50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know

50 Ideas You Really Need to Know

by Adrian Furnham

How different are men and women's brains? Does altruism really exist? Are our minds blank slates at birth? And do dreams reveal our unconscious desires? Psychology is everywhere in today's society. No crime fiction, documentary, chat show or medical consultation is complete without the introduction of a psychological angle. Psychology seeks to understand and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour through a dizzying array of ideas and theories, shedding light on everything from memory, social mobility and attitude formation to delusions of grandeur, alcoholism and computer phobia, to name a few. In 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Adrian Furnham explains the central ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays. Packed with the latest research, most important case studies and arguments of key thinkers, this book is the perfect introduction to psychological theory. Contents include: Placebo effect; Kicking the habit; Hallucinations; Positive psychology; Emotional intelligence; IQ and you; Multiple intelligences; The Rorschach inkblot test; Detecting lies; Obedience to authority; Self-sacrifice or selfishness; Gambler's fallacy; Remembrance of things past; Artificial intelligence; Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Psychosexual stages; Tabula rasa; Phrenology; Dyslexia.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Philosophy, Reference, Ebooks, Productivity

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Adrian Furnham (born 3 February 1953) is a South African-born British organisational and applied psychologist, management expert and Professor of Psychology at University College London. In addition to his academic roles, he is a consultant on organizations.

Furnham was educated at the London School of Economics where he obtained a distinction in an MSc Econ., and at Oxford University where he completed a doctorate (D.Phil) in 1981. He has subsequently earned a D.Sc (1991) and D.Litt (1995) degree. Previously a lecturer in Psychology at Pembroke College, Oxford, he has been Professor of Psychology at University College London since 1992. He has lectured widely abroad and held scholarships and visiting professorships at, amongst others, the University of New South Wales, the University of the West Indies, the University of Hong Kong and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He has also been a Visiting Professor of Management at Henley Management College. He has recently been made Adjunct Professor of Management at the Norwegian School of Management (2009).

Adrian FurnhamHe has written over 700 scientific papers and 57 books including The Protestant Work Ethic (1990) Culture Shock (1994), The New Economic Mind (1995), Personality at Work (1994), The Myths of Management (1996), The Psychology of Behaviour at Work (1997), The Psychology of Money (1998), The Psychology of Culture Shock (2001)The Incompetent Manager (2003), The Dark Side of Behaviour at Work (2004), The People Business (2005) Personality and Intellectual Competence (2005) Management Mumbo-Jumbo (2006) Head and Heart Management (2007) The Psychology of Physical Attraction (2007) The Body Beautiful (2007) Personality and Intelligence at Work (2008) Management Intelligence (2008) Dim Sum Management (2008) The Economic Socialisation of Children (2008) 50 Psychology Ideas you really need to know (2009) The Elephant in the Boardroom: The Psychology of Leadership Derailment (2009).

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a good, general introduction to psychology. The author is reassuringly qualified to write on the subject, being Professor of Psychology at University College London . Nothing is covered in depth - but that wasn't the remit of the book, rather it is a series of short discussions about various classic psychology topics.

I've read a fair amount around psychology, so I skim-read most of the book, stopping now and then at subjects that really interested me.

I have three criticisms of the book...

* Some of the chapter headings were quirky rather than helpful. For instance the topic of imprinting was headed "Ducks in a row" or the topic about conditioned reflexes was called "Stay hungry". Having said that, there is an index at the back, so presumably you would be able to find your way around using that.

* Secondly, the book was generously furnished with information boxes with grey backgrounds, containing black text. I found these unpleasant to try and read, and in the end I gave up even trying. Black on grey is not a good combo.

* Finally, ideas were sometimes so condensed that a few of the descriptions appeared a bit muddled or self-contradicting, but this didn't happen very often.

This is my second book in the "50 ideas you really need to know" series, published by Quercus. In my view both books did a good job at introducing a particular field of study, and I look forward to reading more. Here is the full series....

https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/search...

I end with my usual jumble of notes about things that interested me in the book.

Placebo effect:

Research has shown that .50 to .75 of patients improve due to the placebo effect. Invasive procedures have the greatest effect, eg injections rather than pills, even placebo surgery (where people are cut open and sewn up with little or nothing done.***) We are still not fully sure why it works, but it is powerful.

*** See comment 11, (below), by Carol.

Anti-social personality disorder:

This is a term that embraces both the psychopath and the sociopath. (I found the descriptions describing the differences between these terms contradictory/unconvincing.)

Basically they involve people who have no conscience, and are incapable of empathy, guilt or loyalty. They also cannot 'bide time'. They like the here and now, and having an exciting time. They eschew stability and routine, and often seem devoid of physical or social anxiety. They are often in trouble with the law and authority figures, primarily because they are impulsive. Their crimes include things like petty theft, fraud, forgery and failure to pay debts. They lie to everyone with apparent candour and sincerity. They often seek thrills associated with alcohol, gambling, drugs and sex.

Clever psychopaths have massive but superficial charm. They often have to keep 'on the move' because after a while communities get to know and mistrust them. This geographical and vocational mobility is a good index of their pathology.

When asked about justice and morality in the abstract, they tend to give the 'correct' conventional answer. They just don't apply this knowledge of right or wrong to themselves.

