Nigel C. Benson > Quotes

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Meaning is something we “discover rather than invent,” according to Frankl, and we must find it for ourselves. We find it through living, and specifically through love, creating things, and the way we choose to see things.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“So, just collecting lots of data to SUPPORT a Theory is of limited use: a good Scientist looks for evidence to DISPROVE a Theory.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“Horney said that it is essential to recognize when we are not operating from self-determined beliefs, but from those internalized from a toxic environment. These play out as internalized messages, especially in the form of “shoulds,” such as “I should be recognized and powerful” or “I should be thin.” She taught her patients to become aware of two influences in their psyche: the “real self” with authentic desires, and the “ideal self” that strives to fulfil all the demands of the “shoulds.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“However, as we strive to become free, unique individuals, we still feel the need for unity with others, and in trying to balance these needs we may seek out the comfort of conforming to a group or an authority. This is a misguided approach, says Fromm; it is imperative to discover one’s own independent sense of self, and one’s own personal views and value systems, rather than adhering to conventional or authoritarian norms. If we try to hand responsibility for our choices to other people or institutions we become alienated from ourselves, when the very purpose of our lives is to define ourselves through embracing our personal uniqueness, discovering our own ideas and abilities, and embracing that which differentiates each of us from other people.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“One very important aspect of this process is that a Theory can only be DISPROVED, it cannot be PROVED… Why Can’t Anything Be Proved? Although we often use the word “prove” in everyday life, strictly speaking, NOTHING CAN BE PROVED. This is simply because NO amount of evidence is sufficient – there’s always the possibility of new, conflicting, evidence.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“Horney says the “shoulds” are the basis of our “bargain with fate;” if we obey them, we believe we can magically control external realities, though in reality they lead to deep unhappiness and neurosis.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Perls, on the other hand, feels it is essential for people to understand the power of their own roles in creation. He wants to make us aware that we can change our realities, and in fact are responsible for doing so. No one else can do it for us. Once we realize that perception is the backbone of reality, each of us is forced to take responsibility for the life we create and the way we choose to view the world.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Rogers explains defensiveness as the tendency to unconsciously apply strategies to prevent a troubling stimulus from entering consciousness. We either deny (block out) or distort (reinterpret) what is really happening, essentially refusing to accept reality in order to stick with our preconceived ideas.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“theory of conformism, which states that when a person has neither the ability nor expertise to make a decision, he will look to the group to decide how to behave. Conformity can limit and distort an individual’s response to a situation, and seems to result in a diffusion of responsibility”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“our personal sense of reality is created through our perception; through the ways in which we view our experiences, not the events themselves. However, it is easy to forget this, or even fail to recognize it. He says we tend to mistake our viewpoint of the world for the absolute, objective truth, rather than acknowledging the role of perception and its influence in creating our perspective, together with all the ideas, actions, and beliefs that stem from it.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“We all need each other. This type of interdependence is the greatest challenge to the maturity of individual and group functioning." Kurt Lewin”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do." Jean Piaget”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Psychology” comes from two words: psyche and logos. The word psyche (pronounced “sigh-key”) is from the Greek word Ψυχη – meaning “breath of life”, i.e. “soul or spirit”, loosely translated as MIND.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“Once we realize that perception is the backbone of reality, each of us is forced to take responsibility for the life we create and the way we choose to view the world.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“The first fact for us then, as psychologists, is that thinking of some sort goes on." William James”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour of humans and animals.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“Ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process." Stanley Milgram”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Wilhelm Wundt”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Hermann Ebbinghaus”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“The aim, as Rogers sees it, is for experience to be the starting point for the construction of our personalities, rather than trying to fit our experiences into a preconceived notion of our sense of self. If we hold on to our ideas of how things should be, rather than accepting how they really are, we are likely to perceive our needs as “incongruent” or mismatched to what is available.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Ivan Pavlov”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“generally.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“One very important aspect of this process is that a Theory can only be DISPROVED, it cannot be PROVED…”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“Psychology, on the other hand, is mainly about individuals or small groups of people, as in Social Psychology.”
― Nigel C. Benson, Introducing Psychology: A Graphic Guide

“the science of mind and behavior.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Bandura’s hypothesis was that children learn aggression through observing and imitating the violent acts of adults—particularly family members. He believed that the key to the problem lies at the intersection of Skinner’s operant conditioning and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of identification, which explores how people assimilate the characteristics of others into their own personalities.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Psychology has a long past, but only a short history." Hermann Ebbinghaus”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Resilience is a person’s ability to grow in the face of terrible problems." Boris Cyrulnik”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

“Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory marked a return to the study of subjective experience. He was interested in memories, childhood development, and interpersonal relationships, and emphasized the importance of the unconscious in determining behavior.”
― Nigel C. Benson, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained