“A wonderful book, full of unexpected and insightful answers to probing questions. The full sweep of psychology and the mind sciences is in full display. A must-read.”

—Prof. Michael S. Gazzaniga, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

“Shaping Psychology is an engaging and often provocative volume filled with fascinating insights from prominent researchers whose work has strongly impacted the development of psychological science. Anyone interested in the past, present, or future of psychology should read this book immediately.”

Shaping Psychology is a unique collection of in-depth conversations with a selection of the most influential psychologists working today, conducted at the end of a decade that shook psychological science. They provide insights into the controversies at the heart of contemporary psychology, revealing a clash of visions of what psychological science is all about and what its future holds. They are candid on the crisis in psychology and explore its causes, consequences and how to overcome it. They also discuss challenges in the field, their careers, and the experiences that shaped their worldview.

Those interviewed include pioneers who have shaped psychology as we know it today and who represent a wide range of specializations, from research to mental health practice, mainstream psychology to critical psychology and neuroscience to the Open Science movement. 

Elizabeth F. Loftus, Stanford University, USA

Jerome Kagan, Harvard University, USA

Michael I. Posner, University of Oregon, USA

Scott O. Lilienfeld, Emory University, USA

Robert J. Sternberg, Cornell University, USA

Robert Plomin, King’s College London, UK

Susan J. Blackmore, University of Plymouth, UK

Joseph E. LeDoux, New York University, USA

Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Roy F. Baumeister, University of Queensland, Australia

Erica Burman, University of Manchester, UK

Brian A. Nosek, University of Virginia, USA

Vikram H. Patel, Harvard Medical School, USA

Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University, USA

Carol A. Tavris, independent academic, USA

Tomasz Witkowski is a psychologist, science writer, skeptic and the author of several dozen science papers, several hundred popular science articles and fourteen books. Witkowski’s previous books include Psychology Gone Wrong and Psychology Led Astray.