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Popular Books on Psychology
Developmental Domain
Baron, N. (1992). Growing up with language. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
- Growing up examines language development in children, and how to facilitate it.
Colapinto, J. ( 2000). As Nature Made Him. New York: HarperCollins.
- This is the story of a boy who was raised as a girl until the age of 14.
Corner, J. P., & Pouissant, A. F. (1992). Raising Black children. New York: Plume.
- Two African American professors offer advice on improving the self-esteem and identity of Black children.
D’Augelli, A. R., & Patterson, C. J. (Eds.). (1995). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities over the lifespan: Psychological perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
- This book contains chapters that cover the full range of developmental issues for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Chapters include multicultural issues, biological and social constructionist views of development, couples and families, adolescents, midlife, aging, and community issues. The chapter on bisexual identities will be especially useful to those having difficulty finding material on this topic, although bisexuality is addressed in many of the other chapters as well.
Davis , M., Eshelman, E. R., & McKay, M. (2000). The relaxation and stress reduction workbook (5 th ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
- This workbook provides a step-by-step program for relaxing and reducing stress and instructions for engaging in various kinds of relaxation techniques.
Dixon , W. E. (2003). Twenty studies that revolutionized child psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Dixon provides an overview of child psychology research by examining the 20 most revolutionary scientific investigations in the field since 1950.
Doyle, J. (2001). The male experience (4 th ed). Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill.
- This comprehensive text covers a wide range of topics related to being male in contemporary society.
Dunn, J., & Plomin, R. (1990). Separate lives: Why siblings are so different. New York: Basic Books.
- This book explores the concept of “nonshared environments” that have a profound effect on people—environmental events that affect only certain individuals in a family and cause them to differ from others in the same family, often to a surprising degree. It includes a discussion of the practical implications of all this as well as many examples from real-life biographies.
Eliot, L. (1999). What’s going on there?: How the brain and mind develop in the first five years of life. New York: Bantam Books.
- A thought-provoking book, it charts the brain's development from conception through the critical first 5 years. Eliot provides parents and other caregivers with many ways in which they can help their children grow better brains.
Elkind, D. (1997). All grown up and no place to go: Teenagers in crisis (Rev. ed.). Cambridge , MA : Perseus Books Group.
- In this highly regarded book on adolescence, Elkind discusses the nature of adolescence and focuses especially on the pressure to grow up quickly that has characterized adolescence in the United States during the late 20 th century.
Erikson, E. H. (1963, 1993). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
- This Pulitzer Prize-winning book examines the challenges of childhood from a psychoanalytic view.
Friend, R. A. (1991). Older lesbian and gay people: A theory of successful aging. Journal of Homosexuality, 20(3-4), 99-118.
- This article contains statements of the adaptive advantages of lesbian and gay people in regard to stress, coping, and life transitions. It discusses aspects of the “coming out” processes that are thought to prepare lesbian/gay/bisexual people quite well for the challenges of aging.
Gopnik, A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kuhl, P. K. (1999). The scientist in the crib: Minds, brains, and how children learn. New York: William Marrow and Co.
- Noting that children and scientists are the best learners “in the world,” the authors provide a readable, concise summary of recent research on early childhood development.
Hartman, E. (1991). Boundaries in the mind: New psychology of personality.
New York: Basic Books.
- Hartmann makes a strong case for the validity of boundaries as a psychological tool, offering much to the ongoing study of personality, the mind, and the organization of the brain.
Hechinger, F. (1992). Fateful choices. New York: Hill & Wang.
- The challenge of healthy and happy adolescence is the focus of this highly praised text, which stresses the connection between health and education.
Jackendorf, R. (1994). Patterns in the mind: Language and human behavior. New York: Basic Books.
- This book examines the structure of language and how children learn language; presents modern linguistics in light of the cognitive revolution.
Kagan, J. (1994). Galen’s prophecy: Temperament in human nature. New York: Basic Books.
- A highly readable account by an eminent psychologist, this book is about evidence for inborn temperament. It focuses on evidence that some children are born inhibited and others are born uninhibited, and the implications of this fact for understanding shyness and other aspects of adult personality.
Keirsey, D., & Bates, M. (1984). Please Understand Me: Character and temperament types. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus.
- This adopts the theory of psychological types of Carl Jung and the methodology of Isabel Myers in producing a useful vocabulary and phraseology for applying the Jung-Meyers concepts of type.
Lane, H. (1976). The wild boy of Aveyron. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.
- This is a scholarly account of a boy whose early life was spent in the wild forests of Aveyron in southern France in the late 1700s. He was eventually captured, institutionalized, and then sent to Paris for study and display. This book is a fascinating account, which also looks at the question of why he stirred such intense interest and the implications of what was learned for the distinction between humans and other animals.
Levinson, D. J. (1986). The seasons of a man’s life. New York: Ballantine.
- This best seller describes the author’s view of stages in adult male development. It includes cases from Levinson’s research program as well as from biographies and literature.
Levinson, D. J., & Levinson, J.D. (1996). The seasons of a woman’s life. New York: Knopf.
- This book complements Levinson’s previous book The Seasons of Man’s Life, by offering a woman’s perspective of adult development.
Lifton, B. J. (1994). Journey of the adopted self: A quest for wholeness. New York: Basic Books.
- This book discusses the inner world of those adopted who struggle with their biological status. Written by a strong advocate for open adoptions, it includes case studies as well as lists of support groups.
Marcus, G. (2004). The birth of the mind: How a tiny number of genes creates the complexities of human thought. New York: Basic Books.
- This text illustrates how the human genome is intertwined with brain development.
Mindness, H. (1988). Makers of psychology: The personal factor. New York: Insight Books.
- Mindness analyzes the personal lives and careers of Freud, Jung, Skinner, Rogers, and Erickson to support his thesis that each of these psychologist's theories and techniques are projections of the therapist's own personality traits.
Rymer, R. (1993). Genie. New York: HarperCollins.
- This powerful story discusses the tragedy of a neglected child who grew up without language or social stimulation.
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1990). Gay and lesbian youth: Expressions of identity. New York, NY: Hemisphere.
- This good overview of issues youths face is based on research as well as personal stories. It is especially useful for secondary and undergraduate teachers who are working with this age group.
Stern, D. M. (1990). Diary of baby: What your child sees, feels and experiences. New York: Basic Books.
- This text traces the development of baby Joey from infancy to 4 years of age. The author describes the development of volition, memory and a sense of self as he interprets an infant's reaction to sensory and emotional experiences.
Sulloway, F. J. (1997). Born to rebel: Birth order, family dynamics, and creative lives. New York : Pantheon.
- This provocative book explores how birth order influences personality development.
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