Psychology

Our Psychology Collection features a diverse group of study guides, from pioneering texts by Sigmund Freud and B.F. Skinner to self-help books and contemporary nonfiction about human nature, the mind, and social psychology. If you’re an educator looking to round out a college-level syllabus, or a book club organizer with a penchant for curiosity and dynamic discussion, this collection could help you find just what you're looking for.

Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Music, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Music, Science / Nature, Psychology, Health / Medicine, Psychology


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community

Tags Social Justice, Race / Racism, Self Help, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2006

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Self Discovery

Tags Science / Nature, Health / Medicine, Psychology, Psychology, Biography


Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Business / Economics, Education, Education, Science / Nature, Social Science, Psychology, Psychology, Finance / Money / Wealth, Politics / Government

Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science is a nonfiction book by Charles Wheelan published in 2002. The author holds a PhD from the University of Chicago and is a senior lecturer and policy fellow at Dartmouth College. Previously, he was a correspondent for the magazine The Economist. He has written a number of other books, including Naked Statistics and Naked Money. This study guide refers to the 2019 third edition of Naked Economics.SummaryNaked Economics is... Read Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Language

Tags Business / Economics, Self Help, Psychology, Relationships, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology


Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Inspirational, Sports, Psychology, Philosophy, Self Help, Biography


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Teams, Identity: Language

Tags Business / Economics, Self Help, Leadership/Organization/Management, Psychology, Psychology

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It is a 2016 nonfiction book cowritten by Chris Voss, an international hostage negotiator turned business consultant and professor, and journalist Tahl Raz. In this book, which straddles the line between the business and self-help genres, Voss shares principles gleaned from decades of experience in high-stakes negotiations. Citations in this guide correspond with the first edition published by Harper Collins. Although Raz is credited... Read Never Split the Difference Summary


Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Society: Community

Tags Self Help, Psychology, Health, Religion / Spirituality, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Economics

Tags Psychology, Science / Nature, Business / Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help


Publication year 1624

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: European, Relationships, British Literature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 1999

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Self Discovery, Identity: Language

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Relationships, Parenting, Leadership/Organization/Management, Business / Economics, Psychology


Publication year 1864

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: Community

Tags Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Psychological Fiction, Russian Literature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy

Notes from Underground (sometimes translated as Notes from the Underground) is an 1864 novella by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky was a novelist, journalist, and short story author. His novels are deeply rooted in philosophy and politics and explore the experiences and repercussions of his 19th-century Russian sociopolitical context. Dostoevsky is also the author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. His writing influenced many other writers and philosophers, including existentialists... Read Notes from Underground Summary


Publication year 1860

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Teams, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Community, Society: Education

Tags Health / Medicine, Psychology, Relationships, Science / Nature, History: World, Classic Fiction

Florence Nightingale was an English nurse commonly known as the founder of modern nursing practices. Born in Italy, she became an experienced nurse and formed many of her opinions while serving in the Crimean War, enrolling in nursing school at age 24 in Germany. She penned Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What it Is Not in 1859, just a few years after serving in the war, and the work was first published in... Read Notes on Nursing Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Masculinity, Society: Community

Tags Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Mystery / Crime Fiction, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology, Social Justice, Politics / Government

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us (2019) was written by Rachel Louise Snyder, an associate professor of creative writing and journalism at American University. A world traveler, longtime contributor to magazines and podcasts, and a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Snyder has won awards for both her fiction and nonfiction works, which include Fugitive Denim and What We’ve Lost is Nothing. No Visible Bruises, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, won the... Read No Visible Bruises Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Self Help, Psychology, Business / Economics, Science / Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Politics / Government

In 2021 the behavioral economists Richard H. Thaler and the legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein released an updated, “final” version of their 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Drawing on research from psychology, economics, sociology, and elsewhere, Thaler and Sunstein make the case for the importance of “nudges.” Nudges, according to these authors, are “aspects of choice architecture” that predictably alter behavior without forbidding or commanding anything (8). Choice architecture refers... Read Nudge Summary


Publication year 1973

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Science / Nature, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine


Publication year 1969

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family

Tags Science / Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Religion / Spirituality, Psychology, Grief / Death, Health / Medicine

On Death and Dying is a 1969 psychological study by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. It is best known in popular culture for introducing the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Kübler-Ross’s work with terminally ill patients inspired the model. She wrote the study as a response to the lack of instruction in medical schools about how to handle the topic of death. It was the very first book written by Kübler-Ross in her... Read On Death and Dying Summary


Publication year 1901

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Mental Health

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Love / Sexuality, Mental Illness, Education, Education, Science / Nature, French Literature, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1964

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Community

Tags Philosophy, Politics / Government, Psychology, Education, Education, Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Philosophy


Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Mental Illness, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Health / Medicine, Relationships, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a historical fiction novel by Ken Kesey, published in 1962. Kesey drew on his experiences working in a veterans’ hospital to develop a critique of then-current psychiatric practices. The novel’s central conflict between a domineering nurse and an unruly patient can also be read as an allegory for the emerging culture wars of the 1960s. The novel was adapted into a Broadway play one year after its publication... Read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Summary