Review of Facilitating treatment adherence: A practitioner's guidebook.

Reviews the book, Facilitating treatment adherence: A practitioner's guidebook by Donald Meichenbaum and Dennis C. Turk (see record 1987-98489-000). Any health care practitioner is likely to approach a book on how to increase adherence with interest; it is a topic that touches all professionals involved in clincial practice. As a clinical psychologist, I looked to this book to assist with issues facing me daily with clients--how to get them to do what both they and I agree would be beneficial to them and their overall well being. Meichenbaum and Turk promise a "how-to" guidebook and, generally, have adhered to this undertaking well. The authors begin with a section on the nature of the problem of adherence, including a discussion and definition of treatment adherence (as opposed to compliance, which suggests less of an active role by the client), its incidence and assessment. The second chapter in Part I examines the many possible factors that affect adherence. Part II turns to procedures that could be used to enhance adherence. Section III provides an integration of the procedures and discussion anticipating what may go wrong in applying the procedures. The last chapter is partly written with tongue in cheek--applying what they have stated about clients to health care providers and why they will not adhere to the recommendations made in the book. This book is thorough, practical, and timely, and it balances coverage of the relevant research with application to practices and discussion of clinical concerns. Given such a common problem, this book is long overdue, and in fact, much more research effort and clinical training should be placed in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Assessment: Assessment in special and remedial education (4th ed.).

Reviews the book, Assessment: Assessment in special and remedial education (4th ed.) by J. Salvia and J. E. Ysseldyke (1988). I was pleased to have been invited to review Salvia and Ysseldyke's book for Professional School Psychology because I have used each of its earlier editions as a required text. For approximately 5 years, I taught an undergraduate course entitled, Survey of Individual Tests, in which the Salvia and Ysseldyke book was my text of choice. I selected the book over several current and dated competitors because it provided coverage of both psychometric issues and available instrumentation within several assessment domains. Its coverage was more appropriate for lower division undergraduates than a book such as Anastasi's (1988) Psychological Testing. During that 5-year period, I became intimately familiar with the content of the text and learned its strengths and weaknesses. Upon receiving the review copy of the Fourth Edition I was anxious to discover the degree to which this edition had changed from its earlier editions. This review critiques the current text's attributes and shortcomings and explores the depth of revision that was incorporated into the newest edition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Weight Control: The Behavioural Strategies.

Reviews the book, Weight Control: The Behavioural Strategies by Michael D. LeBow (1981). This book does a more than adequate job in examining behavioural methods currently used in treatment of obesity. The influence of behaviour therapy on weight control is evaluated with realistic appraisals of its values and limitations. As an introduction for the novice therapist this book will be extremely valuable. Even the appendices of weight charts, skin fold measurement procedures, food calories and calorie expenditures may be used by the practitioner. The greatest limitation of the methodology presented and thus of the book itself, however, is the failure to recognize serious problems in behavioural technology (e.g., there is great variability in patients' responses to a behavioural program). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Converging methods for understanding reading and dyslexia.

Reviews the book, Converging methods for understanding reading and dyslexia edited by Raymond M. Klein and Patricia A. McMullen (see record 2000-07104-000). In the preface to this volume, the editors Raymond Klein and Patricia McMullen promise a book that will "illustrate different approaches used by scientists to understand the complex skill of reading and its breakdown" (p. xi). As long as readers of this volume understand that Klein and McMullen are referring to "the reading of single words" (p. 1), and not the reading of sentences or paragraphs or whole texts, they will not be disappointed by this book. Indeed, Klein and McMullen have put together an impressive collection of state-of-the-art chapters by scientists who address the issue of single-word reading from a variety of standpoints and disciplines. The coverage is both extensive and intensive, and the quality of the contributions is uniformly high. Klein and McMullen have lived up to their promise of delivering a book that illustrates different approaches to understanding single-word reading and its breakdown. But have they succeeded in putting together a volume "to stimulate thought about how converging evidence from these approaches can lead to new insights and advances" (p. xi)? Of course, it is too early to tell whether researchers will be able to draw on the converging evidence in a positive way. However, I think the editors could have done more to facilitate such a process. Most readers will be struck by the fact that the volume reveals as many divergences of evidence and opinion as it does convergences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Exploring research, seventh edition.

