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Books > Social sciences > Psychology > General
Humanity has thrown everything we have at implacable luck-novel
theologies, entire philosophical movements, fresh branches of
mathematics-and yet we seem to have gained only the smallest edge
on the power of fortune. The Myth of Luck tells us why we have been
fighting an unconquerable foe. Taking us on a guided tour of one of
our oldest concepts, we begin in ancient Greece and Rome,
considering how Plato, Plutarch, and the Stoics understood luck,
before entering the theoretical world of probability and exploring
how luck relates to theology, sports, ethics, gambling, knowledge,
and present-day psychology. As we travel across traditions, times
and cultures, we come to realize that it's not that as soon as we
solve one philosophical problem with luck that two more appear,
like heads on a hydra, but rather that the monster is altogether
mythological. We cannot master luck because there is nothing to
defeat: luck is no more than a persistent and troubling illusion.
By introducing us to compelling arguments and convincing reasons
that explain why there is no such thing as luck, we finally see why
in a very real sense we make our own luck, that luck is our own
doing. The Myth of Luck helps us to regain our own agency in the
world - telling the entertaining story of the philosophy and
history of luck along the way.
In all facets of life, most people strive for success. This could
mean getting a promotion to vice-president, making the high school
basketball team, having your children grow up to be good citizens,
or getting the family together for holidays. Many of the elements
of success are likely to include recovering from failure, short and
long-term goals, perseverance, focused concentration, coping with
adversity and keeping confident despite obstacles. To be successful
requires many of these attributes and some people might consider
them to be ingredients of mental toughness. But what is mental
toughness? Let's look at the following examples and you can decide
whether the person is mentally tough or not. A basketball player is
injured and despite the fact that he may re-injure himself and hurt
his long-term career, he decides to play in the championship game
to help his teammates. A businesswoman is feeling really sick but
she has a big presentation scheduled for today. Even though she
might not be at her very best she "sucks it up" takes some medicine
and goes into work to deliver her presentation. Are these examples
of mental toughness or not? Would your conclusion be any different
based on the outcome of the situation? For example would you say
the businesswoman was mentally tough if she gave a great
presentation but should have stayed home if, due to her illness,
gave a poor presentation? These are difficult decisions, and people
will typically come to different conclusions concerning what is
mental toughness.In this book, I will provide evidence regarding
the meaning of mental toughness. Its component will be broken down
and tips for how to build mental toughness will be provided. So get
started on the journey of understanding mental toughness and taking
concrete steps to become more mentally tough.
The Rolling Stones (now in their 60s) have sung to us for years
about "what a drag it is getting old," but it doesn't have to be
that way. Despite living in a youth-oriented society, many of the
aged patients seen by Dr. Levine have kept their emotional zest,
intellectual zeal, and empowering dignity. Levine points out
well-known public figures who are clearly aging with dignity and
vitality. The neurologist author shows steps we can take to age
while retaining these qualities, defying a society that challenges
this quest. Living longer is not enough for most of us: we don't
want to just survive. The quality of our life as we age is most
important, and much of that depends on our attitudes and approach.
The text includes strategies to optimize self-esteem as well as
health, including attention to nurtrition, exercise, health care,
education and mind stimulation, sexuality, social activities, and
cosmetics and cosmetic surgery. Readers are shown the physiological
facts of aging, from cellular to systemic changes. The most common
diseases in old age are described, and actions are suggested to
avoid many of the diseases. Levine also explores how the disorders
change abilities and self-perception.
Life at Full Throttle transports the reader into the unpredictable
world of the AD/HD adult in a manner that is highly engaging, while
providing insightful and well-researched information on this topic.
As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Avery has evaluated over two
thousand individuals for AD/HD, and has developed a well-grounded
understanding of the type of information that is most helpful to
AD/HD adults, as well as a style of delivery that is well received
and appreciated by AD/ HD clients and their families. Having lived
with this condition her entire life, and being a mother who has
parented two children with attention deficits, Dr. Avery speaks of
AD/HD with both insight and humor.
This work traces the origins and evolution of the concept of
humor in psychology from ancient to modern times with an emphasis
on an experimental/empirical approach to the understanding of humor
and sense of humor. In addition to more than 3,000 important
citations and references pertaining to the history, theories, and
definitions of the concept of humor, this reference guide contains
more than 380 recent (post-1970) annotated entries on the
psychology of humor in its bibliographic section.
