6 Books to Introduce you to Psychology

Being around for more than 2000 years, since the time of ancient greek philosophers, psychology first rooted its wellbeing concepts from philosophers and their abstract thoughts in relation to human happiness and needs. After the industrial revolution, more and more clinicians have had questions in relation to the wellbeing of their patients, who were sometimes suffering from repressed feelings and thus their behaviour in society was unacceptable. One such researcher was Freud, an austrian neurologist, who is considered to be the father of modern psychology. His innovative clinical research, that treated subjects such as hypnosis, psychosis, anxiety and addictions. One of his remarkable contributions to the initial body of psychological work was achieved through his thesis on seduction theory, but also on his very much acclaimed Interpretation of Dreams. Since Freud, many other psychologists have proposed various theories and formulas for treating the most complex part of the body, naimly the brain function. One such psychologist was Carl Jung, who was initially an adept of Freud, but further developed his own views and opinion in relation to the field of psychology. Jung is mostly known for his contributions to the body of work on the collective unconsciousness. He also was the founder of analytic psychology. Differentiating from Freud’s psychoanalytic theories, Jung proposed theories on anima and animus, archetypes, collective unconscious, extroversion and introversion, individualism and self, complexes and the shadow and synchronicity. As the two founding fathers of what we now understand to be modern psychology, Freud and Jung have opened the path to new research possibilities and even a new totally unrelated field, such as marketing, which deals with the psychology of organisations and the way humans take decisions. Other branches of psychology include: social psychology, NLP, child psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy and clinical psychology. 

In this article we have prepared a list of english specialised books on Social psychology, cognitive behavioural, child psychology and NLP. The selection proposed within this article is very much a good starting point for anyone interested in developing coping mechanisms for life, and developing further his or her abilities in the field of psychology. 

To answer the questions: What is psychology? When did it begin? When did it come from? And other introductory ones we propose to you: Introducing psychology. Further the book offers responses to how psychology compares with other subjects such as psychiatry and psychotherapy, to what extent is it scientific, and many more, by offering a clear distinction between what was psychology in the past and what is it in its modern form. The most important schools of thought regarding psychology such as biopsychology, psychoanalysis, behaviourism, animal psychology, cognitive approaches, social psychology, developmental psychology and humanism. On the key figures from psychology, the book offers a comprehensive account of Freud, Pavlov, Jung, Skinner, Piaget, Maslow and Rogers, but also many others that brought important contributions to the field of study. 

To continue your adventure into more specialized fields of psychology, we propose to you Introduction to social psychology and Social psychology. Social psychology is that branch of the main science which deals with individual perception and influence, but also relationships. Mostly known as the science of social interactions, Social Psychology deals with the societal and community influence on its individuals. This branch has also been divided into sub branches such as cognitive social psychology and social neuroscience. This particular sub branch of psychology has always been considered a branch between psychology and sociology.  This field focuses on the importance of social factors in determining individual perceptions, motivations and identity. The body of work under this branch looks at how the presence of others influences certain behaviors and how feelings occur. 

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In our path to betterment we can borrow tactics from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in order to change negative patterns, habits and thought processes. Introducing CBT offers a wide range of techniques to alleviate numerous disorders such as anorexia, PTSD and others. This book focuses our attention on how to use the body of CBT research in order to improve our life through measured and results driven approaches. 

Brilliant NLP by David Molden helps us answer some of the most interesting questions in betterment psychology. Such questions as individual responses to similar situations, how to remain cool and collected in various circumstances, and how successful people attain their luck find their answers within this book. Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is the science of linguistics and how those affect our behaviour under certain circumstances. On top, this volume offers techniques that help the user master NLP easily, shifting our usual perception of situations and people in such a way it benefits us in the long run.  This is a great read if you believe you can influence your success and it provides you with the right tools in order to do so.

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Development psychology from infancy to adulthood is ideal for new parents who are curious about how to deal with their children at different stages in their development. What’s more the book is widely used by clinicians specialising in child psychology. Furthermore, this second edition of the popular textbook, offers a complex and comprehensive account of child development psychology. The material encompasses ecology of development, cultural variations, early social interactions and intelligence measurement and plenty of mind theories pertaining to child development. The book is written in a user friendly manner, where key concepts are highlighted with chapter goals and objectives, making it an easy read even for the ones who were not initiated in psychology up to the point of picking the book. 

Hopefully this book selection will help you navigate the intricacies of psychology. We do hope that our specialised english section can help you further understand and develop your core strengths and abilities, even if it’s for your own personal development.