Reviews the book, Exploring research, seventh edition by Neil J. Salkind (2009). This is the seventh edition of an introductory text on research methods. It is intended for “upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students in their first research methods course in the social, behavioural, and health sciences fields” (p. xvii). The intention of the book is to introduce the important topics in research methods in a “nonintimidating and informative way” (p. xvii). Changes in this edition include a new chapter on ethics, with more material on ethical issues when doing online research, the use of children as participants, and updated general ethical guidelines; updated and new coverage of software for dealing with both qualitative data and for bibliographies; updated information on the use of the Internet for research and for conducting research and literature reviews online; as well as changes to the questions and exercises at the end of the chapters and to the Web site that accompanies the book. The Web site also contains an appendix with an introduction to SPSS 16 (which was not available at the time of this review). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not a page-turner, but a very intellectually-challenging book.

Reviews the book, How the mind works by S. Pinker (1998). How the mind works provides an excellent example of what I consider a very good, thought-provoking scientific book. It is true that I often put the book down, sometimes for long periods. But during those down times I still continued to read, in the sense described earlier. That is, I continued to consider the thoughts and issues raised by Pinker, often discussing them with colleagues, in an attempt to decide for myself where I stood on the issues. I found that I agreed with some of Pinker's views while disagreeing with others. However, I will not recount my opinions here, because I expect a different reader would have very different opinions for the reasons described above. Instead, I will highlight the characteristics of Pinker's book that make it such a non-page-turner. In my view, the strengths of the book are rooted in three characteristics: (a) the perspective, (b) the subject matter, and (c) the writing style. The combination of interesting and relevant issues, an engaging writing style, and a strong stance on every issue make the book very challenging intellectually. I was not comfortable moving on to some new issue before I had formed an opinion on the previous one. Often this required me to talk with colleagues and at the end of the title. Perhaps it would not reflect the extend the debate beyond the book and into the faculty conviction with which Pinker holds his opinions, but it lounge. At other times it pushed me to simply take some would better reflect the challenge to readers to form their time to reflect on the issues. Perhaps the highest accolade own opinions. that can be given to a scientific book is that it forces one to think and form opinions. How the mind works is clearly deserving of that accolade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Animal models for psychiatry.

Reviews the book, Animal models for psychiatry by J. D. Keehn (1986). The topic of this book is timely, for the use of nonhuman laboratory animals in behavioural research has become a controversial issue. As an expert on ethical issues in psychological research, Keehn is an appropriate person to examine and summarize the role of nonhuman species in the study of abnormal behaviour. In the first section of the book, Keehn attempts to evaluate the ethics of behavioural experimentation with nonhuman subjects and to summarize several principles of humane experimental procedures. In the second part of the book he catalogues various clinical syndromes in nonhumans and describes various experimental paradigms that he believes are appropriate for the study of "psychiatric" disorders. As a defence of animal research and a summary of animal syndromes, the book is successful. As a summary of animal models and a guide for the researcher, both novice and experienced, I found the book disappointing on two scores. First, the book is not held together by any theoretical glue but rather seems more of a catalogue of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans. My second disappointment comes from the author's uneven emphasis on different disorders. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel it is a useful volume. It provides an extensive summary of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans and illustrates the usefulness of behavioural studies as models of neurotic conditions in particular. Further, it argues forcefully for the importance of behavioural research in the study of mental disorders and could serve as a good place for undergraduates to read about the issues involved in animal research. The book falls short, however, as a "must have" volume for those active researchers or clinicians. Unfortunately, it offers us little insight into the nature of psychopathologic behaviour in either human or nonhuman subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Behavioral scientists in courts and corrections.

