Compte rendu d'Psychologie sociale.

Reviews the book, Psychologie sociale by Sylvie Jutras, Claude Champagne, Claude Hamel, K. J. Gergen, and M. M. Gergen (1984). This work has the following goals: (1) to propose a coherent explanation of principal ideas and theories in the field, (2) to demonstrate the value and the importance of empirical research (3) to show the contribution of the psychosocial knowledge in the realm of life and (4) to present all that in the form more interesting and most useful to the student reader. There are chapters on social perception, interpersonal attraction, prejudgement and discrimination, attitude changes, morality (a subject which is not very common in other handbooks of this kind), positive social action, aggression, leadership capacity, social influence, social exchange (another not very common subject), interaction in groups, and finally a chapter on "the physical and social environment." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu d'Psychologie sociale.

Reviews the book, Psychologie sociale by Serge Moscovici (1984). The work includes four parts. The first treats primary social influences and changes of attitudes, whereas the second presents some theories and research concerning interpersonal relations and joint committees. The third part describes thinking with social representations, causal attribution, and communication with language. Lastly, the final part aims to look further into various social problems such as racism, prejudices and discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu dIntroduction au behaviorisme.

Reviews the book, Introduction au behaviorisme by Fran?ois Berthiaume. This is an original, ambitious book which will cause many reactions. Written by a professor of psychology who teaches at college level, the author's style is clear, pleasant, direct and convincing. The 25 chapters which make this volume propose an answer to the question which is as interesting as it is ambitious, "Why do people act the way they do?" This book is divided into three parts. The first exposes behaviorism, and describes three fundamental situations of conditioning and discusses the guiding principles of behaviorism. The second illustrates the application of these principles in everyday life: thinking, intelligence, creativity, conscience, freedom, emotion, superstitious behaviors, control of oneself, etc. The third part approaches psychosis from the point of view of comprehension and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu d'L'insomnie: Traitement comportemental.

Reviews the book, L'insomnie: Traitement comportemental by Robert Ladouceur and Yves Gros-Louis (1984). The work offers a prospect broader than the medical vision which traditionally dominates the treatment of insomnia. More specifically, the work is articulated around two chapters. The first locates the relative source data of insomnia, and provides the criteria for a precise diagnosis, establishing a clear distinction between primary insomnia and secondary insomnia, and methods generally utilized to measure sleep. As for the second chapter, it is centered on the behavioral methods of treatment of insomnia. According to the authors, any treatment must be preceded by factual information on insomnia, to facilitate the application of the chosen method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu du Bilingualité et bilinguisme.

Reviews the book, Bilingualité et bilinguisme by J. F. Hamers and M. Blanc (1983). This book represents the result of a work of great scale, as much by the range of the subjects which are covered as by its multidisciplinary orientation. Hamers and Blanc are right to support that bilingualism must make use of the theoretical and methodological prospects in several disciplines. However, this multidisciplinary approach is not devoted to obtain responses or conclusions of major importance. It rather makes it possible to better include/understand the complex research which must be followed and the importance of several questions that we find throughout the history of research on bilingualism. Hamers and Blanc subdivide the field of bilingualism in ten different sections. Each one of these various sections consists of an in-depth study, complete and conscientious. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu d'L'intervenant professionnel face à l'aide naturelle.

Reviews the book, L'intervenant professionnel face à l'aide naturelle by Jér?me Guay (1984). Guay's book is written in an intimate language. Including personal reflections, the text presents the values, concepts and fundamental techniques of how to modify the practice of professional speaking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu L'intelligence animale: Recherches piagètiennes.

Reviews the book, L'intelligence animale: Recherches piagètiennes by Claude Dumas and Fran?ois-Y. Doré. In a monograph of a little less than one hundred pages, Claude Dumas and Fran?ois-Y. Doré demonstrate objectively that the studies made by Piaget on the development of the intelligence of a child can be used as a theorhetical framework and methodological study of cognition of animals. They hope this approach can bring research in animal psychology and psychology together. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu dLes origines sociales et culturelles des troubles psychologiques.

Reviews the book, Les origines sociales et culturelles des troubles psychologiques by Michel Tousignant (1992). The nine chapters of the work cover a vast amount of information. The book discusses the social and cultural origins of psychological disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu de lecture.

The new Traite de psychologic experimentale [Handbook of Experimental Psychology] is made up of approximately 1650 pages (excluding foreword and indexes) divided into two volumes, six sections, and 31 chapters. The six sections bear on the following themes: (a) historical, theoretical and methodological foundations of the discipline, (b) sensory information processing, (c) organization of motor activity, (d) emotional, motivational, and social processes, (e) symbolic and language processes, and (f) learning, memory, and problem-solving. This handbook was intended to achieve two goals. The first was to support the training of students; the second was to provide instructors and researchers with a reliable source of scientific information. On the whole, this handbook is a monumental achievement, for its breadth, wealth of up-to-date information, and rigor of presentation. The various contributions convey a large number of concepts and empirical findings, and they raise basic theoretical issues. Fundamental problems of Experimental Psychology and topics that are often poorly documented elsewhere are addressed, sometimes with remarkable insight. The handbook seems to be intended primarily for advanced undergraduate and graduate students... (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu d'Les femmes et l'alcool en Amérique du nord et au Québec.

