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 Therapist.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 23(4) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (see record 2007-12251-001). There was a comment in this book review that requires clarification. The reviewers stated, "The code of ethics of the American Psychological Association explicitly disallows only 'unwanted' therapist-patient sexual contact" (p. 487). However, the reviewers failed to take note of Principle 6(a) which reads, "Sexual intimacies with clients are unethical" (p. 29). The two phrases "physical contacts of a sexual nature" (from Principle 7) and "sexual intimacies" (from Principle 6) suggest a difference in behavior, which may be misleading and confusing to a reader of the code. The reviewers may have pointed out an ambiguity in the code which should be corrected by the APA Ethics committee.] Reviews the book, Therapist by Ellen Plasil (1985). The problem of therapist-patient sex has always plagued the mental health professions. In recent years the issue has been the topic of increasing numbers of mental health field panels, seminars and papers, producing innumerable calls for professional, and sometimes legal, sanctions against offenders. Author Ellen Plasil's revelations of sexual involvement with her therapist will shock few, since periodic stories about such behavior seem to come out in the popular press with increasing regularity. The value of Ms. Plasil's autobiographical tale, however, is that it educates the reader as to how the process of mystification works to mold that relationship; that is, the reader learns from her incredibly detailed accounting of her thoughts how patients can be persuaded to become unquestioning "true believers." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cybernetics.

Reviews the book, Cybernetics by C. R. Evans and A. D. J. Robertson (eds.). This book is a collection of papers on cybernetics. Included in the sixteen papers are one by A. M. Turing and one by Warren S. McCulloch, persons who have been quite influential in the development of cybernetics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cognition.

Reviews the book, Cognition by John G. Benjafield, et al. (2010). Cognition (4th ed.) provides a comprehensive introduction to cognitive psychology for undergraduate students and others who require an overview of the area. New in the fourth edition is a chapter on cognitive neuroscience. The reviewer only has one criticism of Benjafield et al.: Citations for published works in every chapter that also appeared in the third edition stop around 2007 or earlier (when the third edition was published). Cognition is a book that will appeal to those looking for a high-level, scholarly survey of cognitive psychology. It is this aspect of Cognition that sets it apart from most other textbooks that cover cognitive psychology. Yet, despite its scholarly approach, it remains an engaging text that makes the reader want to keep reading more: a delicate balance, but one that Benjafield et al. manage with aplomb. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Depression.

Reviews the book, Depression edited by Paul H. Hoch and Joseph Zubin (see record 2006-09526-000). Perhaps the main value of this book is that it brings together a wide assortment of material related to depressions and allied conditions. It consists of 16 independent papers originally presented at the 1952 meeting of the American Psychopathological Society (APS). Represented in the symposium are theories and findings from the fields of clinical psychiatry, psychodynamics, anthropology, endocrinology, biochemistry, biometrics, and hospital administration. Attention is given to depressive reactions in children, the aged, cancer patients, and soldiers exposed to isolated Arctic conditions. Most of the articles are reviews of previously published work. Much still remains to be learned about depressions but in focusing attention on and in providing a wide-range view of the problem the APS has performed a useful service. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychoneuroimmunology.

Reviews the book, Psychoneuroimmunology edited by R. Ader (1981). In this important book, the editor has attempted for the first time to present to the reader a comprehensive picture of the state of knowledge in this area. In this he has succeeded admirably. Ader has brought together virtually all of the major contributors in experimental psychoneuroimmunology. The authors collectively manage to cover all aspects of this multifaceted problem, in most cases in a critical manner. It is to be hoped and expected that this important book which represents a milestone in this field, will open up the area to new investigators from the different disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Anxiety.

Reviews the book, Anxiety by S. Rachman (see record 1998-07057-000). Several strong summaries of research and clinical work in anxiety have been produced. Stanley Rachman's Anxiety takes a surprisingly strong place among this literature. Rachman's summary of theory, research, and practice related to anxiety is a prize. He has managed a succinct presentation of the major problems and issues, recounted what is known, and challenged the reader with the unsolved riddles. The book includes chapters on the nature of anxiety, influences on anxiety, and theoretical views of anxiety, highlighting the importance of conditioning and neoconditioning theory, before turning to separate chapters on each of panic, agoraphobia, obsessions and compulsions, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder. One of the strengths of Rachman's contribution is the overview chapters, concerned with the concept of anxiety and competing theoretical views of its nature. Even though the book is saddled with frequent, distracting typos, even some that distort the meaning, it is an excellent book that can stand as a resource in many undergraduate and graduate courses, and also can take a place on the shelves of practising clinicians and specialists in other areas. (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)     

Review of Lacan.

