Review of Personality through perception.

Reviews the book "Personality through perception," by H. Witkin, H. B. Lewis, M. Hertzman, K. Machover, P. B. Meissner, & S. Wapner (see record 1954-08566-000). The promise held out in the title of this book has not been fulfilled. If the study of perception is, indeed, the royal road to the understanding of personality, this road is still beset with many dangers for the unwary or overenthusiastic investigator: analysis by metaphor, far-fetched analogies, circular reasoning, ad hoc and post hoc arguments. In a peculiarly negative sense, this book makes an important contribution: it brings out in bold relief the methodological and theoretical weaknesses of the intemperate "clinicizing" of behavior. The evidence offered by the authors is doubtful and the logic of inference is often faulty and forced. The major purpose of the book is to relate individual differences in perceptual functioning to significant dimensions of personality. The basic research hypothesis is that variations in the mode of perception are related to central traits of personality. The perceptual responses of the individual reflect these central traits just as does his behavior in other situations. The perceptual function chosen for investigation is space orientation, as measured by the perception of the upright. The final conclusions concerning the relationship between perceptual performance and personality are these. Those who depend primarily on the visual field "tend to be characterized by passivity in dealing with the environment; by unfamiliarity with and fear of their own impulses, together with poor control over them; by lack of self-esteem; and by the possession of a relatively primitive undifferentiated body image" (p. 469). So-called analytic perceivers are characterized by the opposites of these traits. And women show a high degree of dependence on the visual field because both their anatomy and the culture in which they live prescribe a passive dependent role for them! As we have tried to show, the conclusions are not warranted by the evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Studies in neuropsychology: Selected papers of Arthur Benton.

Reviews the book, Studies in neuropsychology: Selected lepers of Arthur Benton by E. Costa and O. Spreen. This current volume stands as a monument to the contribution that Benton has made to the field of neuropsychology since his resignation from the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1936. This volume contains 29 articles by Benton and his many colleagues, one of which is a hitherto unpublished work on aphasia. These articles span the years 1956-84 and remind those of us who are familiar only with a few of Benton's most seminal papers of the breadth of his interests, which range from classical medical history to the experimental technology of the present. What better compliment for a book than to say that it has whetted one's appetite for more by the same author. In all, I believe that the editors are to be congratulated for providing an important source book for students in the field of neuropsychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The anatomy of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, The anatomy of psychotherapy by Lawrence Friedman (see record 1988-97848-000). The authors' aim is to clarify the various theories of psychoanalysis from Freud to the current and to examine in depth the personal features of the analyst in the context of his/her work. With a knowledge of the entire range of psychoanalytic literature rare with most theorists or practitioners, the author reviews the philosophical developments of Freudian theory. He includes in this review some of the frictions, disputes and subtle disagreements within the classical analytic tradition. He then proceeds to describe the most significant of the contemporary deviations from classical theory (e.g., object relations, interpersonal theory, self psychology, action language) and compares and contrasts them with each other. Friedman has long been a commentator on contemporary psychoanalytic developments and he has adapted his many articles into this work. The book itself is organized into six sections, focusing on the personal and theoretical. It is well written but quite dense. Much concentration is needed. I believe that one must have an interest in psychoanalytic theory as well as a rather sophisticated appreciation of it to truly enjoy this book. It is long and detailed and I imagine difficult to get through without an intrinsic interest in the "anatomy" of psychoanalysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Richard D. Walk (1920-1999).

Memorializes Richard D. Walk, known for his work with Eleanor Gibson on the visual cliff and the development of depth perception. His research interests and contributions were diverse and included visual discrimination, research on concept formation, aesthetics, and social relations. He is best known for his work on perceptual development, and his 1981 book Perceptual Development still provides an excellent introduction and guide to the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women and men: Interdisciplinary readings on gender.

Reviews the book, Women and men: Interdisciplinary readings on gender edited by Greta Hofmann Nemiroff (1987). This is a book of readings that could be used in either Women's Studies or Psychology classes that focus on sex roles. The book is divided into four major sections: 1) The epistemology of gender; 2) Life's conditions, stages, and choices; 3) Communication; and 4) Power. The second section is the largest and has five subsections (the early years, the body, fertility, relationships, and work). The articles are in general very well written and in addition to a bibliography most articles include a section listing suggested further readings. These suggestions should prove useful to students or teachers who wish to pursue a topic in more detail. The book has three major strengths. The first strength is the amount and centrality of Canadian content. The second strength is in the articles by and about men. The third strength is the presence of the section, The Epistemology of Gender. The weakness of the book is in what is not included. This is probably an inevitable problem with books of readings, as Nemiroff acknowledges in her introduction. In using the book as a text, the instructor should be aware of important topics and points of view that are omitted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Making explicit what was before implicit.

