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 1995

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Values/Ideas: Art, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Realistic Fiction, Arts / Culture, Grief / Death, Psychology, Education, Education, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Tags Self Help, Psychology, Military / War, Psychology, Biography


Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness

Challenger Deep, a 2015 novel by Neal Shusterman, offers an account of mental illness as experienced by a teenage boy. Shusterman’s son Brendan was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at age 16. His experience with the illness influenced Neal to write Challenger Deep. Brendan’s drawings appear throughout the book as Caden’s artwork. The book garnered the 2015 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.Plot SummaryWhen the novel begins, Caden is 15 years old. He is a... Read Challenger Deep Summary


Publication year 1987

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Space & The Universe, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Science / Nature, Philosophy, Business / Economics, Animals, Health / Medicine, Technology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy


Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Sociology, Health / Medicine, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science / Nature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs is a 2015 work of investigative nonfiction by British-Swiss author Johann Hari. Hari explores the so-called international war on drugs by looking deeply into its historical roots, its legal and social implications, and the possibility for reform. He examines addiction and the consequences of past and present drug laws across nine continents and 30,000 miles. A major focus is the criminalization and... Read Chasing the Scream Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Mental Health, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

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


Publication year 1930

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Education, Education, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government

Civilization and Its Discontents is one of the most widely-read and influential works by Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis and a titan of the 20th century. The book examines the conflict between societies and their individual members, how cultures try to channel human drives toward constructive ends, and how individuals struggle to balance social demands for conformity with their own urges and yearnings. Late in the 19th century, Freud founded psychoanalysis, a talking therapy that... Read Civilization And Its Discontents Summary


Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

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


Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime / Legal, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Journalism, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Biography

Dave Cullen’s nonfiction book, Columbine (2009), chronicles the mass shooting at Colorado’s Columbine High School, on April 20, 1999. The perpetrators of the shooting, Columbine High seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed thirteen people—twelve students and one teacher—and injured another two-dozen, before taking their own lives. Cullen’s book moves backward and forward in time, chronicling the lives of the shooters, the victims, the victims’ families, and others both before and after the April 20... Read Columbine Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Joy

Tags Gender / Feminism, Science / Nature, Health / Medicine, Relationships, Self Help, Love / Sexuality, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Psychology, Psychology


Publication year 1846

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Society: Community

Tags Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality

Published in 1846, Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments is one of the major works of the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard. The book is so named because Kierkegaard intended it as a sequel to his 1844 work Philosophical Fragments, although the Postscript is more than six times longer than the Fragments. The word “unscientific” is an ironic allusion to rationalistic philosophy, particularly that of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.Hegel’s philosophy—known as Hegelianism—held that... Read Concluding Unscientific Postscript Summary


Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Science / Nature, Social Science, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

Consilience is the bringing together of facts and theories from many fields of study to create a coherent, unified system of knowledge. Consilience, published in 1998 by Harvard scientist Edward O. Wilson, argues that the grand quest to unite all human thought, begun during the post-Renaissance Enlightenment era, should continue today, centered on the intellectual power of the scientific method. Professor Wilson believes that science is the foremost method of organized thought ever developed, a... Read Consilience Summary


Publication year 2006

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community

Tags Journalism, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine

Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, published in 2006, is a blend of memoir and journalism by author and Washington Post journalist Pete Earley. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 and recounts the struggles of Earley’s son, Mike, to receive treatment for his mental illness, which results in Mike’s arrest. Earley juxtaposes Mike’s story with the stories of Miami residents with mental illnesses as they navigate life in... Read Crazy Summary


Publication year 1788

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government, Philosophy, German Literature


Publication year 1781

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Objects, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Philosophy, Science / Nature, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most influential texts in the history of modern philosophy. Situated in the intellectual milieu of 18th century Europe, the Critique of Pure Reason is a philosophical document of the Age of Enlightenment and offers an answer to the philosophical debates of its day touching on metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical inquiries. Written in 1781 and substantially revised in 1787, Kant’s Critique inaugurated a philosophical... Read Critique of Pure Reason Summary


Publication year 2002

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Language, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Teams

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

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High (2002) was written by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Al Switzler, and Ron McMillan. It has become a cornerstone of the field of interpersonal communication and self-improvement, offering insights into the dynamics that govern our most vital conversations. Both Kerry Patterson and Joseph Grenny are leading authorities on organizational change and have advised some of the world’s largest organizations. Al Switzler is a renowned speaker and... Read Crucial Conversations Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Language

Tags Psychology, Religion / Spirituality, Crime / Legal, Sociology, History: World, Psychology


Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Teams

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


Publication year 1989

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Depression / Suicide, Health / Medicine, Mental Illness, Psychology, Psychology, Biography

In December 1985, prominent novelist William Styron, in the depths of severe depression, found himself at a crossroads. Prepared to commit suicide, Styron opted instead to seek treatment. After seven weeks in a psychiatric ward, Styron reentered the world with a renewed sense of self and a will to live. When Primo Levi, a prominent Italian scientist, writer, and Holocaust survivor, killed himself in 1987, Styron responded to the widespread criticism of Levi’s suicide with... Read Darkness Visible Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Psychology, Science / Nature, Business / Economics, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Self Help

Malcolm Gladwell’s 2013 book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants is an investigation of the relationship—often distorted, in Gladwell’s view—between underdogs and giants. Taken from the Biblical account of David and Goliath, underdogs are cast as those battling (and overcoming) seemingly overwhelming odds, and giants are their adversaries. David and Goliath was a bestseller, but some critics and scholars found Gladwell’s conclusions unsatisfying and the stories he draws from unsubstantiated... Read David And Goliath Summary