Reviews the book, Les femmes et l'alcool en Amérique du nord et au Québec by Nadeau Louise, Céline Mercier, and Lise Bourgeois (1984). This monograph consists of eight chapters which cover the subject of alcoholism among women and is the result of a subsidy of research by the ministry for the Social Affairs of Quebec. This study is one of a kind in that it primarily discusses women and their dependence towards alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu La rêve: Sa nature, sa fonction et une méthode d'analyse.

Reviews the book, La rêve: Sa nature, sa fonction et une méthode d'analyse by George W. Baylor and Daniel Deslauriers (1987). This book consists of 85 pages, notes and bibliography included. The work is divided in four chapters. The motif of the title is evident in the first chapter. The three other chapters expose a method of analysis advanced by the authors. On the whole, a method interesting for research but a exercise at the very least harassing in practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu De la phénoménologie à la psychanalyse Freud et les existentialistes Américains.

Reviews the book, De la phénoménologie à la psychanalyse Freud et les existentialistes Américains by Marc-André Bouchard (1992). This book is the work of a true "scholar". The multiple data are presented with an authority of the author that easily justifies the thought that the author has a rich synthesis of several schools of thought in contemporary psychology; in particular the approaches of existential phenomenology, humanistic, gestalt and psychoanalytic psychology. A generous portion of the book is concentrated on therapeutic applications and approaches to questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu dLa construction du réel chez le psychologue: épistémologie et méthodes en sciences humaines.

Reviews the book, La construction du réel chez le psychologue: épistémologie et méthodes en sciences humaines by Christiane Gillieron (1985). This work of 280 pages is an introductory text including information on epistemology and concepts of the scientific method in psychology and social sciences in general. Its framework of reference is explicitly the genetic epistemology of Piaget, which is found in all its aspects of the strong use of examples resulting from psychology and intelligence and it has a tendency to elaborate on the cognitive aspects of the scientific method. The work is divided in nine chapters gathered in three parts. The three chapters of the first part carry on the postulates and principles of the scientific method. The second part of four chapters examines the technical aspects of research. The last part contains a chapter on the psychology of the experimental situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Thinking and Speaking: A Symposium.

Reviews the book "Thinking and speaking: A symposium," by G. Révész (see record 1955-06902-000). This book is a reprint of a double number of Acta Psychologica and contains ten contributions. Five are by psychologists, one is by the philosopher, one by the mathematician, and one by the linguist Buyssens of Brussels. The author states the problems: Is speech possible without thought? Is thought possible without speech? He answers the first question affirmatively. He also emphasizes the importance for thinking of memories of events previously formulated in speech. He believes that he has proved that the two functions are one and indivisible (though speech may occur without thought). This book should be read by all American psychologists who are interested in keeping abreast of the developments of Denkpsychologie. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child-Centered Group Play Therapy with Children with Speech Difficulties.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy as an intervention for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children with speech difficulties. A pre-test, post-test comparison group design was utilized. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a large practical significance in helping children improve both their expressive and receptive language skills. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a mixed effect upon children's anxiety. Qualitative data was examined to determine clinical significance of the intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rejoinder to Clément's review of Language and Disadvantage.

In his recent review of the book "Language and Disadvantage" by John Edwards (1979), Clement (see record 2007-04092-001) begins and ends on a favourable note, and for this the author is grateful. Within the body of the review, however, he has misrepresented things somewhat; consequently, Edwards comments on the following points. First, Clement claimed that the basis for Edwards' rejection of the "deficit" viewpoint on disadvantage is "nebulous". Second, Clement sees the fifth chapter (dealing with nonstandard speech at school) as weak, containing little more than recommendations to teachers. Third, Clement states that Edwards suggests in the book "that NSS (nonstandard speech) speakers be taught SS (standard style) as it pertains to certain specific situations". Edwards states in the preface of his book that disadvantaged speech is considered essentially as a sociolinguistic issue deriving more from social attitudes than from any inherent linguistic deficiency. To the extent to which Clement's review muddies this basic theme, it misleads the reader. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cognitive aging: A primer.

Reviews the book, Cognitive aging: A primer edited by Denise C. Park and Norbert Schwarz (see record 2000-07430-000). The objective of this edited book is to present a comprehensive overview of what is known about normal cognitive functioning in older adults. The book's 14 short chapters, all written by well-known experts in cognitive aging, are divided into four sections on basic mechanisms, attention and memory, language and speech, and applications. This book was intended as a textbook for teaching advanced undergraduate and beginning undergraduate students. Overall, this objective is reached by most contributions. While creatively updating knowledge in cognitive aging, it does a great job of identifying limitations and theoretical challenges and of pinpointing many exciting research questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)