Review of Expressing emotion: Myths, realities, and therapeutic strategies.

Reviews the book, Expressing emotion: Myths, realities, and therapeutic strategies by Eileen Kennedy-Moore and Jeanne C. Watson (see record 1999-02735-000). This book is a timely exposition of the theory, research, and clinical techniques associated with emotion and the expression of emotion. It is a particularly relevant text for clinical psychology in the context of recent discussions of emotional intelligence and the limitations of purely behavioural or cognitive perspectives on human functioning and therapeutic change. It deals with the myths about emotional expression that have permeated the field, such as that emotion is dangerous and to be avoided in therapy, or that the cathartic ventilation of emotion drains negativity much like lancing a wound. This book provides a rich contrast to such simplistic, all or nothing positions on emotion that have so often dominated psychological thinking, especially in the literature on psychotherapy. One of the strengths of the treatment-oriented part of the book is that it is integrative. A second strength of this volume is that it is well written. This book addresses a very complex and intriguing topic in a stimulating, readable manner. It is pragmatic enough for the practicing therapist and stimulating enough for the theoretically oriented reader. It will find a treasured place in many a clinician's and teacher's library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Emotional rehabilitation of physical trauma and disability.

Reviews the book, Emotional rehabilitation of physical trauma and disability, edited by David W. Krueger (1984). The editor describes this work as a "manual of education and instruction...to foster professional competencies in an area that is crucial but little discussed in the literature." The area he refers to is the emotional rehabilitation of physical trauma and disability. The intended readership is practicing physicians. The text is divided into three major sections: (1) Emotional Response to Physical Disability, (2) Special Areas of Rehabilitation, and (3) Treatment Aspects. In general, this text covers "knowledge of behavioral science applied to physical illness and rehabilitation." A rehabilitation psychologist may find certain chapters in this text to be valuable in the study of a particular topic. However, it remains for the physician to whom this book is intended to be the final judge of the value and relevance of the information presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Girls.

Reviews the book, Handbook of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Girls by Debora J. Bell, Sharon L. Foster, and Eric J. Mash (Eds.) (see record 2005-04217-000). The principal aim of this book is to integrate theory and research on girls' behavioural and emotional problems across development. Although at first it may appear that this book is redundant to existing texts on behavioural and emotional problems in children in general, as the editors rightly point out, many aspects of girls' development (and pathological development) are distinct from those of boys, and girls' problems must be viewed against the backdrop of girls' sociocultural experiences and expectations. Further attesting to the distinctiveness and importance of this work is its comprehensiveness, which is clearly evidenced by the inclusion of contextual factors (e.g., homelessness, single-parent and blended families), life events (e.g., childhood abuse), and discussion of adolescent-related issues (e.g., dating) in addition to those of childhood. In sum, this text is unique both in its intentions and content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Emotional first aid.

Reviews the book, Emotional first aid by Sean Haldane. When you have a friend who is experiencing emotional distress, Sean Haldane tells us in this book, you can make use of the principles of emotional first aid to unblock the emotion, allowing it a fuller, more direct expression, thereby alleviating the distress. For, according to Haldane, directly expressed emotions seldom cause trouble; it is blocked emotions that produce distress and damage. He believes that if one understands the way in which emotions are naturally expressed, one can frequently facilitate the proper expression of emotion by one's friend (or one's child), contributing in this way to the friend's (or the child's) more adaptive functioning. Haldane is a persuasive, charming writer. As I perused this book I had the impression that Haldane is a wise, compassionate, and skilful therapist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Self-help approaches for obesity and eating disorders: Research and practice.

Reviews the book, Self-help approaches for obesity and eating disorders: Research and practice edited by Janet D. Latner and G. Terence Wilson (see record 2007-11980-000). This book is an edited text that provides a review of research findings in this area and a discussion of practical strategies related to implementing self-help. The intended audience is researchers and clinicians, and the book provides a good balance of literature review and consideration of practical issues that should meet the needs of both. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cognition and emotion: From order to disorder, second edition.

Reviews the book, Cognition and emotion: From order to disorder, second edition by Mick Power and Tim Dalgleish (see record 2007-10431-000). In this book, the authors provide a detailed analysis of emotion with an explicit focus on differences and similarities between "disordered" emotion and normative emotional experience. What sets this text apart from other books on cognition and emotion is its attempt to describe the philosophical and historical underpinnings of work on emotion. Another unique feature of this text is that the authors go beyond just describing the various theories of emotion by comparing and contrasting the arguments advanced by the theories and highlighting the strengths and limitations of each theory. This book is divided into two parts: Part 1 is a review of the major theories of emotion, and Part 2 consists of reviews of research on five basic emotions, as well as illustrations of how the SPAARS framework can be used to explain normative and nonnormative variants of these emotions. Power and Dalgleish suggest that readers can choose either to read the book in its entirety or to focus on the sections that are of interest. Overall, this second edition of Cognition and Emotion is a readable and engaging book. This book is not a primer; as noted earlier, some parts of it are conceptually heavy. For this reason, the most appropriate audience for this book is advanced graduate students who already have some background in research on basic emotion or psychopathology and who are looking to enhance their knowledge base. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Pathological anxiety: Emotional processing in etiology and treatment.

