Promoting a Tinbergian Approach to Animal Behaviour.

Reviews The Behavior of Animals: Mechanisms, Functions, and Evolution edited by Bolhuis and Giraldeau (see record 2005-00777-000). This edited volume is meant as "a comprehensive textbook on animal behavior." It seeks to incorporate all the contemporary subdisciplines of behavioral biology, such as animal welfare, conservation biology, evolutionary psychology, animal cognition, and behavioral neuroscience to present perspectives on all four of Niko Tinbergen's classic whys of animal behaviour. As with most collected volumes, the tone, style, density of content, and quality of the chapters vary. I found a lot of interesting information in the book. But on the whole, the level is too difficult and, I would imagine, unappealing for undergraduates new to the field. The book is on the dense side, with too much material and not enough background and supportive illustrative materials, creating what is likely to be a frustrating and bewildering experience for students with little background in evolutionary theory, mathematics, or neuroscience. This edited volume does make a comprehensive textbook. It covers a broad array of areas, including topics that concern human society. It does incorporate many subdisciplines that comprise the study of animal behaviour. The package has reputable authors and some fine chapters, but is on the whole too difficult for an introductory textbook on animal behaviour. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Brain, environment and social psychology.

Reviews the book, Brain, Environment and Social Psychology by J. K. Chadwick-Jones, I.I. Lenzer, J. A. Darley and K. A. Hill (1979). The best chapter in this book is James Darley's on ethology and animal behaviour. This chapter provides a clear exposition of basic ethological concepts, and some excellent examples of how ethology differs from comparative psychology, and some excellent examples of the interaction of hereditary and environmental factors in the control of animal behaviour. Other relatively strong chapters include Irmingard Lenzer's chapter on human neuropsychology and Kenneth Hill's chapters on social perception and communication in children. The weakest chapters in the book are those by Chadwick-Jones on methods in social psychology (Chapter 5), and language and social behaviour (Chapter 6). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nikolaas Tinbergen (1907-1988).

Obituary for Nikolaas Tinbergen, 1907-1988. Niko Tinbergen, a masterful student of conflict in animals, was himself in conflict between a life spent following his hobby of watching animals and a genuine concern that what he did should be for the betterment of humanity. He managed both. His natural inclinations to observe and study animals in the field led to Tinbergen's co-founding, with Konrad Lorenz, of the discipline of ethology. This science of the naturally occurring behavior of animals, developed by zoologists, has important implications for understanding of human behavior in general and in psychology in particular. Nikolaas Tinbergen altered the course of biology and psychology through his insistence that the animal and its behavior be viewed in their natural context. He emphasized careful observation and the clear formulation of questions. He refined experimental methods and applied them under conditions in which laboratory control was impossible. A true sense of aesthetics led him to love the beauty of animals and nature in general. Tinbergen was a masterful photographer. He believed that among the highest activities of the human organism was the use of the human brain in analyzing and understanding the nature of the world around us. To that enterprise he dedicated his life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Ecological research with children and families: From concepts to methodology.

Reviews the book, Ecological research with children and families: From concepts to methodology, edited by Alan R. Pence (see record 1988-98395-000). This book had its origin in a workshop at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and both book and workshop took as their motto Bronfenbrenner's well-known call for an ecological approach to the study of children's development. Although only one study in this collection meets all of Bronfenbrenner's criteria for ecological research (namely Cochran's study of an intervention programme established in collaboration with Bronfenbrenner himself), all of the chapters convey a sense of the authors' strong social conscience and manifest concern with malfunctioning families--the human ecology gone awry. Their emphasis is on interventions with or on behalf of such families and on adverse contextual variables that affect child care. Such reports are worthwhile in themselves. But what is notably absent from this round-up of ecological research are investigations of the child's growing up in the family in relation to parents and siblings without any kind of intervention, such as Belsky or Barker has carried out. The book is interesting for another, unexpected reason: It shows how "ecological" research has been misunderstood by some and has been equated with "phenomenological, holistic, not objective, qualitative, uncontrolled" research. Bronfenbrenner, in a very perceptive Foreword, points this out diplomatically, attributing the misunderstanding to a one-sided emphasis in his original work on the importance of studying the way the environment is perceived by the participant in the research, that is, the meaning it has for him or her. Overall, The book is a worthy endeavour to bring together diverse approaches to social engineering and to examine the reception they were accorded by the targeted beneficiaries and by the community at large. Of the eight chapters reporting actual or proposed investigations, five are of Canadian origin. At times the chapters tantalize us with their promise of future achievements or with incomplete reporting of past achievements. But the work made interesting reading for me and will do so for many social scientists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Clinical assessment of malingering and deception, 3rd edition.

