Review of The International Handbook of Creativity.

Reviews the book, The International Handbook of Creativity by James Kaufman and Robert Sternberg (Eds) (see record 2006-05841-000). The International Handbook of Creativity, edited by James Kaufman and Robert Sternberg, provides global perspectives on conceptions of creativity. An edited volume with 35 international contributing authors of 17 chapters, this handbook achieves the goal stated on its back cover of "present[ing] a truly international and diverse set of perspectives on the psychology of human creativity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The essential Sternberg: Essays on intelligence, psychology, and education.

Reviews the book, The essential Sternberg: Essays on intelligence, psychology, and education edited by James C. Kaufman and Elena L. Grigorenko (see record 2009-00687-000). For years, Robert Sternberg has produced renowned, groundbreaking work, and now some of it is captured in one volume: The Essential Sternberg. The book gathers in one place Sternberg’s major publications. From a repertoire of more than 1,000 journal articles, book chapters, and books, the editors have chosen 20 seminal works, spanning 30 years from 1977 to 2006. Although not organized chronologically, the ordering of the chapters reflects the progression of Sternberg’s work. In reading the book, one gains a sense of how a theory (and a career) of one of psychology’s major thinkers has evolved. The book presents five arcs of Sternberg’s research and theory on intelligence and education. No book, of course, can cover all the areas of a scholar’s research, so readers wanting to learn more about, for example, Sternberg’s work on love will need to look elsewhere. However, Sternberg’s central ideas and work are certainly on display in this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Creativity and reason in cognitive development.

Reviews the book, Creativity and reason in cognitive development edited by James C. Kaufman and John Baer (see record 2006-08155-000). This volume represents a good selection of various points of view with regard to the extent and nature of relationships between creative thinking and reasoning, but it does not present a definitive answer on the nature and extent of their association. Such clarity has not been achieved either for the concurrent or temporal-causal relationship between reasoning and creativity. Yet, although this volume does not lead its reader to a clear answer to the question at stake, it presents the reader with a large amount of interesting and relevant (although quite diverse and dispersed) information. The range of topics in the book is wide, and such width of coverage generates both feelings of respect for the field and the desire to contribute to investigations of these relationships. Thus, the book will be a good source of inspiration and knowledge regarding the current and further research and program development in the field of creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Cambridge handbook of forensic psychology.

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of forensic psychology edited by Jennifer M. Brown and Elizabeth A. Campbell (see record 2010-18536-000). The Cambridge handbook of forensic psychology is a comprehensive reference book that covers a wide range of topics within the field of forensic psychology. The chapters are well-written and clearly organized, with each providing a review of key issues and suggestions for further readings. The latter is particularly useful since none of the students interested in the fields of forensic psychology, criminology, legal studies, sociology, and law. Furthermore, individuals already involved directly with the criminal justice and court systems may also find information in this textbook informative to their professional practice. It is noteworthy that the editors include a major section on research practice, and this material will be instructive to students but also researchers in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Musical creativity: Multidisciplinary research in theory and practice.

Reviews the book, Musical creativity: Multidisciplinary research in theory and practice by Irène Deliège and Geraint A. Wiggins (2006). This book is an edited volume developed from the proceedings of a conference held at the University of Liège in Belgium in 2002, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music. The book is ambitious in scope, and it is clearly organized around a varied series of perspectives on musical creativity. The purpose of this book is explicitly stated as "a source of ideas, research topics to start on, to follow up on, or to develop" (p. xv). In that sense, the book succeeds. Even those who are not particularly interested in music research might find some of its ideas and perspectives stimulating and take them as a challenge to develop them analogously in their own areas. On the whole, Musical Creativity is well worth a look, and its best chapters make it a useful and valuable reference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Cambridge handbook of situated cognition.

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of situated cognition edited by Philip Robbins and Murat Aydede (see record 2009-00004-000). This Handbook begins with three chapters that orient the reader to some of the key ideas that define the study of situated cognition. The next seven chapters comprise the “Conceptual Foundations” section of the Handbook and have critical implications for psychology and cognitive science, which is one reason that this book is important to read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning to be creative.

