Motivation and personality and Nebraska symposium on motivation.

Reviews the books "Motivation and personality," by A. H. Maslow (see record 1955-02233-000) and "Nebraska Symposium on Motivation," edited by M. R. Jones (see record 1955-02102-000). To be properly appreciated Maslow's book must be read as a protest, an eloquent and at times almost prophetic protest against the traditional homeostatic conception of drives which has held American motivational theory in a strait jacket ever since our psychological forebears first read Darwin. Maslow rightly sees that even men as apparently different as Freud and Hull were essentially the same in one respect. It is particularly interesting to juxtapose the current Nebraska Symposium on Motivation with Maslow's book. Taken as a whole, the Nebraska Symposium is impressive evidence that the study of motivation is in a vigorous and healthy state. There is not only the important controversy between the traditional drive-reduction theorists and the newer "instinctivists" but there is also a wealth of significant empirical research on different kinds of motives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychology of industrial relations.

Reviews the book, "Psychology of industrial relations," by C. H. Lawshe (see record 1954-03380-000). In the reviewer's opinion, the authors have done a creditable job in presenting a large body of facts and principles, backed up with sufficient references to research literature. However, certain areas to which psychologists have devoted considerable thinking and research are inexplicably omitted or merely mentioned in passing, viz., industrial safety, democracy in management, executive development, employee rating methods, characteristics of the learning curve, transfer of training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychology: The unity of human behavior.

Reviews the book "Psychology: The unity of human behavior," by Timothy J. Gannon (see record 1954-06735-000). This volume is an introductory textbook of psychology for college students. In addition to a somewhat different organization of the material and a different emphasis accorded to various topics Gannon's book introduces certain theoretical considerations which are not ordinarily found in most textbooks. The book is divided into four parts: The first part, the shortest, is a general introduction. The second, entitled "Reception," deals with sensation and perception. The author, in discussing perception, particularly stresses the neural correlates of perception and the localization of functions in the brain. The third, "Response," contains the discussion of reflexes, drives, and emotions. The fourth and last part, "Integration," is the longest, constituting almost half of the book. The principal concern of the author is to present all experiences, and all behavior, as integrated manifestations of a single living person. The entire book is characterized by an effort to present to the student not merely a survey of psychological problems and known facts about man but to provide him at the same time with a concept of man's nature which would serve as a key to the understanding of man as such. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Principles of industrial psychology.

Reviews the book, Principles of Industrial Psychology (see record 1955-01700-000). Although "the book is designed as an introductory survey of the entire field of industrial psychology," the reviewer notes that the authors omit many topics. The book presents in substantial fashion those aspects of industrial psychology as the authors perceive it to be. The style of presentation is characterized by critically evaluating research studies reported in the literature and emphasizing the necessary statistical concepts and techniques related to selection of employees. The heavy statistical involvement may make this book a little too difficult for the typical undergraduate student who is not a psychology or statistics major. The reviewer concludes that Principles of Industrial Psychology is an interesting book for a sophisticated audience. It may be misunderstood by typical undergraduates and it may not be too appealing to the man in industry who wishes to apply some principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The process of psychotherapy.

Reviews the book "The process of psychotherapy," by H. V. Ingham and L. R. Love (see record 1954-07599-000). In the preface the authors state "This book is an attempt to describe the ways in which a psychotherapist works. . . . Anyone engaged in psychotherapy is concerned with both an understanding of people and an appreciation of the ways of dealing with them. Certainly much more consideration has generally been given to a presentation of dynamic theory or to using the advantages of combining both fields than to efforts at describing how psychotherapy is conducted." The authors have been singularly successful in avoiding raising and discussing problems either of "dynamic theory" or the relation of theory to psychotherapeutic practice. It is difficult to evaluate this book because we are not told for whom it is intended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Theory and problems of adolescent development.

Reviews "Theory and problems of adolescent development," by David P. Ausubel (see record 1955-00581-000). Unlike most other books in this area, this book offers a systematic presentation of psychological knowledge woven around a dynamic point of view. It is a scholarly book written in language that makes for easy and interesting reading. The author opens his book with an organized set of arguments designed to convince his readers that there is justification for a book on the "Psychology of Adolescent Development." His major premise states that "adolescence is treated as a separate developmental period not because it covers a decade but because it spans an interval in which distinctive changes occur in a biosocial status of the human organism. The author has marshaled his psychological knowledge and psychiatric experience into a well-organized book. Dr. Ausubel quotes freely from other authors and from his own writings and research. There are extensive references contained in the bibliography at the end of each chapter. Although the author states that "this book is primarily intended as an advanced textbook in adolescent psychology for graduate students in psychology and education," it would appear that this book is written with sufficient clarity and nontechnical language to be used in any college course dealing with adolescent behavior. It would be especially desirable in clinically-oriented courses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Communication in management.

