1668 quotes by psychologists for you to enjoy

The brain is highly structured, but it is also extremely flexible. It's not a blank slate, but it isn't written in stone, either. Alison Gopnik

Extremely Structured Blank Blank Slate Written Highly Also Brain Stone Either Flexible Slate

The youngest children have a great capacity for empathy and altruism. There's a recent study that shows even 14-month-olds will climb across a bunch of cushions and go across a room to give you a pen if you drop one. Alison Gopnik

Putting together philosophy and children would have been difficult for most of history. But very fortunately for me, when I started graduate school there was a real scientific revolution taking place in developmental psychology. Alison Gopnik

Me History Together School Revolution Difficult Philosophy Would Taking Putting Developmental Most Scientific Real Been Very Graduate Graduate School Children Psychology Place Fortunately Started

Childhood is a fundamental part of all human lives, parents or not, since that's how we all start out. And yet babies and young children are so mysterious and puzzling and even paradoxical. Alison Gopnik

Parents Young Babies Out Paradoxical Mysterious Part Puzzling Since How Childhood Human Children Young Children Even Fundamental Lives Start

Being a developmental psychologist didn't make me any better at dealing with my own children, no. I muddled through, and, believe me, fretted and worried with the best of them. Alison Gopnik

Best Me Better Own Believe Worried My Own Through Developmental Make Dealing Any Being Children Psychologist Them Muddled

In most places and times in human history, babies have had not just one person but lots of people around who were really paying attention to them around, dedicated to them, cared to them, were related to them. I think the big shift in our culture is the isolation in which many children are growing up. Alison Gopnik

History Culture People Big Isolation Think Babies Related Our Had Attention Most Around Were Shift Lots Up Times Person Human Just Children Just One Which Places Them Human History Really Dedicated Paying Who Many Growing Growing Up Cared

The thing that is most important is having people who are involved and engaged with the kids and also are not stressed and can be involved with them. And that's actually not boring and banal. That actually takes a lot of work to make that happen, and it's not something that our society does very well at all. Alison Gopnik

Work People Important Society Our Kids Boring Something Having Takes Most Involved Also Well Make Does Lot Banal Very Happen Them Engaged Who Actually Thing Stressed

One of the things I say is, 'You want to know what it's like to be a baby? It's like being in love for the first time in Paris after four double espressos.' And boy, you are alive and conscious. Alison Gopnik

What we want in students is creativity and a willingness to fail. I always say to students, 'If you've never at some point stayed up all night talking to your new boyfriend about the meaning of life instead of preparing for the test, then you're not really an intellectual.' Alison Gopnik

Life You Creativity Meaning Of Life Say All Night Willingness Stayed Some About Point Never Students Fail Instead New Talking Always Boyfriend Test Intellectual Up Want Meaning Meaning Of Then Really Your Preparing Night

If you just casually look at a baby, it doesn't look like there's very much going on there, but they know more and learn more than we would ever have thought. Every single minute is incredibly full of thought and novelty. It's easy as adults to take for granted everything it took to arrive at the state where we are. Alison Gopnik

You Take For Granted Thought Single Every Baby Incredibly State Took Everything Would Easy Minute More Casually Take Adult Like Know Look Learn Arrive Very Than Going Just Where Much Full Granted Novelty Ever

Something like reading depends a lot on just having people around you who talk to you and read you books, more than sitting down and, say, doing a reading drill when you're 3 or 4 years old. Alison Gopnik

For better or worse, we live in possible worlds as much as actual ones. We are cursed by that characteristically human guilt and regret about what might have been in the past. But that may be the cost for our ability to hope and plan for what might be in the future. Alison Gopnik

I wanted to answer big questions about humanity, about how it is that we understand about the world, how we can know as much as we do, why human nature is the way that it is. And it always seemed to me that you find answers to those questions by looking at children. Alison Gopnik

Nature Me You Humanity World Looking Big Human Nature Way Those Find About Seemed Know Understand Answer Always How Answers Questions Big Questions Human Children Wanted Much Why

Knowing what to expect from a teacher is a really good thing, of course: It lets you get the right answers more quickly than you would otherwise. Alison Gopnik

Teacher Good You Otherwise Would More Good Thing Knowing Course Answers Quickly Expect Than Get Really Lets Right Thing

Many philosophers say it's impossible to explain our conscious experience in scientific, biological terms at all. But that's not exactly true. Scientists have explained why we have certain experiences and not others. It's just that they haven't explained the special features of consciousness that philosophers care about. Alison Gopnik

Experience Impossible Care Others Philosophers Our Say Exactly About Features True Terms Scientific Scientists Just Experiences Explain Explained Certain Special Many Why Conscious Consciousness Biological

Overall, female scientists have fewer resources than male scientists, just as poor people have less access to health care. But if you compare male and female scientists with identical resources, you find that the women are just as likely to be successful. Alison Gopnik

Health You Women People Care Resources Find Overall Identical Likely Health Care Female Access Scientists Male Women Are Than Fewer Just Poor Poor People Successful Less Compare

The ancient media of speech and song and theater were radically reshaped by writing, though they were never entirely supplanted, a comfort perhaps to those of us who still thrill to the smell of a library. Alison Gopnik

Charisma seems to be more about the intoxicating quality that you have on other people, as opposed to presence, which is more about the self in relation to others, and how you feel you represented yourself in a situation, and how you were able to engage. So it's less about how others see you and more about how you see yourself. Amy Cuddy

You Quality Yourself People Situation Other Others Relation Intoxicating Charisma See Able About Seems More Self Feel How Opposed Were Which Engage Less Presence

The mind shapes the body, and the body shapes the mind. Amy Cuddy

Mind Shapes Body

Practice smiling by holding a pencil between your teeth for twenty minutes. Amy Cuddy

Practice Holding Teeth Pencil Minutes Between Smiling Your Twenty

Quotes by Psychologists