Psych: The Story of the Human Mind By Paul Bloom

Thank you to Ecco and to Net Galley for this eARC. This text will be published on February 28, 2023.

As a teacher of a trauma theory class, I wanted to find a text that offered an introduction to psychology for my students. At the moment, I tend to use Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score. While the beginning of this book offered potential, I found that by the end of this book, I was entertained, but there are some major flaws within the text.

While I appreciate the book is well-researched and contains extensive notes, one of the areas in the text I took issue with was the chapters on lust and relationships. Though the second half of the book does a nice job discussing the nature of LGBTQ+ relationships, this chapter really negates any sexual act outside of procreation. It also makes a short nod to the debate about gender dysphoria as a diagnosis, but largely ignores trans populations. I recognize that this is meant to be a generalized overview, but I couldn't use this text in my class because of these portions, which largely ignore their formative experiences.

I also thought the section of abnormal psychology was way too brief. Good for old-school psychology, but not contemporary enough for me. 9780063096356 I received Psych: The Story of the Human Mind in a Goodreads giveaway. The expected publication date, is February 28, 2023.

Psychology professor Paul Bloom teaches Introduction to Psychology at Yale. Psych is an introduction to Introduction to Psychology. This is an excellent overview of the history of and current ideas in the field of psychology. It offers a very accessible tour with enough depth to generate more curiosity.

This was an excellent book covering a whole range of topics. Freud, Skinner, mental illness, depression, anxiety, happiness, cognitive biases, consciousness, IQ, past experiments and their validity, replication crises, memory, personality, perception, and more.

This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the brain and psychology.

I thought the section on abnormal psychology was too brief. 9780063096356 Review of an uncorrected proof. Thank you to Ecco Press for allowing me to win this through Goodreads giveways.

I will admit to being a bit biased, having watched Paul Bloom's Intro to Psychology lectures on both YouTube and again in a slightly different format on Coursera (and really enjoyed them), but this was an excellent book on its own, covering a whole range of topics. Freud, Skinner, mental illness, depression, anxiety, happiness, cognitive biases, racism, consciousness, IQ, past experiments and their validity, replication crises, memory, personality, perception, and so much more is excellently explored and explained in Psych. 100% worth the read and even better when combined with the aforementioned courses. 9780063096356 Basically, it is a college course in psychology in one book. This sounds cool because I thought that it might be directed toward an average reader. I have never been so painfully wrong. Painfully, mostly because my psychology-loving brain was brought into trans after a couple of pages. I do not remember much from this book, yet I do remember almost everything from my college textbook. Mostly because the author decided to diverge more than was necessary, making discussion and argument towards things that supposedly nobody does, hence my thought about who should be an audience. This surprises me even more because allegedly he is a college professor. From where I stand, I'd hate learning from him. Instead of having a nice compendium of psych knowledge, there are much of random facts that are explained on endless pages at the time with no conclusion in sight. I think I'd rather read research papers.

As much, as I requested this book from @netgalley I do not recommend it unless you are an expert in the matter and want to build on the knowledge and experience you already have. 9780063096356 I enjoyed this book. Its main strength was the clear explanations of psychology when explanations were known, and great discussions where knowledge was lacking. The tone is conversational and witty. Bloom was very good at separating fact from fiction and honestly discussing the strengths and weaknesses of psychology. Bloom also had good discussions of contradictory data that never left me confused. In general, his discussions about how science works are excellent. Bloom made great use of quotes and humor - I even laughed out loud a couple of times. This is great science writing. Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for the digital review copy. 9780063096356