Comments on R. J. Sternberg and T. I. Lubart's article (see record 83-30546) on the neglect and problems of creativity as a research topic. The original authors suggested a confluence approach to the study of creativity, encompassing contributions both within and without psychology. Schneider agrees with this suggestion, but argues that its success depends on finding and connecting all pertinent links concerning creativity. The integration of a broad range of research with the study of creativity seems likely to increase the chance of progress in understanding and perhaps "teaching" creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice.

Reviews the book, Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice by Mark A. Runco (see record 2007-00543-000). This book consists of 11 chapters with the following titles: "Cognition and Creativity," "Developmental Trends and Influences on Creativity," "Biological Perspectives on Creativity," "Health and Clinical Perspectives," "Social, Attributional, and Organizational Perspectives," "Educational Perspectives," "History and Historiometry," "Culture and Creativity," "Personality and Motivation," "Enhancement and the Fulfillment of Potential," and "Conclusion: What Creativity Is and What It Is Not." Beyond this all-encompassing content, the volume is crammed with illustrations and with all those "boxes" that are so characteristic of introductory textbooks in psychology. Each chapter also begins with appropriate quotations and a didactic "Advanced Organizer." Finally, Runco closes with 63 pages of references and a 15-page subject index. The reviewer has one major complaint: Runco seems to have adopted an "open the floodgates" approach that sometimes results in the almost willy nilly insertion of ideas and material. One consequence of this tendency is that the illustrations and boxes are at times less useful than they ought to be. Another repercussion of Runco's leave-nothing-out approach is that it occasionally leads to the presentation of ideas with minimal if any discussion or commentary. The reviewer does assert though, that for someone in the market for a text for use in an introductory creativity course, a book that is wide-ranging and most current, Runco's Creativity is a good choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism (second edition).

Reviews the book, The diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism (second edition) edited by Jack H. Mendelson and Nancy K. Mello (1985). This text is designed to be an authoritative handbook for practitioners in the field of alcohol abuse or a comprehensive textbook for graduate students. The target audience is physicians, nurses, psychologists, alcoholism counselors, social workers, and others involved in assessing and treating alcohol abuse. One way in which this text differs from many on the market is in its reliance on methodologically sound research as the basis for the recommendations and conclusions in most of the chapters, including objective discussions of controversial issues where the research data challenge commonly accepted assumptions in the alcohol field. The second edition of this volume provides valuable updating and expansion of the information presented in the widely used first edition. Overall, the second edition of this volume remains a leader in the field and will be valuable as a handbook for the clinician or textbook for the graduate seminar. The strengths of this volume are in the chapters that rely on a thorough knowledge of methodologically sound research, presented in a way that will be acceptable to clinical practitioners. Paraprofessionals may find this hard to read but advanced professionals will find the text useful. This edition remains superior to any other single resource which I can think of in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of workplace violence.

Reviews the book, Handbook of Workplace Violence by E. Kevin Kelloway, Julian Barling, and Joseph J. Hurrell Jr. (see record 2006-03272-000). According to the Cambridge University dictionary, a handbook contains "the most important and useful information about a subject." This Handbook of Workplace Violence admirably fits this definition. In the book, the authors have assembled 26 chapters that summarize the very vast domain of violence research that pertains to the workplace. Each chapter, all written by academic researchers who are deeply involved in the field of workplace violence, summarizes a unique aspect of workplace violence. The authors of the handbook are organizational psychologists and they approach this topic from a social-organizational perspective. This handbook would, thus, be of great interest to similarly-minded psychologists. However, the scope of the handbook, covering violence in multiple settings and from multiple perspectives, would attract readers from a variety of psychological domains. In essence, this handbook has a broad readership and ably meets its goal of "summarizing the state of current knowledge and charting the course for future research." Conceptualizing workplace violence broadly, it provides a wide-ranging survey of the current state of the field. Highlighting both the enormity of the problem and the lack of extant information on the causes and course of workplace violence, this book provides important directions for future research. It is a book that would be valuable to any student or researcher interested in pursuing questions about the nature, course, and prevention of violence in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Cambridge handbook of personality psychology.

