Statistical reflections of researchers and their subjects.

Reviews the book, Cognition as intuitive statistics by Gerd Gigerenzer and David J. Murray (1987). The main thesis of the work is that the statistical tools that we use as researchers to evaluate the data that we collect have become projected into our subjects as models of their minds. The authors take an historical perspective to evaluate this hypothesis. They trace the development of inferential statistical methods as well as their use by experimental psychologists and concurrently trace the development of theories of how the subject's mind uses these same inferential statistical procedures to make decisions. The authors find that the latter theories supervene on the development of the earlier tools. Overall, this book provides psychologists with an opportunity to view their own irrationalities in a self-critical way not typically available in our profession. The book provides a fine critical, historical survey of how one tool--statistics--came to dominate our thinking so that it biases our theoretical perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Behavior and personality: Psychological behaviorism.

Reviews the book, Behavior and personality: Psychological behaviorism by Arthur W. Staats (1996). Staats' latest book provides a brief introduction to his philosophy of science known as unified positivism and a comprehensive review of his specific theory known as psychological behaviorism (PB). Readers unfamiliar with Staats' work can, through this book, become acquainted with his earnest, if not somewhat totalitarian, strategy for uniting psychology under a single theoretical framework. Although Staats' earlier publications provide a more clear and accessible exposition of his project than the current work, this book nonetheless constitutes an important contribution to the literature of fragmentation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unifying psychology: A scientific or non-scientific theory task?

Comments on the review by Stephen Yanchar (see record 2009-04719-001) of the current author's book, "Behavior and Personality: Psychological Behaviorism." The past fifteen years has seen an accelerating growth of interest in psychology's fragmentation and the importance of unification, in a manner that did not exist before. Stephen Yanchar is one of the contemporary leaders in the unification movement, with a focus on philosophy, to which he has been contributing important works. Yanchar's philosophy (which he considers to be theory), fundamental understanding of what psychology is and should be, conception of unifying psychology and, as we will see, his agenda for the field of theoretical and philosophical psychology, are quite different from those of my philosophy of unified positivism and theory of psychological behaviorism (PB). Thus, although this has not been made clear, Yanchar's review is based on a philosophical position that really does not accept psychology as a science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The qualitative-quantitative debate: moving from positivism and confrontation to post-positivism and reconciliation

Critiques of logical positivism form the foundation for a significant number of nursing research papers, with the philosophy being inappropriately deemed synonymous with empirical method. Frequently, proposing an alternative method to those identified with the quantitative paradigm, these critiques are based on a poor foundation. This paper highlights an alternative philosophy to positivism which can also underpin empirical inquiry, that of post-positivism. Post-positivism is contrasted with positivism, which is presented as an outmoded and rejected philosophy which should cease to significantly shape inquiry. Though some acknowledgement of post-positivism has occurred in the nursing literature, this has yet to permeate into mainstream nursing research. Many still base their arguments on a positivistic view of science. Through achievement of a better understanding of post-positivism and greater focus on explicating the philosophical assumptions underpinning all research methods, the distinctions that have long been perceived to exist between qualitative and quantitative methodologies can be confined to the past. Rather methods will be selected solely on the nature of research questions.     

"Models of ecological rationality: The recognition heuristic": Clarification on Goldstein and Gigerenzer (2002).

