Psychologists on Psychology

From Skinner to Chomsky, Eysenck to Antony Damasio, this book is a unique collection of in-depth conversations with world-famous psychologists. The last century has seen radical changes in thiking and practice, and the arguments that drive this change are surprisingly deep. The interviews here given an insight into the conflicts and controversies at the heart of contemporary psychology, revealing a clash of visions of what human nature is all about.

In 1977 Cohen interviewed 13 leading psychologists, asking them very direct questions about why they studied psychology, who influenced them, who annoyed them, and how they came to their results. He found each had a unique perspective, of course, but he also found them all to be complex, conflicted in their views, and still fascinated by the subject of psychology after living and breathing it for decades. Chomsky, for example, said psychology had barely come into existence, and had great hopes for its future. Eysenck looked forward to future collaboration with astronomers, physicists and psychologists. In 1993, Cohen added interviews with significant women psychologists such as Bern and Churchland, and in this edition Cohen adds the likes of Flavell, Damasio, Kahneman and Tannen. Times have changed, but these scholars' collective sense of anticipation still holds firm. Distributed by Oxford University Press. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR