William James Book Award
The William James Award is intended to honor and publicize a recent book published within the last two years that brings together diverse subfields of psychology and related disciplines. This work should provide a creative synthesis of theory, fact and themes that serve to unify or integrate the field. Edited books, textbooks, analytic reviews, biographies and examples of applications are not eligible for consideration. Recipients of the William James Book Award are expected to deliver an address for Div. 1 at APA's Annual Convention and are invited and strongly encouraged to provide a copy of the award presentation for inclusion in the newsletter of the Society (The General Psychologist). The author(s) will receive a certificate and a total honorarium of $1,500 to help defray travel expenses associated with attending convention.
Annual deadline: Feb. 15
There are no restrictions on nominees, and self-nominations as well as nominations by others are encouraged for this award.
Nominations materials should include:
a) three copies of the book, dated within the past two years (post-2019) and available in print;
b) the vitae of the author(s); and
c) a one-page statement that explains the strengths of the submission as an integrative work and how it meets criteria established by the Society;
d) contact information for the author(s).
In judging the merits of the work the following issues will be considered:
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The degree to which the book conforms to the guidelines above and serves to further the goals of the society.
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The quality of the framework. It should be able to stand the test of rigorous logic on the one hand and psychological significance on the other. It should be rigorous: clearly presented and empirically grounded.
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The degree to which it is consistent and consonant with other areas of psychology as well as areas of science more broadly considered, particularly the closely related areas of social and biological science.
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The degree to which the book is consistent with the high quality of previous William James Book Award winners.
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The degree to which the book has the potential for having a significant impact within or beyond psychology.
For information on submission of nomination letters and supporting materials, please contact the president-elect.
2021
The Tough Standard: The Hard Truths About Masculinity and Violence by Ronald Levant, PhD, and Shana Pryor, The University of Akron. Oxford University Press, 2020.
2020
BIAS: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt, Viking, 2019.
2019
Becoming Human by Michael Tomasello. Harvard University Press, 2019.
2018
Decolonizing Psychology: Globalization, Social Justice and Indian Youth Identities by Sunil Bhatia. Oxford University Press, 2017.
2017
The Psychology of Passion: A Dualistic Model by Robert J. Vallerand, PhD. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
2016
Anxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety by Joseph LeDoux, PhD. New York: Viking, 2015.
The Developing Genome: An Introduction to Behavioral Epigenetics by David S. Moore, PhD. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
2015
Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture and Wisdom by Darcia Narvaez, PhD. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.
2014
The Rise of Consciousness and the Development of Emotional Life by Michael Lewis, PhD. New York: Guilford Publications, 2014.
Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan, PhD and Eldar Shafir, PhD. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2013.
Recognition Award: On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz, PhD. New York: Scribner, 2013.
2013
Born Together — Reared Apart: The landmark Minnesota Twin Study by Nancy L. Segal, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.
2012
The Agile Mind by Wilma Koutstaal, New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Science as Psychology: Sense-making and Identity in Science Practice by Lisa Osbeck, Nancy Nersessian, Kareen Malone, & Wendy Newstetter, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
2011
How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like by Paul Bloom. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.
2010
Fooling Ourselves: Self-deception in Politics, Religion and Terrorism by Harry C. Triandis. Westport, CN: Praeger Publishers, 2009.
Recognition Award: Beyond the Box: B.F. Skinner's Technology of Behavior from Laboratory to Life, 1950s-1970s by Alexandra Rutherford. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2009.
2009
The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women and the Real Gender Gap by Susan Pinker (2008). New York: Scribners
2008
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo. New York: Random House, 2007.
Recognition Award: Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2007.
2007
The Psychology of Science and the Origins of the Scientific Mind by Greogry J. Feist. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2006.
2006
The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By by Dan P. McAdams. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Honorable Mention: School Violence in Context: Culture, Neighborhood, Family, School and Gender by Rami Benbinashty & Ron Avi. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005
2005
The Cultural Nature of Human Development by Barbara Rogoff. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
2004
The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett. New York: Free Press, 2003.
2003
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Stephen Pinker. New York: Viking Press, 2002.
The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers by Daniel L. Schacter. New York: Mariner Books, 2002.
2002
The New Cognitive Neurosciences (2nd ed.) by Michael Gazzaniga. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999.
2001
The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition by Michael Tomasello. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
2000
The Origins of Genius: Darwinian Perspectives on Creativity by Dean Keith Simonton. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999
Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony by Steven Ceci & Maggie Bruck. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1995
1999
How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.
Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition by Stuart A. Vyse. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
1998
Practicing Feminism: Reconstructing Psychotherapy by Jill G. Morawski. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1994.
1997
Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind and the Past by Daniel L. Schacter. New York: Basic Books, 1996.
1996
Will We Be Smart Enough? by Earl Hunt. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1995.
Memory in Oral Traditions by David C. Rubin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
1995
Images of Mind by Michael Posner and Marcus E. Raichle. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1997.
1994
The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1994.
1993
The Psychology of Judgment and Decision-making by Scott Plous. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993.
1992
The Science of Words by George A. Miller. New York: W. H. Freeman & Company, 1991.
1991
Schizophrenia Genesis by Irving Gottesman. New York: Holt, Henry & Company, Inc., 1990.
1990
Rational Choice in an Uncertain World by Robyn Dawes. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1990.
1989
Notebooks of the Mind by Vera John-Steiner. New York: HarperCollins, 1985.
1988
The Nature of the Child by Jerome Kagan. New York: Basic Books, 1984.
1987
The Mind's New Science: A history of the cognitive revolution by Howard E. Gardner. New York: Basic Books, 1985.
1986
Mind and Body by George Mandler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1984.