Review of An objective psychology of music.

Reviews the book An objective psychology of music by (see record 1954-00590-000). The reviewer notes that this book is a noteworthy addition to the psychology of music, especially for classroom use with the undergraduate student. Its style is clear and simple, its coverage is unusually comprehensive, and its range is wide. It will truly facilitate the learning process for the student, an advantage which has often been lacking in this field. The psychology of music demands an understanding of two very different disciplines, one of them a science, the other an art. The vocabulary and style employed by the artist has often proved baffling to the scientist, and vice versa. Lundin has shown a special talent as an interpreter, and has made his material thoroughly clear to both. His occasional oversimplifications will prove justifiable in terms of the student who seeks competency in two fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blade runner: An interpretation.

Reviews the film, Blade runner directed by Ridley Scott (1982). This movie was the forerunner of more recent film treatments of the relations between humans and androids such as A.I. Artificial intelligence (S. Spielberg, 2001) and Minority report (S. Spielberg, 2002). This juxtaposition is of particular interest to psychoanalysts because it stimulates thinking about what qualities are quintessentially human. By means of its rich symbolism and allusive cinematic vocabulary, the film explores such questions as the nature of the superego, the Oedipus complex, identity formation, and the eternal struggle between eros and thanatos. The author uses the material of the film to comment on some of the fundamental differences between Freud's worldview and that of the neo-Freudians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social discourse and moral judgment.

Reviews the book, Social discourse and moral judgment by Daniel N. Robinson (see record 1992-98331-000). It is not every day that a group of such original scholars in any field come together to debate a topic of genuine significance. Social Discourse and Moral Judgment is the result of such an occasion, a symposium dedicated to examining social constructionist contributions to the study of moral judgment, conducted at Georgetown University during March of 1991. Although all of the articles in this volume assume some level of familiarity with psychological theory and vocabulary, Social Discourse and Moral Judgment should appeal to the philosophical novice as well as those well-versed in social constructionist theory. While it is entirely impossible to adequately describe or summarize the complex argument and debate presented in this volume in so brief a space, some examination of the issues discussed should serve to illuminate its worth. Although there are many themes which reoccur throughout the book, discussion of only three (agency, individualism and relativism) are dealt with in this review. As a genuinely significant contribution to research in morality and moral judgment, this book has only two drawbacks. The first, which Robinson acknowledges, is simply that there were not more selections presented from the final discussion, and that the selections presented are sometimes sketchy and hard to follow. The second drawback is that there is no critique of the social constructionist position from a clearly hermeneutic or other continental perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Positivism in psychology: Historical and contemporary problems.

Reviews the book, Positivism in psychology: Historical and contemporary problems edited by Charles W. Tolman (see record 1992-97782-000). This series of articles, edited by Tolman in Recent Research in Psychology, had its origins in earlier discussions by the Western Canadian Theoretical Psychology Group of CPA. The 12 articles together address the general problem of the continual impact of positivism and its permutations on the way we psychologists think about our discipline and conduct research. Individually, the chapters of this volume reflect diverse and specific themes, which are framed within their own historical scope. The general reader here has the opportunity to examine the historical background which has shaped psychology as a discipline, and to be educated in the basic vocabulary which characterizes the positivist approach in psychology. Throughout this collection, each chapter individually addresses possible alternatives for the specific problem under discussion. The novice reader may miss the detail, or the subtleties, which demarcate the varying theoretical positions which shape these alternatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dog versus collie: Vocabulary in speech to young children.

