"Manual of Child Psychology": Erratum.

Reports an error in the review by Roger G. Barker of the L. Carmichael edited book, Manual of Child Psychology (Psychological Bulletin, 1955, Vol 52[3], 263-267). The sentence on page 266, right-hand column, should read "However, this reader found intriguing the world view so boldly sketched." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 2005-10141-002). This book is a good picture of child psychology in 1954. The weaknesses of the Manual are largely the weaknesses of the science it surveys. A good manual of child psychology awaits a more mature science of child behavior. In the meantime this book and, it is to be hoped, its future editions provide an important aid in achieving this maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manual of child psychology.

This book is a good picture of child psychology in 1954. The weaknesses of the Manual are largely the weaknesses of the science it surveys. A good manual of child psychology awaits a more mature science of child behavior. In the meantime this book and, it is to be hoped, its future editions provide an important aid in achieving this maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of How people change.

Reviews the book, How people change by Rebecca Curtis and George Stricker (see record 1991-98045-000). This book, subtitled "Inside and Outside Therapy," brings together knowledgeable and thoughtful people from the practitioner domains of clinical/counseling psychology and similarly scholarly individuals from other areas of psychology (such as industrial/organizational and social psychology). Reading this book called to mind a time when we used to consider psychology a single discipline with areas of specialization, not the fragmented puzzle whose pieces do not appear to fit together. The attempts to integrate the ideas related to behavior change are reminiscent of Dollard and Miller's attempts to blend Freudian theory with the data and methodology of learning theory; Rotter's (1954) attempt to incorporate concepts from both learning theory and Lewinian models of social interaction into a theory for clinical psychology. This book serves as evidence that reports of the demise of an integrated body of knowledge we call psychology have been greatly exaggerated. This work will appeal to the careful, thoughtful reader, one who is interested in extrapolating to the larger issues relevant to the issue of how human behavior changes. Curtis and Stricker, following the trail set by integrationists like C. R. Snyer and John Harvey, are to be commended for their work on this volume and for their own written contributions to it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of science and the origins of the scientific mind.

Reviews the book, The psychology of science and the origins of the scientific mind by Gregory Feist (see record 2006-02942-000). In this book, Gregory Feist sets out to show two things: that psychology of science can be its own field and that this field has been growing along side of humanity ever since its inception. Feist divides the book into two parts. First, he argues for the legitimacy of the field of psychology of science, addressing relevant research from many sub fields and their applications for the future. Part two delves into the origins and future of the scientific mind. Overall, this book makes one logically consider what science is and is not. It brings about contemplation about how science developed and how humans embraced it. Feist says he wants to take on the applied implications for the formalized study of both the psychology and science and the properties of the scientific mind. His goal is to move the psychology of science from its implicit methods scattered across domains of psychology and make them explicit. He wants to unite researchers scattered across the world to make up a new psychology of science that actively meets, has its own journal, and can educate future researchers. This is all very interesting and indeed possible, as long as the meetings would follow the same integrative genius that is displayed in this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy by Arthur C. Bohart and Leslie S. Greenberg (see record 1997-08439-000). What, exactly, do we mean by empathy? And what role does it play in how psychotherapy works? These are the questions that Arthur Bohart and Leslie Greenberg address in their edited book, Empathy reconsidered. While definitive answers are not arrived at, the considerations have resulted in a book that ought to be required reading for anyone who wants to understand or practice psychotherapy. This is a book that should be read by graduate students in clinical or counselling psychology, psychotherapy researchers, and psychotherapists. It is not an easy read; it is definitely not a "how-to" manual. Rather, it is challenging and thought-provoking. The dedicated reader, however, will be rewarded. Ultimately, the greatest reward that this book offers is the view that maybe psychotherapy is the distillation of an essential human process which is facilitative of human growth; that maybe all forms of psychotherapy are effective as a result of empathic processes; that maybe what we should be directing our energies toward is ensuring that we are empathically engaging our clients, not whether we are implementing irrelevant varieties of therapeutic techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of emotion regulation.

Reviews the book, Handbook of emotion regulation edited by James J. Gross (see record 2007-01392-000). The purpose of this edited volume is to bring the reader and the scientific community up-to-date on the burgeoning field of emotion and particularly how it is regulated. The book comprises 30 chapters divided amongst seven traditional sections within psychology: foundations, biological bases, cognitive foundations, developmental approaches, personality process and individual differences, social approaches, and clinical outcomes. Gross very nicely captures the range of topics and issues surrounding the topic of emotion and emotion regulation in this edited volume. Gross is to be congratulated for taking on the task of editing such a timely and important volume for the field. Given the scope of the volume, it should have wide appeal to researchers as well as graduate and advanced undergraduate students in the areas of personality and social psychology, human development, child clinical psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive and affective neuroscience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Performance psychology in action: A casebook for working with athletes, performing artists, business leaders, and professionals in high-risk occupations.

