In the History of Psychology there are a few books that stand out. I am very happy to add an autographed copy of "A Mind that found itself" to my library!
Here is what I am reading today:
“Children as young as three years of age share toy rewards equally with a peer, but only when both collaborated in order to gain them. Katharina Hamann with an international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, Harvard University and the Michigan State University found that sharing in children that young is a pure collaborative phenomenon: when kids received rewards not cooperatively but as a windfall, or worked individually next to one another, they kept the majority of toys for themselves. One of humans’ closest living relatives, chimpanzees, did not show this connection between sharing resources and collaborative efforts.”
“Gardeners know that some trees require regular pruning: some of their branches have to be cut so that others can grow stronger. The same is true of the developing brain: cells called microglia prune the connections between neurons, shaping how the brain is wired, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, discovered. Published online in Science, the findings could one day help understand neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.”
“Fame is the No. 1 value emphasized by television shows popular with 9- to 11-year-olds, a dramatic change over the past 10 years, UCLA psychologists report in a new study.”
“My normally serene morning routine of coffee, email, and Facebook was interrupted when my friend Marcus suddenly downgraded from “In a Relationship” to “It’s Complicated” and a stream of sympathetic well-wishes and sad-moticons began to pepper the screen. Marcus is a good guy and, like everyone else, I felt bad seeing him going through some obvious interpersonal turmoil. At the same time, I felt a little uncomfortable getting such a minute-by-minute account of his relationship woes. I had a disturbing image of Marcus, in the throes of an angry fight with his lover, marching over to Facebook and changing his status before hurling his iPad across the room.”
“Author John M. Gottman, during his research for his book, “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work,” found that the best predictor of a successful partnership was a couple’s ability to communicate effectively before commitment. Another important key to success is how well a couple deals with conflict. According to Gottman, unhappy couples are more defensive, fighting for their own point of view and neglecting to acknowledge their partner’s concerns. Going into defense limits a person’s ability to listen, which only fuels more defensiveness.”
