Abstract

Reviews the books, Stress: The nature and history of engineered grief by Robert Kugelmann ; Values, self and society: Toward a humanist social psychology by M. Brewster Smith ; and The psychology of sympathy by Lauren Wispe. Brief synopses of each book are provided, rather than full reviews. In Stress: The Nature and History of Engineered Grief, Kugelmann presents a phenomenology of the experience of stress, a history of the construction of "engineered grief," and an assessment of stress management programs. In Values, Self and Society: Toward a Humanist Social Psychology, M. Brewster Smith contributes to the treatment of personality in historical and cultural context, and to a post-positivist conception of "human science" that joins humanistic interpretation of meanings and values with scientific concern for conditions and consequences. In The Psychology of Sympathy, Lauren Wispe provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the concept of sympathy, outlining a new empirically-based theory. Wispe explores the historical and philosophical roots of the concept of sympathy, and its past and present social implications. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)