Alison Gopnik is at the center of helping us understand how babies and young children think and learn.She has a lovely article in the July, 2010, issue of Scientific American (pages 76-81) which summarizes new developments in this area. She notes: “Even the youngest children know, experience and learn far more than scientists ever thought possible.”

This post describes the profound impact Silvan Tomkins had on our understanding of human emotions. 

Working within the traditions of both Darwin and Freud, Silvan S. Tomkins fused evolutionary and psychodynamic concepts to describe the specific kinds of affects, their mechanism of action, and their development. Tomkins detailed the nature of affect itself and the triggers for each of the nine affects.

Roy Grinker’s life spanned nearly the entire 20th century, and his influence on the development of psychiatry during that century was profound.  A clinician, teacher, researcher, and administrator, he wrote over 25 books, more than 350 papers, was Chief Editor of the Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry from 1956 – 1976, and founded one of the finest inpatient and outpatient psychiatric facilities in the country.