Reviews the book, Performance psychology in action: A casebook for working with athletes, performing artists, business leaders, and professionals in high-risk occupations edited by Kate F. Hays (see record 2009-05799-000). Kate Hays has accomplished an admirable task in bringing together a collective of prominent performance practitioners to illustrate the diverse applications of performance psychology. Drawing on specific client examples from across a variety of performance domains, the authors use a case study approach to illustrate the process of helping clients work through a range of performance issues. In doing so, the book offers its readers the privileged opportunity of being a fly on the wall, placing them in the room with the performance practitioners and their clients. In addition, readers also benefit from the running commentary offered by each of the authors as they elaborate on their client assessments and chosen courses of action. In terms of scope, the book explores four performance domains: sports, performing arts, business, and high-risk occupations. The book is practical in nature, providing a snapshot of the practise of performance psychology. I would not, however, call this a “how-to” book. Rather, it is an illustration of how one can apply the principles of performance psychology when working with a varied clientele. Regarding its place in an academic setting, I would recommend that the book be used as a companion to texts that are more heavily weighted in theory and research. Paired with such texts, this book could serve to bridge the science–practise gap and also to demystify the intervention process for psychology students. Because the book presumes prior knowledge of therapeutic principles, it may be more suited to practitioners who are curious about performance psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Great psychologists and their times: Scientific insights into psychology's history: Book review.

This book (D. K. Simonton [2002]; see record 2002-17019-000) organizes a series of studies into a single volume on eminence in psychology. The reviewer contends that this is not a typical work on the history of psychology but prides itself as a work based largely on "historiometric methods" (with some results of psychometric studies included). Historiometrics is the use of archival data in almost any available form and bringing it to bear on questions of greatness or eminence in a particular field or fields. Hence, one can study the greatness of scientists, politicians, literary figures, and so on by counting their works, citations, analyzing the content of their works for various components, examining generational factors, biographical factors, personal factors, and so on. Technical details are few and the book reads somewhat like an advanced undergraduate textbook that of course enhances its accessibility but occasionally leads to rather superficial analyses. Despite these quibbles, it does stand as a solid representative of the historiometric tradition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Personality, identity, and character: Explorations in moral psychology.

Reviews the book, Personality, identity, and character: Explorations in moral psychology edited by Darcia Narvaez and Daniel K. Lapsley (see record 2009-19087-000). The goal of the book is to begin to build an integrative approach to problems of morality. The thematic focus of the book is the examination of morality within the context of personality, identity, and character. The editors wisely do not call for a grand theory of morality, but instead recognise that readers who have thought about morality within the confines of their own approaches would benefit from the opportunity to learn how those with other disciplinary or subdisciplinary perspectives deal with their facets of the problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of eating & drinking: An introduction, Vol. 2.

Reviews the book, The psychology of eating & drinking: An introduction, Vol. 2 by A. W. Logue (1991). The second edition of The psychology of eating and drinking expands the first by three chapters. These discuss, as the author says, the psychology of eating and drinking as it applies to everyday issues. New topics address female reproduction, cigarette smoking, and cuisine and wine tasting. Following 296 pages of text, the book lists several clinics and self-help agencies dealing with disorders of taste and smell, eating, and alcohol (only one resource offered for alcohol abuse). Also, the book provides chapter-by chapter references as well as name and subject indexes. Furthermore, as the author says, the second edition updates the research-base of the original edition. Logue organizes her book into five parts, each preceded by a précis. The first three parts, which follow an introductory chapter that maps what is to come and that justifies the large number of animal (rat) studies to be presented, describe the basics of eating and drinking. Part One comprises two chapters on starting and stopping eating and drinking. Here, as elsewhere, Logue informs the reader well; by this time, one wants to work through the book. Equally as interesting, Part Two (four chapters) looks at what we select to drink and cat, and why we make such choices. Part Three (one chapter) talks about nutritive and nonnutritive substances. It concerns the interplay of what we eat and what we subsequently do. Part Four (three chapters) gets directly at the clinical issues. It explains and discusses eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia), obesity, and alcoholism. Lastly, Part Five (three chapters) addresses everyday concerns. Logue intends that the book be read by lay persons and psychologists, but I doubt that those devoid of psychology background will fully appreciate all she has to say. She also intends that the reader will come away from the book appreciating the value of the scientific method in phrasing and answering questions about why we do what we do. Here Logue clearly achieves her goal, for the reader cannot help but see what scientific thinking can bring to the understanding of the psychology of eating and drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Essentials of abnormal child psychology.

