Book

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

Sep 2018 🇺🇸 Penguin Books

Co-written with First Amendment lawyer Greg Lukianoff, this 2018 book examines a cultural pattern the authors call 'safetyism' — prioritizing emotional protection over resilience-building — that they say took hold on American college campuses and, they argue, is associated with rising anxiety and reduced tolerance for disagreement among young people. The authors name three 'great untruths' (that discomfort is inherently harmful, that feelings are always reliable guides to truth, and that conflicts are battles between good and bad people) which they contend run counter to established findings in cognitive-behavioral psychology. They connect the spread of these ideas partly to overprotective parenting, risk-averse school policies, and a generation that came of age alongside smartphones and constant social-media connectivity. The book recommends measured exposure to manageable adversity, free-speech-protective campus norms, and cognitive-behavioral techniques for building resilience, and became a New York Times bestseller.

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CITATION

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. New York: Penguin Press, 2018.

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