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of personality psychology edited by Philip J. Corr and Gerald Matthews (see record 2010-05179-000). A comprehensive review of personality psychology, this book covers a range of topics, including those that are standard in personality texts (conceptualisation, biological and cultural perspectives) as well as more unique additions (social pain and hurt feelings, animal models, and politics). Although the introductions are lengthy (approximately 33 pages), these chapters do provide a useful guide to the book and key issues addressed in remaining chapters. The chapters are generally written in a manner appropriate for graduate students, professionals, or academics. Given the broad scope and careful attention to the defining of key constructs and methods, this book will appeal to an audience with varying familiarity with personality psychology. Overall, I would highly recommend this book as a comprehensive source on the broad field of personality psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 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 The Blackwell handbook of early childhood development.

Reviews the book, The Blackwell handbook of early childhood development edited by Kathleen McCartney and Deborah Phillips (see record 2006-04286-000). This book can serve as a useful guide for advanced undergraduate students to approach child development research at a deeper level than that of a typical textbook. Although some chapters lack sufficient depth for the advanced psychology graduate student, a large portion of the handbook will provide the novice reader with the opportunity to get acquainted with current issues in the science of early child development, and may introduce the intermediate reader to useful background knowledge in unfamiliar fields of interest. The chapters in this handbook series as a whole also serve as a highly useful source of information for lecture preparations for faculty teaching outside their core area of concentration. Chapters are consistently brief, clear, and well written. Overall, this book offers a valuable intermediary reading option between the simplicity of a standard textbook and the detailed accounts of books on specific developmental spheres. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy integration.

Reviews the book, Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy integration edited by George Stricker and Jerold R. Gold (see record 1993-97695-000). This book is a survey of the psychotherapy integration movement and offers new perspectives of practical significance. The reviewer presents a summary of the information presented in the chapters and then concludes with the statement that this volume is of substantial import and usefulness. It provides a valuable contribution to the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at new kinds of intelligence tests

Comments on R. J. Sternberg's (see record 1997-30052-012) article concerning intelligence and lifelong learning. The author posits that Sternberg was inaccurate when he suggested that the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and the Cognitive Assessment System were both designed to reflect A. R. Luria's (1973) conceptualization of 3 functional units. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of How open are we to the challenges of everyday creativity? A review of Everyday creativity and new views of human nature.

Reviews the book, Everyday creativity and new views of human nature, edited by Ruth Richards (see record 2007-09305-000). In this book, Richards and her contributors both invite and challenge readers to explore the multifaceted opportunities and transformative potential of everyday creativity. Contributors to the volume represent a surprisingly broad range of disciplines, traditions, units of analysis, and perspectives. The volume opens with an essay by Richards that effectively introduces the concept of everyday creativity and the focus of the book. After the introduction, contributors to Part 1 of the book challenge readers to wake up and be open to the potential for creativity in our everyday experiences. The contributors to the second part of Richards’s volume offer arguments, speculations, and challenges to rethink the possibilities (and responsibilities) of social and global creativity. Taken together, the essays not only underscore the elegance and transformative power of the concept of everyday creativity but also directly challenge readers to rethink their own conceptions of creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hebb's Neural Networks Support the Integration of Psychological Science.

In a recent paper and forthcoming volume, the former President of the American Psychological Association, Robert Sternberg, calls for an effort to reintegrate psychological science (Sternberg, in press; Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2001). In this paper we argue that D. O. Hebb, beginning with his technical volume in 1949 and continuing through a series of introductory textbooks, has convincingly presented the basis for such integration. The basis for this integration lies in understanding how genes and experience shape neural networks underlying human thoughts, feelings, and actions. Why has not Hebb's accomplishment been generally recognized as providing the needed integration for psychology? We suggest that the methods available to Hebb, mostly animal research and behavioural human experiments, were not sufficient to provide empirical methods for linking his conceptual nervous system to real events in the human brain. This methodology has now been provided by neuroimaging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)