Book Review – Psychology 150
As a course requirement worth 25 points, you will need to read and write a critical review of one of the following books. I suggest that you purchase the book as they are all inexpensive paperbacks. There are some copies available at the WCU bookstore and at City Lights Bookstore on Spring Street in Sylva. You can also get them over the Internet through Amazon.com. Most are in the WCU library.
1. 1. Do not turn in a review for this class for a book that you have already read for a different course.
2.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. All sentences not in direct quotes must be written by you and in
your own words. It is not
sufficient to simply change a word or two taken from an article or book or from
the Internet. I know how college students write and I know how professional
writers write. A useful guideline is
that when paraphrasing someone else's work, close the book and express the
ideas in your own words. (You will still need to cite the reference.) The WCU Writing Center web page has an
excellent discussion of plagiarism. Check it. Plagiarized papers will be
handled according to the university academic honesty policy and may result in
failure for this course.
3. A book review is not the same a book report. It should contain enough information about what the book says that I know that you actually read it. However, I am also looking for your opinion about the book. For example, what did you think were the most significant points made by the author? Did it change your thinking about the topic? Was it well written? Would you recommend it to other students? The review should be three or four pages long.
4. You may read a book that is not on this list. However, your choice MUST be approved by me at least two weeks in
Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human by Matt Ridley
The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Elizabeth Loftus, Katherine Ketcham
The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers by Daniel L. Schacter
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto
Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V. S. Ramachandran
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
From Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know about Mind-Altering Drugs by Andrew Weil
In the Company of Animals by James Serpell
The Myth of Repressed Memory: False Memories and Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Elizabeth Loftus
Eyewitness Testimony by Elizabeth Loftus
Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman
Sleep Thieves by Stanley Coren
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
Emergence: Labeled Autistic by Temple Grandin
Listening to Prozac by Peter Kramer
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman and Nan Silber
For Each Other: Sharing Sexual Intimacy by Lonnie Barbach
For Yourself: The Fulfillment of Females Sexuality by Lonnie Barbach
Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women by Deborah Blum
The Pursuit of Happiness by David Myers