Adult speech to children was recorded during interactions between 2 nursery school teachers and their 2–4 yr old students and between mothers and their 18–30 mo old children. Nouns in 4 general categories were rated for taxonomic level: subordinate (e.g., collie), basic level (e.g., dog), or superordinate (e.g., animal). Basic level nouns were the most frequently used. A further study was conducted to determine whether heavy reliance on basic level vocabulary in speech to children represents a simplification strategy. 80 undergraduates wrote stories about sets of pictures as they would tell the stories to either a child or an adult listener. Ss produced significantly more basic level nouns than subordinate or superordinate nouns for child listeners only, suggesting the use of a simplification strategy. In addition, the proportion of all items labeled at the subordinate level that were also labeled at the basic level was significantly higher in stories for a child listener than in stories for an adult listener. Data suggest that speakers may tend to orient a child listener to the basic level of categorization even when using words at other taxonomic levels. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Two Hugs for Survival.

Reviews the book, Two Hugs for Survival by Harold A. Minden (1982). Parenthood is not natural, and children have the right to trained parents. Two Hugs for Survival is an informative, sensitive, and supportive parent training book based on these two premises. Drawing on 15 years of contact with parents in educational and clinic situations, Harold Minden outlines a number of principles and strategies characterizing successful parents. This book is a thoroughly readable anthology of strategies for parents interested in increasing their coping vocabulary. While research and theoretical underpinnings are not as explicit as they might be, case studies and detailed instructions for applying particular suggestions are introduced effectively. This book is recommended for those who want answers to specific child-rearing questions. The only danger is that it may appeal most to those interested in a quick-fix approach to their frustrations as parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

E pluribus unum.

Replies to comments on the original article by R. J. Sternberg and E. L. Grigorenko (see record 2001-10045-001), which described an approach to psychology ("unified psychology") which is a multiparadigmatic, multidisciplinary, and integrated study of psychological phenomena through converging operations. Sternberg and Grigorenko reply to comments by H. H. Kendler (see record 2003-03406-005), M. Y. Lau (see record 2003-03406-006), J. I. Kassinove (see record 2003-03406-007), W. Chovan (see record 2003-03406-008) and R. Chao (see record 2003-03406-009). Sternberg and Grigorenko note that the aforementioned authors disagree at least as much among themselves as they do with Sternberg and Grigorenko's proposals. Sternberg and Grigorenko provide brief replies to each published comment here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rattus revisited.

Comments on R. B. Lockard's (see record 1969-06149-001) article complaining about the heavy use of the white rat in behavioral research. It is suggested that such articles will have little effect on research, since comparative psychologists have uncovered few consistent differences between species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time discrimination in Columba livia and Homo sapiens..

Evaluates pigeons' ability to discriminate stimulus duration, focusing on stimuli less than 1 sec in duration, in 4 experiments. In Exp 1, the performances of pigeons and humans were compared with a staircase technique, and in Exp 2, the method of constant stimuli was used. Both experiments produced similar results: The pigeon and human data were well described by the generalized form of Weber's law (D. J. Getty; see record 1975-30865-001). Exp 3 demonstrated that the birds did not use perceived brightness to mediate the discrimination of brief visual durations. Exp 4 used a modified staircase procedure that yielded a continuous measure of discrimination from absolute threshold (0 sec) to about 1 sec. The difference thresholds were constant over a considerable range, similar to findings reported by A. B. Kristofferson (see record 1981-09423-001) for human timing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Assessment and modification of emotional behavior.

Reviews the book, Assessment and Modification of Emotional Behavior edited by Kirk R. Blankstein, Patricia Pliner, and Janet Polivy ( 1980). This book brings together a collection of papers by participants at a symposium held at the University of Toronto's Erindale College. Although both assessment and modification are treated within each paper, the book can be divided into roughly two parts. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 7 focus on assessment. Both Averill and Zuckerman raise the issue of why negative emotional terms occur more often in both psychology and the common vocabulary. Zuckerman argues convincingly that therapy removing unpleasant emotions is dealing with only one half of the problem and it might be useful to induce pleasant emotions since these may "innoculate" clients against future negative experiences. Plutchik reviews his theory on the evolutionary origins of emotions and extends it to the identification of traits and defense mechanisms. Meichenbaum's chapter on "cognitive ethology" discusses the two-way relationship between emotions and cognitions and reviews different procedures for studying cognitions accompanying emotional behaviour. The remainder of the book deals with modification of behaviour and includes chapters on depression, anxiety, and heart attack related stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Current trends in information theory.

