Psychology – Page 5 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Recovery’s Edge: An Ethnography of Mental Health Care and Moral Agency

By Scott J. Pearson | June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

The American mental health system is one without much hope, without much money, and without much publicity. In this academic exploration, Myers seeks to bring a clear lens of careful observation to the situation. Often, exposure to the system makes observers disillusioned and hopeless. To that narrative, she provides a counter-narrative based on first-hand experience and research. All in all, she succeeds in her attempt. She spends an extended period of time investigating mental health…

StrengthsFinder 2.0: Discover Your CliftonStrengths

By Scott J. Pearson | April 30, 2020May 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

I picked up this book because a group at work was discussing their strengths, and I wanted to take the survey to devote some thought to how I might work with them better. Don Clifton, a workplace psychologist, identified these 34 atomized strengths and developed a questionnaire to help individuals find their personal preferred strengths. Among the 34 are themes like Belief, Communication, Significance, Responsibility, Woo, and Context. First, some important financial advice. If you…

Psychology

Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance

By Scott J. Pearson | February 21, 2020February 23, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Seemingly, everybody has their own version of secrets of success. Angela Duckworth shares that and more in her psychological theory of achievement; only hers is backed by research study. She terms the common factor in success as “grit.” In this work, she shares a way of quantifying grit (called the Grit Scale) methods to develop it in people. At the outset, she seeks to overthrow the idea that some people are just naturally more talented…

Psychology Software-Technology Visualization

Visual Thinking for Design

By Scott J. Pearson | December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Colin Ware directs a Data Visualization Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire. His education is broad and interesting: He holds degrees both in computer science and the psychology of perception. He is a (the?) leading expert on integrating neuroscience and psychology with computer graphics. Most computer graphics books teach how to make things that look cool. This book takes a different tact and discusses why things look cool in terms of the brain’s…

Psychology

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

By Scott J. Pearson | October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

My wife came home from church one day and said, “I want to take that Sunday School class on the Enneagram.” I’d heard of it, but I knew nothing about it. Over the next few weeks, she kept calling people numbers. “You’re a five.” or “I’m a six.” Intrigued, I decided to read this book to learn more about it. I was – and still am – very cynical that human personality can be broken…

Leadership Management-Business Psychology Writing-Communication

The Skilled Facilitator

By Scott J. Pearson | October 6, 2019September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Successfully resolving conflict is one of the most important tasks in management and leadership. Schwarz, a Harvard-educated organizational psychologist, teaches us how to do just this in this well-received book. Its success can be demonstrated by the fact that it now resides in its third edition. (This review only applies to the second edition.) Schwarz tells us how to be not just a facilitator but a skilled facilitator of discussion within organization. He consults with…

Psychology

Review: Theories of Career Development

By Scott J. Pearson | April 19, 2019May 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Theories of Career Development by Samuel H. Osipow My rating: 3 of 5 stars This textbook provides a summary of the field of career development theories in psychological and occupational practice. I read it because I am working with a career-development group in my work, and I wanted a summary of where the field has been in the past. This book’s primary audience is twofold: career counselors and researchers. As such, it summarizes the progression…

Books Psychology

Resources to Explore: Psychology

By Scott J. Pearson | January 25, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Positive Disintegration by Kazimierz Dabrowski