Reviews the book, Spatial Cognition: The Structure and Development of Mental Representations of Spatial Relations by David Olson and Ellen Bialystok (1983). Among the topics included in the book are: spatial cognition, structural lexicon, spatial perception, conceptual imagery, perceptual discrimination, mental rotation and hemispheric specialization. Although the reviewer believes some chapters suffer from errors and poor presentation of data, he recommends this book to anyone interested in spatial cognition theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The teaching and learning of psychoanalysis: Selected papers of Joan Fleming, M.D.

Reviews the book, The teaching and learning of psychoanalysis: Selected papers of Joan Fleming, M.D. edited by Stanley S. Weiss (see record 1987-97020-000). Here we have a monumental book about a very significant person, especially to those of us in Chicago. Dr. Weiss has done a remarkable job in selecting some of the most significant articles by Joan Fleming on the issue that also is the title of the book. In addition he has included an excellent forward by Robert Wallerstein, who knew Dr. Fleming's work and ideas very well, and a fine epilogue of his own based on his experiences with Fleming in this area. The articles include one by Fleming and Benedek and four which the editor wrote with Fleming. There are also four articles written exclusively by Fleming. The articles in this book serve to trace the full educational process of the candidate, from selection through matriculation through the coursework and through the steps in supervision. There is no question that every psychoanalyst interested in the educational process should be acquainted with these articles and with Fleming's thinking. This volume represents a brilliantly conceived and constructed statement which encompasses the main body of Dr. Fleming's thinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reuniting perception and conception

Work in philosophy and psychology has argued for a dissociation between perceptually-based similarity and higher-level rules in conceptual thought. Although such a dissociation may be justified at times, our goal is to illustrate ways in which conceptual processing is grounded in perception, both for perceptual similarity and abstract rules. We discuss the advantages, power and influences of perceptually-based representations. First, many of the properties associated with amodal symbol systems can be achieved with perceptually-based systems as well (e.g. productivity). Second, relatively raw perceptual representations are powerful because they can implicitly represent properties in an analog fashion. Third, perception naturally provides impressions of overall similarity, exactly the type of similarity useful for establishing many common categories. Fourth, perceptual similarity is not static but becomes tuned over time to conceptual demands. Fifth, the original motivation or basis for sophisticated cognition is often less sophisticated perceptual similarity. Sixth, perceptual simulation occurs even in conceptual tasks that have no explicit perceptual demands. Parallels between perceptual and conceptual processes suggest that many mechanisms typically associated with abstract thought are also present in perception, and that perceptual processes provide useful mechanisms that may be co-opted by abstract thought.     

Similarity comparisons with remembered and perceived magnitudes: memory psychophysics and fundamental measurement

At the outset, subjects learned to associate a label with each element in a set of perceptual magnitudes (visual extents), using traditional paired-associate learning methods. Subsequently, on some trials, subjects indicated which pair of two pairs of labels corresponded to the more similar perceptual referents, and, on other trials, they selected the more dissimilar pair. It is shown that these similarity comparisons satisfy the axioms (transitivity and intradimensional subtractivity) necessary to conclude that they are based on computation of the difference of the differences of analogue-based interval scale representations. The findings also permitted refutation of the idea that memory for elementary percepts arises from their reperception. Notably, the memory exponent was 0.697, but the perception exponent was 0.546, and the reperception idea requires that the memory exponent be the square of the perception exponent (0.546(2) = 0.298). Symbolic distance effects and enhanced response time-based semantic congruity effects, typically found with binary comparisons, extend the range of commonalties found between perceptual and memory psychophysics.     

Review of Psychopathology: Contemporary Jungian perspectives.

