Making the MexiRican City
To commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month, this week's review analyzes the community-building and activist practices Mexican and Puerto Rican migrants employed in 20th-century Michigan.
Posted on in Review of the Week
Loneliness
Isolation can take a toll
Posted on March 30, 2020 in Review of the Week
Loneliness : human nature and the need for social connection
Cacioppo, John T. by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick W.W. Norton, 2008
317p, 9780393061703 $25.95
Although this book has two authors, it is largely written in the first person and voice of Cacioppo (Univ. of Chicago), a renowned social psychologist who pioneered the application of neuroscience to the study of social interaction. Turning to the dearth of such interaction, Cacioppo and Patrick (editor in chief, Journal of Life Sciences) demonstrate that loneliness is as much a problem of the body as it is of the mind. Reviewing and integrating years of extensive social-cognitive-neuroscience data collected by Cacioppo and his collaborators, the authors examine the benefits of social connections and the “pain” resulting from their absence. They argue that sustained loneliness is as unhealthy as obesity, smoking, lack of exercise, and other lifestyle problems. Although they offer suggestions for combating isolation (included, in passing, is a four-part model for easing one’s way toward social connection), this is not a self-help book but a scientific tour of loneliness through the lens of evolutionary psychology, animal behavior (especially primates), and brain physiology. Accordingly, casual readers seeking a 12-step sort of program will be disappointed, but those interested in multimethod lab and field-based approaches for addressing and answering complex questions about this intriguing social behavior will be rewarded.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty/professionals; general readers.
Reviewer: D. S. Dunn, Moravian College
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Psychology
Choice Issue: Nov 2008
Related Posts
-
-
Understanding and Teaching Contemporary US History Since Reagan
This week's review offers a roadmap for teaching contemporary US history, providing instructors with tips to tackle recent divisive topics and engage students with primary sources.
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
Laboring for Justice
Researching the experiences of day laborers in Denver, Colorado, this week's review examines wage theft and nefarious labor practices that reflect broader systemic labor issues in the US.
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
A World History of Women Photographers
This week's review showcases the work of international women photographers dating back to the 19th century, disrupting stereotypes over what constitutes women's work.
Posted on in Review of the Week