Reviews the book, Clinical assessment of malingering and deception, 3rd edition by Richard Rogers (see record 2008-09622-000). Over the past 10 years, psychologists who have been engaged in clinical assessment or evaluation have become more sensitised to the fact that client variables such as noncredible performance can substantially interfere with accurate evaluation and interpretation of obtained psychological or neuropsychological test scores. The chapters in this book clearly indicate that noncredible performance and deception are common in many assessment populations, that it is difficult if not impossible to always obtain accurate information when relying on self-report data, and that objective methods exist to enhance detection of noncredible responding. The first two chapters were written by Rogers himself and set the conceptual framework for the entire text. The book is then divided into four additional sections, with chapters provided by some of the best known names in malingering and defensiveness research. In Section II, specific diagnostic issues are considered, leading with an overview of symptoms associated with deception. Section III discusses psychometric methods to assess response styles. Section IV deals with specialised methods of detection and will likely be of interest to a very limited number of psychologists working in specific fields such as corrections or forensics. Section V deals with specialised applications, including deception in children and adolescents, forensic examinations, and assessment of law enforcement personnel. Overall, this is an excellent reference book, and it certainly provides enough specific, clinically relevant information in the four chapters that flank the book to give most clinicians a good summary of the issues, available instruments, and research findings to date. The chapters dealing with specific diagnostic issues and specialised methods are likely to be referenced heavily by those who work in these specific fields and might provide a good theoretical base for individuals still in the process of clinical training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Animal models for psychiatry.

Reviews the book, Animal models for psychiatry by J. D. Keehn (1986). The topic of this book is timely, for the use of nonhuman laboratory animals in behavioural research has become a controversial issue. As an expert on ethical issues in psychological research, Keehn is an appropriate person to examine and summarize the role of nonhuman species in the study of abnormal behaviour. In the first section of the book, Keehn attempts to evaluate the ethics of behavioural experimentation with nonhuman subjects and to summarize several principles of humane experimental procedures. In the second part of the book he catalogues various clinical syndromes in nonhumans and describes various experimental paradigms that he believes are appropriate for the study of "psychiatric" disorders. As a defence of animal research and a summary of animal syndromes, the book is successful. As a summary of animal models and a guide for the researcher, both novice and experienced, I found the book disappointing on two scores. First, the book is not held together by any theoretical glue but rather seems more of a catalogue of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans. My second disappointment comes from the author's uneven emphasis on different disorders. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel it is a useful volume. It provides an extensive summary of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans and illustrates the usefulness of behavioural studies as models of neurotic conditions in particular. Further, it argues forcefully for the importance of behavioural research in the study of mental disorders and could serve as a good place for undergraduates to read about the issues involved in animal research. The book falls short, however, as a "must have" volume for those active researchers or clinicians. Unfortunately, it offers us little insight into the nature of psychopathologic behaviour in either human or nonhuman subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications.

