[Review of the book That Mind of Yours

Abstract

Reviews the book, That Mind of Yours by Daniel B. Leary (see record 1927-10267-000 ). In this book, Dr. Leary attempts to cover the whole field of normal and abnormal psychology in brief and simple summary. Written in the first place as a series of newspaper articles, it is an excellent example of what can be done in the way of simplification without sacrifice of poise and scholarship. What is discussed in such a compendium? Psychology as a point of view, seeing man as he is in the light of his origin and the world he must face; sensations; realizations of meaning, "gestalt," percepts and concepts; life as response and adaptation; reflexes, instincts, emotions; nature and nurture; responsibility and necessity; consciousness; introspection; behaviorism; thinking, helpful and hurtful; words and gestures as symbols; drives and mechanisms; resulting prejudices that distort one's thinking, especially about human beings; the need for psychoanalysis and the difficulty of teaching psychology to a public saturated with false assumptions; habits and the need for their constant revision; memory; illusions, hallucinations; memory training; and images. So much for "the field of the normal" in 80 pages. The "field of the abnormal" (a wider term than "pathological") takes 96 more, equally good. Then come 25 pages of "wider applications," and after that 5 pages of bibliography usefully annotated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)