and other scientists understand the brain and its functions. Important discoveries are helping researchers and practitioners make sense out of seemingly incomprehensible neurological syndromes now that we know more about neural pathways in the brain. 10. His Brain, Her Brain, Larry Cahill, Scientific American, May 2005Psychologists have long argued about whether men and women are more similar than they are different. Larry Cahill offers insight into the architecture and activity of the male and female brains. Research on sex variations in the brain might lead to sex-specific treatments for baffling brain disorders, such as schizophrenia. 11. Cultural Psychology: Studying the Exotic Other, Alana Conner Snibbe, APS Observer, December 2003Some psychologists busy themselves trying to find human universals, for example a behavior or emotion common to all human beings. Cultural psychologists, on the other hand, assume that their findings and theories are culturally variable, that is, not universal. 12. Just Do It, Laurel Naversen, Real Simple, December 1, 2004What is motivation? Why do some people fail at goal-setting? Laurel Naversen reviews new information on why it is hard to stay the course and what we can all do to fulfill our goals once we set them.13. Stand and Deliver, Maia Szalavitz, Psychology Today, July/August 2003Maintaining motivation takes work. Procrastination, which essentially is a gap between incentive and action, is a problem common to many people. Why procrastination is an everyday issue and how to overcome it is the focus of this article.UNIT 3. Problems Influencing Personal Growth14. The Biology of Aging, Geoffrey Cowley, Newsweek, Special Issue, Fall/Winter 2001As people mature, they progress through a variety of age-related changes, some biological and some psychological. Geoffrey Cowley examines these changes and makes predictions about just how long we can live. 15. And Now, the Hard Part: That Sweet Little Thing Is About to Commandeer Your Life, Lauren Picker, Newsweek, April 25, 2005Most couples look foward to the birth of their first child. But wait! Research strongly indicates that new parents face a steep decline in marital satisfaction after that sweet little thing arrives. The causes and consequences of this major swing in feelings are explored.16. Childhood Is for Children, Johann Christoph Arnold, USA Today Magazine, July 2001The pressure for children to achieve appears to be undermining childhood. Parents and schools are pressuring children to grow up too fast. Johann Arnold suggests that we ought to let children be children. 17. Kaleidoscope of Parenting Cultures, Vidya Thirumurthy, Childhood Education, Winter 2004Parenting styles differ from culture to culture. For example, some cultures value individualism while others value cooperation. Thirumurthy shares with the reader what some of the various styles are and what the impact is on children and schools.18. What American Schools Can Learn from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Margaret Zoller Booth and Grace Marie Booth, Phi Delta Kappan, December 2003The popularity of the Harry Potter books prompted the authors to compare modern American schools and their effects on children to the Hogwarts School. Surprisingly, the authors find much that the fictional school can teach, can be taught by real schools and teachers so that students are more motivated as well as inspired to love learning. 19. What Makes Teens Tick, Claudia Wallis, Time, May 10, 2004Parents have long thought that raging hormones drive their teenagers to recalcitrance and disruptiveness. A host of other changes, particularly in the brain, thrust teens toward maturity but often not without difficulty along the way.20. Staving Off Middle-Age Spread Requires Portion Control and Plenty of Exercise, Jill Wendholt Silva, Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 13, 2003Baby boomers are discovering how difficult it is to avoid a spreading waistline. In fact, health care professionals now believe that adult obesity may kill more people than does tobacco. The author discusses how to prevent being part of this plague by adopting healthier lifestyles in adulthood. 21. Midlife Crisis? Bring It On!, Nancy Gibbs, Time, May 16, 2005Most Americans think men are most likely to experience midlife crisis. Social changes, for example better educations, are giving women impetus to reinvent themselves at midlife. Why and how women accomplish this is elucidated by Nancy Gibbs. 22. The Borders of Healing, Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, U.S. News & World Report, January 17, 2005Each culture has its own way of coping with grief. Major differences are thought to exist between Eastern (interdependent) and Western (independent) cultures in how mourning occurs. This interesting article provides a close look at attendant cultural differences, for example in how people communicate and whether they seek social support in times of loss.UNIT 4. Relating to Others 23. Mirror, Mirror: Seeing Yourself As Others See You, Carlin Flora, Psychology Today, May-June 2005Perceiving others accurately is an important ability. Perceiving yourself as others see you is just as important. Such metacognitions help us negotiate the social world better. Carlin Flora explores this issue in some depth.24. What's Your Emotional IQ?, Melissa Abramovitz, Current Health 2, December 2001Emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important personality characteristic. It involves awareness of and insight into the emotions of self and others. Emotional intelligence may be as important as IQ.25. Nurturing Empathy, Julia Glass, Parenting, June/July 2001Empathy (or experiencing another's feelings) is an important human attribute. How and why empathy unfolds in young children is explained. Tips for parents who want to encourage empathetic behavior in their children are also included. 