Psychopaths at work often appear relatively normal or successful. They build up relationships with powerful or influential people. They exploit them, then they cast them aside.

Stress:

People prone to stress:

1) Anxious worriers.

2) People with 'negative affinity' - a mix of anxiety, irritability, neuroticism and self-deprecation.

3) People who have an external locus of control, and feel their lives to be a function of luck, chance, fate or God, or general powers beyond their control.

4) Very competitive, driven people.

5) People in stressful jobs who don't get enough support.

6) People who are pessimistic (optimists tend to concentrate more on problem-focused coping, which is helpful with stress.)

Cognitive dissonance:

All of us dislike experiencing cognitive dissonance. This happens when we have chosen an attitude that we feel is wrong, and we did this totally of our own free will. We weren't ordered to chose this attitude, nor did we have no alternatives to choose from. It was a choice of free will. It also has to be an attitude that cannot be changed by issuing an apology, or making good our bad behaviour.

Ways we ameliorate the experience of cognitive dissonance: we say things like...

"Oh it wasn't THAT bad"
"Everyone was doing it"
"He deserved it."

Alternatively we can compensate the person or people we have hurt, & that will make us feel better.

Commitment:

If we make a commitment to something, we are likely to follow through. Salesmen know that very well eg "Would you buy if the price was right?" The idea is to get you committed to a position, quickly and unthinkingly, which you feel you should honour. Now all they have to do is offer you a cheaper price.

Commitment is powerful - avoiding inconsistency is a strong motivation for us.

The Gambler's fallacy:

This is a misunderstanding of probability and statistics.

Judgement and Problem solving

Common mistakes people make:

1) People believe that results taken from small samples are as valid as those taken from large samples.

2) Easy-to-recall or vivid instances have more weight in our mind than other less obvious instances. We over-emphasise their importance.

3) We rely too much on one trait or piece of information, when making decisions.

4) We look for information that confirms our biases.

5) We think we are better judges of people and situations than other people are.

6) We think we have more control over events than we do.

7) We are over-confident about our predictions.


Decisions:

It is better to reach decision by thinking things through by yourself rather than brainstorming in a group. In the latter instance we self-censor ourselves, plus it can be muddling. It can also lead people to make extreme decisions.

We tend to have habitual ways of making decisions, eg we do plus and minus lists, or consult with other people, or we get very emotional about it.

Loss aversion:

We attach more to the possibility of loss than the possibility of gain. We are more sensitive to loss - sometimes taking great risks to try and avoid the experience of loss.

The sunk-cost fallacy:

Once we have paid for something we feel very strongly that we have to use it - even if it turns out to be unsatisfactory. We hate wasting time or money that we have invested, so we 'throw good money after bad'. Sometimes this can have very bad results, even resulting bankruptcy.

Once we have committed a lot of time, money or energy to a cause, it's extremely difficult to convince us that it was not a good idea, or worthy of support.

Choices:

The more choices we have the more likely we are to do nothing. The more attractive the different options, the worse the delay or paralysis we experience.


Memory:

Most people have strongest memories of when they were about 12-25 years old, and also they have a good memory of the last 6 years. Our ability to recall the past is enhanced by keeping diaries, or having access to old home videos.

Memories are distorted, constructed and reconstructed.

Repression and Expression:

Psychologists have differentiated between people who repress their fears and those who express them. Say you are going to have a serious operation in two weeks. Some people will try to put this to the back of their minds, filling their time with distracting activities (repressors), whilst others would talk about it constantly (sensitizers) Both are dealing with their anxiety in different ways.

Repressors are highly defensive people who try and convince themselves that they're not prone to negative emotions. They always claim to be healthy and adjusted and try and give the impression of being resilient and calm. But if you measure their physiological and behavioural responses to things - particularly negative emotions - they react very strongly.

A good example of repression is childbirth. Women who describe childbirth immediately after the experience, say it is incredibly painful. If you ask them again, months later, they usually describe it as being less painful.

TOT - tip of the tongue memory:

We have all had this experience. You can almost remember the name of something 'it's on the tip of my tongue', but you can't quite remember it. This is because words are just abstract names for things, the actual thing, the meaning of the thing, is easily remembered. We can describe the thing, we just can't name it.

This gets worse as we get older.

[Mohammed · Rating 4 out of 5]

نصحتك من قبل أن تقرأ كتب علم النفس، هذا لا يعني أنك تعاني من مشاكل نفسية، كما يتهمك ابن خالتك. وإنما هي مراجع تساعدك على فهم تصرفاتك وسلوك من حولك سواء الطبيعية أو غير الطبيعية. إلى جانب أن هذا النوع من المعرفة قد يحميك من الهجمات النفسية التي تشنها عليك الظروف ويباغتك بها المجتمع.

لا تتحدث كتب علم النفس عن الأعتلالات فقط، بل على أفكار تطبق على حياتنا اليومية. على سبيل المثال، ابن خالتك يدخن ولكنه يعرف جيدًا أضرار التدخين، فهو إذن يعاني من مايسمى بالتنافر المعرفي. عندئذٍ سيجد لنفسه مخرجًا كأن يخبرك بأن التدخين قد لا يضره وأنه يعرف شخصًا توفي في التسعين بالرغم من أنه كان مدخنًا لا يشق له غبار.

