Review of How the mind works.

Reviews the book, How the mind works by Steven Pinker (see record 1997-30233-000). In this book, the author writes with optimism and excitement about recent progress in psychology, but with despair about the human condition. The scope of the book is stated briefly: I will try to explain what the mind is, where it came from, and how it lets us see, think, feel, interact, and pursue higher callings like art, religion, and philosophy (p. 3). The reader will be disappointed in many of these explanations: the book dwells on the already-expansive topics of what the mind is, and where it came from. As for the rest, we are told that humans have innate knowledge of optics, logic, mathematics, physics, botany (p. 377), and even psychology (p. 329). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, war and trauma.

Reviews the book, Memory, war and trauma by Nigel C. Hunt (see record 2010-17048-000). Hunt’s book presents a very different perspective on how memory, war, and trauma interface, drawing upon a variety of sources not frequently accessed by psychologists. He promotes an interdisciplinary approach to studying memory and war; however, rather than drawing upon the usual fields, such as biology or sociology, Dr. Hunt suggests that a careful examination of history and literature are also integral to developing a complete understanding of memory and war. This book is not designed for individuals unfamiliar with the field of trauma and war. Memory, war and trauma highlights the limitations of current empirical approaches to studying war trauma and presents a narrative methodology that he argues will better capture the unique individual experience of trauma. Hunt rightly demonstrates weaknesses of current methods, and suggests that the narrative method may be the solution to some of the problems with current methods. Though his argument is likely that the narrative method should supplement rather than replace current experimental method, one is left feeling that he believes current methods are wholly inadequate and his method is better. Despite this central weakness, this book will be a benefit to psychologists who study and treat individuals touched by war because it will encourage them to think beyond traditional approaches to research and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The mind in context.

Reviews the book, The mind in context edited by Batja Mesquita, et al. (see record 2010-09987-000). The purpose of this edited volume is to challenge a predominant tendency toward an error of essentialism, or the attempt to explain psychological phenomena in terms of internal, static mental entities that are independent of and seemingly hermetically sealed from the outside world. Instead the introductory chapter of The mind in context advances the context principle: that mental processes and behaviour emerge from a profound and complex interaction between person and environment. It is important to note at the outset that a reader seeking an abstracted, sterilized, encyclopaedic list of essential elements making up this perspective would be well advised to look elsewhere. Rather, and in keeping with the theme of the book, the editors have assembled a lively collection of exemplars: chapters by prominent scholars each exploring the influence of context in a focused area of interest. The disadvantage of this approach is that the book can feel somewhat overextended. The significant advantage, however, is that the reader experiences each chapter in the context of the others, a juxtaposition that allows for the emergence of resonances, themes, and common principles across domains. In elaborating on the context principle the contributors to this book emphasise the mind’s mechanisms, situation-sensitivity, and agency over its content, permanence, and passivity. While written in large part by and for social psychologists, the volume should be of interest to any scholar fascinated by the mind’s ecological nature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Climate, affluence, and culture.

Reviews the book, Climate, affluence, and culture by Evert Van de Vliert (see record 2009-01826-000). The book provides an interesting analysis of the intersection between climate, culture, and economic factors. Van de Vliert observes that most scholars move from cultures toward climate and economies, whereas his interest is in the opposite direction—from climates and economies toward cultures. He contends that, since we have created global warming and local poverty, world cultures can also work to solve these threats to humanity, if we address them together rather than separately. Both poverty and climate must be addressed together since their interrelatedness means that focusing on one at the expense of the other would only lead to further problems down the road. Van de Vliert asserts that we have the opportunity to prove that regions lacking water, food, and money need not become “hot spots for conflicts and other malice” and declares that we need to make these ethical choices soon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Images in mind: The evolution of a theory.

Reviews the book, Images in mind: The evolution of a theory by A. Paivio (see record 1991-98882-000). In this review I hope to capture some of the flavour of Images in Mind, in which Allan Paivio traces some of the signal events in the evolution of dual coding theory. I encourage each reader of the review to become a reader of the book. The main reward is a glimpse of the workings of a great mind, but there are practical benefits as well. I am reminded of an interview with Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones. When asked how he came up with so many songs, he replied that he just played through his "Buddy Holly Song Book," and something always came up. Reading papers by Paivio has the same effect on me; I can't read his work without many experiments "coming up." (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)     

Review of Memory and abuse: Remembering and healing the effects of trauma.

Reviews the book, Memory and abuse: Remembering and healing the effects of trauma by Charles L. Whitfield (see record 1995-98063-000). This book is a most informative, well-written, and thoughtful examination of the relationship between memory and abuse. Dr. Whitfield focuses on the clinical psychology of memory and trauma, and in doing so, deals successfully with the politics of the controversy surrounding delayed or "recovered" memories. In addition, he provides clinical information regarding the treatment of adult survivors of abuse. His book's intended readership includes both helping professionals and survivors. While many technical terms are used, the author's down-to-earth, personal style and use of anecdotes and case illustrations, as well as figures and tables, help to make this book both readable and enjoyable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Mind regained.