The book describes various psychological, nonpsychological, and
philosophical theories and definitions of humor, and focuses on the
methodological concerns of psychologists regarding the scientific
investigation of humor. The bibliography is organized under 10
categories, including Bibliographies and Literature Reviews of
Humor, Cognition and Humor, Methodology and Measurement of Humor,
and Social Aspects of Humor.
Concise and accessible overview of key concepts of the psychology
of aging by a renowned scholar and practitioner on the topic, for
use in the classroom as a supplement to developmental and clinical
psychology courses, and a valuable resource for interdisciplinary
studies with a focus on gerontology. Aging 101 dispels common myths
about the older and aging population and provides a wealth of
evidence-based information that introduces aging theory, many
common problem areas that impinge on older adults, as well as
treatment approaches. This reader-friendly, compact book explores
how psychologists understand and treat Alzheimer's disease and
dementia patients, and their caregivers; older adult sexuality
including the unique sexual problems confronting gay male, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender older adults; older adult abuse; substance
abuse; and issues surrounding death and dying, among other
compelling topics.
This book is a study of religious ecstasy, and the ways that it has
been suppressed in both the academic study of religion, and in much
of the modern practice of religion. It examines the meanings of the
term, how ecstatic experience is understood in a range of
religions, and why the importance of religious and mystical ecstasy
has declined in the modern West. June McDaniel examines how the
search for ecstatic experience has migrated into such areas as war,
terrorism, transgression, sexuality, drug use, and
anti-institutional forms of spirituality. She argues that the loss
of religious and mystical ecstasy, as both a religious goal and as
a topic of academic study, has had wide-ranging negative effects.
She also proposes that the field of religious studies must go
beyond criminalizing, trivializing and pathologizing ecstatic and
mystical experiences. Both religious studies and theology need to
take these states seriously as important aspects of lived human
experience.
"Bitter Sweet Secret Assignment" is a book about a young, beautiful
half blood Jewish journalist. She wanted to experience the
revolution adventure in Suriname which ended in a different
disaster. Her love for the business man Chris Nepal abrubtly ended
in a horrible nightmare on their wedding night. The revolution
regime was after her for a secret list of names of people who were
against the revolution. Smuggling contraband goods together between
South American countries had developed a great friendship between
her brother and him. After her two brothers' mysterious deaths she
had no choice but to escape to Europe. Years later she married
Thomas Swan who was suffering from dementia and was confronted
again with his memory of World War II. Later her friendship with
the Italian missionary Tony Brocelli was a hidden secret, battling
with faith and her everlasting love... Trying to cover up all
hidden amazing secrets with normal christian diplomatic behavior
only ended up with sadness, pain, depression and a broken heart.
Suddenly the young successful Andrew Archer appeared again in her
life. He has new ideas of business, medical research, and
agriculture. He introduced Lena to one of his new methods of
physiological training. This project was mainly to help educated
and business people recover from an economic depression and a
broken heart. Also the upcoming teenage rage caused them to suffer
from anorexia and bulimia. The American psychiatrist Beth Carr and
the Japanese Neurosurgeon Lee Chan discovered her weird behavior.
And Andrew Archer exposed all the hidden dark secrets...his
identification, complicated family, death, ancestry
The Harrowed Path describes the experience in 1972 of a 21 year old
man struggling to come to terms with experiences diagnosed as
Schizophrenia. It is a vivid and compelling account of events both
within and out-with his fractured consciousness. The story
describes the breakdown of all his normal ability and perception
and their replacement with a terrifying, debilitating and
self-destructive inner world. It depicts his extraordinary struggle
and many lost battles. It describes the various types of help
offered, both medical and non-medical. Finally it outlines the
experience of his healing. All this takes place within the vivid
landscapes of London, Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
Through this opportunity, I wish to reach out to new mums who like
me are going through a whirlpool of emotions and at the same time
playing the role of a perfect mother. And also, I wish to bring up
the fact that we as young parents amidst all the hush-hush of our
versatile lifestyles, do not find time to treasure the childhood of
our little one. This compilation would be a way to learn, to
cherish and to ponder over some basic issues of parenthood.