This article provides a review of the "Handbook of Self-Regulation: Research, Theory, and Applications" (see record 2004-00163-000). The topic of self-regulation is currently receiving increasing attention in various areas of psychological research. Many psychological disorders (such as depression, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder etc.) as well as addictions and risk-taking behaviour are believed to involve some kind of failure of self-regulation. Self-regulation is a concept that crosses domains. For this reason, self-regulation is, as the editors of the the book remark, "simply too large, diverse, and important a topic not to have a handbook". The editors of the Handbook define self-regulation as "processes by which the human psyche exercises control over its functions, states, and inner processes". This broad definition serves as the umbrella under which multiple areas of self-regulation research are presented. The book comprises six sections, which progress from consideration of basic processes, to applications of theory and research to "everyday problems" of self-regulation. Each chapter is self-contained, allowing one to select and focus on topics of interest. At the same time, the individual chapters provide neither a systematic discussion and comparison of different views on self-regulation, nor an exhaustive review of the literature. Furthermore, because the authors of the individual chapters largely focus on the presentation of their approach to self-regulation, the Handbook reflects the fragmented and kaleidoscopic state of self-regulation research in general. The book is a good choice for anyone with an interest in self-regulation, particularly anyone who seeks a collation of the literature, summaries of key concepts, and an idea of where the field of self-regulation is headed in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Developmental Origins of Aggression.

Reviews the book, Developmental Origins of Aggression by Richard E. Tremblay, William W. Hartup, and John Archer (Eds.) (see record 2005-09268-000). Violence has become a "hot" topic. Omnipresent in the daily media, the subject of numerous national initiatives and investigations, we like our animal kin seem preoccupied with the subject. Despite this, however, and in the face of a rapidly progressing research literature, there is a paucity of good review material on the subject. It has been 30 years (de Wit & Hartup, 1974) since such an overview has been published. Edited by (including chapters by) three of the field's most productive investigators, this book fills a much needed gap. The aim of this book is to provide an "overview of the state of knowledge on the developmental origins of aggressive behavior" (p. xiii). Framed by introductory and concluding chapters (subtitled "Where do we stand today?" and "Where are we going?", respectively), the volume is composed of two parts. Chapters 2-10 describe different types of aggression and carefully detail the developmental change in aggression that occurs with age. Chapters 11-20 examine proximal and distal determinants of aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Psychology.

Reviews the book, Social Psychology edited by Daniel Perlman and P. Chris Cozby (1983). The book covers almost all the traditional range of topics, with chapters on research methods, socialization, attitude change (two chapters), attribution, social perception, interpersonal attraction, aggression, helping behaviour, behaviour, interpersonal influence and social exchange (two separate chapters), and group dynamics. This book comes close to being an excellent social psychology text, and if it were judiciously revised, it might rate that evaluation. Many of its chapters are extremely good, and its focus on social problems is an admirable attempt to make social psychology more meaningful and relevant. At present, however, its weaknesses would lead this reviewer to stick with one of the existing texts. While the editors have achieved their goals of bringing social issues into focus and of providing a more eclectic treatment of social psychological research, they have failed with respect to giving adequate attention to the need for diversity in age and backgrounds of people studied, to the need to search for limiting conditions under which relationships hold, and to the need to be sensitive to cultural variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Learning About Learning Disabilities, Third Edition.

This article reviews the book, "Learning about Learning Disabilities, Third Edition" (see record 2004-21912-000), edited by Bernice Wong. This book is comprised of a selection of chapters authored by well-known authors in the field of learning disabilities. The book was developed for use with advanced undergraduate and graduate students with the intent to provide current information soundly based in research in the field. The chapters in the book are organized into three thematic sections. The first section deals with conceptual, historical, and research aspects of learning disabilities. The second section comprises chapters on reading comprehension, writing, math, social competence, strategy instruction, working with adolescents, issues in service delivery, and developing communities of practice. The third section focuses on a life span approach to learning disabilities. This book does what it purports to do. This is a well put together selection of readings. It may not be appropriate for advanced undergraduate students with no previous background knowledge or experience with learning disabilities due to the level of the book. The information provided in each chapter is current and soundly based in research. In addition to the research presented, the majority of the chapters also include practical implications of the research to teaching settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of social psychology.