Reviews the book, "Essentials of abnormal child psychology," by Ernest Harms (see record 1954-06156-000). This is one of the most unorthodox books in the field of psychology the reviewer has seen in a long time. From the title one would expect a systematic treatment of the psychopathology of childhood; what one actually finds is a series of independent articles. Much of the material presented is intriguing because of its novelty. Harms' first major contribution to an original look at this field is the concept of paternus and materna as a substitute for Freud's infant sexuality and Oedipus. They represent the aboriginal relationship of a human child to his parents. The author also discusses childhood schizophrenia and hysteria, the burden of which is that these conditions are frequently misdiagnosed. Another "new concept" presented by Harms is that of ego inflation and ego deflation. "The most important contribution this volume makes to the field," says Harms, is the chapter on the Mignon Neurosis (a one-sided developmental pattern in which the child wants to grow up faster than he can). The work is divided into two parts, and Part II deals with Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures. After detailed discussion of child art as diagnostic means, we find presentations of original therapeutic approaches such as Transitional Therapy, Autogentic Therapy, and Substitution Therapy. There also are chapters on the incorrect diagnosis of feeblemindedness, education of the mentally retarded, and brief child guidance treatment. The book is original, provocative, and provoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of How the mind works.

Reviews the book, How the mind works by Steven Pinker (see record 1997-30233-000). In this book, the author writes with optimism and excitement about recent progress in psychology, but with despair about the human condition. The scope of the book is stated briefly: "I will try to explain what the mind is, where it came from, and how it lets us see, think, feel, interact, and pursue higher callings like art, religion, and philosophy" (p. 3). The reader will be disappointed in many of these explanations: the book dwells on the already-expansive topics of what the mind is, and where it came from. As for the rest, we are told that humans have innate knowledge of optics, logic, mathematics, physics, botany (p. 377), and even psychology (p. 329). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Light from the ashes.

Reviews the book, Light from the ashes by Peter Suedfeld (see record 2001-18284-000). "How does a child of twelve experience this upheaval?" asks Gerda Lederer, in Peter Suedfeld's Light from the ashes. "This upheaval" is the Nazi persecution culminating in the Shoah. The contributors to this volume explore the way in which childhood experience of the Shoah affected their careers in psychology and other social sciences. This book will be of interest to researchers in trauma, narrative psychology, and history of psychology. It shows the creation of productive lives out of a history of loss. These memoirs are moving examples of the making of meaning in human life and the resilience that Suedfeld has clearly described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Directions in Soviet social psychology.

Reviews the book, Directions in Soviet social psychology, edited by Lloyd H. Strickland (1984). This book is about collectives: not just any organized group that might be so called in the Soviet Union, but groups that have attained (or are in the process of attaining) a genuine collectivity, internal cohesiveness, or solidarity. The editor has put together ten chapters, each by one or more of the Soviet Union's most prominent social psychologists. The contributions were written with a view to giving Western psychologists--in as nonpolemic a manner as possible--an understanding of the various problem areas in Soviet social psychology, of where they have come from historically, of what Soviet psychologists see as the major issues, of how they do research, and of some of their findings and conclusions. The contributions appear diverse. They deal with subjects as varied as the self-concept, communication, cognitive processes, person perception, self-discipline, management, and industrial psychology. Beneath the diversity, however, emerges a common preoccupation with the collective, its development and dynamics. This unity of underlying concern, in turn, lends the book a remarkable coherence. The book is, however, not without its difficulties. The main one is a certain opacity characteristic of English translations of Russian scientific works. The editor acknowledges and discusses this problem in an afterword. He has also provided the reader with an informative preface that explains how the book came about, and each chapter is headed by a brief but helpful introduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aristotle vindicated.

