Download or read book The Psychology of Denial written by Jack Wright Phd and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-09-01 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You may not agree with all of the thoughts in The Psychology of Denial, but it will cause you to think about issues that have the potential to change your life in a positive direction. The ideas are developed from the author's experiences with himself, his family, over three decades of experience as a psychotherapist, and the study of Psychological Science since 1953. The overall theme of The Psychology of Denial is that we deny that personal change is possible either from not expecting any change to be available, or by denying that our failed attempts at change needed more understanding. Serious change requires years of effort, and we often don't see that shortcuts to happiness usually just make matters worse. The Psychology of Denial makes it clear that durable happiness comes from making progress with our personal lives, not by meeting certain goals, or finding anything close to perfection. Most of us start our adult lives with serious limitations from our childhoods and need to develop patience and perseverance if we're to overcome them. Psychology has found that it takes a sense of belonging, adequate control over our lives, meaning, and self-esteem if we're to experience general happiness. The Psychology of Denial: The Complexities of a Simple Idea attempts to assists us in understanding how we let denial get in our way of developing these aspects of our happiness. Hopefully the reader of this book will be better able to understand at least the following issues: 1. Why willpower often fails. 2. That many of us just haven't been told how to change. 3. How trying can make a habit worse. 4. That developing self-esteem is critical for effective change. 5. That many of our failures were set up in early childhood. 6. That doing the groundwork presented here can lead to significant changes in our lives and our happiness.
Download or read book Psychology of Denial written by Sofía K. Ogden and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Download or read book Missing Each Other written by Edward Brodkin and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Next Big Idea Club Winter 2021 Must Read The ability to connect with another person's physical and emotional state is one of the most elusive interpersonal skills to develop, but this book shows you just how approachable it can be. In our fast-paced, tech-obsessed lives, rarely do we pay genuine, close attention to one another. With all that’s going on in the world and the never-ending demands of our daily lives, most of us are too stressed and preoccupied to be able to really listen to each other. Often, we misunderstand or talk past each other. Many of us are left wishing that the people in our lives could really listen, understand, and genuinely connect with us. Based on cutting-edge neuroscience research and years of clinical work, psychiatrist Edward Brodkin and therapist Ashley Pallathra take us on a wide-ranging and surprising journey through fields as diverse as social neuroscience and autism research, music performance, pro basketball, and tai chi. They use these stories to introduce the four pillars of human connection: Relaxed Awareness, Listening, Understanding, and Mutual Responsiveness. Accessible and engaging, Missing Each Other explains the science, research, and biology underlying these pillars of human connection and provides exercises through which readers can improve their own skills and abilities in each.
Download or read book Science Denial written by Gale M. Sinatra and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Science doubt, resistance, and denial are not new. Galileo challenged the prevailing geocentric view of our solar system and was dismissed as a heretic. What is the history of science denial, what's different now, and why does it seem worse? In this opening chapter, What is the Problem and Why Does it Matter? Sinatra and Hofer chart the development of this problem, examine how doubt has also been manufactured, and explain how media attempts at "balance" can become a form of bias. While acknowledging the limits and fallibility of science, they argue that if the US is to be a leader in sustainable economic and social progress, a greater percentage of Americans need to value, understand, and accept scientific methods and findings. When so many US citizens deny science, the health and wellbeing of Americans and our hopes for a sustainable future are put in peril."--
Download or read book Living Your Dying written by Stanley Keleman and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is about dying, not about death. We are always dying a big, always giving things up, always having things taken away. Is there a person alive who isn't really curious about what dying is for them? Is there a person alive who wouldn't like to go to their dying full of excitement, without fear and without morbidity? This books tells you how." -- Front cover.
Download or read book Denial written by Jared Del Rosso and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this new book, Jared Del Rosso argues that to understand contemporary social problems we need to become aware of the strategies that people use to deny the existence of those very problems. Drawing on research in sociology, criminology, psychology, and communication studies, Del Rosso develops a new vocabulary for describing denial and its consequences. With examples from everyday observations, current events, and social scientific research, Del Rosso also reveals just how widespread and varied the uses of denial are. Some uses of denial can help people repair their interactions and relationships with others. But most uses of it allows problems to fester, unrecognized. We need, Del Rosso concludes, forms of acknowledgement to surface long-denied problems. But more than that, we need collective forms of action to remedy the harms that those problems and our denial of them have done"--
Download or read book Denial written by Ajit Varki and published by Twelve. This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of science abounds with momentous theories that disrupted conventional wisdom and yet were eventually proven true. Ajit Varki and Danny Brower's "Mind over Reality" theory is poised to be one such idea-a concept that runs counter to commonly-held notions about human evolution but that may hold the key to understanding why humans evolved as we did, leaving all other related species far behind. At a chance meeting in 2005, Brower, a geneticist, posed an unusual idea to Varki that he believed could explain the origins of human uniqueness among the world's species: Why is there no humanlike elephant or humanlike dolphin, despite millions of years of evolutionary opportunity? Why is it that humans alone can understand the minds of others? Haunted by their encounter, Varki tried years later to contact Brower only to discover that he had died unexpectedly. Inspired by an incomplete manuscript Brower left behind, Denial presents a radical new theory on the origins of our species. It was not, the authors argue, a biological leap that set humanity apart from other species, but a psychological one: namely, the uniquely human ability to deny reality in the face of inarguable evidence-including the willful ignorance of our own inevitable deaths. The awareness of our own mortality could have caused anxieties that resulted in our avoiding the risks of competing to procreate-an evolutionary dead-end. Humans therefore needed to evolve a mechanism for overcoming this hurdle: the denial of reality. As a consequence of this evolutionary quirk we now deny any aspects of reality that are not to our liking-we smoke cigarettes, eat unhealthy foods, and avoid exercise, knowing these habits are a prescription for an early death. And so what has worked to establish our species could be our undoing if we continue to deny the consequences of unrealistic approaches to everything from personal health to financial risk-taking to climate change. On the other hand reality-denial affords us many valuable attributes, such as optimism, confidence, and courage in the face of long odds. Presented in homage to Brower's original thinking, Denial offers a powerful warning about the dangers inherent in our remarkable ability to ignore reality-a gift that will either lead to our downfall, or continue to be our greatest asset.