Reports a clarification to "Models of ecological rationality: The recognition heuristic," by Daniel G. Goldstein and Gerd Gigerenzer (Psychological Review, 2002[Jan], Vol 109[1], 75-90). Due to circumstances that were beyond the control of the authors, the studies reported in the aforementioned article overlap with studies reported in "The Recognition Heuristic: How Ignorance Makes Us Smart," by the same authors (in Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart, 1999, G. Gigerenzer & P. M. Todd, Eds., pp. 37-59, Oxford University Press) and with studies reported in "Inference From Ignorance: The Recognition Heuristic" (D. G. Goldstein, 1998, in Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 407-411, Erlbaum). In addition, Figure 3 in the Psychological Review article (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002) was originally published in the book chapter (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 1999) and should have carried a note saying that it was used by permission of Oxford University Press. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2002-00351-006.) One view of heuristics is that they are imperfect versions of optimal statistical procedures considered too complicated for ordinary minds to carry out. In contrast, the authors consider heuristics to be adaptive strategies that evolved in tandem with fundamental psychological mechanisms. The recognition heuristic, arguably the most frugal of all heuristics, makes inferences from patterns of missing knowledge. This heuristic exploits a fundamental adaptation of many organisms: the vast, sensitive, and reliable capacity for recognition. The authors specify the conditions under which the recognition heuristic is successful and when it leads to the counter-intuitive less-is-more effect in which less knowledge is better than more for making accurate inferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Models of ecological rationality: The recognition heuristic.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 109(4) of Psychological Review (see record 2010-04336-001). Due to circumstances that were beyond the control of the authors, the studies reported in "Models of Ecological Rationality: The Recognition Heuristic," by Daniel G. Goldstein and Gerd Gigerenzer (Psychological Review, 2002, Vol. 109, No. 1, pp. 75-90) overlap with studies reported in "The Recognition Heuristic: How Ignorance Makes Us Smart," by the same authors (in Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart, 1999, G. Gigerenzer & P. M. Todd, Eds., pp. 37-59, Oxford University Press) and with studies reported in "Inference From Ignorance: The Recognition Heuristic" (D. G. Goldstein, 1998, in Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 407-411, Erlbaum). In addition, Figure 3 in the Psychological Review article (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002) was originally published in the book chapter (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 1999) and should have carried a note saying that it was used by permission of Oxford University Press.] One view of heuristics is that they are imperfect versions of optimal statistical procedures considered too complicated for ordinary minds to carry out. In contrast, the authors consider heuristics to be adaptive strategies that evolved in tandem with fundamental psychological mechanisms. The recognition heuristic, arguably the most frugal of all heuristics, makes inferences from patterns of missing knowledge. This heuristic exploits a fundamental adaptation of many organisms: the vast, sensitive, and reliable capacity for recognition. The authors specify the conditions under which the recognition heuristic is successful and when it leads to the counter-intuitive less-is-more effect in which less knowledge is better than more for making accurate inferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of What emotions really are: The problem of psychological categories.

Reviews the book, What emotions really are: The problem of psychological categories by Paul E. Griffiths (see record 1997-30238-000). The author has made an important contribution toward integrating theory and research on emotions from fields as diverse as sociobiology, philosophy of language, evolutionary psychology, and neuroscience. Griffiths's provocative review of the major theoretical paradigms is disciplined in its attention to the historical contexts of the theories he considers. He demonstrates how those contexts shape the questions that particular theoretical models attempt to answer, and why models fail in their ambitions when they do fail. By laying out the competing paradigms and organizing them according to their basic assumptions, he creates a useful map of the issues confronting a general theory of emotion and argues convincingly for the revision of some basic psychological categories. He concludes that emotion as a general concept has no scientific utility and should be eliminated from psychological language because there is no single kind of process that underlies the behavior identified with emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A History of Western Psychology.

Reviews the book, A History of Western Psychology by David Murray (No Year Specified). According to Marshall, this book is intended as a text for a full-year course on history, systems, and twentieth century developments in psychology. The 400-page book covers psychological ideas "from Plato through NATO," and it does so briskly. Two chapters are devoted to ancient and medieval ideas, two to subsequent events until the nineteenth century, and four to nineteenth century developments; Gestalt, behaviourism, and psychoanalysis are given separate chapters; and two terminal chapters are devoted, respectively, to new directions until 1940 and eclectic psychological developments up to 1980. There are two salient features which distinguish the book in addition to its attention to both ancient and contemporary psychology. The first is that, throughout, it relies strongly on an interpretation and presentation of primary sources rather than on a gathering of already published compendia. Another example is Murray's treatment of Spencer, Lewes, Carpenter, Lubbock, and Romanes. Murray's work and frequent quotations from original sources leave the reader with the lively sense of being in touch with the original authors' intents and styles. A shortcoming which stems from this same insistence on original interpretation of primary sources is that the reader sometimes does not benefit from the work of other recent and more detailed scholarly interpretations. The second salient feature of the textbook is that it is unabashedly internalistic. It refers only superficially to the contextual features of the intellectual and sociopolitical cultures which, variously, fostered or retarded psychology, first when it existed only as a bundle of ideas, then later when it emerged as a disciplinary institution. There are no references to historical methodology, and this illustrates the fact that Murray's book is just not methodologically self-conscious at all. Without apology, Murray is interested in showing the succession of psychological ideas, with little concern for explaining how they happened that way. However, Marshall notes that this book also provides some excellent learning and memory aids for students untutored in history and, perhaps, uninterested in history for its own sake. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism.

