Best psychology books to start studying

Hello friends!

In this text, I will talk about the best books to start studying psychology. Of course, it’s just a personal selection, mine, but as I already have more than ten years of studies in the area, I believe I can contribute to those who are starting, whether before entering college, or at the beginning of it.

See the video 9 Psychology Books You Must Have at the end of the text!

Read also – Psychology Books by Practice Areas

In order to list the main books, we have to remember that psychology is a broad science. At the University where I studied (UFSJ), the department of my course had the following title on the door: Department of Psychology. Did you notice the difference? It did not say Department of Psychology, but of psychologies, that is to say, there is not only one psychology. To talk about psychology, we have to think in the plural. There are several psychologies.

There are several psychologies not only because they are different areas of activity, but because there are different theoretical approaches to explain the psyche. In our Free Online Psychology Course I talk about the 3 main approaches, however, there are actually other approaches. What is important to note is that these approaches cannot (or have not) been reconciled to date. That is, there is a strong debate between each of the schools, which, to speak clear Portuguese, do not understand each other, do not communicate. The approaches speak different languages, so different that specialists in each area may not understand each other’s language.

While we studied all the major approaches in college, the natural thing is to specialize. For example, I am specializing in the Doctorate in the approach of Jung’s Analytical Psychology which, in turn, has a certain relationship with psychoanalysis.

A frequent question for students while they are in graduation is not knowing exactly which approach to follow. Well, I think this decision can be postponed until about halfway through the course. And, after all, it can be changed along the way.

When I entered college, I was already studying Jung and Freud, so I anticipated that I would study psychoanalysis and analytical psychology more. And this really happened, because I studied Freud’s and Lacan’s psychoanalysis in depth, at the same time that I delved into Jungian psychology.

However, I also studied the other approaches to know their theories. In this sense, I say that it is necessary to postpone the decision of choosing an approach a little. It is also possible to always be studying the most varied theories, to learn other visions of the world and the area in which we are going to work.

In this text, I will not describe myself books on psychology specialties. So, I will not say about the best books on clinical, legal, organizational, educational, etc. psychology. I want to describe the main general books regarding psychology as a science and the 3 main forces of psychology.

– History of Modern Psychology. Author: Schultz, Sydney Ellen; Schultz, Duane P. Publisher: Cengage Learning

The book takes you through the history of psychology, from the emergence of psychology laboratories to the development of the main theoretical approaches. In addition to being a general book, it is easy to read and understand. It is usually used in initial disciplines.

– The Principles of Psychology. Author: William James. Unfortunately, this book is a little difficult to find in Portuguese. But there are editions in English and Spanish. Many consider William James to be the father of modern psychology. Others attribute to him the creation of the first psychology laboratory, even before Wundt.

As I said in the introduction to this text, the main objective is to describe the books of the 3 great forces of psychology (psychoanalysis, behaviorism or behaviorism and humanism). By reading the following books, the student will be able to have an overview of each approach and its development:

Best Psychoanalysis Books

– Freud, the web of concepts. Author: Renato Mezan. Publisher: Perspective

Renato Mezan is one of the main Brazilian psychoanalysts. This book is his master’s thesis in which he makes a profound analysis of all of Freud’s work, following the plot of concepts, that is, showing why he begins to create certain concepts, to modify them, to abandon them. , to create new ones throughout the Collected Works as a whole. It’s an excellent book.

Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (Parts I and II) (1915-1916) (Complete Works)

– In 1916, Freud gave a series of lectures on psychoanalysis. Because they are conferences, that is, classes, it is an easier text to read and also presents an overview of the concepts so far. Years later, he also published New Lectures on Psychoanalysis. Reading both Lectures, one can learn a lot about psychoanalysis.

New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis and other works (1932-1936) (Complete Works)

The History of the Psychoanalytic Movement, Articles on Metapsychology, and Other Works (1914-1916) (Complete Works)

– Author: Freud. Image Publisher. In this book, Freud recounts the beginnings of psychoanalysis and its development from the beginning. The main modifications and splits with Adler and Jung. Very interesting to know what Freud himself thought about the movement he created.