The Lost and Found Box: A Provocative Exploration about
Rediscovering Happiness and the REAL You Whether you lost a portion
of yourself in a romantic relationship or forgot what really makes
you happy, The Lost and Found Box is a tool to explore who you used
to be, who you are, and who you could be. This book will help you
identify those "treasures" in your box to empower you to give
yourself the best of you "This book reminds us of how easy it is to
get lost in our relationships and careers. However, after reminding
us, Wadley offers analysis that is sure to assist the reader in
finding and reclaiming that which was lost or given away." F. Carl
Walton, Ph.D. Associate Vice President for Student Development
Lincoln University "If you are willing to admit that you lost a
part of yourself along the way in life and are ready to get back
what you lost, this is the book for you." George James, LMFT
Therapist, Speaker, Professor & Consultant www.GeorgeTalks.com
/ Twitter: @GeorgeTalksLLC "The Lost and Found Box is a great
relationship compass to stay or get back on the right track to a
healthy relationship. Dr. Wadley has written a book that should be
required reading for all couples." Walker Tisdale III
Founder/Publisher Healthblackmen.org "Clever approach with helping
people empower themselves first, then their relationship. Great
advice for anyone seeking to be happy and loved." Reggie Ware CEO
of Blackdoctor.org "In one very engaging and thought provoking
read, Dr. Wadley has managed to accomplish what no Road Atlas,
Thompson's Guide or even the most technologically advanced GPS
system on the market can do, and that is truly locate and identify
who and where we are in a relationship." Michael A. Courts Social
Media Expert
Changing Behaviours charts the emergence of the behavior change
agenda in UK based public policy making since the late 1990s. By
tracing the influence of the behavioural sciences on Whitehall
policy makers, the authors explore a new psychological orthodoxy in
the practices of governing. Drawing on original empirical material,
chapters examine the impact of behavior change policies in the
fields of health, personal finance and the environment. This
topical and insightful book analyses how the nature of the human
subject itself is re-imagined through behavior change, and develops
an analytical framework for evaluating the ethics, efficacy and
potential empowerment of behavior change. This unique book will be
of interest to advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and academics
in a range of different disciplines. In particular, its
inter-disciplinary focus on key themes in the social sciences - the
state, citizenship, the meaning and scope of government - will make
it essential reading for students of political science, sociology,
anthropology, geography, policy studies and public administration.
In addition, the book s focus on the practical use of psychological
and behavioral insights by politicians and policy makers should
lead to considerable interest in psychology and behavioural
economics. Contents: Preface 1. Changing Behaviours and 'New Models
of Man' 2. The Rise of the Psychological State in the UK 3. In the
Heat of the Moment: Gambling and Saving Behaviours 4. Replanning
the Street: Changing Behaviours by Spatial Design 5. Governing the
Body: Addressing the Temptations of Food and Alcohol 6. Greening
the Brain: The Pro-Environmental Behaviour Change Agenda
Conclusion: Nudge, Think, Steer, Punch! Searching for the Real
Third Way References Index
Originally published in 1970, this was Peter Herriot's first book.
In this objective, critical evaluation of a rapidly expanding
field, Professor Herriot examines language as skilled behaviour,
generative linguistics and psychology, behaviourist approaches to
meaning, language acquisition and impairment, and language and
thought. He stresses throughout the necessity for empirical
research and for experimental verification of hypotheses; he also
feels that language behaviour should be analysed in a comprehensive
form, placing emphasis not only on structural aspects but also on
the importance of meaning and context to any account of language.
Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.
How is speech produced and understood in the context of everyday
communication? First published in 1975, this book is considered one
the best of the early books in this field. The task of
psycholinguistics is to discover how people produce and comprehend
speech. This encompasses virtually all aspects of psychology,
including perceptual, conceptual, and social processes. The authors
tried to capture the flavour of this approach to the psychology of
language by describing the major contemporary issues, problems, and
phenomena, of the time, being dealt with in laboratories and in
field studies, and by trying to make sense of the data they had.
Experimental Psycholinguistics: An Introduction does not try to
deal exhaustively with any one issue in linguistics or in
psychology. Rather it tries to integrate the authors' knowledge of
language and language behaviour so that someone entering the field
has an intelligible framework with which to start.
Originally published in 1978, the contributors to this volume,
including the leading figures in experimental psychopathology, were
largely concerned with deducing the behaviour of schizophrenics
from general psychological theories of language, learning and
cognition. Their emphasis on deduction reflected a modern reliance
on laboratory experimentation, and, taken as a whole, the chapters
cover the breadth and variety of current approaches of the time to
the study of schizophrenic language and cognition. The first part
of the volume is concerned with recent developments in the study of
schizophrenic language. The second part deals with various aspects
of schizophrenic cognition. The final chapter, by the editor,
attempts to review and integrate what was currently known about
schizophrenic cognition and language. This chapter contrasts the
various experimental methodologies used to validate theories by
pointing out areas of agreement and disagreement as well as
possible directions for future theory and research. Here is a book
that at the time presented the most up-to-date overview available
on language and thought in schizophrenia. Today it can be read and
enjoyed in its historical context.
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