عندما يخبرك ابن خالتك أنه واثق من فوز فريقه المفضل لأنهم سيلعبون في تاريخ معين أو ملعب معين، فستعرف أنه واقع تحت تأثير الخرافة، وهو انعكاس شرطي مبني على حادثة عشوائية.

يقنع أبو هشام* زوجته على الحمل مرة أخرى لأنه متأكد بأنهم اسيرزقان بولدٍ هذه المرة. يقول الزوج بأنه قد أنجب 4 بنات مسبقًا وبالتالي فنسبة أن يكون المولود ذكرًا هي 1:4. والحقيقة أن النسبة 1:1 إذ أن الرحم ليست له ذاكرة ولا يأخذ الولادات السابقة في الحسبان، ففي كل مرة تحمل فيها المرأة تتجدد النسبة نفسها لتصبح 50%. الطريقة التي يفكر بها عاصم هي مايسمى بمغالطة المقامر.

تعرف أن عاصم* لا يحب كاظم الساهر ولكنك وجدته ذات مرة وسط مجموعة من الأصدقاء يتحدثون عن روعة أغاني المطرب العراقي. فوجئت عندها بأن عاصم أخذ يصف لهم القشعريرة التي يشعر بها عندما يستمع لـ"أنا وليلى". وهو سلوك متوقع إذ أن الشخص يميل إلى الإندماج في المحيط الذي يجد نفسه فيه.

سارعت بشراء وجبة من المطعم بجانب المنزل لأنه خفض سعرها إلى النصف. وعندما عدت إلى المنزل تذكرت ابن خالتك فقررت أن تشتري له وجبة مخفضة وتقضيان وقتًا على سبيل صلة الرحم. اتصلت به وأخبرته فوافق. خرجت إلى المطعم فوجدت أن التخفيض كان محددًا بزمن معيّن وأنه يجب أن تشترى الوجبة بالسعر العادي، فلم تجد مفرًا من الشراء. تصل البيت فيتصل عليك ابن خالتك ليخبرك بأنه لن يستطيع الحضور. لديك الآن وجبتان متطابقتان، إلا أنك ستبحث عن الكيس الذي يحتوي على الوجبة الأغلى معتقدًا بأنك توفر فارق السعر بطريقة أو بأخرى. قد تستغرب من نفسك القيام بهذا الفعل الغريب، ولكن لا تلم نفسك فالعتب على الأحمق الذي لم يلتزم بالموعد. أنصحك بأن تخضع هذا الشخص لاختبار بقعة الحبر، فقد تدلك النتيجة على جوهر مشكلته.

هذه بعض الأفكار الشيقة الواردة في هذا الكتاب. هناك 50 فكرة، كل فكرة ملخصة في 4 صفحات. المختلف في الكتاب أنه لا يخصص سوى مساحة بسيطة جدًا للأمراض النفسية بينما يحرص على التنويع في المواضيع المختارة. يحسب للكتاب أيضًا أنه ينتقد كل التجارب والنظريات المطروحة. قد يجد البعض المحتوى أخف مما يجب ولكن هذا واضح من عنوان الكتاب وحجمه وفهرسه. هو فعلًا كتاب خفيف يساعدك على اكتشاف بعض المواضيع التي قد ترى أنه يجب البحث فيها بشكل أكبر، ويؤدي الغرض كاستراحة لطيفة بين قراءات ثقيلة.

• أبو هشام هو ابن خالتك
• عاصم هو أبو هشام

[Younes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a very good book, yet not a very bad one!

The book presents various concepts about psychology, from abnormal behavior, consciousness, intelligence, decision making, how individuals behave within the social group, to brain disorders and psychological school of thoughts.

Each concept is demonstrated with a historical background, definition, major theories, and then critics and opponent theories. The last of which I found interesting because it makes one think about the topic from various angles and reflect on what he/she reads. However, I found many ideas vague and superficial. In fact, They lack examples and illustrations. I could observe that 50 ideas were crammed to make them in 200 pages and to leave 4 pages for each idea.

The design also needs some improvements. There are on the sides of the the pages notes put in grey squares written in white. This disturbs the readers' eyes as there is few contrast between the text and the background.

I believe it would have been better if it was "20 Ideas You Really Need to Know About Psychology". The concepts would have been clearer and more detailed if the 200 pages were dedicated to 20 ideas with details, explanations and drawings, charts, or diagrams.

Overall, I can feel more knowledgeable after reading the book. I could say that I have a general knowledge about many ideas about psychology.

[عمر الحمادي · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب ثري بالمعلومات في علم النفس، لكن بعض مواضيعه رأيتها ألصق بعلم الأعصاب، وكثير من مواضيع علم النفس الهامة لم تُطرق في الكتاب رغم أهميتها، أُفضّل على هذا الكتاب كتاب (أهم خمسين كتاباً في علم النفس) ل توم بودون.

[Nərmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and fascinating ideas, sometimes a bit boring to read though.

