Bookish Delights 2010: The Nonfiction Edition - Page 5

In any case, it all comes down to biology, with the nature-nurture ricochet a reductive back-and-forth whose momentum is largely traceable to the long-running disparity between the fields of psychology and neurobiology — a disparity Brizendine believes is now, finally, being quickly closed from both sides of the divide. It’s an approach that goes toward explaining the nature of irritability in teen, for example when "boys' hormones prime them for aggressive and territorial behaviors"; why behaviors may change so suddenly during puberty, such as 20-fold testosterone increases, among other changes; and the ways in which chemicals, physical touch, and play bond fathers with their children. With carefully detailed and studied elucidations of how characteristics like anger expression, analysis of facial expression, and spatial manipulation differ between the sexes, Brizendine's overview and explication of brain and behavioral research should draw a wide readership, from parents of boys to psychology students to admirers of The Female Brain counterpart.

Article Author: Gordon Hauptfleisch

Gordon Hauptfleisch is a Blogcritics Books Editor, freelance writer, and book reviewer for San Diego Union Tribune Books (R.I.P.). For many years he worked in and managed bookstores and record stores, and most recently was purchasing manager for San Diego Technical Books. …

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