Reviews the book, Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism edited by Howard T. Blane and Kenneth E. Leonard (1987). This volume presents different psychological elements in alcoholism and theories underlining a variety of sources of the motivation to drink. The volume is thus a sign of the maturing of psychology's view of alcoholism and of the creation of real bodies of data and a firm foundation for understanding alcoholism from a psychological perspective. The editors, Blane and Leonard, arrange nine bodies of psychological theory and research about drinking and alcoholism into two sections: Traditional Approaches and Recent Theoretical Models. The chapters do not deal with equivalent kinds of theories; the theories differ not only in their scope but in their level of analysis. Nonetheless, given the differences in the material and the amount to be reviewed, the volume accomplishes very well what it sets out to do. The presentations are inclusive and generally well written. They organize largely distinct areas of psychological knowledge into accessible chapters. The contributors give attention not only to theory and data but also to clinical applications of the theories. In nearly all cases, the chapters serve as perhaps the best available surveys of the topics, making this an invaluable teaching tool and reference book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Women’s sexuality across the life span: Challenging myths, creating meanings.

Reviews the book, Women’s sexuality across the life span: Challenging myths, creating meanings by Judith C. Daniluk (see record 1998-06080-000). This book about women's sexualities thoroughly integrates biological, psychological, and social perspectives at each point of the life span. The book includes major sections on childhood and adolescence, young adulthood, and the middle and later years. In each section the author explains in clear and accessible language what we know about the biological changes occurring in women's bodies, media portrayals of women's bodies and women's sexualities, research concerning the psychological consequences (mostly negative) of these messages, and an exploration of the ways in which therapists and counselors can help women clients create more positive and varied visions of their sexualities. The reviewer points out several flaws in the text and makes suggestions for improvement, but in the end agrees with the author's thesis that we have not yet even begun to imagine the range of women's sexual experiences as they currently exist, much less as they might exist in a society that valued a diversity of women and their sexualities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some theoretical & philosophical aspects of educational psychology.

The author was invited to discuss "the extent and character of the theoretical and philosophical aspects" of educational psychology. His own work in educational psychology, however, is concerned primarily with research methodology, measurement, and statistical analyses as applied in educational research methods, and his major tie to philosophy has been in the philosophy of science. Therefore, he touches on topics such as behaviorism, logical positivism, cause-and-effect relationships, objectivity and subjectivity, relationships among variables, and Evolutionary Critical-Realism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of human possibility and constraint.

Reviews the book, The psychology of human possibility and constraint by J. Martin and J. Sugarman (see record 1999-02336-000). This wide-ranging, compact, dense, yet very readable little book presents many of the key elements of a badly needed, more credible philosophy of social science for academic and professional psychologists. The book gives no specific examples of theories or research findings that might illustrate what is meant by a better kind of "knowledge" or "theory" in psychology, so the reader is left somewhat high and dry concerning this question. Perhaps it is simply the case that these questions about what might be the best kind of social and psychological inquiry and what sense to make of the plethora of theories and findings to date, are difficult, murky, and on the frontier of a hermeneutic reenvisioning of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical evaluation and justification of methodologies in psychological science.

The purpose of this article is to describe a relatively new movement in the history and philosophy of science, naturalism, a form of pragmatism emphasizing that methodological principles are empirical statements. Thus, methodological principles must be evaluated and justified on the same basis as other empirical statements. On this view, methodological statements may be less secure than the specific scientific theories to which they give rise. The authors examined the feasibility of a naturalistic approach to methodology using logical and historical analysis and by contrasting theories that predict new facts versus theories that explain already known facts. They provide examples of how differences over methodological issues in psychology and in science generally may be resolved using a naturalistic, or empirical, approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Economics and psychology: A promising new cross-disciplinary field.