Reviews the book, Lacan by Malcolm Bowie (see record 1991-97907-000). What is on offer here is one outcome of a conversation in which Lacan's texts--whatever their difficulties, obscurities, and seductive attractions--have been obliged to make their sense in and to a larger field of psychoanalytic concerns. Bowie divides Lacan's career into five main phases, to each of which he devotes a chapter. Bowie's is a strong and frequently persuasive partitioning of Lacan's development. The interplay between Bowie's style and his interrogation of Lacan's style is central and productive throughout the book. Those who have been wrestling with Lacan for some time will find there is room for reservations about Bowie's Lacan, and some of those reservations will be of possibly considerable consequence in the end. There will also be reservations provoked into explicitness by--and so also indebted to--Bowie's own argumentative clarity and force. And for those who are not already at grips with Lacan, for those who want an introduction to Lacan that is at once straightforward and fully serious, at once skeptical and generous, it is hard to imagine any other work that would serve as well. (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 Cognitive psychology.

Reviews the book, Cognitive Psychology by Guy Claxton (1980). This is a bold attempt to provide a well-integrated review of the problems and prospects of modern cognitive psychology. In general, the book succeeds although one may disagree with the directions that are foreseen. The book consists of nine papers by eight authors. Six chapters plus an overview cover traditional topics within cognition while two excellent chapters extend the discussion to motor control and cross-cultural perspectives. Together the chapters are '... meant to be a guidebook to organizing one's thoughts, and a life-raft to cling on to when in danger of drowning in the sea of detail'. This is an excellent overview for graduate students or scientists in related fields; it will prove difficult for all but the brighter undergraduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Mind regained.

Reviews the book, Mind regained by Edward Pols (see record 1998-06466-000). In this text, Pols seeks to treat the difficult and perplexing question of the relationship between mind and body in a way that is nonetheless accessible to the non-professional philosopher. Pols takes issues with the position of many contemporary philosophers and psychologists that the brain provides the ultimate causal explanation of mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Reinventing government.

Reviews the book, Reinventing government by David Osborn and Ted Gaebler (1992). This is a "must read" book for any consultant who works with or for government. The focus is on how government operates, the means of governing. Osborn and Gaebler point out that government cannot be run like a business, because they are fundamentally different institutions; their missions, motives and procedures being quite opposite. However, the differences between them do not mean that government cannot be more entrepreneurial, and that idea gets to the heart of the book. Control needs to be replaced by flexibility and adaptability. This can only happen if the environment is characterized by "entrepreneurship", which means "shifting economic resources out of an area of lower productivity into an area of higher productivity and greater yield". The authors propose 10 principles of new government, and the meat of the book is found in the ten chapters which expand on these ideas and offer a variety of examples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Recollecting Freud.

Reviews the book, Recollecting Freud by Isidor Sadger (2005). The author, Isidor Sadger (1867-1942), was a Viennese neurologist who first heard Freud lecture in September 1895, and then later joined (1906) Freud's Wednesday Psychological Society. The name of that organization was later changed to the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, and Sadger remained in it until 1933. The book itself contains, he tells us, "nothing other than what I personally experienced, and the impressions that Freud's character, his actions and writing made on me. In no place have I sought to present biographical details that I did not myself witness" (p. 5). This review is presented in two parts: (1) an examination of its merits and limitations, and (2) an explanation of how a text first written in the late 1920s came to be published now for the first time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social competence.

Reviews the book, Social Competence by Jeri Dawn Wine and Marti Diane Smye (1981). Many of the contributions to this book were solicited from the participants at a conference entitled "The Identification and Enhancement of Social Competence" held in Toronto in 1978. The editors' attempt to "assemble a broadly representative sample of the most influential work" in the area of social competence is clearly evident given the inclusion of chapters by such notables as Donald Meichenbaum, Richard Lazarus and Michael Argyle, to name a few. Part I of the book presents broad theoretical frameworks for viewing the construct of social competence. Part II deals with social competence in childhood, in particular, critiques of sociometric and behavioural assessments and problem-solving techniques using mothers and teachers. (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 Randomization tests.

Reviews the book, Randomization Tests by Eugene S. Edgington (1980). Edgington begins his preface by suggesting that his book has two goals: "a practical guide for experimenters" and "a textbook for courses in applied statistics." As indicated above, the book is not the detailed and authoritative volume which experimenters need as a guide to randomization tests. However, Edgington's cogent criticisms of "the long-standing fiction of random sampling in experimental research" (p. iii) will lead experimenters to consider the merits of randomization tests. Similarly, the book is not thorough enough to be a successful textbook, but it should alert all teachers of statistics and experimental design to the importance of randomization and to the weakness of the random-sampling assumption in most statistical tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)