Reviews the book, Psychopathology: Contemporary Jungian perspectives edited by Andrew Samuels (see record 1991-97962-000). This book is a collection of relevant articles culled by the editor from the Journal of Analytical Psychology. Because the editor has collected what was available rather than having commissioned items specifically to span the topic for the book, the coverage of the range of psychopathology is spotty, although the major topics of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and personality disorders are covered. Several articles on narcissism are included as are also articles dealing with marital pathology and Holocaust victims. Most are from the perspective of Jungian therapy with the only other theoretical input used coming from self psychology. No other approaches are mentioned. Obviously, the book is likely to be a useful compendium to Jungian analysts. It is somewhat difficult to see how it could be useful to practitioners of other points of view. The language is replete with Jungian terms that are not explained and may not be immediately understandable for persons outside that system. There are two additional major flaws that are also apparent: The tone and language are decidedly British and refer to how the British mental health system is organized, which is, of course, somewhat different than ours; also, because of the publication dates, many of the articles have a dated quality. Both of these factors limit the potential audience for this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An icon can have no worth in the real world: Comments on Loftus, Johnson, and Shimamura's "How much is an icon worth?"

Comments on the theoretical generalizations of the methodological procedure to estimate the worth of an icon advanced by G. R. Loftus et al (see record 1986-00309-001). It is argued that this work is not applicable to the perceptual system as it is found outside the laboratory. An example demonstrates that none of the properties ascribed to iconic storage apply to normal perception; other examples of inappropriate theoretical uses of an iconic mechanism are provided. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disturbances of loudness perception

This article reviews information on some auditory disorders that have in common a disturbance in loudness perception. The perceptual disturbances in these disorders have interchangeably been labeled "hyperacusis," "dysacusis," or "phonophobia." Our question concerns whether the loudness disturbances associated with these auditory disorders are sufficiently different as not to justify the equivalence implied by the labelling. Emphasis is placed on those articles that have given clear accounts of the phenomenology of the disturbed perceptual experience and have offered testable hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying it. Hypotheses about the origins of disturbed loudness perception are compared with independent experimental and clinical evidence on those mechanisms. The disturbances of loudness perception that occur in cochlear hearing loss, facial nerve paralysis and stapedectomy, and in more "central" disorders are phenomenologically different, have different underlying mechanisms, and merit different labels that most of them do not currently receive.     

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 Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents.

Reviews the book, Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents edited by Jerrold R. Brandell (see record 1992-97833-000). Books on child analytic work are rare, and books on countertransference in child treatment are basically nonexistent, despite the proliferation of writing on countertransference in work with adults. Thus, Jerrold Brandell's edited volume is a welcome and long-overdue addition to the literature. Although the book is not strictly about analysis, it is analytically informed. Brandell's stated goal is to advance the principle that "countertransference is a ubiquitous factor in child and adolescent treatment, and that its recognition, understanding, and management are essential to effective psychotherapy." This is indeed a worthy if not essential undertaking, and the collection of articles in Brandell's book advances this goal. Brandell prefaced the chapters with his own thorough historical literature review of countertransference in both adult and child work. He then subdivided the book into two sections, with the first containing two classic articles an countertransference and the bulk of the book devoted to the following "scientific situations" in child psychotherapy: racial and cultural issues, depressed and suicidal children and adolescents, infant-family treatment, severely disturbed adolescents, eating disorders, abused children and adolescents, parent loss and divorce, borderline children and adolescents, life-threatening illness, and substance-abusing adolescents. This book is a very good resource for child analysts and therapists, especially those who espouse a more relational or intersubjective point of view. It is suitable both for inexperienced analysts and as a reminder to more seasoned ones of the importance and pervasiveness of countertransference issues in our work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Load induced blindness.

Although the perceptual load theory of attention has stimulated a great deal of research, evidence for the role of perceptual load in determining perception has typically relied on indirect measures that infer perception from distractor effects on reaction times or neural activity (see N. Lavie, 2005, for a review). Here we varied the level of perceptual load in a letter-search task and assessed its effect on the conscious perception of a search-irrelevant shape stimulus appearing in the periphery, using a direct measure of awareness (present/absent reports). Detection sensitivity (d′) was consistently reduced with high, compared to low, perceptual load but was unaffected by the level of working memory load. Because alternative accounts in terms of expectation, memory, response bias, and goal-neglect due to the more strenuous high load task were ruled out, these experiments clearly demonstrate that high perceptual load determines conscious perception, impairing the ability to merely detect the presence of a stimulus--a phenomenon of load induced blindness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Saying good-bye to managed care.

