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In A Brief History of Modern Psychology, Ludy Benjamin, leading historian in the field, discusses the history of both the science and the practice of psychology since the establishment of the first experimental psychology laboratory in 1879.
- Captures the excitement of this pervasive field that features prevalently in modern mass media
- Presents facts and interesting tidbits about individual psychologists' lives and ideas, as well as illuminating tie-in's to the social contexts in which they lived
- Features widely known figures such as William James, Carl Jung, Wilhelm Wundt, G. Stanley Hall, James Catell, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner as well as lesser known luminaries such as E.B. Titchener, Mary Calkins, Leta Hollingworth, Kenneth and Mamie Clark, and Helen Thompson Wolley
- Provides the historical and disciplinary context that will help readers to better understand the richness and complexity of contemporary psychology
- Includes discussions of important events, societies, and landmarks in the history of psychology such as the growth of psychological laboratories in the US, the Thayer Conference (the landmark summit which defined school psychology), Kurt Lewin's social action research, and Lewis M. Terman and the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Scale (now the well known, "Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale")
- Test Bank for instructors with identification, multiple-choice, matching, and essay questions written by Ludy Benjamin available at www.wiley.com/go/benjamin .
On the Back Cover
No subject captures the attention of people today more than psychology. It pervades television in the form of soap operas, celebrity court cases, police and hospital dramas, talk shows, 'reality' shows, and infomercials. It is the stuff of movies, magazines, plays, novels, self-help books, sports, jobs, music lyrics, talk radio, and the internet. In A Brief History of Modern Psychology, Ludy Benjamin, a leading historian in the field, discusses the history of both the science and the practice of psychology since the establishment of the first experimental psychology laboratory in 1879.
In engaging prose, this book weaves together the historical and disciplinary context that will help readers to better understand the richness and complexity of contemporary psychology.
Review Quotes
1. "From a renowned historian and teacher of psychology comes what psychology students will welcome - a crisp and beautifully crafted history of their discipline, replete with fascinating stories of the people who shaped it and whose shoulders we now stand upon." David G. Myers, Hope College
"A Brief History of Modern Psychology will itself become part of the history of modern psychology. It is a classic work by one of the most distinguished living historians of psychology. Anyone who wishes to understand how the field of psychology has reached its present state should read this book." Robert J. Sternberg, Tufts University
"This book offers exciting new analyses of such diverse topics as G. Stanley Hall's genetic psychology, the 19th-century 'public psychologies' of phrenology and mesmerism, and the late-20th-century emergence of a psychology of social action. A Brief History of Modern Psychology provides a stimulating new resource that will inspire 21st-century psychology students' interest in their science's past. " Michael M. Sokal, Founding Editor, History of Psychology
"The Behaviorism chapter was the best historical introduction that I can remember reading -- just what historical writing should be." Wesley G. Morgan, Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee
"The reader is guided through over a century of psychology in less than three hundred pages, yet the experience is never a taxing one. Both the precision and the conciseness of the book will undoubtedly make it appealing for undergraduate course work." ISIS
"Conversational and...quite readable...easy to study from and deliver[s] plenty of useful information...would also be ideal for the lay reader for a survey of psychology's history."
Metapsychology Online Reviews