[Luis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Se me ha quedado un regusto amargo.
Con lo mucho que me gustó el de Genética... Obviamente, aunque pertenezcan a la misma colección de libros, los autores no son los mismos, y por tanto el enfoque que aportan unos u otros pueden ser muy dispares. Aunque esta conclusión la saco habiéndome leído sólo dos de ellos. El próximo que será será el de Literatura o de Política.
¿Qué le ha fallado al 50 cosas sobre Psicología? Pues explicaciones. El autor suelta unas chapas de cuidado en los capítulos que pueden resultar muy incendiarias para alguien que no sepa nada de Psico (y en el mío, sólo sé un poco) y ni siquiera los cuadros de ampliación son amenos. Hay muchos términos complicados que, si es que se explican, no se aclaran con palabras que cualquiera pueda entender, y hay párrafos que son imposibles de pillar por ningún sitio.
De todas formas, he terminado de leerlo. Algunos capítulos son claramente menos aburridos que otros, como los relacionados con la heurística (los mejores sin duda) o uno muy interesante sobre las preferencias de pareja de hombres y mujeres. Otros, especialmente los de patología están tratados de forma infumable.
No recomiendo este título, pese a que seáis fans de la Psico. Hay otros mejores en la serie.

[Joanne Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a complete novice to the entire subject of psychology, I found the book fascinating. For other readers, more experienced in the subject, seemed to be disappointed, I thought the book was full of new and interesting ideas. I picked up the book because of a new interest in psychology and was not disappointed for it.

What I liked: This book really seems to be for beginners since the author didn't go very deeply into each subject, but simply introduced psychology ideas and a few main subcatergories for each. Furnham managed to brush up on the general basics of psychology, using simple words/analogies and didn't end up confusing me too much. I found the ideas such as "Visual Illusions", "Stress", "IQ and You", etc. all very fascinating and attention grabbing.

What I didn't like: Though mostly decent, the format got awakard at times, such as a new article to introduce a new idea being placed in the middle of a passage. However, most of the time, it did not distract me too much from my reading.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty cool book for people just newly interested in psychology.

[Cubukcu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pisikolojiye giriş kitabı gibi düşünülebilir. Konular çok yüzeysel işlenmiş. Derine inilmemiş. Ben pisikolojiye meraklı olduğum ve bu konularda daha önce başka kitaplarda okumuş olduğum için anlatılanları anlamakta zorluk çekmedim, ancak çok yüzeysel bir anlatım olduğu için konuya tamamen yabancı kişiler için bazı konuların anlaşılması güç olur mu onu da bilemiyorum.

[Kylie Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would have been better to just list the different ideas.. oh wait, they did that on the back. Each theme was explained like an introduction into that topic, not going into any great depth.
The writing was also bland.

[Ha Pham · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok as an introduction to psychology, but nothing is explained deeply enough. As expected, though.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing book but a lot of this is down to the format and to weak editing rather than the quality of the material. Breaking down latest thinking and history into just 50 four-page gobbets of information just does not work. It is not only that there is no cohesion to the book but some subjects are presented like technical treatises while others are trite run-throughs of complex matters that are far better covered by a quick search through Wikipedia.

The editing, at times, is a disgrace. There are occasions where you can tell that Furnham, who is a serious psychologist (Professor of Psychology at University College, London), has had his text whittled down to the point of nonsense in order to fit the format. The indexing is haphazard, there are repetitions and the format ends up giving us irrelevant quotations that appear to have little to do with the subject in hand. These fillers show laziness.

The reason that the book is not to be rejected out of hand lies in the fact that, if you can struggle through the unhelpful ordering and the lack of narrative (you would certainly think psychologists should know better), there are moments when Furnham shines and the book does give important insights into the revolution in psychology and neuroscience that is already starting to transform our public policy and culture.

The picture of humanity that is emerging today is very different from the 'tabula rasa' model that so long impressed policy-makers, especially those of the Left, often against all the instincts of common folk. As animals, we come out as a lot less flattering to ourselves than we might have liked.

Before I go any further, I should express a personal prejudice - a distrust of science-derived theory being applied too easily to social relations. There is a particular problem that arises out of psychology - the 'science' of psychology is solely a method since no human, let alone collection of humans, can be knowable in the way that inanimate matter or even animals can be known. Psychology is only partially a science. It is a series of experimental probabilities and of 'norms' of highly variable reliability. The science of normal perception seems to be far more reliable than the science of normal behaviour. This should be borne in mind when assessing the material in the book.

The quintessential psychological tool is the Bell Curve. There is a danger that the centre of the Bell Curve is given a normative rather than a descriptive value - that the process of describing the Bell Curve both lessens the 'value' of the rims of the Bell and over-values the 'norm' at its centre. The 'norm' of Victorian or German fascist or Soviet Communist thinking would horrify our contemporary liberal. The 'good person' in all of these societies would, by modern liberal standards, have been normalised out of existence.

Sometimes I fear that contemporary psychology, neuroscience and sociology are tempted, funded as they are by the public purse and so the political process, to do 'scientifically' what could not be done under previous tyrannies - I would contend that contemporary liberalism has its dangerous totalitarian aspects. The association of these 'soft sciences' and power needs to be placed under permanent critical scrutiny.

Nevertheless, great strides in understanding the working of most brains in most circumstances have been made in the last two decades. A picture is emerging of a sort of arms race between the normal person's instinct to take the easy way out in dealing with data, in order to process the vast amounts of it coming into the mind through perception, and organised attempts to manipulate that laziness for commercial or political reasons.