Reviews the book, Behavioral scientists in courts and corrections by James T. Ziegenfuss Jr. (1985). Ziegenfuss has put together a systematic account of the activities of behavioural scientists in courts and corrections in a manner that is both coherent and impressive. The book succeeds in its goal of linking law and behavioural science largely because Ziegenfuss provides powerful examples and numerous case studies that illustrate concretely the applications that are possible in the psychology/law interface. Ziegenfuss had three main objectives for the book: to define the functions of behavioural scientists in courts and corrections, to illustrate how these functions contribute meaningfully to court and correctional organizations, and to provide behavioural scientists with an understanding of their potential contributions. Generally, these three objectives are well met. Nevertheless, there are some omissions that are surprising. Although there are several things that I would like to have seen in this book (e.g., a discussion of the law and economics movement), the most conspicuously absent features are discussions of training and discussions of ethics. In fairness to Ziegenfuss, training and ethical issues were not a part of his explicitly stated purposes in the book. I recommend this book for behavioural scientists who are working or intend to work in the legal system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An idea whose time is already here.

Reviews the book, The search for oneness by Lloyd H. Silverman, Frank M. Lachmann, and Robert H. Milich (1982). If theory is to be more than just fodder for theoreticians, it must lead itself to clinical practice, either in direct use with patients or by intersecting with clinical observations. The search for oneness does both. The authors show through deduction, and illustrate with clinical vignettes, that "oneness", or the lack of it, can be seen as a root cause of many disturbances involving ego functioning, choice of defense, core conflicts, and character traits. They also show that exploitations of this fact can lead to therapeutic gain through interpretation and through empathy. In empathy, oneness fantasies are stimulated and gratified through joining with the patient, especially when the therapist is evocatively able to enter the patient's subjective world to see things from the patient's point of view. The book is well written; this, in conjunction with the novelty of its central idea and the strength of the evidence adduced to support that idea, makes the book a persuasive, evocative document. After reading the book, many clinicians will likely do as I did: listen for, and sometimes stress, oneness and separation issues with their patients to a greater extent than usual. The book supplies the reader with the bonus of clear and pith abstractions of several theoretical approaches; it serves as a mini-text. Its brevity demonstrates how much paper and eyesight could be saved if other authors exercised similar attention to synthesis and conciseness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Experiential psychotherapy: Basic practices.

Reviews the book, Experiential Psychotherapy: Basic Practices by Alvin R. Mahrer (1983). What I liked most about this book was its consistent preoccupation with the phenomenology of the patient. This is a topic which never fails to intrigue me, and a sensitivity to another person's world looms large here. However, what frankly disturbs me is a proposition central to most of Mahrer's presentation, and that is the emphasis he places on the futility of assuming two phenomenal worlds in dyadic psychotherapy. The crux of "the method" is the learned skill of reading one's own entrails (my phrase, not his) as a way of verifying the "true" identity of the patient's (therapist's?) reality. The entire book is fundamentally an attempt to illustrate this "merging" of the two into one, and the frustrating "unmerging" which ebbs and flows through the antagonistic process of merging. perhaps the greatest reservation I have about the case Mahrer makes for his practices is the persistent absence in this book of even casual references to outcome events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of cognitive behavioural therapies.

Reviews the book, Handbook of cognitive behavioural therapies edited by Keith S. Dobson (1989). This book is not what I would normally consider a handbook, lacking the breadth I expect in such a book. It is, rather, an edited text with a number of interesting articles that would be most useful for covering approaches in a course on psychotherapy and behaviour change. These include a good chapter on cognitive assessment by Segal and Shaw, comprehensive chapters on five different types of cognitive therapy by leading proponents of the approach, plus a chapter on methods with children, and finally a theoretical chapter by Mahoney. There are also helpful introductory and concluding chapters by Dobson. In his concluding chapter on the present and future of the approach, Dobson provides an interesting summary of issues, covering theory growth and revision, cognitive assessment, therapy expansion and evaluation, and the exploration of developmental bases of adult disturbance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Development of Modern Behavioural Psychology.