– Freud. Author: CG Jung. Publisher: Voices. This book by CG Jung is also excellent for an overview of psychoanalysis. The volume brings together texts from different times by the creator of analytical psychology, from the beginning when he started collaborating with Freud until his breakup. Noteworthy is the chapter “The Freud and Jung Divergence”.

– The Tavistock Lectures. Author: CG Jung. Publisher: Voices. Jung was one of the main authors within psychoanalysis. Even though he broke with Freud and created his own approach, we can think that his work is related to psychoanalysis, as the concept of the unconscious is fundamental. In the Tavistock Lectures, he clearly explains the concept of the complex, the analysis of dreams and the emergence of his theoretical line.

– Memories, Dreams and Reflections. Author. CG Jung. Publisher: New Frontier. Shortly before he died, in 1961, Jung told about his life story and his theoretical work. There is a chapter dedicated only to his relationship with Freud and another in which we can read his opinion about each book he published. In addition to being easy to read, it is interesting to observe how one of psychology’s leading theorists viewed psychology.

Best Behaviorism or Behavioral Books

Behavioral psychology has another look at man and the way we have to study the psyche. Instead of focusing on introspection and the report that the individual makes of himself in the office, the behavioral view sees that one should study what is observable, what can be measured and counted: behavior. Of course, it does not discount thoughts, which are called covert verbal behavior.

Although I am not an expert in this approach, I studied with one of Brazil’s leading behavioral psychologists, Roosevelt Starling. So let’s go to the main books:

– Science and Human Behavior. Author: Skinner. Publisher: Martins Fontes. General and complete presentation about the behavioral approach, since its inception. It is, in my opinion, the best book and one that should be bought by everyone who likes psychology.

– About Behaviorism. Author: Skinner. Publisher: Thought. Analysis of the theoretical line of behaviorism

– Verbal Behavior. Author: Skinner. Publisher: Cultrix. Behaviorism has a peculiar view of language, verbal behavior (such as speech) and verbal behavior as a cover-up (such as thinking). This is the book that starts the debate in the field.

– The myth of freedom. Author: Skinner. Publisher: Summus. Skinner’s analysis of the old philosophical problem of the relationship between freedom and contingency. To what extent are we controlled by our environment?

Radical behaviorism: criticism and metacriticism

– A book that intends to offer the reader a very general idea of ​​the critical literature on behaviorism. Introductory essay concerned with facilitating the work of those interested in better understanding some of the main controversies involving this approach, based on ethical precepts, methodological dimensions, philosophical claims or conceptual dissensions. A work that characterizes criticism by recovering a significant part of the published scientific literature and gathering it under previously stated criteria. It presents some responses from behaviorists to these criticisms and adds new considerations about its content and implications from the internal foundations of behaviorism – hence an outline of metacriticism.

The third main approach to psychology is humanism. It is sometimes called existential-humanism. The books below can serve as an introduction to the study of humanism. Among the main ideas of humanism is the idea that the patient is not a patient (because he is not sick) but a client; the idea that we have physiological, emotional, mental and self-actualization needs – Maslow’s famous pyramid; the idea that man is more than his suffering and that he must realize his self, his full potential. See the list:

– Becoming a Person. Author: rogers

– Client-Centered Therapy. Author: rogers

– Introduction to the Psychology of Being. Author: Maslow

– Motivation and Personality. Author: Maslow

9 Psychology Books You Must Have

Conclusion

In this text, I tried to indicate the main books to start studying psychology. Any “most” or “best” list necessarily leaves out excellent books that could and will also be included later. Therefore, if you like the topic of psychology, register your email to receive new texts by email! It’s free!

Also left out were the books on the specialties of psychology. That is, the best books on clinical and hospital psychology. educational, organizational, human resources, etc. The list tried to show the main books of beginning of study. So starting with these, we will be able to go deeper into the areas of action later, since several practices use the concepts of the three great forces of psychology.

The objective, therefore, was to give an overview of the history of psychology and the main books on psychoanalysis, humanism and behaviorism.

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