As psychologists uncover the tram-line aspects of most people's behaviour under most conditions, so some, in learning these truths, learn also to resist manipulation and to build relatively independent world-views. The corporate and political manipulators, meanwhile, create ever-more sophisticated means to manage those who either cannot (for reasons of intelligence or access to information) or will not (for lack of will or excess of comfort) question their situation.

It could be argued that people in the advanced Western societies are falling into three broad classes of person in any one particular situation. A large majority who are unaware of or uninterested in their own manipulation, a class of manipulators for profit, power or (increasingly 'security') and a minority who see what is happening and either fight it or seek to insulate themselves from the process ('fight or flight'). The last group which is far from small is made impotent by the sheer weight of numbers of the first group although, to be cynical, the weight of numbers depends on that weight being well fed and entertained.

It may be that this is just the normal condition of humanity - as applicable to the Roman Empire as the modern West: a struggling mass, a manipulative ruling class and those who cannot but see how the trick is performed. However, a new factor may be the degree to which an understanding of psychology itself arms the 'rebels' as much as the elites.

For example, the experimental work in the wake of the authoritarian fascism of the 1930s and 1940s, notably that of Stanley Milgram, caused horror rather than emulation and drove ruling elites increasingly towards 'soft' forms of social management. At the same time, Milgram's work is known to far more people than just the 'rebels' in society and this has helped them become more resistant to blind authority and command.

Ordinary soldiers are increasingly volunteers from the least well educated and poorest comunities and are less likely to be conscripts for good reason - better educated coscripts are no longer prepared to accept authoritarian claims to knowledge. Perhaps some personality types pine for a simple world of command and control and military obedience but the cultural norm is (at least in the Anglo-Saxon world) one of a presumption of liberty and questioning to which ruling elites have now had to adjust.

Governments - as in today's announcement that the British Government will be using military drones against its own population - are thrown back on intense surveillance and on the isolation and marginalisation of the people who are at the extremes of the political Bell Curve. In addition, fuelled on the centre-left by the post-Marxist interpretations of thinkers like Gramsci, they are more intent than ever on guiding the centre of the social Bell Curve into territories of automatic self-willed compliance with an authority that presents itself as benign, inclusive and liberal, albeit one investing vast sums in what it calls 'security'.

One suspects that this master plan of social management will last only so long as the population does not grow hungry. It is designed for a world in which economic decline for large numbers of people is small, incremental and steady rather than precipitous or sudden. Whether this system can remain both effective and benign with a large angry population on the streets is another matter.

This is relevant to this book because there are clues throughout it to the growing role of psychology to the maintenance of social consensus. Fortunately, psychiatry and abnormal psychology (in the sense of conditions that cause serious distress to a person) have been de-politicised fairly effectively by the medical establishment's historic compromise with the anti-psychiatry movement. But we should not be complacent - the sociopath (a biological reality) is in danger of being quasi-medicalised as complaints grow about a 'broken society'.

At the other end of the social is the personal. Contemporary psychology paints a fairly grim picture of our general inability to think or act rationally or altruistically. In fact, psychologists tend to exaggerate what this means. Given their particular conditions of life, 'irrational' thought or conduct (including delusions and apparently self-destructive behaviour) may be wholly rational - a perfectly rational assessment of those conditions might well lead to despair.

Some of the most interesting material in the book is about irrational modes of thinking. The tiny section on 'group think' encapsulates in a few words why New Labour is consistently incompetent in its decision-making. It was also pleasing (given my own experience) to have the 'brainstorm' put firmly in its place as next to useless.

There is also useful material from the behavioural economists on why we make dumb decisions on investment and cannot seem to get out quickly from a failing situation. These few pages alone are worth the trudge of the rest of the book. They should be required reading by anyone active in public life or in business. Unfortunately, most of the people making the decisions that affect us do not read books like this and it may take a generation before some of this commonsensical material feeds through into the wider public domain.

Another area of interest is memory. We construct ourselves and our society on narratives of the past. Yet we forget and remember selectively even if different people have different tendencies in this area, whether towards repressing trauma or sensitising themselves through a talking repetition of trauma.

One can see how there would be a natural conflict of interest between these two main personality types amongst Jews in dealing with the Shoah. Some would want to put the horror behind them and create a new life. Others would want to tell the world and get them to understand and empathise. This happens in families with child abuse histories, even if the 'talking' might be displaced onto other related subjects. In the case of the Shoah, the narrative required by Israel and European guilt forced the pace and gave the edge to the 'talkers'.

One powerful tool for transforming individuals has been Cognitive Behaviourial Therapy. We should also not be too dismissive of its happy-clappy cognate, Positive Philosophy. Critics might say they merely create a better class of delusion but, if our aim is not to sink into the unproductive gloom of critical theory but to live long, prosper, love and be happy, then these practical applications of experimental psychology are wholly beneficial.

It is tough out there. If people can use the discoveries that the mind is malleable and that life can be made more tolerable and even be improved through thinking in a different way and positively, then psychology (so dangerous in the hands of governments and corporations) can be a liberating force. Indeed, a mentality of positive thinking might, eventually, help direct the mind to thinking not only about how to improve one's own condition but why the rulers are so signally failing to assist in that process. In our current crisis, a 'positive politics' is sorely needed and can only come from below.