Download or read book States of Denial written by Stanley Cohen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-08-29 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blocking out, turning a blind eye, shutting off, not wanting to know, wearing blinkers, seeing what we want to see ... these are all expressions of 'denial'. Alcoholics who refuse to recognize their condition, people who brush aside suspicions of their partner's infidelity, the wife who doesn't notice that her husband is abusing their daughter - are supposedly 'in denial'. Governments deny their responsibility for atrocities, and plan them to achieve 'maximum deniability'. Truth Commissions try to overcome the suppression and denial of past horrors. Bystander nations deny their responsibility to intervene. Do these phenomena have anything in common? When we deny, are we aware of what we are doing or is this an unconscious defence mechanism to protect us from unwelcome truths? Can there be cultures of denial? How do organizations like Amnesty and Oxfam try to overcome the public's apparent indifference to distant suffering and cruelty? Is denial always so bad - or do we need positive illusions to retain our sanity? States of Denial is the first comprehensive study of both the personal and political ways in which uncomfortable realities are avoided and evaded. It ranges from clinical studies of depression, to media images of suffering, to explanations of the 'passive bystander' and 'compassion fatigue'. The book shows how organized atrocities - the Holocaust and other genocides, torture, and political massacres - are denied by perpetrators and by bystanders, those who stand by and do nothing.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences written by Virgil Zeigler-Hill and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of individual differences within the domain of personality, with major sub-topics including assessment and research design, taxonomy, biological factors, evolutionary evidence, motivation, cognition and emotion, as well as gender differences, cultural considerations, and personality disorders. It is an up-to-date reference for this increasingly important area and a key resource for those who study intelligence, personality, motivation, aptitude and their variations within members of a group.
Download or read book Living in Denial written by Kari Marie Norgaard and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-03-11 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An analysis of why people with knowledge about climate change often fail to translate that knowledge into action. Global warming is the most significant environmental issue of our time, yet public response in Western nations has been meager. Why have so few taken any action? In Living in Denial, sociologist Kari Norgaard searches for answers to this question, drawing on interviews and ethnographic data from her study of "Bygdaby," the fictional name of an actual rural community in western Norway, during the unusually warm winter of 2000-2001. In 2000-2001 the first snowfall came to Bygdaby two months later than usual; ice fishing was impossible; and the ski industry had to invest substantially in artificial snow-making. Stories in local and national newspapers linked the warm winter explicitly to global warming. Yet residents did not write letters to the editor, pressure politicians, or cut down on use of fossil fuels. Norgaard attributes this lack of response to the phenomenon of socially organized denial, by which information about climate science is known in the abstract but disconnected from political, social, and private life, and sees this as emblematic of how citizens of industrialized countries are responding to global warming. Norgaard finds that for the highly educated and politically savvy residents of Bygdaby, global warming was both common knowledge and unimaginable. Norgaard traces this denial through multiple levels, from emotions to cultural norms to political economy. Her report from Bygdaby, supplemented by comparisons throughout the book to the United States, tells a larger story behind our paralysis in the face of today's alarming predictions from climate scientists.
Download or read book Denial written by Richard S. Tedlow and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An astute diagnosis of one of the biggest problems in business Denial is the unconscious determination that a certain reality is too terrible to contemplate, so therefore it cannot be true. We see it everywhere, from the alcoholic who swears he's just a social drinker to the president who declares "mission accomplished" when it isn't. In the business world, countless companies get stuck in denial while their challenges escalate into crises. Harvard Business School professor Richard S. Tedlow tackles two essential questions: Why do sane, smart leaders often refuse to accept the facts that threaten their companies and careers? And how do we find the courage to resist denial when facing new trends, changing markets, and tough new competitors? Tedlow looks at numerous examples of organizations crippled by denial, including Ford in the era of the Model T and Coca-Cola with its abortive attempt to change its formula. He also explores other companies, such as Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and DuPont, that avoided catastrophe by dealing with harsh realities head-on. Tedlow identifies the leadership skills that are essential to spotting the early signs of denial and taking the actions required to overcome it.