Reviews the book, "Current trends in information theory," by B. McMillan, D.A. Grant, P.M. Fitts, F.C. Frick, W.S. McCulloch, G.A. Miller and H.W. Brosin (1953). This is the seventh in a series of annual conferences on "Current Trends in Psychology" arranged by the Department of Psychology of the University of Pittsburgh. As is frequently the case with such compendia, this one is rather a hodgepodge with different authors trying to do different things in different ways. The unifying theme, such as it is, is modern communication theory. McMillan attempts a brief and general account of communication theory, in which attempt he is very successful. It is gratifying to know that mathematicians can communicate with psychologists if they want to. Of all the authors only Frick and Miller describe some classes of psychological experiments to which information theory has been able to contribute something other than a new vocabulary. Miller is especially levelheaded in his appraisal of the usefulness of information theory for psychology and a paraphrase of the first two pages of his contribution might well summarize the outcome of this conference: There are not yet many places in the study of human behavior where information theory can be profitably applied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undermining extrinsic interest.

Comments on F. M. Levine and G. Fasnacht's (see record 1975-07966-001) article on token learning, focusing on (1) the validity of the overjustification hypothesis, (2) the nature of intrinsic interest, and (3) the implications of overjustification studies for token economies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence is important, intelligence is complex.

G. M. Macmann and D. W. Barnett (see record 1995-15770-001) have provided a thoughtful discussion of convergent and discriminant validity and how these important criteria apply to the correlated factors that are derived from tests of intelligence. However, a methodological critique shows that alternative analysis of some of the data used by Macmann and Barnett support multiple factor solutions for the Wechsler scales. It is asserted that the assessment of intelligence is important for children with learning problems because intelligence is an important influence on learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation and personality and Nebraska symposium on motivation.

Reviews the books "Motivation and personality," by A. H. Maslow (see record 1955-02233-000) and "Nebraska Symposium on Motivation," edited by M. R. Jones (see record 1955-02102-000). To be properly appreciated Maslow's book must be read as a protest, an eloquent and at times almost prophetic protest against the traditional homeostatic conception of drives which has held American motivational theory in a strait jacket ever since our psychological forebears first read Darwin. Maslow rightly sees that even men as apparently different as Freud and Hull were essentially the same in one respect. It is particularly interesting to juxtapose the current Nebraska Symposium on Motivation with Maslow's book. Taken as a whole, the Nebraska Symposium is impressive evidence that the study of motivation is in a vigorous and healthy state. There is not only the important controversy between the traditional drive-reduction theorists and the newer "instinctivists" but there is also a wealth of significant empirical research on different kinds of motives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Madhouse and The Lobotomist.

Reviews the books, Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine by Andrew Scull (see record 2005-06776-000); and The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness by Jack El-Hai (see record 2005-02343-000). In both books, the history of experimental clinical psychiatry is laid bare with devastating accounts of the efforts to conquer mental illness by any means necessary. Both books are fascinating reading and may illuminate our current context in which the biological avenues for treating mental disorders continue to traffic in hopes of a one-size-fits-all cure, while psychoanalysis ambivalently struggles with how to conduct rigorous research to demonstrate the efficacy of our treatment. Andrew Scull's book Madhouse offers a well-documented historical account of a bizarre episode in American psychiatric history. The centerpiece of Scull's investigative work is Henry Cotton, MD, the superintendent of the Trenton State Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, from 1907-1930. Once Cotton arrived at Trenton, he was appalled by the conditions he found and instituted reforms such as eliminating the culture of violence by attendants, removing over 700 pieces of restraining equipment from the hospital, and introducing occupational therapy. Jack El-Hai gives us the next segment of psychiatric surgery in his book The Lobotomist, a biography of the neurologist, turned surgical outlaw, Walter Freeman, MD. Walter Freeman was a neurologist fascinated with science and experimentation. Settling into work at St. Elizabeth's hospital in Washington, DC, in 1924, Freeman eventually joined the faculty of George Washington University where he remained until 1954. At that time neurosyphilis was the scourge of mental hospitals producing thousands of victims who were totally disabled by the neurological sequellae of tertiary illness. Thus lobotomy became an efficient outpatient procedure that could be applied to a larger patient population. Both of these books are important reading. Of all the great medical advances of the last century, surely the one that stands out as perhaps the greatest is the Nuremberg Code of 1947, which requires a competent patient giving informed consent to treatment and to research efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The scales of success: Constructions of life-career success of eminent men and women lawyers.