Read & Download Psych: The Story of the Human Mind

A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read A compelling and accessible new perspective on the modern science of psychology, based on one of Yale’s most popular courses of all time How does the brain—a three-pound wrinkly mass—give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Was Freud right that we are all plagued by forbidden sexual desires? What is the function of emotions such as disgust, gratitude, and shame? Renowned psychologist Paul Bloom answers these questions and many more in Psych , his riveting new book about the science of the mind. Psych is an expert and passionate guide to the most intimate aspects of our nature, serving up the equivalent of a serious university course while being funny, engaging, and full of memorable anecdotes. But Psych is much more than a comprehensive overview of the field of psychology. Bloom reveals what psychology can tell us about the most pressing moral and political issues of our time—including belief in conspiracy theories, the role of genes in explaining human differences, and the nature of prejudice and hatred. Bloom also shows how psychology can give us practical insights into important issues—from the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety to the best way to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Psych is an engrossing guide to the most important topic there is: it is the story of us. Psych: The Story of the Human Mind

Psych by Paul Bloom is an excellent overview of the history of and current ideas in the field of psychology. Based partly on his teaching outline for his Intro to Psychology course, this offers a very accessible tour with enough depth to generate even more curiosity.

I first heard of Bloom when I took one of his MOOCs back in 2014 (or so) and have since taken another one as well as read several of his books. One of the strong aspects of his other books has been his voice, you can almost hear him (if you have taken one of his courses). Coupled with the almost conversational tone you learn so much without realizing it, like when you're talking with a friend who is knowledgeable, and you suddenly realize how much you now understand. I was actually surprised, quite pleasantly, by how much of that delivery made it into this book.

This is not a textbook but offers the reader a similar type of tour. Just far more interesting and less sleep-inducing. An ideal book to build a course around, basically doing the opposite of what Bloom did. I don't, however, want to emphasize that. This is a wonderful book for those who simply want a better understanding of what psychology is and, as a result, who we as human beings are. Don't be put off by talk of formal courses, this is that rare book that easily serves both formal learning and informal self-education.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in how we think and feel, and why. Whether you have previous education in the field or just coming to it, this will reward you.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. 9780063096356 I don’t know how Paul Bloom does it, but he just keeps writing incredible books. He’s one of my favorite psychology and philosophy writers, and this book didn’t disappoint. This book was longer than I expected, but I breezed through it because I couldn’t put it down. Paul does such an incredible job teaching the history of psychology while also discussing how it affects us in everyday life as well as some of the controversies throughout the history of psychological research.

When I heard this book was about “the history of psychology”, I figured I wouldn’t like it because I’m not a huge history book fan, but I loved this book. It felt less like a history book and more like what I imagine Paul’s introductory to psych class is (which is what inspired this book).

My son is 14 and getting interested in human behavior and psychology like myself, and I can’t wait to read this book again with him. If you’re even slightly interested in psychology, you need to get this book ASAP.
9780063096356 لن يشكل اللاوعي مشكلة لو كان مثل جهاز كمبيوتر عقلاني يراعي مصلحتك. لكن كما يراه لفرويد ، إنه فوضوي - ثالوث مثير للجدل ، مع ثلاث عمليات متميزة في صراع عنيف.

العملية الأولى هي الهو ، وهو موجود منذ الولادة. هذا هو الجزء الحيواني من الذات. الهو يريد أن يأكل ويشرب ويفرز ويحصل على اللذة الحسية. إنه يعمل وفقًا لما أسماه فرويد مبدأ اللذة - إنه يريد إشباعًا فوريًا.
للأسف ، العالم لا يعمل بهذه الطريقة. نادرًا ما يتم إشباع رغبات حتى أكثر الأطفال تدليلًا - على الفور. قد يرغب الطفل في الحليب ، لكن ثدي الأم غير متوفر ؛ يحتاج الطفل إلى عناق ، ولكن الأم في الغرفة الأخرى.

يؤدي فشل العالم في إعطائك ما تريد إلى نظام ثانٍ يسمى الأنا. هذا هو المكان الذي ينبثق فيه الوعي - الأنا هي أنت. مع ظهور الأنا ، يحدث بعض الفهم للواقع ؛ تمكّنك الأنا من إشباع رغباتك بشكل عملي أو قمعها. هنا نرى مبدأ الواقع في العمل.