Reviews the book "Communication in management" by Charles E. Redfield (see record 1954-06660-000). Redfield's book presents an excellent broad view of the problem of communication in industry as well as information on how to handle rather specific problems. The book is arranged in five parts. The first part provides a general introduction to the problem, and contains highly useful guiding principles for effective communication. It is necessarily general in scope, but it does seem to give too little attention to one aspect of communication, effectiveness as a function of the educational differences of "communicator" and "communicatee." Part II of the book takes up "communication downward and outward," the most important aspect of which is order-giving. In Part III, Redfield presents "communication upward and inward." Part IV of the book is an interesting presentation of "horizontal communication," or such cross-talk as clearance, review, and conferences. In the final section of the book (Part V), Redfield presents his views of the future of communication in management. All in all, the book is a valuable one, chiefly for its survey of the field and its complete list of references and selected readings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Motivation and morale in industry.

Reviews the book "Motivation and morale in industry" by Morris S. Viteles (see record 1954-05049-000). Viteles' well known "Industrial Psychology" was first published in 1932, and since that time has been considered a classic, if not the classic text in the field. In many respects, Motivation and morale in industry is a continuation of "Industrial Psychology" (see record 1932-04985-000.) To a considerable extent Viteles has repeated his earlier pattern, but with a shift in emphasis from the individual to the group. "Motivation and Morale in Industry" is divided into five parts. The first, consisting of three chapters, is introductory in nature. It deals primarily with the economic man and the inadequacy of the concept that man can live by bread alone. The fifth part, consisting of four chapters, summarizes and draws together the remainder of the book as well as makes applications and recommendations. The remaining three parts, totaling sixteen chapters, comprise the bulk of the book. They deal with motivational theory, experimental studies, and employee attitude surveys. In a sense this book is too much a book of readings in motivation and morale in industry. Many of the studies are weak, but Viteles has done an excellent service in collecting these studies in such way as to illustrate the primitive status of the field. Frequently he has added his penetrating insights relative to such studies. Nevertheless, the reviewer regretted that Viteles had not taken a more directly critical view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Thinking and Speaking: A Symposium.

Reviews the book "Thinking and speaking: A symposium," by G. Révész (see record 1955-06902-000). This book is a reprint of a double number of Acta Psychologica and contains ten contributions. Five are by psychologists, one is by the philosopher, one by the mathematician, and one by the linguist Buyssens of Brussels. The author states the problems: Is speech possible without thought? Is thought possible without speech? He answers the first question affirmatively. He also emphasizes the importance for thinking of memories of events previously formulated in speech. He believes that he has proved that the two functions are one and indivisible (though speech may occur without thought). This book should be read by all American psychologists who are interested in keeping abreast of the developments of Denkpsychologie. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent books.

Reviews the books, Stress: The nature and history of engineered grief by Robert Kugelmann (see record 1992-98556-000); Values, self and society: Toward a humanist social psychology by M. Brewster Smith (see record 1992-97175-000); and The psychology of sympathy by Lauren Wispe (see record 1991-98227-000). Brief synopses of each book are provided, rather than full reviews. In Stress: The Nature and History of Engineered Grief, Kugelmann presents a phenomenology of the experience of stress, a history of the construction of "engineered grief," and an assessment of stress management programs. In Values, Self and Society: Toward a Humanist Social Psychology, M. Brewster Smith contributes to the treatment of personality in historical and cultural context, and to a post-positivist conception of "human science" that joins humanistic interpretation of meanings and values with scientific concern for conditions and consequences. In The Psychology of Sympathy, Lauren Wispe provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the concept of sympathy, outlining a new empirically-based theory. Wispe explores the historical and philosophical roots of the concept of sympathy, and its past and present social implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychology of successful selling.

Reviews the book, "The psychology of successful selling," by Richard W. Husband (see record 1954-03433-000). The reviewer notes that this book is directed to all salesmen to aid them in their daily work. Its emphasis is on sales tactics, from finding your prospects through approaching him and overcoming his resistance to closing the sale. There is also a short section concerning the selection of salesmen, helping him to compare his traits with those of successful salesmen. This book is not intended to be a professional book for psychologists; rather it is deliberately designed to be easy, informal reading without technical language or reference to experiments or statistics. In general, there is little in the book to recommend it even to sales managers or salesmen over the many other volumes written in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Stochastic models for learning.

Reviews the book "Stochastic models for learning" by R. R. Bush and F. Mosteller (see record 1955-15028-000). This contribution to learning theory analyzes the results of many learning experiments in terms of a probabilistic hypothesis after setting up a general theoretical model from which specific models to fit particular results can be derived. While this book is not an applied book except in the sense that mathematical techniques of much power are applied to basic psychological problems, it represents a distinct advance in the scientific analysis of learning data. Ultimately applied psychology may benefit from the methods so developed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Zest for work.