Reviews the book, The scales of success: Constructions of life-career success of eminent men and women lawyers by Sheelagh O'Donovan-Polten (see record 2001-06977-000). Many writers have posed the question, "What constitutes a successful life?" Sheelagh O'Donovan-Polten has asked a group of professionals who are themselves seen as successful, to describe what it means to them. Her central research question was "How does a professionally successful, middle-aged Canadian lawyer construct life-career success?" An additional important question was "To what degree do such constructions differ by gender?" The author uses the term "life-career" to indicate that the scope of her inquiry is broader than simply career. This book has something to offer to professionals in developmental psychology, vocational psychology, career development, human resource development, and adult education. It would be of particular interest to those interested in adult cognitive development or gender differences. Although there is some explanation of the work of Regan, Gilligan, and others, knowledge of these theories would enhance the reader's understanding of some of the author's interpretations. The vocabulary and style of writing is consistent with postmodern academic research, which may not be familiar to some professionals in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Creativity.

Reviews the book, Creativity by P. E. Vernon (Ed.) (see record 1973-07006-000). Vernon provides a palatable and inexpensive way into the literature on creativity. While he defends his selection of 27 articles as arbitrary but conventional, there is in fact a healthy respect for the early contributors and for the significant British literature. In the six sections of this book, Vernon provides an altogether refreshing little collection of key materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cigarette smoking does cause distress.

Replies to comments by J. D. Kassel (see record 2000-02781-014), T. M. Piasecki and T. B. Baker (see record 2000-02781-015), and D. G. Gilbert and F. Joseph McClernon (see record 2000-02781-016) on A. C. Parrott's (see record 1999-11644-002) article regarding the link between cigarette smoking and stress. Parrott responds by focusing on several articles published during the past year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Notebooks.

Reviews the books Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 1: Methods, principles and philosophy of science, Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 2: Perception, Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 3: Motivation, Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 4: Balance theory, Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 5: Attributional and interpersonal evaluation, and Fritz Heider: The notebooks, Vol. 6: Units and coinciding units by Fritz Heider and edited by Marijana Benesh-Weiner (see records 1987-98853-000, 1988-97988-000, 1988-98304-000, 1989-97096-000, 1989-97097-000, and 1990-97341-000). The Notebooks are a six-volume reproduction of Heider's working social psychology, from the early 1950s through to the early 1980s. Their publication allows us, for the first time, an intimate and complete examination of a method of social psychology that has proven so fruitful and upon which rests so much of the experimental enterprise of the past decades. Heider's method is thoughtful, rather than active. The Notebooks would probably be of greatest interest and use to practising experimental social psychologists, since many mainstream topics derive from Heider's Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, which was an earlier, more highly edited, release of his notebook research. Graduate students will find The Notebooks a treasure house of topics, ideas, and inspiration. Theoreticians will find Heider one of their own. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

IQ gains and fluid g.

Responds to J. P. Rushton's comments (see record 2000-15413-003) on the J. R. Flynn article (see record 1999-00167-001) examining IQ gains over time. Flynn contends that factor analysis does show that inbreeding depression isolated from a cluster including fluid g, IQ gains, and Black-White differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)