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)     

Comments on Finley's "Critique of rational-emotive philosophy."

Reply to Finley's (1987; see record 1988-00015-001) critique of rational-emotive philosophy, which claims that Ellis's (1981) response to Sharkey's (1981) criticisms of rational-emotive psychology reveals logical and philosophical confusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction.

This article introduces the current issue of Health Psychology. The call for early intervention to prevent adulthood health problems and the need to consider each period of children's lives within its developmental perspective are the main emphases in this special issue of the journal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological research, practice, and social policy: Potential pathways of influence.

Greater use of psychological research and practice knowledge in the formulation of social policy is necessary to enhance the well-being of U.S. citizens and communities. Although historically there are instances in which psychological and social science research and practice have had a substantial influence on federal policy, for the most part the relationships among research, practice, and policy have been tenuous. Three cases in which research has substantively influenced policy over the past 80 years are reviewed: Keynesian economics, Head Start legislation, and the activities of conservative think tanks. Several recommendations are made for ways in which psychologists can enhance their influence in the policy arena, including communicating directly with policymakers regarding relevant policy findings and knowledge gleaned from practice; conducting interdisciplinary, multilevel research as well as evaluation research (including qualitative data drawn from practice settings); and networking among researchers, practitioners, policy advocates, and social action groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overcoming the luddite factor: some behavioural aspects of the field supervisor's role in construction planning

The way data is presented can seriously affect the ease with which it can be understood. The objectives and results of a survey of different types of presentation are given. Some psychological aspects of the problem are analysed.     

Extreme experience, psychological insight, and Holocaust perception: Reflections on Bettelheim and Frankl.

This article describes the psychological theories of the Holocaust survivors Bruno Bettelheim and Viktor Frankl. Both Bettelheim and Frankl claimed that their peculiar forms of psychotherapy, in the case of Bettelheim mileau therapy, and Frankl, logotherapy, were based on their survival. However, their radically different forms of psychotherapy, when at least elements of their camp experience was similar, suggests that their psychotherapies were based more upon the worldviews before their interment along with their need to work over the humiliation and profound victimization they experienced in the camps. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"I know, you know": Epistemic egocentrism in children and adults.

This article reviews the evidence and theory pertaining to a form of perspective-taking failure--a difficulty in setting aside the privileged information that one knows to be unavailable to another party. The authors argue that this bias (epistemic egocentrism, or EE) is a general feature of human cognition and has been tapped by 2 independent and largely uncommunicating research traditions: the theory-of-mind tradition in developmental psychology and, with more sensitive probes, the "heuristics and biases" tradition in the psychology of human judgment. This article sets the stage for facilitating communication between these traditions as well as for the recognition of EE's breadth and potential interdisciplinary significance. The authors propose a life-span account and a tentative taxonomy of EE; and they highlight the interdisciplinary significance of EE by discussing its implications for normative ethics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituaries: Martin Deutsch (1926-2002).

Reports the death of Martin Deutsch (1926-2002) and notes his contributions to the field of developmental psychology. Deutsch believed that environmental influences were critical for cognitive development during children's early years and that it was possible to design programs that would provide some of those experiences for children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Harold H. Kelley (1921-2003).

This obituary reports the death of Harold Harding Kelley, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at University of California (1921-2003). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Esthetic decision‐making: How do people select colours for real settings?

A feature of the empirical literature in colour psychology is that little attention has been given to how people in real settings engage in colour selection. Surprisingly, with rare exceptions, we know almost nothing about this. Besides its theoretical significance within psychology, this question has practical implications for industries where colour choice is important. A study is reported into that most ubiquitous of activities, selecting a paint colour for the home. This used a retrospective method supported by qualitative data analysis (NVivo) in which participants described their process of colour selection. The results indicate a process that is far from uniform, but one that consists of two essential stages. The first involves arriving at what we refer to as an affective specification of the qualities sought. Once constructed, this leads to the second stage of matching colour attributes to that specification. Selecting a wall colour emerges as a surprisingly complex process, and one that corresponds more closely to a search than to a simple affective choice. A parallel is drawn with decision research, particularly the field of naturalistic decision‐making. From participants' reports, colour selection also emerges as a process that women appear to understand better than men. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 55–60, 2008