Reviews the book, Mind regained by Edward Pols (see record 1998-06466-000). In this text, Pols seeks to treat the difficult and perplexing question of the relationship between mind and body in a way that is nonetheless accessible to the non-professional philosopher. Pols takes issues with the position of many contemporary philosophers and psychologists that the brain provides the ultimate causal explanation of mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Natural theories of mind: Evolution, development and simulation of everyday mindreading.

Reviews the book, Natural theories of mind: Evolution, development and simulation of everyday mindreading edited by Andrew Whiten (see record 1991-97348-000). In recent years there has been a phenomenal growth in interest and research directed at what, has become known as a Theory of Mind ("ToM") and its development. Among the many edited books recently made available on the topic, Whiten's Natural theories of mind is unique in the eclectic, multidisciplinary approach it brings to this vital, yet fledgling area. This interdisciplinary approach, which also includes a chapter by Carrithers placing the development of a theory of mind within the broader context of sociology and anthropology, is at the same lime both the strength of this volume and its limitation. It may be that few will read this book cover-to-cover (not a remarkable criticism for an edited book). Those who do will be given an unusually broad overview of this hot research area and the interdisciplinary context within which the area can best be understood and from which it will most profitably develop. Whiten's collection is therefore recommended both to those who are looking for an entrance into the theory of mind literature and for those already embroiled in the field who are looking for new perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Making up the mind: How the brain creates our mental world.

Reviews the book, Making up the mind: How the brain creates our mental world by Chris Frith (see record 2007-00531-000). This book directly addresses the fundamental question as to how the brain creates the inner world of humans from an empirical perspective. It provides an excellent introduction to some of the most exciting recent cognitive-neuroscience research along the way. To find an answer to his question, the author takes a broad stance and draws on advances in areas as diverse as action control, visual perception, language, emotion, social cognition, and schizophrenia. From this research, he derives several general principles that aim to capture the relationship between mind and brain in more abstract terms. These principles provide the thread that makes not only for a thought-provoking, unifying theoretical account, but also for an impressively cohesive narrative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The growth of mind.

"What is most unique about man is that his growth as an individual depends upon the history of his species [as reflected in culture]… . the growth of the mind is always growth assisted from the outside… . What a culture does to assist the development of the powers of mind of its members is, in effect, to provide amplification systems… ." These are amplifiers of action, of the senses, and of thought processes. In considering the distinctiveness of man and his potentiality for further evolution: "The 5 great humanizing forces are… tool making, language, social organization, the management of man's prolonged childhood, and man's urge to explain… . [The] psychologist cannot alone construct a theory of how to assist cognitive development and cannot alone learn how to enrich and amplify the powers of a growing human mind." The task belongs to the whole intellectual community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Minding minds: Evolving a reflexive mind by interpreting others.

Reviews the book, Minding minds: Evolving a reflexive mind by interpreting others by Radu J. Bogdan (see record 2000-07328-000). Drawing on philosophical, psychological, and evolutionary perspectives, Bogdan analyzes the main phylogenetic and ontogenetic stages through which primates’ abilities to interpret other minds evolved and gradually created the opportunities and resources for mental reflexivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society.

Reviews the book, Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society edited by Bessel A. van der Kolk, Alexander C. McFarland, and Lars Weisaeth (see record 1996-98017-000). According to the reviewer, this book has, no doubt, been long awaited by professionals working in the field of traumatic stress. On the whole, it should be welcomed by psychiatrists. It leaves little reservation that, for the guiding interests of psychology, practitioners and researchers will need to look elsewhere. Although acclaimed on the flyleaf as "the gold standard reference," this book, however, falls far short of that mark, and it is bewildering and disappointing that this ambitious, extensive volume comes to so little in a field requiring lucid and advanced theoretical and empirical contributions. The book's purpose is a synthesis of what has been learned over the past 20 years about the effects of trauma, using a biopsychosocial framework. The emphasis throughout is on psychobiology and intrapersonal psychology, attention to the latter at times appearing almost quaint. The book is more properly read as a synthesis of some of the prevailing viewpoints expressed within psychiatry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Desire, self, mind and the psychotherapies: Unifying psychological science and psychoanalysis.

Reviews the book, Desire, self, mind and the psychotherapies: Unifying psychological science and psychoanalysis by R. Coleman Curtis (see record 2008-14956-000). It seems that the current drumbeat of attack against psychoanalysis and its contributions has, as Paul Stepansky (2009) states, put psychoanalysis “at the margins.” It is this question that has become the sine qua non. And it is this question that R. Coleman Curtis attempts to answer in her new book. For many years, Curtis has dedicated her work to the integration of psychoanalysis with other disciplines within psychology and psychotherapy. In her book, Curtis hypothesizes that advances in psychoanalysis and in the broader field of psychology make it possible to achieve common ground between disciplines. The goal of integration is clearly a passion for her, and she infuses the book with a hope that there can be mutual recognition of the contributions of psychoanalysis with the rest of the field of psychology in a way not possible before two major trends: the “affective revolution” and the recognition across disciplines of unconscious processes. She argues that this is necessary for both disciplines. Curtis’ work is an elaborate and impressively researched volume that carefully lays out the argument that psychoanalysis must abandon dated ideas and instead must present relevant science to support key suppositions. For psychology in general, she argues that acknowledging seminal findings regarding unconscious motivation and emotional processing will make the field more dynamic and relevant to people’s lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Brave new mind: A thoughtful inquiry into the nature of mental life.