26. What Does That Mean?, Kyle Spencer, Real Simple, June 1, 2004Body language, gestures, and facial expressions are as important to interpersonal communication as is the spoken word. Just as other cultures use languages other than English, so, too, do the nonverbal expressions used in other cultures differ. A useful guide to some of these differences is offered by Kyle Spencer. 27. Deception Detection, Carrie Lock, Science News, July 31, 2004The average person thinks he or she knows exactly how to detect whether another person is lying--through gaze aversion. Social psychologists have discovered, however, that this technique is based on myth. Research on deception detection is now revealing what liars really do to give themselves away.28. Calling It Off, Pamela Paul, Time (Bonus Section), October 2003The divorce rate is high, but so too is the break-up rate of romantic relationships. One in five singles say they have broken off an engagement. The reasons are myriad. 29. Want to Stay Married? Move to Massachusetts, William Bole, Commonweal, July 16, 2004Author William Bole considers the state of marriage and divorce in the U.S., including gay marriage. Various demographic characteristics and social attitudes predict whether American couples will remain married or divorce, but causal explanations sometimes remain illusory.30. Forgiveness: Who Does It and How Do They Do It?, Michael E. McCullough, Current Directions in Psychological Science, December 2001When someone transgresses against us, normal responses are to seek revenge or to avoid the transgressor. Forgiveness may be the healthiest response and research has revealed which people are the most likely to forgive.UNIT 5. The Individual and Society 31. The Emperor's New Woes, Sean Elder, Psychology Today, March-April 2005Women's and men's roles have changed so much that men today are even less sure what women want than they were in the past. The male career track that promotes married men into leadership or executive roles often leaves their wives wondering where intimacy has gone. The same traits that make a married man successful at work may countermand his success in his marriage. Sean Elder takes a long look at this conundrum. 32. Suspicious Minds, Jedediah Purdy, The Atlantic Monthly, January/February 2003This article discusses the decline of trust in America. Faith in others and in certain institutions has been declining for several decades. Purdy details the declines in trust in business and government. Along with decreases in these two types of trust, interpersonal trust has also diminished. The author also discusses some of the reasons for this deterioration.33. 50th Anniversary: Brown v. Board of Education, Debbie O'Leary, Chalkboard, Spring/Summer 2004The year 2004 was the 50th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling that ended segregation in public schools. This insightful article chronicles this historic event and examines whether racial prejudice and discrimination indeed have ended in the United States.34. The Social Net, Bruce Bower, Science News, May 4, 2002Almost half of all American households now possess Internet access. This new means for finding information and communicating creates one large, unpredictable experiment in social interaction. Some scientists regard the Internet as an opportunity to make and keep new friends; others view the Internet as a means to pull people away from real-world interactions and make them less concerned about their real communities. 35. Work-life: Organizations in Denial, Cynthia A. Thompson, The Journal of Employee Assistance, May 2005Organizations, families, and employees all struggle to find a balance between work and family life. Imbalance in these domains can lead to depression, anger, dissatisfaction, and other negative outcomes. Several strategies exist that promote better harmony between work and family life. 36. How to Get Out Alive, Amanda Ripley, Time, May 2, 2005How do humans behave in crises such as plane crashes and building fires? Researchers have found that some individuals freeze, others look to friends and coworkers for clues as to how to behave, while only a few others mentally rehearse or look for escape routes. Why, at the worst times, our instincts fail us is the main subject of this article.37. The Collateral Psychological Damage of War, Ralph Hyatt, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education), September 2003Fatigue, battle wounds, death all around, and fear envelope war zone soldiers and cause psychological disorders. A common war-related disorder is post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Civilians who witness war can also be casualties of PTSD and other disorders.UNIT 6. Enhancing Human Adjustment: Learning to Cope Effectively 38. Are We Becoming a Nation of Depressives?, Kevin Turnquist, The Humanist, September/October 2002Is depression a Western disorder? Why is depression on the rise despite new treatments and better diagnostic methods? This essay investigates the answer to these and other important questions.39. Dear Reader: Get a Life, Pamela Paul, Psychology Today, August 2003Talk show therapists and advice columnists are more popular than ever. They are also bolder and therefore perhaps more effective than talk show therapists and columnists of old. Why this may be true is explored in this article.40. The 10 Rules of Change, Stan Goldberg, Psychology Today, September/October 2002Many individuals prefer to attempt self-change rather than formal therapy. There are tried and true methods for reinventing yourself. Ten such rules are presented in this article--for example, being is easier than becoming. 41. Drugs vs. Talk Therapy, Consumer Reports, October 2004Consumer Reports again educates readers and professionals alike with its latest survey on the efficacy of interventions for mental disorders, especially for depression and anxiety disorders. Interestingly, the research reveals that talk therapy, while not as quick, rivaled drug treatment in effectiveness.