Download or read book Beyond Blame written by Carl Alasko Ph. D. and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-08-18 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiring new book from the author of Emotional Bullshit reveals why no one is to blame-but everyone's accountable. For many, a rare day goes by in which the need to blame does not arise-be it to cover one's own errors or just to assign an unfortunate event some kind of name (i.e., "If only X hadn't said X, we wouldn't be in this mess.") And even for those who are somewhat better at keeping the impulse in check-it is still there. According to psychologist Carl Alasko, blame is such an intrinsic part of how we humans communicate that we rarely take a look at what we're actually doing-and how it can affect our relationships. In this book, Alasko reveals that the need to assign blame when something bad happens stems from a very deep desire we all share to "see justice done". Understandable when a grave crime has been committed, but it can become a dangerous habit if we begin to operate as though placing blame were somehow necessary if we want to change something or someone in our world. Yet this feeling that "someone has to pay" is seldom productive in initiating positive change. In Beyond Blame, Alasko teaches readers to recognize destruction that blame causes in their lives-oftentimes without their even being aware-and to put an end to it once and for all. The path to eliminating blame is not a quick or easy one but, as Carl Alasko demonstrates, it is a road that must be traveled if we hope to achieve true peace in our lives.
Download or read book The Truth about Denial written by Adrian Bardon and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People believe what they want to believe. It is a striking-yet all too familiar-fact about human beings that our belief-forming processes can be so distorted by fears, desires, and prejudices that an otherwise sensible person may sincerely uphold a false claim about the world despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When we describe someone as being "in denial," we mean that he or she is personally threatened by some set of facts and consequently fails to assess the situation properly according to the evidence, instead arguing and interpreting evidence in light of a pre-established conclusion. In a world polarized over politics, culture, race, and religion, it is evident that ideological commitments can influence one's perception of reality in socially destructive ways, especially when one perceives a threat to these commitments. When group interests, creeds, or dogmas are threatened by unwelcome factual information, biased thinking can become ideological denialism. This is a problem that affects everybody: Whereas denial can interfere with individual well-being, ideological denialism can stand in the way of urgent advancements in public policy. This book offers an accessible, historically and scientifically informed overview of our understanding of denial and denialism. Adrian Bardon introduces the reader to the latest developments in the interdisciplinary study of denial, and then investigates the role of human psychology and ideology in, respectively, science denial, economic policy, and religious belief.
Download or read book The Politics of Denial written by Michael A. Milburn and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the driving force behind the rage of America's white males? Emotion appears to be playing a growing role in politics, as evidenced by vociferous opposition to welfare, abortion, and immigrants, as well as by the rise of the radical Religious Right, antienvironmentalism, and the increasingly neoconservative slant of American public opinion. The Politics of Denial presents a compelling explanation of these phenomena, providing solid empirical evidence for the role of rigid, harsh child-rearing practices in the creation of punitive, authoritarian adult political attitudes. The authors, social psychologists, show how both the political and the public policy processes in the United States are distorted by the unresolved negative emotions (such as fear, anger, and helplessness) that remain from punitive parenting and by the politicians and conservative religious leaders who exploit those emotions. Among the many public figures discussed are Patrick Buchanan, Newt Gingrich, Ronald Reagan, and Billy Graham.
Download or read book Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial written by Tomaž Grušovnik and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The staggering rate of environmental pollution and animal abuse despite constant efforts to educate the public and raise awareness challenges the prevailing belief that the absence of serious action is a consequence of a poorly informed public. In recent decades alternative explanations of social and political inaction have emerged, including denialism. Challenging the information-deficit model, denialism proposes that people actively avoid unpleasant information that threatens their established worldviews, lifestyles, and identities. Environmental and Animal Abuse Denial: Averting Our Gaze analyzes how people avoid awareness of climate change, environmental pollution, animal abuse, and the animal industrial complex. The contributors examine the theory of denialism in regards to environmental pollution and animal abuse through a range of disciplines, including social psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, cultural history and law.
Download or read book Denying to the Grave written by Sara E. Gorman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Denying to the Grave, authors Sara and Jack Gorman explore the psychology of health science denial. Using several examples of such denial as test cases, they propose seven key principles that may lead individuals to reject "accepted" health-related wisdom.
Download or read book The Blank Slate written by Steven Pinker and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-08-26 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brilliant inquiry into the origins of human nature from the author of Rationality, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and Enlightenment Now. "Sweeping, erudite, sharply argued, and fun to read..also highly persuasive." --Time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Updated with a new afterword One of the world's leading experts on language and the mind explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts. Injecting calm and rationality into debates that are notorious for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker shows the importance of an honest acknowledgment of human nature based on science and common sense.