Reviews the book "Handbook of social psychology" (Volumes I and II), edited by G. Lindzey (see record 1955-03817-000). This book is a major attempt to present, summarized in handbook fashion, what is known theoretically, methodologically, and substantively in the area of social psychology. The various chapters include contributions by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and statisticians. Most of the chapters are written carefully and thoughtfully. It is a good and worth-while book to have in print. Many students and research workers will have occasion to refer to it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Review of Resistance: Psychodynamic and behavioral approaches": Correction.

Reports an error in "Review of Resistance: Psychodynamic and Behavioral Approaches" by Stuart W. Twemlow (Psychoanalytic Psychology, 1989[Spr], Vol 6[2], 237-240). In this review, the phrase "in his inimical style" (p. 238) should read "in his inimitable style." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-05429-011.) This three-part edited collection of chapters considers the problem of resistance in psychotherapy. The term is defined and considered from several radically difference psychological perspectives. The psychoanalytic approach in Part I consists of four chapters written by authorities in the field. The four chapters of Part II concern both cognitive and pure behavioral approaches. Part III contains eight brief chapters in which the authors were invited to comment on one author's contributions. In the main the authors remain focused and concise, but it is very obvious that resistance has a remarkably broad variety of definitions, and that some of these definitions are so different that the authors do not appear to be speaking of similar phenomena. What is also clear from this complicated edited collection is that the clinician needs to be much more flexible in his theoretical positions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Childhood disorders: Behavioral-developmental approaches.

Reviews the book, Childhood disorders: Behavioral-developmental approaches edited by Robert J. McMahon and Ray Dev. Peters (1985). This volume includes 11 original chapters from the 1983 Banff International Conference on Behavioral Sciences. Together, these chapters provide an overview of a number of high-quality programmes of research in the area of childhood disorders. The editors state that the purpose of the current offering is to focus on recent advances in the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of childhood behaviour disorders, with particular attention being given to the role of developmental processes. The book contains two major sections. The first provides an overview of the conceptual foundations for a "behavioural-developmental" approach to childhood disorders. The second, which constitutes approximately 80% of the volume, illustrates programmes for the assessment and treatment of childhood disorders spanning the developmental spectrum from infancy to adolescence. Although this volume's attempt to bridge the gap between behavioural and developmental work may fall short, it is nevertheless a worthwhile contribution that nicely illustrates a range of outstanding programmes of clinical research for a variety of childhood disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of Moral Development.

Reviews the book, Handbook of Moral Development edited by Melanie Killen and Judith G. Smetana (see record 2005-11748-000). This is a big book on a big topic. Editors Melanie Killen and Judith Smetana have solicited 26 chapters on the topic of moral development, including many of the key authors and researchers currently working in the field. While the editors themselves share the perspective of "social domain" theory, the breadth of the current volume is much wider. Indeed it provides a representative overview of work ranging across the entire landscape of moral development research today. The 26 chapters are organized into six sections: structuralism and moral stages, social domain theory, conscience development and internalization, social interactional and comparative approaches, emotions and empathy, and moral education. In general, each chapter reviews recent work on a particular topic within these six areas, provides a theoretical context and overview of the research and typically discusses the author(s)' own research program in detail. Many of the chapters also consider, if only briefly, ideas and prospects for future research as well. The chapters are thus up-to-date, generally well-written, and approachable for advanced students and scholars within the field. This is as good an overview as we are likely to get from our current vantage point. It can be highly recommended for advanced-level students and scholars in the field alike. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Freud's case studies--Self-psychological perspectives.

Reviews the book, Freud's case studies--Self-psychological perspectives edited by Barry Magid (see record 1993-97398-000). The authors of the chapters demonstrate varying capacities to understand that all understanding is theory bound. The result is that some lean toward the position that self psychology offers us the true perspective through which we can understand a patient, whereas Freud was woefully lacking in any interest in immersing himself in the subjective experience of the patient. Empathy is seen by some authors as the exclusive domain of the self psychologists. By the end of this fascinating volume, one is newly excited by the depth psychology revealed via Freud's discoveries and by the possibilities of a continuing legacy of discovery. Familiar patients are revealed in new ways, giving evidence of the evolving nature of this complex science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The transformation of psychology: Influences of 19th-century philosophy, technology, and natural science.

