my mind on books

My first book review on Metapsychology Online Reviews appeared this week, a review of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling. To supplement the review I’m posting here links to some of the sites and books mentioned in Snoop or related to the book.

The website for the book has a links page so I won’t duplicate any of those links.

The Characters of Theophrastus, early Greek personality study.

Sanjay Srinivastava’s website is cited in the Notes “for a good brief introduction to the Big Five” p. 234).

Dan P. McAdams, “What do we know when we know a person?” (link to abstract)
books by Dan P. McAdams

Gait Recognition research at Georgia Institute of Technology

The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis, fiction about personality faking.

A recent VSL: Science item on Facebook narcissism is very much in the spirit of Snoop

The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin offers an unusual look into the mind of a chess champion who went on to master Tai Chi Push Hands form. Waitzkin realized that what he is really best at is learning, and this book is his attempt to lay out a systematic methodology for learning. He exemplifies the incremental approach to intelligence described by Carol Dweck in Mindset and other books. (Dweck is discussed in Chapter 3 of this book.)

Here are a couple of excerpts from The Art of Learning:

In every discipline, the ability to be clearheaded, present, cool under fire is much of what separates the best from the mediocre….
While more subtle, this issue is perhaps even more critical in solitary pursuits such as writing, painting, scholarly thinking or learning. In the absence of continual external reinforcement, we must be our own monitor, and quality of presence is often the best gauge. We cannot expect to touch excellence if “going through the motions” is the norm of our lives. On the other hand, if deep, fluid presence becomes second nature, then life, art, and learning take on a richness that will continually surprise and delight. Those who excel are those who maximize each moment’s creative potential — for these masters of living, presence to the day-to-day learning process is akin to that purity of focus others dream of achieving in rare climactic moments when everything is on the line. (p. 172)

…Three steps [are] critical to resilient, self-sufficient performance. First we learn to flow with distraction, like that blade of grass bending to the wind. Then we learn to use distraction, inspiring ourselves with what initially would have thrown us off our games. Finally we learn to re-create the inspiring settings internally. (p. 200)

Author’s website

Authors@Google: Josh Waitzkin

Among its many virtues, Jack Kornfield’s new book The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology has a “related readings” section (p. 402-407) that provides a good comprehensive bibliography of the intersection of Buddhism and psychotherapy. I hope the author doesn’t mind that I’ve copied it here with links to Amazon for further book information. (Probably the link doesn’t always match the edition given in the bibliography.)

Aronson, Harvey.  Buddhist Practice on Western Ground: Reconciling Eastern Ideals and Western Psychology Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2004.

Baer, Ruth A. Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician’s Guide to Evidence Base and Applications Burlington, Mass.: Academic Press, 2006.

Begley, Sharon. Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves New York: Random House, 2007.

Bennett-Goleman, Tara. Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart New York: Harmony Books, 2001.

Bien, Thomas, and Bien, Beverly. Mindful Recovery: A Spiritual Path to Healing from Addiction New York: John Wiley, 2002.

Brach, Tara. Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha. New York: Bantam Dell, 2003.

Brazier, David. Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind New York: John Wiley, 1995.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: HarperCollins, 1990/2002.

Davidson, Richard J. and Harrington, Anne. Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Epstein, Mark. Thoughts Without A Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective New York: Basic Books, 1995.

Epstein, Mark. Psychotherapy without the Self: A Buddhist Perspective New Haven: Yale University, 2007.

Fishman, Barbara Miller. Emotional Healing through Mindfulness Meditation: Stories and Meditations for Women Seeking Wholeness. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2002.

Germer, Christopher; Siegel, Ronald D.; Fulton, Paul R., eds. Mindfulness and Psychotherapy New York: Guilford Press, 2005.

Gilbert, Paul. Compassion: Conceptualisations, Research and Use in Psychotherapy. London: Routledge, 2005.

Glaser, Aura. A Call to Compassion: Bringing Buddhist Practices of the Heart into the Soul of Psychology Berwick, Maine: Nicolas-Hays, 2005.

Goleman, Daniel. Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama New York: Bantam Dell, 2003.

Goleman, Daniel. The Meditative Mind New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1988.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness New York: Dell, 1990.

Kornfield, Jack. A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life New York: Bantam, 1993.

Kumar, Sameet M. Grieving Mindfully: A Compassionate And Spiritual Guide To Coping With Loss Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger, 2005.

(more…)

Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick (W.W. Norton, 2008)

Product description:

John T. Cacioppo’s groundbreaking research topples one of the pillars of modern medicine and psychology: the focus on the individual as the unit of inquiry. By employing brain scans, monitoring blood pressure, and analyzing immune function, he demonstrates the overpowering influence of social context—a factor so strong that it can alter DNA replication. He defines an unrecognized syndrome—chronic loneliness—brings it out of the shadow of its cousin depression, and shows how this subjective sense of social isolation uniquely disrupts our perceptions, behavior, and physiology, becoming a trap that not only reinforces isolation but can also lead to early death. He gives the lie to the Hobbesian view of human nature as a “war of all against all,” and he shows how social cooperation is, in fact, humanity’s defining characteristic. Most important, he shows how we can break the trap of isolation for our benefit both as individuals and as a society.

The website for the book is www.scienceofloneliness.com

The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd (Free Press, 2008)

from the product description:

In The Time Paradox, Drs. Zimbardo and Boyd draw on thirty years of pioneering research to reveal, for the first time, how your individual time perspective shapes your life and is shaped by the world around you. Further, they demonstrate that your and every other individual’s time zones interact to create national cultures, economics, and personal destinies.

You will discover what time zone you live in through Drs. Zimbardo and Boyd’s revolutionary tests. Ask yourself:

• Does the smell of fresh-baked cookies bring you back to your childhood?

• Do you believe that nothing will ever change in your world?

• Do you believe that the present encompasses all and the future and past are mere abstractions?

• Do you wear a watch, balance your checkbook, and make to-do lists — every day?

• Do you believe that life on earth is merely preparation for life after death?

• Do you ruminate over failed relationships?

• Are you the life of every party — always late, always laughing, and always broke?

These statements are representative of the seven most common ways people relate to time, each of which, in its extreme, creates benefits and pitfalls. The Time Paradox is a practical plan for optimizing your blend of time perspectives so you get the utmost out of every minute in your personal and professional life as well as a fascinating commentary about the power and paradoxes of time in the modern world.

No matter your time perspective, you experience these paradoxes. Only by understanding this new psychological science of time zones will you be able to overcome the mental biases that keep you too attached to the past, too focused on immediate gratification, or unhealthily obsessed with future goals. Time passes no matter what you do — it’s up to you to spend it wisely and enjoy it well. Here’s how.

Read an excerpt