Reviews the book, Brave new mind: A thoughtful inquiry into the nature of mental life by Peter Dodwell (see record 2000-08633-000). The author poses the major question for cognitive science: "Can mental life be exhaustively studied as a purely natural phenomenon, or must we go beyond the mundane, the merely physical, to grasp its reality?" (p. viii). His answer is, that "absolutely no psychological consequence follows from a model couched in exclusively algorithmic, physical, or physiological terms, which is the way contemporary cognitive science proceeds" (p. 190). Planned as a history of cognitive science, and its contributory disciplines of psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and computing science, and a contemporary survey of its strengths and weaknesses, the project, according to its author, one of this country's most respected researchers, "got out of hand" (p. vii). While documenting the achievements of cognitive science, this volume is much more a mature retrospective on its limitations and, implicitly, its failures of intent, and this by a participant in the enterprise whose reflections reach back more than 40 years to the beginning of his academic career. It is a courageous endeavour and deserves to be read not only as a critique of cognitive science, of the reductionism of the standard model, but as an autobiographical account of the enlightenment of one participant in that science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Brain Damage and the Mind.

Reviews the book, Brain Damage and the Mind by Moyra Williams (see record 1971-06870-000). Another of the excellent paper back series on special topics edited by experts in their respective field. Dr. Williams is Principal Clinical Psychologist, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge. Contents include consciousness and mood, disorders of memory, disorders of perception, disorders of motor skill and verbal expression, and disorder of general intelligence and personality. Almost 200 research papers are integrated in these chapters and within 175 pages. One result is a density rather too high for casual reading. Worth the money. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Evolution, culture and the human mind.

Reviews the book, Evolution, culture and the human mind edited by M. Schaller, et al. (see record 2009-20004-000). This current volume, Evolution, culture and the human mind, follows the lead of Wundt where an attempt is made to provide a synthesis of theory and data across psychological subfields into a holistic framework. Norenzayan, Schaller, and Heine begin the volume with an overview of the scope and themes that arose from their 2004 conference at the University of British Columbia on “Mind, Culture and Evolution.” Explicit throughout this volume is an effort to bridge the “yawning chasm” between perspectives of evolutionary determinism and cultural constructionism. In doing so, there is interest in providing a rigorous multidisciplinary scientific effort to solve this foundational problem for psychology. As such this volume provides an interesting and insightful examination of the evolution of consciousness, cognition, decision-making, actions, and cultural norms in terms of collective consequences and genetic mechanisms. The volume is divided into three sections where several dialectical themes (theory/data, top-down/bottom-up, ecological/social, diversification/integration) are woven throughout. Overall the volume offers nice flow from one collection of essays to the next as themes are picked up and let go, only to return later on. This volume shows a dominance of natural science (cross-cultural) inclinations where some readers may call for more voice given to phenomenological and hermeneutical (cultural) human science contributions. Other critics may challenge the reliance upon correlational, comparative, and post hoc data to bolster claims of causality in support of various theoretical suppositions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The mind’s we: Contextualism in cognitive psychology.

Reviews the book, The mind's we: Contextualism in cognitive psychology by Diane Gillespie (1992). In this text the author has both expanded on several of the key insights previously outlined in the critical literature and provided a congenial introductory text for the newcomer; a text to serve as a conceptual bridge between traditional cognitive psychological approaches and their newly emergent contextualist alternatives. As stated in her preface, Gillespie's purpose in preparing this book was to "bring together the work of psychologists who are interested in telling the contextualist story of cognition" and to "reveal and strengthen their insights and perspectives" (p. xiv). Given the philosophical range and theoretical diversity of those interested in telling such a story, the task is certainly a formidable one, but it is nonetheless one that she accomplishes with a commendable degree of elegance. Gillespie clearly articulates the diverse work of a large number of psychological theorists into a coherent and meaningful account that will do much toward imposing order on a field that is, by its very nature, somewhat scattered and contentious. Each of the book's six chapters proceeds carefully through a detailed and representative historical and conceptual analysis of traditional mechanistic approaches to human cognition prior to advancing their contextualist critiques and alternatives. Through a systematic analysis of the manner in which this "contextualist story" has arisen within the mechanistic milieu of traditional scientific psychology, she is able to clarify both the implications and relative merits and liabilities of two, quite often antithetical, conceptualizations of human cognitive phenomena. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)