Reviews the book, Pathological anxiety: Emotional processing in etiology and treatment edited by Barbara Olasov Rothbaum (see record 2005-16244-000). This book is a tribute to the work of Edna B. Foa whose model of emotional processing has had a profound impact on the understanding and treatment of individuals with pathological anxiety. The first section of the book provides a series of chapters on theoretical conceptualizations of various anxiety disorders stemming from emotional processing theory. The second section of the book overviews assessment and treatment strategies stemming from emotional processing theory, across a spectrum of specific anxiety disorders. This book also contains chapters on unique clinical applications of emotional processing theory. Through its foundational focus on defining and explicating the importance of principles as outlined in emotional processing theory, this book's significance to the future of psychological treatments of anxiety is clear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Laboratory Instrumentation in Psychology.

Reviews the book "Laboratory instrumentation in psychology," by William W. Grings (see record 1955-01753-000). It has been Grings's purpose to provide in convenient form a discussion of the basic characteristics of representative stimulating and recording systems, principally for use with human subjects. It is explicitly stated that the book is intended to be an introduction rather than an ultimate guide to research. The primary effort is to suggest by illustration the types of question that must be asked when apparatus is adopted to extend measurement and control. Altogether, the usefulness of the book far outweighs its limitations, and the advanced student or the teacher in laboratory courses will find it of considerable help in surveying the technical tools of the trade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Self-control and self-modification of emotional behavior.

Reviews the book, Self-control and self-modification of emotional behavior edited by Kirk R. Blankstein and Janet Polivy (1982). This volume incorporates a range of diverse views on self-control and an application of these varied perspectives to several types of emotional behaviours. The specific content of the chapters ranges through ageing, alcohol use and abuse, loneliness, the Type A coronary-prone behaviour pattern, eating behaviour, and self-help approaches to self-management. While there is a bias towards a behavioural perspective on self-control and self-modification, the text generally reflects a multi-theoretical approach to theory and clinical practice. This book offers a wide variety of theory and content around the general issue of self-control. Each chapter stands on its own, and the text will find its most utility among researchers and clinicians in each specific area of interest. It is in the collection of these specific chapters that the book makes its contribution to the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Piaget's theory of intelligence.

Reviews the book, Piaget's Theory of Intelligence by Charles J. Brainerd (1978). This book is much more than an introduction to Piaget's theory. It is also a comprehensive and long overdue critical evaluation of the theory, based on an extensive consideration of replication research. For each stage of cognitive development, as well as a concluding discussion of educational implications, Brainerd describes the theory and then reviews the relevant research bearing on the topics discussed. Important and complex aspects of the theory are discussed in terms of the predictions that should follow in controlled experiments, rather than merely presenting Piaget's ideas as revealed truth. Unfortunately, the text is purported to be an introduction to Piaget's theory for the undergraduate course in cognitive development, and in that capacity it would be less satisfactory than as a supplementary or even an advanced text. As an introductory text it may be too critical. Brainerd fares no worse than other recent authors who have attempted to introduce Piaget's ideas. The book's strength, as well as its uniqueness, clearly lies in its evaluative orientation. It is highly recommended for those readers already familiar with the theory, preferably from primary sources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ambivalence over emotional expression and well-being: Nomothetic and idiographic tests of the stress-buffering hypothesis.

Examined nomothetic and idiographic relations between ambivalence over emotional expression (as expressed by the Ambivalence Over Emotional Expression Questionnaire; AEQ) and well-being in a 4-mo study with an interim 2-wk diary component. Ss were 66 undergraduates. Nomothetic and idiographic analyses both revealed that AEQ was related to psychological health but not to physical well-being. The nomothetic test of stress-buffering showed that AEQ was more predictive of depression among Ss who had experienced higher levels of positive life-event stress. In contrast, the idiographic test of stress-buffering revealed that Ss higher in AEQ exhibited less covariation between daily stress and negative affect over time. It is proposed that AEQ may reflect 2 types of emotional vulnerability: emotional reactivity and emotional perseveration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Enhancing marital intimacy through facilitating cognitive self-disclosure.