Reviews the book "Zest for work" by Hersey Rexford (see record 1955-06370-000). The present book includes information about workers in railroad shops. According to the reviewer, the work in this book does not turn up any dramatic discoveries, but the case studies should interest some readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral education and domains in the classroom: Is nothing as practical as a good theory?

Reviews the book, Education in the moral domain by L. P. Nucci (see record 2001-06857-000). In his book Education in the Moral Domain, Nucci summarizes more than two decades of developmental research indicating that it is impossible to ignore children's active understanding of sociomoral rules in search of simple "habit formation." Instead, he argues, children routinely form complex conceptions of both sociomoral events and adults' legitimate roles in those events and if adults ignore these conceptions it will only undermine their attempts at moral education. In the past, ideas like these were seen as damaging because they suggested that children should "question authority." By contrast, the recent developmental research reviewed in this book indicates that, although children and adolescents do sometimes "question authority," there is a surprising amount of consensus in children's and adults' sociomoral understanding and behavior. This book provides an intellectually compelling summary of recent developmental research on children's sociomoral development with a clear eye on the implications of that work for classroom moral education and the larger moral climate of schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Theories of Perception and the Concept of Structure.

Reviews the book "Theories of perception and the concept of structure," by Floyd H. Allport (see record 1955-15035-000). This book is in reality two books. The author planned it as one. The first twenty chapters give us a critical survey of many theories of perception while the last chapter presents the author's very original concept of "structure" which may be applied to, but does not necessarily arise out of, discussions of perception. He has certainly done a conscientious job on each of the thirteen major theories-ranging from the Titchenerian core-and-context, to the cybernetics of Wiener and of Pitts and McCulloch, and including such variety as the Gestalt, the Hebb cell-assembly, Helson adaptation level, Brunswik probabilistic, and the Bruner et al, directive-state. To give a touch of concreteness to his highly abstract theory of event structures, Allport suggests a simple mechanical model or analogue, a visualized schema. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment concerning Sappenfield's review of Arnold and Gasson's The human person.

Reply by the current authors to Bert R. Sappenfield's review (Psychological Bulletin, 1955[Jan], Vol. 52, 88-90) of their book, The Human Reason (see record 1954-15039-000). In the first chapter of our book we take great pains to show that self-determination is not independent of motivation but acts by eliminating alternatives and strengthening one particular motive. Moreover, throughout the book we point out that self-determination does not imply either uncaused action or unmotivated action or unpredictable action. On the contrary, self-determination is the factor that makes prediction possible. Now it is the reviewer's right, if not his duty, to take issue with the logic of our argument if that is at fault; in that case, he has to point out the defect in the logic, not just deny the conclusion. But to mistake the authors' position and then attribute to them the bad logic consequent upon such misstatement is hardly responsible reviewing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Human engineering guide for equipment designers.

Reviews the book "Human engineering guide for equipment designers," by W. E. Woodson (see record 1955-01705-000). The purpose of the book, as expressed in the Introduction, is "to aid the designer in making optimum decisions whenever human factors are involved in man-operated equipment." The author states that the book will provide a central source for information about the human operator, will point up the relative importance of variables which make a difference, and will indicate solutions for typical design problems. The book represents a commendable effort to fulfill this purpose. An outstanding feature of this guide is the application of basic psychological and physiological data to specific problem areas. The Human Engineering Guide for Equipment Designers represents a major step in the effort of human engineers to make their information meaningful to equipment designers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Laboratory Instrumentation in Psychology.

Reviews the book "Laboratory instrumentation in psychology," by William W. Grings (see record 1955-01753-000). It has been Grings's purpose to provide in convenient form a discussion of the basic characteristics of representative stimulating and recording systems, principally for use with human subjects. It is explicitly stated that the book is intended to be an introduction rather than an ultimate guide to research. The primary effort is to suggest by illustration the types of question that must be asked when apparatus is adopted to extend measurement and control. Altogether, the usefulness of the book far outweighs its limitations, and the advanced student or the teacher in laboratory courses will find it of considerable help in surveying the technical tools of the trade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Personality dynamics.

Reviews the book "Personality dynamics," by Bert R. Sappenfield (see record 1954-05681-000). The text deals with the usual topics of personality dynamics--motivation; developmental aspects of personality; frustration and conflict; aggression and related problems; anxiety, guilt, and inferiority feelings; and repression and other ego-defense mechanisms. The author has attempted to clarify some of the classical formulations, such as those of id, ego, and superego. Of greater value is the author's probing consideration of the various explanations of anxiety. He considers the standpoints of orthodox analysis, neoanalysis, maturation, and learning theory, and attempts to integrate them into his own viewpoint. An impressive asset of the book is the carefully concise summaries at the end of each chapter, and a glossary consistent with textual terminology. There is no doubt that we have here a well thought out volume which is certainly among the best that this reviewer has seen in recent years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"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)