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Much has been written on witchcraft by historians, theologians, philosophers, and anthropologists, but nothing by scientists. This book aims to reappraise witchcraft by applying to it the advances in cognitive sciences.The book is divided into four parts. Part I ('Deep History') deals with human emotions and the drive to represent witches as evil female agents. Part II ('Historical Times') focuses on those rare state and church repressions of malefice, which, surprisingly, did not feature in Islamic lands. Modern urbanization dealt a blow to the rural civilizations where accusations of witchcraft were rife. Part III ('In the Laboratory') applies neuroscience to specific case studies to investigate the personification of misfortune, the millenary stereotype witch = woman, the reality of evil, and the phenomenon of treasure hunting. Part IV ('Millenials') wonders whether intentional malefic hatred in a closed chapter in the history of humanity.An Anatomy of Witchcraft is ideal reading for students and scholars. Given its interdisciplinary nature, the book will be of interest to scholars from many fields including evolutionary psychology, anthropology, women's history, and cognitive sciences.

The Vibrant Organisation translates the science of human behaviour into a playbook of highly practical interventions that build and scale enthusiasm, transforming organisational culture and performance. The book helps create more joy and fulfilment at work, whilst also steering a path to sustained competitive advantage.Using cutting-edge research in neuroscience and psychology, as well as the author's considerable practical experience, Duncan Wardley offers a three-part framework for building teams of agile, adaptable, curious, and highly motivated people: Reset shows how to reduce the threat response by creating a safe environment for employees Ignite teaches leaders how to create events or experiences that create flashes of insight and motivation Fuel demonstrates how to sustain people's motivation through repeatable actions, resulting in an upward spiral of enthusiasm. Packed with fascinating research, on-the-ground stories, and new scientific findings – along with practical tools and exercises – The Vibrant Organisation is a must read for business leaders at all levels looking to get the best out of themselves and their people.

The second edition of The Oxford Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology beautifully captures the history, current status, and future prospects of personality and social psychology. Building on the successes and strengths of the first edition, this second edition of the Handbook combines the two fields of personality and social psychology into a single, integrated volume, offering readers a unique and generative agenda for psychology. Over their history, personality and social psychology have had varying relationships with each other-sometimes highly overlapping and intertwined, other times contrasting and competing. Edited by Kay Deaux and Mark Snyder, this Handbook is dedicated to the proposition that personality and social psychology are best viewed in conjunction with one another and that the synergy to be gained from considering links between the two fields can do much to move both areas of research forward in order to better enrich our collective understanding of human nature. Contributors to this Handbook not only offer readers fascinating examples of work that cross the boundaries of personality and social psychology, but present their work in such a way that thinks deeply about the ways in which a unified social-personality perspective can provide us with a greater understanding of the phenomena that concern psychological investigators. The chapters of this Handbook effortlessly weave together work from both disciplines, not only in areas of longstanding concern, but also in newly emerging fields of inquiry, addressing both distinctive contributions and common ground. In so doing, they offer compelling evidence for the power and the potential of an integrated approach to personality and social psychology today.

“Compelling, and so beautifully written…'The Mind Club'deftly brings the most up-to-date research about other minds to readers of all backgrounds. It may cause you to think differently about crime and punishment, about business transactions and health care, and even about the upcoming elections. Things might just start looking up.”–The Wall Street JournalFrom dogs to gods, the science of understanding mysterious minds—including your own. Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the'mind club.'It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of mind do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds—while incredibly important—are a matter of perception. Their research opens a trove of new findings, with insights into human behavior that are fascinating, frightening and funny. The Mind Club explains why we love some animals and eat others, why people debate the existence of God so intensely, how good people can be so cruel, and why robots make such poor lovers. By investigating the mind perception of extraordinary targets—animals, machines, comatose people, god—Wegner and Gray explain what it means to have a mind, and why it matters so much. Fusing cutting-edge research and personal anecdotes, The Mind Club explores the moral dimensions of mind perception with wit and compassion, revealing the surprisingly simple basis for what compels us to love and hate, to harm and to protect.

As disciplines, psychology and history share a primary concern with the human condition. Yet historically, the relationship between the two fields has been uneasy, marked by a long-standing climate of mutual suspicion. This book engages with the history of this relationship and possibilities for its future intellectual and empirical development. Bringing together internationally renowned psychologists and historians, it explores the ways in which the two disciplines could benefit from a closer dialogue. Thirteen chapters span a broad range of topics, including social memory, prejudice, stereotyping, affect and emotion, cognition, personality, gender and the self. Contributors draw on examples from different cultural contexts - from eighteenth-century Britain, to apartheid South Africa, to conflict-torn Yugoslavia - to offer fresh impetus to interdisciplinary scholarship. Generating new ideas, research questions and problems, this book encourages researchers to engage in genuine dialogue and place their own explorations in new intellectual contexts.