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.

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Teams

Tags Leadership/Organization/Management, Business / Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Health / Medicine


Publication year 1990

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Self Help, Relationships, Psychology, Christian literature, Love / Sexuality


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Self Help, Business / Economics, Psychology, Leadership/Organization/Management, Inspirational, Psychology, Health / Medicine


Publication year 1989

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: The Future

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

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Aug 1989) by Stephen R. Covey is one of the most influential self-help books of the late twentieth century. To date, the title has sold over 40 million copies and has been a New York Times bestseller. Covey was named as one of Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Americans of 1996. His book is classified under the categories of Business Management, Organizational Behavior, and Personal Success in Business... Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Summary


Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Self Help, Education, Education, Business / Economics, Parenting, Psychology, Psychology

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey was first published in 1998 but was revised in 2014 to meet the changing needs of its audience of tech-savvy teenagers. (This study guide refers to the 2019 Simon and Schuster trade paperback edition.) While the genre is self-help, the book’s focus on young adult readers is evident from Covey’s informal tone, which he uses to narrate entertaining stories about teenagers, as well as the... Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Identity: Mental Health, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Psychology, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Mental Illness, Self Help


Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: The Future, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Science / Nature, Technology, Philosophy, Psychology, Futurism, Technology, Business / Economics, Psychology, Philosophy


Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Natural World: Place, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Education, Education, Science / Nature, Sociology, Parenting, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Self Help, Health / Medicine


Publication year 1992

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Art, Identity: Language

Tags Self Help, Psychology, Arts / Culture, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Religion / Spirituality, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Psychology, Sociology, Self Help, Business / Economics, Relationships, Psychology

Priya Parker’s book The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters (2018) is a series of chapter-length essays that provide a guide to organizing effective gatherings as well as a persuasive argument for thinking about them as tools for social transformation. As a highly experienced group facilitator, advisor, podcast host, and expert in conflict resolution, Parker brings a specialist’s insight to her topic. At the same time, she organizes and presents the... Read The Art of Gathering Summary


Publication year 2001

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Philosophy, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Philosophy, Business / Economics, History: World, Psychology


Publication year 1990

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Life/Time: Aging

Tags Gender / Feminism, Sociology, Psychology, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self Help, Politics / Government

Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women was published in 1990 and republished in 2002 by HarperCollins with an updated introduction. At the time of its original release, The Beauty Myth was considered a seminal feminist work for its analysis of the way the market—and its consumer culture—generates and perpetuates the myth of beauty to control women on a psychological level. This study guide refers to the 2009 HarperCollins... Read The Beauty Myth Summary


Publication year 1963

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Gender

Tags Gender / Feminism, Depression / Suicide, Psychology, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Mental Illness, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman

The Bell Jar is a semiautobiographical novel by author Sylvia Plath, originally published under her pen name Victoria Lucas. Plath was best known for her contribution to the confessional poetry genre with the collections Ariel and The Colossus and Other Poems. After her death by suicide in 1963, she received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for her Collected Poems. The Bell Jar is Plath’s only novel, inspired by her experience battling depression. It explores themes of... Read The Bell Jar Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Crime / Legal, Psychology, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychology, Mental Illness, Biography


Publication year 2007

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics

Tags Business / Economics, Philosophy, Science / Nature, Psychology, Finance / Money / Wealth, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Philosophy


Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Nurture v. Nature

Tags Psychology, Technology, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science / Nature, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics / Government

In the nonfiction book The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, a Harvard-educated experimental psychologist, draws from cutting-edge cognitive science to debunk popular ideas about the mind and human nature. Primarily, Pinker argues against the concept of the Blank Slate—that is, that the mind is a “blank slate”—showing instead that our brains come hardwired with universal attributes. He also discredits two related concepts, that of the Noble Savage (the idea that primitive humans were superior to and... Read The Blank Slate Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Relationships: Teams, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Poverty, Mental Illness, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Class, Psychology, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Society: Community, Self Discovery

Tags Gender / Feminism, Self Help, Psychology, Social Justice, Diversity, Race / Racism, Psychology, LGBTQ, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

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

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma is a 2014 nonfiction work by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. This guide refers to the 2015 edition published by Penguin Books. Van der Kolk, a psychiatrist specializing in various forms of trauma, has worked in trauma therapy for his entire professional career, publishing numerous scientific research studies of his own and contributing to many more. In addition to being a... Read The Body Keeps the Score Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Self Help, Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy, Psychology, Inspirational, Psychology, Philosophy

In The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, co-authors Douglas Abrams, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu share their discussion on the nature of joy and the methods to achieve it in the face of adversity. Originally published in 2016, this work falls within the genre of spiritual and self-help literature. The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, and Archbishop Tutu, a leader in the fight against... Read The Book of Joy Summary