The Coddling of the American Mind:How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

Most workers, consumers, and voters from the Millennial Generation and Gen-Z, grew-up in a different context than that experienced by Boomers and Xers. Their parents and schools, in an overabundance of caution, taught them to fear and reject ideas that upset them.  Dealing effectively with this generation requires an understanding of their psychology.

Most workers, consumers, and voters from the Millennial Generation and Gen-Z, grew-up in a different context than that experienced by Boomers and Xers. Their parents and schools, in an overabundance of caution, taught them to fear and reject ideas that upset them.  The result is cognitive distortions in the form of overgeneralizing, emotional reasoning, and black-and-white thinking, which are common among people who suffer from depression and anxiety. This helps explain why today’s young people display historically high levels of mental illness, self-harm, and suicide.  And dealing effectively with this generation requires an understanding of their psychology.

In their best-selling book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt explain the process by which so many of today’s young people have closed themselves off from objective, critical thinking and the implications of doing so.

The Coddling of the American Mind is written in a clear, straightforward style accessible to students, educators, and anyone interested in how colleges and society at large can manage many viewpoints harmoniously.  This book provides what you need to know about the mindset of all too many young people now entering the workforce.