Reviews the book, The transformation of psychology: Influences of 19th-century philosophy, technology, and natural science edited by Christopher D. Green, Marlene Shore, and Thomas Teo (see record 2001-01476-000). In the following review, I have found it convenient to divide the 11 chapters of this volume into three groups, one devoted to the philosophy of psychological science, one devoted to theoretical and biological psychology, and one devoted to applied psychology. The first of these groups contains chapters by Andrew S. Winston on Ernst Mach, by Charles W. Tolman on G. W. F. Hegel, and by Thomas Teo on Karl Marx and Wilhelm Dilthey. The second grouping of chapters is concerned with theoretical/biological psychology and includes five contributions. The final group of chapters concerns applied psychology. What I liked most about this book was the genuinely innovative character of every chapter; there is no "old hat" stuff anywhere. The editors and contributors are to be congratulated on a fine and timely work of scholarship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Culture and Biological Man: Explorations in Behavioral Anthropology.

Reviews the book, Culture and Biological Man: Explorations in Behavioral Anthropology by Eliot D. Chapple (1970). This text attempts to present the biological and cultural bases of human behaviour within an anthropological framework. It contains chapters on Biology and Anthropology, Biological Clocks, Biological Rhythms and Personality, The Biological Basis of Emotional Behavior, Emotional-Interactional Patterning of Temperament, Dominance, The Individual as an Interactional System, and Origins of Personality and Temperament Patterns, in the section dealing with biological bases. Turning to cultural influences, there are chapters on Constraints of Distance on Interactional Probabilities, The Cultural Dimension of Space, Dimensional Constraints of Cultural Sequences, The Organization of Institutions, Constraints of Communication Patterning, Roles, Interactional Crises, and Rituals, Symbols, and the "Secular Society." A bibliography and index are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference; and The Oxford handbook of memory.

Reviews the books, Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference edited by Endel Tulving (see record 2000-07362-000) and The Oxford handbook of memory edited by Endel Tulving and Fergus M. Craik (see record 2000-00111-000). Memory, consciousness, and the brain (MCB) is an outgrowth of a conference organized by the editor and his wife, and held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The organization of the book, accurately described by the editor as "largely illusory" (p. xv), blocks the 25 topic chapters into sections labeled Memory (11 chapters), Consciousness (7 chapters), and The Brain (7 chapters). The editor's hope is that the book will be useful as an introduction to representative research currently being conducted at the boundaries of memory, consciousness, and the brain. To what extent has this objective been achieved? The book certainly serves up a broad menu of topics. The reader looking for something intriguing in the way of research on memory and consciousness in the brain is likely to find it in this volume. What are MCB's weaknesses? The main sin is something that comes with the territory of all conference volumes: uneveness in quality, readability, and organizations, and uncertainty about the audience to be reached by each of the chapters. Regarding The Oxford handbook of memory (OHM), this book describes the growth of memory research from its nadir in the 1950s to the present, and presents summaries of contemporary scientific knowledge about a variety of memory topics. The focus is human memory (although the discussion of brain-memory relations is sometimes based on research with nonhuman primates) as studied from the perspectives of experimental cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, theory and modeling, and the ecology of memory. Within this compass, the editors have attempted to ensure coverage of the current major theories, findings, and methods of memory. In the editors' words, the volume is intended to be "a major reference source for people who want to get started in the field, or who wish to check things outside their own regional area" (p. vii). Not only does the book hit its target, we expect that even specialists will benefit from the coverage of subjects in which they have expertise. For now, the OHM is the gold standard and all memory professionals are in the debt of the editors and authors for its existence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)