Reviews the book, Behavior and mind: The roots of modern psychology by Howard Rachlin (see record 1993-99016-000). There is an important story about causality in psychology that needs to be told. It is a story which was once well told and widely understood during the Hellenic era, but a number of influential forces in our culture have conspired since then to sweep this story into a dark corner of our intellectual warehouse. In recent centuries, this story has been retrieved from its corner only rarely, and then it has been interpreted in a manner both unnatural to its originators and uncongenial to modern scientists. Authentic reconstructions of this story regarding causes and their effects began to re-emerge in the second half of the twentieth century among biologists and physicists, but it is still rarely heard in psychology. Rachlin's new book, however, tells this story as one of the central themes of the narrative. For this, if for no other reason, this is a book that should be read and carefully considered by all psychologists. The story alluded to is generally called "teleology," and it received its first full treatment by Aristotle in the fourth century before the Christian era. Rachlin delineates these origins, traces them carefully to the present day and develops a persuasive argument for the value and significance of this story for any complete psychological science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of First impressions.

Reviews the book, First impressions, edited by Nalini Ambady and John J. Skowronski (see record 2008-09248-000). This book addresses the questions of how impressions are formed and their effects on thought, feeling, and behaviour. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most recent theoretical approaches and empirical data that inform our understanding of perceivers’ immediate impressions of others. Edited by two leading investigators in the field and bringing together an impressive array of experts, the book is well organised and well written, offering a balance of classic and cutting-edge findings. The book is organised into four parts. Part 1 considers biological aspects of impression formation. Part 2 focuses on the factors that make first impressions more or less accurate. Part 3 addresses how facial cues—on their own or in conjunction with other cues—influence the contents or processes of impression formation. Part 4 focuses on how behavioural and environmental cues influence the contents or processes of impression formation. First impressions succeeds in its mandate to provide a broad overview of what we currently know about the processes and moderators involved in impression formation. In so doing, it fulfills an important role, in that no other volume currently exists to organise our knowledge about impression formation—arguably one of the most central topics in social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of For a science of social man.

Reviews the book "For a science of social man," edited by John Gillin (see record 1955-00669-000). This book is unique. Each of three disciplines--psychology, sociology, and anthropology--is represented by two prominent theoreticians. Thus psychology and sociology are discussed by Newcomb and Parsons, anthropology and psychology by Brewster Smith and Hallowell, and sociology and anthropology by Murdock and Becker. While each chapter is said to be the product of joint authorship, there is relatively little integration, and the authors vary considerably in the manner in which they undertake to fulfill their tasks. As Gillin points out, "No one can say with certainty when or if we shall have a comprehensive and integrated science of social man." While this volume does not answer the "when," it enables the viewer to regard the "if" with considerable optimism. While the book does not bring to light a large number of bridge concepts such as those discussed by Newcomb, it does indicate a number of important areas of mutual concern which can be approached in a noncompetitive fashion. This makes for stimulating reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Enemies of freedom: Understanding right-wing authoritarianism.

Reviews the book, Enemies of freedom: Understanding right-wing authoritarianism by Bob Altemeyer (see record 1988-98419-000). This book is the second of a projected three volume series by Altemeyer on the right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) construct. In this volume, Altemeyer (1988) reports the results of further research conducted since the first volume using his RWA scale. Specifically, three issues are dealt with: (1) how RWA develops in the individual, (2) why RWA is organized the way it is, and (3) how RWA can be controlled in a democratic society. Altemeyer's underlying assumption in this and the preceding volume is that a considerable potential for RWA exists in countries like Canada and the United States and that it is therefore a potentially serious problem requiring vigilance and perhaps ultimately preventive measures. Are his fears in this regard justified? It depends on how seriously one takes the respondents' self-reports. Altemeyer repeatedly shows that individuals (usually college students) who score high on the RWA scale are reportedly willing to punish others and to endorse actions that would curtail the civil rights of others, especially those with left-wing political leanings, who threaten the established order. However, in most instances, the measures are attitudinal ones dealing with respondents' reactions to hypothetical incidents and situations as to what they might do or would endorse having others do. Thus, Altemeyer's fears of the high RWA scorers and the seriousness of their threat to North American and other societies depend on knowing how willing they would be to act on their personal inclinations. Be that as it may, from a number of angles Altemeyer's current book on RWA deserves close and thoughtful reading by social, personality, and developmental psychologists. Those interested in political psychology, a relatively new area attracting social and personality psychologists and political scientists, will find it especially valuable and insightful. As noted earlier in the review, both of Altemeyer's RWA volumes should be required reading for would-be constructors of personality and attitude scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cattell, Columbia, and academic freedom: Rarely used sources enrich analyses of this significant episode.

This note seeks to illustrate the value for research into psychology's past of several primary sources rarely used by historians of psychology. It does so by showing how 3 such sources—a university song book, an editorial cartoon, and FBI files about a distinguished psychologist—provide additional insights about a major historical incident previously discussed at length in History of Psychology. It closes by urging historians of psychology to look beyond the obvious as they do their research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)