“All in all, Biglan has given us a compelling read about what behavioral science has been doing for us lately and about the potential such science has for helping us solve new problems. Skinner was far from a spiritual man, but if he was wrong about such things and if he is indeed looking down from the heavens today, he has surely taken note of Biglan's book and said, ‘Marvelous’.”
- Robert Epstein, Scientific American
"Just wanted to let you know I purchased the Nurture Effect on the day it went on sale and thought it was just terrific! So great to be reminded of all the ways our behavioral science has resulted in outcomes that so significantly has improved lives and the world in which we live. So great to read such a positive work that is so full of hope. Thanks! You lifted my spirits and raised my consciousness once again. Looking forward to next steps!"
- Judy Carta
“The Nurture Effect is one of those rare books that draws from a lifetime of careful scientific study to provide clear prescriptions—in language non-scientists can understand—about how to make our world a better place. Pushing back against contemporary fatalism, Anthony Biglan shows us that we know more than ever about how to promote human flourishing. The problem is that we’re not applying this knowledge as we should. The Nurture Effect explains how we could change that and, even more important, how you can help make the change happen.”
- Jacob S. Hacker | Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science,
director at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies,
Co-Author, Winner-Take-All Politics
“This marvelous book integrates the most compelling scientific knowledge about how we can improve the lives of citizens of this country with a bold call to action.”
- William R. Beardslee, DM |Gardner-Monks Professor of Child Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
“Anthony Biglan persuades us that rather than focusing on preventing individual problems of family dysfunction, drug addiction, academic failure, child abuse, and even crime, we need to cut to the chase and attend to what all of these have in common. Biglan shows that poverty consistently makes it harder to help, and that nurture is so frequently missing. By integrating findings from the past fifty years in psychology, epidemiology, education, and neuroscience, he pulls out the common threads to show that it is possible to make families, schools, and the larger social context more nurturing, and ultimately to create the nurturing environments so vital to well-being and to preventing widespread harm.”
- Lisbeth B. Schorr | Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy, and/or author,
Within Our Reach: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage
“Tony Biglan’s vast intelligence and scientific experience are brought together in The Nurture Effect to provide a vision, a roadmap, a sense of optimism about solving the very real social problems facing our country.”
- Cheryl L. Perry, Ph.D. | Professor and Regional Dean,
University of Texas School of Public Health,
Austin Regional Campus
“Please read this book! … If you want to improve the now and better the future, read this book and apply the Nurture Effect at home, at work or at school, and in your community.”
- Dennis D. Embry, Ph.D. | President and senior scientist at the PAXIS Institute
“The Nurture Effect is a science-based prescription to create a more health-enhancing society. Transformative and practical, it provides a guide for the foundation of a more caring and health-promoting society.”
- Kelli A. Komro | Professor of health outcomes and policy at the College of Medicine, University of Florida
“The Nurture Effect is a powerful reminder of the transformational impact a nurturing environment has on individuals’ well-being throughout their lives. In documenting many carefully selected examples of evidence-based interventions from early childhood and through subsequent stages of development, it makes an outstanding contribution to the field of prevention science. Biglan makes a compelling case for widely implementing scientifically supported interventions that create nurturing environments in our homes, schools and communities.”
- Matthew R Sanders, Ph.D. | Professor of clinical psychology and director,
The Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland,
Founder of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program
“The Nurture Effect hits the ground running with clear, concise, well-stated facts about creating a social context for people to experience a life well-lived. The perspectives you gain...will not only assist you in helping your community to become stronger and healthier, but it will also help you as an individual experience those same positive outcomes.”
- D.J. Moran | Founder of Pickslyde Consulting & the MidAmerican Psychological Institute
“This work is Anthony Biglan’s magnum opus. He has pulled together many ideas from multiple disciplinary domains. It is required reading for anyone who is serious about fixing the problems in our education system and alleviating poverty.”
- Brian R. Flay, D.Phil | Professor of social and behavioral health sciences,
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR., and Emeritus Distinguished Professor of public health and psychology,
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
“The author’s engaging writing style enables readers to appreciate the elegance of applying knowledge based on rigorous research to develop and apply evidence-based interventions that prevent problems and promote well-being on a societal scale.”
- Marion S. Forgatch, Ph.D. | Senior Scientist Emerita at the Oregon Social Learning Center
“In The Nurture Effect Anthony Biglan offers a challenge and a road map for making our society more effective and successful. His message is at once simple and overwhelming. There is a science of human behavior, and we need to use it.”
- Rob Horner | Endowed professor of special education at the University of Oregon
“I've followed your work with great interest for while, and even with my background knowledge, I found your new book absolutely amazing."
- Dustin Eirdosh | Director & Curriculum Specialist,
The Positive Education Action-Research (PEAR) Laboratory