Cognitive behaviour therapy seems to be particularly useful for conditions where distress (such as depression) is caused by a negative narrative of life that has been built up in the past for good reason but has become increasingly dysfunctional over time. Improvements in the treatment of mental illness in recent years have been considerable and are only be held back by lack of resources. If the £8bn spent by the New Labour Government on the Iraq War had been directed into mental health services and improved community conditions, a great deal of human distress might have been avoided in two nations.

Another positive development is in the increasing sophistication of psychological work on intelligence. This has two countervailing potential results. The first unnerves liberals but has to be faced - we are not all equal in general intelligence and general intelligence matters. The 'tabula rasa' view is defunct and not only in relation to intellectual equality but in relation to gender difference. We can safely predict the imminent death of the extreme version of egalitarian ideology (though not that of the equal value of all persons regardless of intelligence).

The countervailing discovery (still uncertain in the detail) is of many different types of intelligence to be found in humanity, painting a picture of complexity of talent that no longer privileges people according to their place in a pecking order of general IQ. This means that a simple stratified society is likely to be sclerotic. The dynamism of society depends on it being a society of all the talents. This opens up society once again to people who may not be formally highly intelligent but have massive advantages in particular types of intelligence, skills and aptitudes. It suggests a society of respect for the potential of everyone rather than obeisance to a privileged exam-passing few.

The shift from a stratified world of fixed roles to a tabula rasa world of forcing individuals into an egalitarian straitjacket (often under the malign influence of the behaviourists) is now becoming a further shift from the 'tabula rasa' to a respect for difference. Nowhere is this clearer than in gender relations where the feminists of the 1970s school have found themselves on the run as society rediscovers the fact that boys and girls are fundamentally different even if you can get very boy-like girls and very girl-like boys where the Bell Curves overlap. There may be alchemical truth in the magical position of the hermaphrodite where the curves meet.

In short, it is no longer regarded as helpful for women to strive to become like men. The model is one not of separate but equal (with all the apartheid implications) or equal and not separate but of complementarity and difference yet equal in worth and access to resources. This more sophisticated formulation has been seized upon by younger women (as sex-positive or 'lipstick' feminism) as far more truly liberatory than 'traditional' feminism. Although the new could not have taken place without the struggle of the old, the new really is based on the science that we have in place so far.

Language too now looks as if it follows Chomsky's model of having innate characteristics even if one can dispute the detail. Deep brain structures imply profound predispositions in learning, language, behaviour and gender difference - not to the extent of presenting any silly predestination arguments but as representing natural constraints on radical versions of existentialism. Brain matter, in short, matters. Anyone who has been at the birth of his child knows that twenty years later aspects of personality present then are present now.

The historical elements in the book are far less satisfactory. A history is a narrative and the lack of narrative - a leap into the Rorschach inkblot test, phrenology (somewhat absurdly), extremely basic accounts of Freudian and Behaviourist ideas, discredited left/right brain theories - means that some of these ideas are in danger of being given more credence than they deserve. Recent discoveries make much past experimentation redundant (as they should) and even silly so that, as tools for understanding oneself, or for creating a dialogue about personal meaning, Tarot cards and dream interpretation are now as one with the ink blot.

This is not to say that we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Freudianism increasingly looks daft in its potty theorising about repressed sexuality but it was a vital stepping stone in exploring the unconscious even if the path best taken was back into neuroscience on the one hand and into imaginative cultural studies (Jung) and the closer investigation of particular drives (Adler, Reich) on the other. Behaviourism too seems more like an ideology than a considered exploration of the mind but its experimentation in conditioning has proved central to effective treatment of phobia as well as providing further proof in its findings that cruelty and conditioning can debase both child and man.

All in all, this book has its stimulating moments and it might serve as a bedside reference for the general reader but there are better books out there.

[Bozga Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

* În cazul în care comportamentul unui om pare irațional sau cu potențial de a dăuna propriei persoane ori altora, tindem să ne gândim la el ca la unul anormal. Pentru psihologi, aceasta se numește ℙ𝕊𝕀ℍ𝕆ℙ𝔸𝕋𝕆𝕃𝕆𝔾𝕀𝔼, pentru un neștiutor, se numește sminteală sau nebunie.
* ℙ𝕃𝔸ℂ𝔼𝔹𝕆 - substanță sau procedură inactivă din punct de vedere medical sau chimic, despre care o persoană crede că o va ajuta să se însănătoșească și care este folosită în cercetarea științifică pentru a se determina eficacitatea reală a unui tratament.

[Dv8tion242 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have a solid backing in Psychology, you probably won't get a whole lot from this book. It's more or less a series of tasters rather than giving a really depth layups of any of the 50 topics. Hard to do in only 200 or so pages and when almost all of the topics have books written about. However, if you are someone who has never picked up a psych book or walked into a class but have an interest, this book might be useful. Rather than getting weighed down on one specific topic.

[Ben Bampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good starting point for anyone looking to get an overview of psychology. This book covers almost every field of psychology, including the founding roots of the subject.
However, it does only that: covers. Most of the topics are explored broadly, with specialist terms and important, in-depth areas only listed, rather than explained further. A book that provides the same overview but much more depth is the highly commended The Psychology Book, by Nigel Benson and others.

