The Mature Mind - Book Review Essay Example

Gene D. Cohen wrote a book by the name Mature Mind to deliver good news to people especially those in the second half of life. This book gives people the extraordinary account of cutting-edge neuroscience, practical advice for individual growth approaches, fascinating vignettes from case studies and history as well as groundbreaking psychology. Ever since the writer was a gerontologist and psychiatrist, he researched for approximately thirty years to prove that positive changes in our brains have the powerful potential not to diminish but enhance our lives after fifty years.

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According to Cohen, drawing on the most recent research of the maturing mind and brain, old dogs are found to learn new tricks. Besides, the new scanning technologies reveal that the maturing mind is more adaptable contrasted with the younger ones. The perspective we have towards the mature mind has been changed by the theories and studies he presented (McFadden, 2017). The myth of maturing is unavoidable to the mind and body; therefore, Cohen gives the idea of formative insight, social aptitudes, cognizance, judgment, beneficial experience and emotional intelligence.

Developing Erikson's formative brain science is my favorite topic in this book. In this topic, Cohen proposes that there are four periods of mental development. They incorporate, a period of investigation and progress which he termed as midlife reevaluation, a desire to experiment which he named liberation, recapitulation, review, and resolution which was termed as the summing-up phase and lastly encore, which is until death. The outcomes from the two groundbreaking examinations were utilized by Cohen to explain that the age after sixty-five years is not only about retiring but also creativity, more satisfying relationships and intellectual growth which can blossom at any age.

In many years that have passed, people had believed that the age that understands things better without forgetting is younger age from birth to thirty years old. Old people especially who are over fifty years were found to be forgetful, and in most cases, they retire at this age as they are seen to be tired of working especially now that the technology is evolving every day globally. However, people should understand they have been wrong the whole period because even as the mental age, it can still learn new things and accommodate them (McFadden, 2017). However, although Cohen has used so many years to arise with the theories used in this book, the book is not yet valid to people as the examples used are of animals such as dogs.

In conclusion, the book by the name Mature Mind was written by a psychiatrist known as Gene D. Cohen who wanted to give people hope. He took thirty years to prove that the changes in our mind have the powerful potential to enhance our lives when we get past fifty years. He said that old dog can learn new tricks to symbolize that even old brain still learns. My favorite Topic in this book is when Cohen Postulates the four phases of psychological growth which has made me understand the aging process of the brain which most of the people have ignored although it is very essential. Besides, people should learn the aging process of the mind so that each person can understand the phase he or she is in and the capabilities one possesses.

Reference

McFadden, S. H. (2017). Creative Aging and the "existential Crack". The Gerontologist, 57(3), 593-595.