Psychology - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Power of the Other: The Startling Effect Other People Have on You, from the Boardroom to the Bedroom & Beyond – and What to Do About It

By Scott J. Pearson | January 16, 2024January 16, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Modern leadership is often contrasted with healthy relationships. Leaders, we are told, have to be a lonely and isolated genius, like Steve Jobs. However, in truth, no one can lead without relying on other people. Getting things done requires healthy relationships, and most key advances just cannot be made without others’ influence. In this book, leadership psychologist Henry Cloud examines how to best take advantage of others’ help by identifying mutually beneficial relationships. Cloud’s main…

Psychology Society

Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

By Scott J. Pearson | January 10, 2024January 10, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Though a neurotypical myself, I’ve made recent efforts towards better understanding a colleague at work who is on the autism spectrum. I did so with the hope of learning to deal with future colleagues who might come from similar perspectives. I work in software development, which is targeted as a potential career path with less interaction with neurotypicals. So I expect more interactions with future co-workers on the spectrum. I’ve read several works on autism,…

Indie Psychology

Unmasking Adult Autism: The Brain & the Person

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2023December 17, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Is autism a diagnosis with a fixed treatment, or is it a part of the wider human condition, to be treated humanistically? As autism’s prevalence continues to rise, society debates how to do this. In this book, Curtis Youngblood clearly comes down on the humanistic side. Through life experience, he contends that more attention needs to be paid towards helping people to live with autism practically rather than divining some yet-unknown cause or causes. This…

Psychology Society

Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price

By Scott J. Pearson | December 2, 2023December 2, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

I grew up as a Southern Baptist with a lot of structural homophobia around me. Homosexuality was viewed as an irrefutable sin, and nothing else in the Biblical narrative could say otherwise. Over the years, I’ve questioned much about the religious tradition I was handed. I am still a Christian, but my faith takes a much different form that values education, a lack of bias, and a role for history in religion. In fact, now,…

Biography-Memoir Family Psychology

Words with My Father: A Bipolar Journey Through Turbulent Times

By Scott J. Pearson | October 26, 2023October 26, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Those of us with bipolar disorder understand firsthand the upheavals this mental illness can exert on a life. Before diagnosis, moodiness can lead to a lack of linearity in life. Diagnosis typically only comes after a crisis. Self-awareness can grow after diagnosis, but medications and therapy cannot fully “cure” this disease. Many stories in this genre focus on hardships and a general lack of life control – not exactly fodder for inspiration. Into this millieu,…

Psychology Writing-Communication

Is That Clear? Effective Communication in a Neurodiverse World

By Scott J. Pearson | October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Neurodiversity is a new term to encompass the many ways different brain makeups impact our ways of being in the world. The word is most heavily used concerning the autism community to refer to different ways of relating. Many with autism express frustration and frank exhaustion with ineffective communication practices. Many of us who don’t have autism can learn a few relatively simple techniques, described in this book, that will enhance our communicative abilities with…

Management-Business Psychology

The Motivation to Work by Frederick Herzberg

By Scott J. Pearson | October 14, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

This classic study from 1959 describes, better than everyone else why modern men work beyond economic subsistence. Because it focuses only on men, it’s limited in a gender-diverse workplace, but because it studies two diverse occupations – accountants and engineers – it remains fairly generalizable. It concludes that the main reason people dislike their workplace is mismanaged environmental factors. But it also concludes that managing environmental factors properly does not positively motivate people to work.…

Management-Business Psychology

A Theory of Human Motivation

By Scott J. Pearson | October 11, 2023October 12, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

This foundational 1943 paper about human motivation and work deserves to be read in its original form, accessible here. Many textbooks provide a good summary of AH Maslow’s theory of human motivation around needs, but Maslow’s original work describes a more complex picture. For example, he does not describe a linear progression as lower needs become met. Instead, he paints a picture where multiple motivations often play off each other, where higher motives mingle with…

Biography-Memoir Management-Business Psychology Research-Education

Connecting with the Autism Spectrum: How to Talk, How to Listen & Why You Shouldn’t Call It High-Functioning

By Scott J. Pearson | October 10, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

In recent years, a new genre of book has emerged from those with autism. These books explain to the general public how to deal with autistic folk, specifically themselves, better. After decades of mistreatment, this group seeks to raise their voice for better social conditions. I’m not exactly sure how to classify these books because they’re half-memoir, half-psychology. They aren’t exactly rigorous science, but they are very reality-based. To this list, Casey “Remrov” Vormer adds…

Management-Business Psychology

You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing & Why It Matters

By Scott J. Pearson | October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Listening is an often-overlooked skill in today’s society heavily geared around marketing and self-expression. It involves asking probing questions and interpreting each word, expression, and pause that a speaker makes. It’s critical for jobs in journalism, intelligence, leadership, and social work. In this book, journalist Kate Murphy explores how listening works and how you can make better use of its science. For source material, Murphy interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life along…