Reviews the book, The Development of Modern Behavioural Psychology by John McLeish (1981). The title of McLeish's book contains two terms that may be somewhat misleading. Describing his efforts as encompassing the "Development" of ideas suggests that the approach is historical, while the term "Modern Behavioural Psychology" might be taken to mean almost anything depending upon one's restrictive use of the term. McLeish, as it turns out, attaches a very restrictive meaning to "Behavioural Psychology". There will probably always be argument about what constitutes a proper historical approach but the reviewer doubts that the tact McLeish takes will ever satisfy. In his review of the history of radical behaviourism, McLeish highlights the work of some writers who have not been given a prominent place by other historians, and discusses, or notes only in passing, authors who have ordinarily been considered prominent. As a history, then, McLeish's book is a disappointment and often annoying. Perhaps the best that can be said about this book is that McLeish hints at a form of behavioural theory which would expand the present boundaries of our thinking. In his enthusiastic advocacy of an account that would recognize the historical, social and cultural origins of human behaviour as well as its complexity (including language, thinking and consciousness), McLeish points to the biological rather than the physical (or mathematical) sciences as the source of appropriate models to develop a science of behaviour. In this he is to be congratulated. It is too bad he did not devote the book to a full development of these notions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word recognition: From letters to meaning.

Reviews the book, Basic Processes in Reading Visual Word Recognition by Derek Besner and Glyn W. Humphreys (see record 1990-99017-000). While there has been an increase in the amount of work on many different aspects of reading, as Besner and Humphreys point out in the overview to their book, the vast majority of the research on the topic of reading in the past twenty years has been concerned with the processes involved in word recognition. For this reason, Besner and Humphreys have attempted to bring together studies on topics which are both relevant to current debates in the field of word recognition, and which are likely to be important for future developments in the field. They have compiled an edited volume consisting of their overview and eight additional chapters. The editors have attempted to span the continuum of processes involved in word recognition and thus have included chapters which cover topics ranging from the visual analysis of words, to those on the influence of semantic factors on word recognition. The authors of these chapters comprise an impressive list of researchers in the field of word recognition, with the majority of chapters being authored by leading researchers on the topic. Given the stature of the authors and the range of topics covered, in theory this volume should provide a very thorough overview of current theory and research on reading. There is no question that each of the chapters is interesting and important in its own right. However, in practice the volume as a whole fell somewhat short of my expectations. The different tacts taken by different authors has resulted in a very uneven coverage of the current debates in the field. Notwithstanding these criticisms, I am sure that the majority of researchers in this field will consider this volume to be an important contribution. The book would provide a very useful addition to graduate courses in cognitive sciences and as a supplemental text for an undergraduate course on the psychology of reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The psychopath: Theory, research and practice.

Reviews the book, The psychopath: Theory, research and practice edited by Hugues Hervé and John C. Yuille (see record 2006-11788-000). This book begins with an historical overview of the construct of psychopathy and then works its way through a variety of important issues, including measurement, etiology, behavioural manifestations of the disorder, typologies, and practice considerations. A few notable exceptions notwithstanding, this text is a fine primer on psychopathy: It includes a number of outstanding chapters and other important issues in the area of psychopathy receive solid treatment. Although there is occasionally some drop-off in quality, I suspect that even the less outstanding chapters in this book would prove informative for students, lay consumer groups, and clinicians who do not routinely work with psychopaths. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Position and the nature of personhood: An approach to the understanding of persons.

Reviews the book, Position and the Nature of Personhood: An Approach to the Understanding of Persons by Larry Cochran (1985). This book is full of abstractions, full of arguments made by examples from literature, full of verbal distinctions. It is literary and philosophical in approach. It is hostile to analysis, that is, to resolution into simpler elements by analysing; the author prefers to consider objects as undivided wholes. It is hostile to behaviourism. It is unsympathetic to quantification. Accordingly, if you are sympathetic to a so-called humanistic approach, if you value intuition over rational analysis, you will approve of the author's views. Who might find this book of value? Not Canadian psychologists; most of them are likely to be impatient with Cochran's long-winded presentations of verbal distinctions. Not graduate students of psychology; their professors will not be in sympathy with the anti-analytic views of the author. Not philosophers, for the book seems hardly to be sufficiently well argued to be of interest to a professional philosopher (though philosophers no doubt can speak for themselves on this). Not the general reader. Although I enjoyed reading the literary examples, I found myself dreadfully bored by the philosophical discussions. Reading this book has not helped me to understand people better or to prepare myself better for conducting research. The author might argue, however, that such a result is only to be expected for a person holding my position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Drugs and behavior: An introduction to behavioral pharmacology.