[Virginia · Rating 2 out of 5]

É um livro interessante para quem não sabe nada do assunto e gostaria de ter algumas ideias. Mas essa edição não está com uma boa tradução. E acho que faltam referências.
De toda forma, ele pelo menos desperta interesse!

[Miguel Cisneros Saucedo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pésimo.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Książkę już dawno kupiłem, jakieś pięć lat temu. Od tamtego czasu wielokrotnie trzymałem ją w rękach. W zasadzie to nie czytałem jej za jednym razem od deski do deski tylko na wyrywki przeglądałem, czytałem poszczególne rozdziały których jak tytuł na podpowiada jest 50.
Ta książka to bardzo dobre kompendium wiedzy z dziedziny psychologii. Ta książka potwierdza to jak fascynującą oraz jak szeroką dziedziną nauki jest psychologia.

Całość podzielona jest na dziesięć kategorii, co ułatwia ogarnięcie wszystkich 50 pojęć zawartych w książce.
Tych 10 kategorii to:
1) Chory umysł
2) Iluzja i rzeczywistość
3) Serce i rozum
4) Różnice indywidualne
5) Osobowość i społeczeństwo
6) Racjonalność i zdolność rozwiązywania problemów
7) Percepcja
8) Rozwój
9) Nauka
10) Mózg

Ponieważ książkę mam w wersji angielskiej dokonałem amatorskiego tłumaczenia.

Wiele zjawisk jest dość intuicyjna, cześć zjawisk psychologicznych zaprzecza naszej intuicji. Warto o tym pamiętać. Warto też pamiętać że zjawiska opisane w książce są efektem wielu badań. Książkę będę na pewno jeszcze brał nie jeden raz do ręki, aby sobie przypomnieć niektóre teorie. Całość jest w bardzo dobry sposób przedstawiona, tekst nie jest do końca jednolity, w ramkach inną czcionką niż tekst przedstawione są również przykład. Wiele pojęć jest również przedstawionych w perspektywie czasowej która podsumowuje postęp badań naukowych. W przypadku wielu pojęć widzimy bardzo ciekawy postęp nauki. 20 lat to sporo jeśli chodzi o psychologię. Pewnie za kilka, czy kilkanaście lat będzie trzeba kupić na nowo tą pozycje, mam po cichu nadzieje że zostanie wznowiona, gdyż wiele teorii zostanie dalej rozwinięta.

[Arnaud Surel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary
50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know by Adrian Furnham aims to give a clear snapshot of major psychological concepts that shape how we think, feel, and behave. It spans everything from personality and memory to group dynamics and intelligence. The structure makes it easy to dip into, but the tone is quite academic, which sometimes limits how engaging the ideas feel in practice.

Key ideas
• The unconscious mind – much of our behaviour is driven by motives and desires we’re not aware of (Freud’s legacy).
• Conditioning – behaviour can be learned and shaped through reward and punishment (Pavlov and Skinner).
• Cognitive biases – our minds use shortcuts that often lead to predictable mistakes in judgment (Kahneman and Tversky).
• Personality traits – the “Big Five” model (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) helps describe how people differ.
• Emotional intelligence – understanding and managing your own emotions and those of others predicts real-world success more than IQ.
• Social influence – we underestimate how much our attitudes and actions are shaped by others (Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo).
• The nature vs. nurture debate – human behaviour reflects both genetics and environment, not one or the other.
• Positive psychology – focuses on well-being, strengths, and what makes life fulfilling rather than just treating illness.

Quotes
• “We are not only rational creatures, we are emotional ones who rationalise.”
• “Knowing why people behave as they do is the first step in changing that behaviour.”

My rating: 3/5
Packed with solid ideas but too academic in tone. It feels like a quick reference guide rather than a book you lose yourself in, though the breadth of concepts makes it a good foundation for anyone curious about psychology.

[Rossana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ — Non Fiction — Psychology


This book is neither a studying guide or even an introduction to Psychology. As its name estates it’s a sum of 50 ideas that will help anyone (not only students) to understand some concepts and curiosities about the Psychology itself as well as some basic information about some famous personalities and their theories.

If you wanna be able to understand what is psychoanalyze and other therapies, the importance of Freud and many other contributors of this science in your daily life, or even understand the idea behind the concept of placebo, this book is well written and easy to understand.

And since each topic (or idea) is represented in an independent chapter, there is no hurry to finish it. Go in your own pace, and read as slowly or as fast as you feel comfortable with to understand each topic.

📚 Good reading! 📚

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd suggest anyone interested in Psychology skip this book.

It's structured in an odd way with foundational topics like "tabula rasa", cognitive stages, and behaviorism coming after more specialized and nuanced topics.

The book focuses almost exclusively on cognitive and abnormal psychology with far less emphasis on social, developmental, and biological psychology. Topics such as human development, personality theories, social influence, group dynamics, and the biological basis of behavior are largely ignored.

The book is also disconnected from everyday life. Discussions about dreaming, memory techniques, learning, and artificial intelligence would do wonders for making it a more engaging read.

It doesn't cover a historical perspective of psychology nor does it do much to debunk common misconceptions. This is particularly important in a field so riddled with misconceptions and myths.