Reviews the book, Saying good-bye to managed care by Sandra Haber, Elaine Rodino, and Iris Lipner (see record 2001-16521-000). This is a very challenging, well-written text that is likely to be of greatest interest to three readily identifiable groups of psychologists, as well as other therapists and mental health professionals. First, students and younger professionals new to the field are likely to be looking for "hot tips" and substantive ideas of a more lasting variety that can help them build a new clinical practice. Second, more mature psychotherapists who wish to "insulate" their practices against the financial impact of managed-care encroachment on their professional decision-making and on their incomes may be looking for ways to diversify their professional activities, so they can be less dependent upon any single entity-whether it is a referral source, a particular "type" of client, a special clinical population, or another problem. Third, many therapists, regardless of practice duration or commitment in terms of hours per week, are looking to develop practice "niches" that reflect their own interests, abilities, and developing competencies. As Haber et al. remind us, questions of effectiveness go hand in hand with other questions of information quality; that in fact is a secret of sustained, effective marketing strategies-no matter what the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special issue on object perception and scene analysis.

Work in psychophysics, neuroscience, and visual perception has led to significant recent advances in our understanding of the human visual system. The articles in this special issue represent diverse approaches to the study of visual perception and highlight some of these recent advances, as applied to issues involved in understanding object perception and scene analysis. The special issue grew out of a workshop on object and scene perception held in September 1990 at the University of Leuven. The intent of the original workshop and of the collection of articles in this issue is to bring together the work of researchers using widely differing techniques and theoretical frameworks, and to apply recent results to the issues surrounding object and scene perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Anticipating Trends: Comments on Piagetian Research: A Handbook of Recent Studies by Sohan Modgil.

Reviews the book, Anticipating Trends: Comments on Piagetian Research: A Handbook of Recent Studies by Sohan Modgil (1974). Modgil's book "Piagetian Research" reflects the enormous extent to which American psychology has progressively been influenced by Piagetian theory, as recently as the last ten years. Piagetian concepts have manifested themselves in education (curriculum planning), psychopathology, child rearing practices, philosophy and test construction. Modgil aimed his book at the Piagetian researcher who already has a thorough knowledge of Piaget's theories and of Piaget's importance. It is intended to act as a sort of psychological abstracts of Piagetian research, covering original research between 1965 and December 1972 (there are also some references to research appearing as late as August 1973). As such it is an invaluable reference book. The 12 chapters of the book cover work either in the area of cognitive development or work directly related to Piaget's theory (e.g. chapter 11: Personality, socialization and emotionality related to Piaget's theory). Modgil gives a skimpy review of the range of recent studies at the beginning of each chapter. The bibliography alone (over 1500 references) makes the book a valuable source of information (65% of the references date from 1965 on). The book would appear to be highly useful to the Piagetian researcher who wants to get a quick idea of the relevant literature in his particular area or of related areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Recognition-by-components: A theory of human image understanding": Clarification.

Reports that an article by I. Biederman published in Psychological Review, 1987[Apr], Vol 94[2], 115–217) was inadvertently a duplicate publication. A large portion of this article had previously appeared as unedited conference proceedings in another journal and in an edited book. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1987-20898-001.) The perceptual recognition of objects is conceptualized to be a process in which the image of the input is segmented at regions of deep concavity into an arrangement of simple geometric components. The fundamental assumption of the proposed theory, recognition-by-components (RBC), is that a modest set of generalized-cone components, called geons, can be derived from contrasts of five readily detectable properties of edges in a two-dimensional image. The detection of these properties is generally invariant over viewing position and image quality and consequently allows robust object perception when the image is projected from a novel viewpoint or is degraded. RBC thus provides a principled account of the heretofore undecided relation between the classic principles of perceptual organization and pattern recognition. The results from experiments on the perception of briefly presented pictures by human observers provide empirical support for the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Eye Movements and Vision.

Reviews the book, Eye Movements and Vision by A. L. Yarbus (Lorrin A. Riggs, translation editor; Basil Haigh, translator) (1967). As Riggs says in the introduction to Yarbus's book: The "book is primarily a monograph describing the original researches of the author." The book offers considerably more to the researcher in other areas of vision or visual perception. It discusses major considerations involved in the state of the art of performing eye movement studies. The range of the topics studied is extensive, including work on flicker, color, empty fields, stationary pictures, saccadic movements, nystagmus, visual pursuit of objects, to name a few. The book relates eye movement to a broad spectrum of visual phenomena. There are other plusses on the side of the book--the art work is very good, the translation by Basil Haigh, I found easy to read. In addition, there is a bibliography containing over a hundred and fifty references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)