Reviews the book, Drugs and behavior: An introduction to behavioral pharmacology by William A. McKim (1986). This book effectively describes in 14 chapters the diverse aspects of behavioural pharmacology. The structure of the chapters ensures that a continuity of basic principles in behavioural pharmacology will emerge, and the reader will be able to understand the behavioural consequences of drugs with respect to their physiology and pharmacology in each chapter. This book covers the material well, and in my opinion its greatest strength is its readability. The author produced a book that will not only give undergraduate and graduate students a solid foundation in behavioural pharmacology, but will also provide an enjoyable reading experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Depression in the medically ill: An integrated approach.

Reviews the book, Depression in the medically ill: An integrated approach by G. Rodin, J. Craven, and C. Littlefield (see record 1991-97973-000). This book provides an in-depth coverage of current issues in the management of depression in the medically ill. The book is balanced in theoretical perspective and quite comprehensive in coverage of the empirical literature. The authors are well known to the area of depression and physical illness. The book is organized into three main sections dealing with 1) Clinical Presentation, 2) Etiology and Pathogenesis, and 3) Treatment. Numerous case examples are provided throughout to highlight different aspects of symptom presentation, diagnostic problems, and therapeutic management. Notably lacking from the review of prevalence studies is the work examining depression and chronic pain populations. In sum, Rodin et al. have drawn on a vast literature to provide a clear and coherent picture of the current state of knowledge and theory dealing with depression and medical illness. Their book joins a number of recent papers attempting to draw more attention to clinical issues in the management of depression in the medically ill. I would recommend the book to all clinicians who work with medically ill populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Language, the sexes and society.

Reviews the book, Language, the sexes and society by Philip M. Smith (1985). As with any growing field that encompasses the diversity of orientations characterizing research on sex and language, there is a need periodically to take stock so as to bring a more integrative impulse to the accumulated findings. Philip Smith's recent book provides such an overview and critical evaluation of the current status of sex-language research, an endeavour to which he brings the perspective of a social psychologist. For those interested in a social psychological perspective on sex-language questions, Smith's book provides a very useful evaluation of the state of research in this field and identifies promising directions for future research. Those whose particular interests focus more on women and language or communication within same-sex groups will find little coverage of such topics. However, despite these gaps, the book provides much food for thought and warrants a careful reading by researchers working in the sex-language area. Because of its research emphasis, I feel this book would be most relevant to graduate courses and, in particular, would serve as a valuable source for work in women's studies, sociolinguistics, and social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The study of personality: A book of readings.

Reviews the book, The Study of Personality (see record 1955-03665-000). The book is a collection of readings, consisting mainly of papers that have previously appeared in journals. The three sections of the book deal, respectively, with theory, methods, and problems. The editor's emphasis, though, is mainly methodological, and even the section dealing with theory stresses principles of theory construction rather than attempts to formulate a single logically consistent theory of personality. The reviewer feels that this collection of readings should fill the need for supplementary reading in a graduate level course dealing with nomothetic approaches to the investigation of personality, or as a supplement to a course in the theory of personality when either the instructor or a good textbook contributes a single consistent theoretical point of view. Psychologists and other social scientists will find it useful as a review of significant and more or less familiar material that should not be allowed to become lost in seldom consulted back issues of the journals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guest editor's introduction.

The purpose of the "Quantitative Foundations of Counseling Psychology Research" special issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology is to present a conceptual and, for the most part, nonmathematical presentation of quantitative methods that have potential as research tools in investigations of counseling-related phenomena and to discuss issues related to the use of these methods. My hope is that researchers reading each article will say to themselves, "I never realized how useful this method is, and I think it has tremendous potential to help me answer a research question for which I am having difficulty designing a study." For consumers of research, the articles provide a basis for understanding methods that are likely to be used in counseling psychology research in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)