[Luan Dalmas · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

Um livro bem legal pra quem quer ter uma introdução em vários assuntos de Psicologia (assim como eu kkkk). Cada assunto tem 4 páginas, então não dá pra explicar muito, mas mesmo assim teve alguns que pareciam eternos, que tava só enrolando o que dava pra ser resumido em dois parágrafos.

Era meio óbvio que isso ia acontecer, até porque quem gosta de 50 coisas diferentes mas parecidas??????

Eu já sabia de algumas coisas, e outras fiquei com vontade de procurar mais, e outras que não sabia nem quero saber mais (psifísica, psicologia positiva, etc etc). No geral, o autor explica bem, mas tem algumas coisas mais difíceis que ele não teve tanto sucesso em me ensinar.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adrian Furnham este profesor de psihologie la Universitatea din Londra. Este membru al Societăţii Britanice de Psihologie, fostul preşedinte ales al Societăţii Internaţionale pentru Studiul Diferenţelor Individuale şi profesor asociat de management la Şcoala de Afaceri Henley. Adrian scrie în mod constant pentru Sunday Times şi The Daily Telegraph şi este autorul a peste 650 de lucrări ştiinţifice şi a 55 de cărţi, incluzând Culture Shock, The Psychology of Money şi The Dark Side of Behaviour at Work.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legal a forma como o autor aborda diversos temas - tipo neurose, delírios, paranoia, psicopatia, dislexia, dissociação cognitiva, aversão à perda, pensamento em grupo e afins - mostrando sempre que possível diferentes pensamentos sobre tal assunto, por vezes até contrário uns aos outros; isso impede que acabemos com um conceito único e moldado sobre os temas abordados. No mais, é ótimo para entender o porque de várias coisas que fazemos ou outros fazem! :D

[Aya Zahran · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good starting point to gain knowledge about general terms in psychology, but you will need to use another resource (or research Google) to know more about what interests you.

Very much summarized, in 2-4 pages you will get a general overview and the history for each term.

I believe it would’ve been better with diagrams and better graphics to organize all informations rather that just reading a plain text.

[Cha.Me · Rating 1 out of 5]

اغلب المواضيع ليست بأفكار عظيمة يجب ان نعرفها عن علم النفس .. كما انه اورد الكثير من المعلومات التي عفا عليها الزمن كحقائق مطلقة رغم ان العلم اثبت خطأها ..! لم يذكرها كسرد لتاريخ علم النفس ولكن كحقائق معاشة وصحيحة !!! كما ان هذا الكتاب لايرقى ابدا ككتاب علمي بل من الممكن ادراجه تحت فئة كتب تطوير الذات .. كتاب غبي بل فعلا سلسلة غبية لن ابتاع منها كتبا اخرى .. لقد قرأت منها ما يكفي لأعلم يقينا انها كتب تافهة ربحية لا تقدم فائدة فعليه سوى في حدود ضيقة جدا ..

[Bengisu Çetin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a psychologist I can say that there is lots of wrong ideas and theories about psychology which is served by book industry. Especially in the pop-culture there are lots of trash books. However, it is a very good option to review psychology field in a scientific approach. The style of the book makes it easier to read. It has illustrations which are colorful and funny. For ones who eager to learn about psychology for fun or the ones who are freshman, It will be helpful.

[David Gallagher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt pretty disappointed reading this book. I've enjoyed 4 or 5 other titles in the '50 Ideas' series, so I was looking forward to this one. However, the author and editors made numerous decisions and oversights that I found distracting - copy errors, grammatical redundancies, and a generally unsatisfying writing style (particularly the conclusion of each chapter: most entries ended mid-thought!).

I'd recommend finding a different book to study Psych.

[Nader Hajj Shehadeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like this series. It is rich and very informative.
Imagine getting the top 50 psychology concepts, putting them in one interesting good-looking book, and including just enough information to provide the reader with valuable and practical knowledge on the topic, and get them intrigued to learn more about concepts of interest.
This is what this book does.
But I would personally classify it as a coffee table book, with just smaller size.
Give it a Try

[.. آمِنَة .. · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب رائع به الكثير من المعلومات والأفكار الجديدة عليّ ، كتاب جيد للمبتدئين في علم النفس ولا خلفية لديهم ، لو لا أن الترجمة لم تكن بالجيدة جداً إذ أن هناك كلمات ترجمت ترجمة حرفية مما تعسر عليّ احياناً فهم السياق ، أيضاً المعلومات او التعريفات التي تكون في منتصف الصفحة مما يسبب التشتت ، أعجبتني الفكرة الموجزة في نهاية كل فقرة ، ايضاً الاقتباسات ولو أنها تقع في منتصف الصفحة لكن على الهامش مما يمكن أن نرجعها اليها في النهاية ، بالمجمل كتاب ممتع مليء بالمعلومات الجديدة عليّ شخصياً .

[Sir Robbiethehoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book that I felt was to be aimed at the common person I thought it was too academic sounding and presented and there for turgid and dry.

I have read the same information found in this book elsewhere but written in a more enjoyable and engaging way.

I feel I was not able to retain much of the information provided. An okay and interesting book for casually dipping in and out of but overall a rather dully written book.