Reviews the book, Enhancing marital intimacy through facilitating cognitive self-disclosure by Edward M. Waring (see record 1988-97051-000). In this book Dr. Waring presents his approach to marital therapy, which he calls cognitive family therapy. The central thesis of the book is as follows: A lack of intimacy in family relationships is associated with emotional and psychosomatic symptoms. An important determinant of intimacy, perhaps the most important, is self-disclosure. The author suggests that facilitating self-disclosure is the easiest and most direct technique for enhancing intimacy. The emphasis on cognitive, as opposed to emotional, self-disclosure is the crucial and innovative aspect of the author's approach to treatment. After completing this book, one is left with one idea that there may be some couples with psychiatric problems who benefit more from the exchange of information about each other than from the expression of personal emotions. This is an interesting notion, and one hopes that the author will publish more definitive conceptual and empirical work on this idea. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Comparative Animal Behavior.

Reviews the book, Comparative Animal Behavior by Richard A. Maier and Barbara M. Maier (see record 1970-08060-000). This book was written as a text for basic comparative psychology on animal behavior courses. The text is carefully referenced to an extensive bibliography which makes the book valuable as a reference source to the basic literature of the area. The three part organization of the text covers: Basic Sensory Motor System Biology, Stimulus Control of Naturalistic Behaviors, and Interactive Processes of Organisms and Environment. Within and across sections the text is organized to allow the student progression from simple mechanisms of behavior to the more complex processes. The exemplary studies cited deal with a variety of species appropriate to elucidation of the phenomena under discussion, and profusely supplemented with drawings and photographic plates. An excellent introduction to comparative studies of animal behavior for psychology students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychopathology in the mentally retarded.

Reviews the book, Psychopathology in the mentally retarded by Johnny L. Matson and Rowland P. Barrett (see record 1985-97358-000). This book is an important contribution to the available literature on emotional and behavioral disorders in clients with the additional disability of mental retardation. This text is intended to provide the clinician and researcher with a broad view of existing empirical data dealing with mentally retarded individuals who exhibit psychopathology. As such, it provides a valuable review of much empirical research, especially that with a clear behavioral formulation. The text also is updated to include a DSM-III formulation of psychiatric disorders. The book is successful in achieving the goal of providing broad, empirical data. The book would be a wise purchase for the skilled clinician, although it is not a clinical handbook or "how-to" manual. The behaviorally oriented clinician will be most comfortable with the general approach and organization of the material. The book is essential to the library of the researcher in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in dispositional expressiveness: Development and validation of the Emotional Expressivity Scale.

Although emotional expressivity figures prominently in several theories of psychological and physical functioning, limitations of currently available measurement techniques impede precise and economical testing of these theories. The 1 7-item Emotional Expressivity Scale (EES) was designed as a self-report measure of the extent to which people outwardly display their emotions. Reliability studies showed the EES to be an internally consistent and stable individual-difference measure. Validational studies established initial convergent and discriminant validities, a moderate relationship between self-rated and other-rated expression, and correspondence between self-report and laboratory-measured expressiveness using both college student and community populations. The potential for the EES to promote and integrate findings across diverse areas of research is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Working it out: Using exercise in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Working it out: Using exercise in psychotherapy by Kate F. Hays (see record 1999-02984-000). In this book, Hays presents a thoughtful, albeit at times controversial, advocacy for integration of physical exercise into the practice of psychotherapy in an explicit way. Although many mental health practitioners recognize the healing value of physical exercise and even encourage their patients to pursue physical activity, as part of their treatment, Dr. Hays takes this approach to an entirely different level. She argues persuasively that physical exercise, promoted by the therapist in the context of a cognitive-behavioral treatment model, represents for many who seek the services of a psychotherapist a treatment of first choice. She supports her views on this matter by skillfully weaving throughout the book a comprehensive and scholarly review of relevant clinical empirical literature, along with case studies from her own clinical practice. The case studies are a particularly appealing part of this book because they clearly and instructively give the reader an impression of what transpires between Dr. Hays and her clients or patients. One senses that above all she is a warm, empathic, and sensitive clinician who skillfully applies a blend of cognitive-behavioral interventions, enhanced by individually tailored regimens of physical exercise. As stated in the introduction, the author intends "…to inspire mental health professionals to bring to their work a clearer understanding of, interest in, and enthusiasm for exercise in the process of recovery from mental and emotional problems." Dr. Hays identifies practicing psychotherapists as the primary intended audience for her book, but it seems more likely to appeal to students in training for this craft. The more seasoned veterans among us are less likely to be inspired by Dr. Hays's enthusiasm for jogging with our patients, and her proposals for doing this certainly raises many serious concerns and potentially hazardous issues regarding the nature of the relationship between therapist and client. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)