في وقت لاحق من التطور ، يصبح الثالوث كاملاً - تظهر الأنا العليا. هذا هو الجزء من العقل الذي يستوعب مدونة أخلاقية ما ، أولاً من الوالدين ، ثم من المجتمع بشكل عام. قد يرغب الطفل الغاضب في ضرب والده على وجهه ، فيفعل ذلك قبل أن يكون واعياً . في وقت لاحق ، بعد تشكل الأنا ، يعتقد الطفل أن هذا الفعل سيكون له نتيجة سيئة - غضب الأب - وبالتالي يمتنع عن ذلك. ولكن بعد ذلك بوقت طويل ، يقرر الطفل امتلاك الأنا العليا ، كبح جماح نفسه لمجرد أنه الفعل خاطئ. في مرحلة معينة ، يتم كبح رغبات المرء ليس فقط بسبب الخوف من العواقب ولكن من خلال الإيمان بنوع معين من القواعد الأخلاقية.
.
Paul Bloom
Psych
Translated By #Maher_Razouk 9780063096356 Fantastic read! Paul Bloom offers an insightful and highly engaging read on psychological science. This is the psych class i would have lived in college, and if i were still teaching, this is the book i would use. Highly recommend, even for psychologists like myself. 9780063096356 My full review at Holodoxa -> https://stetson.substack.com/p/the-st...

Psych: The Story of the Human Mind by psychology professor Paul Bloom is a distillation of the lessons of his Pscyh 101 course. It is a course he's taught at top universities and was broadly popular. The book is organized into five sections: Foundations, Thinking, Appetites, Relations, and Differences. Bloom focuses on high impact psychological findings and concepts and the ideas of famous psychologists. The work is meaty, coming in at roughly 450 pages, but there are of course things that have to be omitted. However, I think Bloom's chosen selections will be resonant and meaningful to his target audience, curious lay readers. Plus, he bravely and delicately addresses controversial ideas and findings and gently illustrates which models have withstood scientific reappraisal and which haven't.

In the prologue to the work Bloom provides a great summary of what a reader will learn about modern psychology from this book:

We'll see that modern psychology accepts a mechanistic conception of mental life, one that is materialist (seeing the mind as a physical thing), evolutionary (seeing our psychologies as the product of biological evolution, shaped to a large extent by natural selection), and causal (seeing our thoughts and actions as the product of the forces of genes, culture, and individual experience).

.

I guess I am a bit of a Paul Bloom fan. I've read three of Bloom's other books (Against Empathy, Just Babies, and The Sweet Spot) and have found them eminently accessible yet thoughtful. I enjoy his writing and share many of his interests and ideas. I often return to things his work introduced me too to learn more about them. This remains true with Psych. Given that I am fairly well-read in psychology content and have read his other books, much of the content was familiar to me. Despite this, I wasn't bored by the work at all. Bloom often quotes from the work of others I've read too: Harden, Pinker, Ritchie, and Henrich. This tended to serve as a nicer refresher of those works. Bloom also filled in his own perspective on their ideas, which was enriching. So I think many readers can enjoy Psych even though it may be best suited for those with less exposure to psychology.

I most enjoyed the early and late portions of the book. I felt those were highest yield and will matter most to audiences. It may also just be a function of what I am most interested in. The only thing that I think the work needed more of was methodology and statistics. Bloom does discuss metascientific concepts like p-hacking and HARKing in order to report on the replication crisis that especially afflicts the field of social psychology (he also touches on conditional probability), but it would be helpful for lay readers to have some more on the basics of experimental design, inference testing, effect sizes, and factor analysis where relevant to topics.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in a good introduction to modern psychology. It will help many shake off some old but popular ideas from the likes of Freud and Skinner, and it will introduce many to exciting science about the mind.

Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC through Netgalley 9780063096356