Reviews the book, Economics and psychology: A promising new cross-disciplinary field edited by Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer (see record 2007-00637-000). The editors' goal in this book was to review some recent applications of psychological theories in the field of economics. Given economics' high reliance on agency theory, this book provides a fresh look into what standard economics has had a difficult time explaining: what economists have called "errors" in individual behaviour and decision making. The gist of the book focuses on showing that these errors are in fact part of the human make-up, and the contributors use psychological theories and evidence to build a new economics paradigm. The book purports to question the assumption of the human as a rational being, to show the value of experimental methods in economics, and to make well-being a worthy outcome in economics. This book is of interest to economists who have an interest in microeconomics and want to break free from the narrow focus of agency theory. It is also of interest to psychologists who want to extend their work on prosocial behaviour and well-being to include economic and institutional considerations as part of their accounts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology: Steven Pinker.

The Early Career Awards recognize the large number of excellent young psychologists. Recipients of this award may not have held a PhD for more than eight years. For 1984, Steven Pinker is recognized for distinguished work from both cerebral hemispheres. Using imaginative methods, he has studied the representation of three-dimensional space in visual imagery and the distribution of attention over that space. In language acquisition he has formulated explicit theories motivated by language universals and by the best established facts of language development. His book, Language learnability and language development, is a landmark in a challenging branch of psychological science. In addition to the citation, a biography and bibliography of Pinker's works are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Personology: Method and content in personality assessment and psychobiography.

Reviews the book, Personology: Method and content in personality assessment and psychobiography by Irving E. Alexander (see record 1990-97879-000). The subtitle accurately specifies the scope of this volume, and the title, Personology, identifies the book with the tradition of Henry A. Murray and the Harvard Psychological Clinic, which focused on idiographic, holistic, psychodynamic personality assessment. The book is relevant to modern psychoanalysis in two distinct ways. On one hand, it attempts, with unusual success, to systematize the principles of psychodynamic interpretation that are common to many versions of psychoanalysis ("method" in "personality assessment," in the book's title). On the other hand, it applies these principles to illuminate salient ways in which the inner lives of major contributors to psychoanalytic theory (Freud, Jung, and Sullivan) may have shaped their theoretical contributions (i.e., "content" and "psychobiography" in the title). The psychobiographical chapters should fascinate readers already familiar with biographical studies of these Olympian innovators, and because of the general familiarity of the terrain, the chapters serve very well the didactic purpose of illustrating how personological inference is done. Recent polemics have made much of the hermeneutic approach to human psychology, as alternative to scientistic positivism, but not very much is being written on how to do hermeneutics, and little has been produced to show that it is worth doing. Personology is therefore a rare contribution that deserves to be widely read and pondered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Human Subject in the Psychological Laboratory.

Reviews the book, The Human Subject in the Psychological Laboratory by Irwin Silverman (see record 1978-20076-000). In this book, the author presents his assessment of the laboratory experiment following years of research on the social psychology of the psychological experiment. Silverman makes his views clear from the outset: the laboratory is "an excellent place to study laboratory behavior; but by virtue of this it is suited for little else", and he relentlessly pursues this thesis throughout the book. Through the seeming enormity of evidence and Silverman's constant attention to his thesis, the reader is brought to the precipice from which the laboratory experiment must surely fall. The uncritical reader will find Silverman's arguments well-written and effectively woven together in a relatively concise, easily readable manner. Any criticisms of the book must focus on errors of omission rather than problems of style or misrepresentation of fact. The important questions seem to concern a need to better understand how an experimenter can conduct meaningful research with human subjects. This understanding will not come about from proclaiming that other methods are better or from research which has only the objective of documenting the inadequacies of current methods. More than anything else Silverman's book suggests the need for a new direction for increased research on the social psychology of the psychological experiment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)