This authoritative collection goes beyond economic statistics and probability data to offer a robust psychological understanding of risk perception and risk taking behavior. Expert contributors examine various risk domains in life, and pinpoint cognitive, emotional, and personality factors contributing to individual differences in risk taking as well as the many nuances social demographics (e.g., culture, gender) bring to risk decisions. Coverage takes competing theories and studies into account to identify mechanisms involved in processing and acting on uncertainty. And implications and applications are demonstrated in varied fields, from updated risk models for the insurance sector to improved risk communication in health services to considering risk perception in policy decisions. A sampling of the topics: Personality and risk: beyond daredevils-risk taking from a temperament perspective. Cognitive, developmental, and neurobiological aspects of risk judgments. The group effect: social influences on risk identification, analysis, and decision-making. Cognitive architectures as a scaffolding for risky choice models. Improving understanding of health-relevant numerical information. Risk culture as a framework for improving competence in risk management. Psychological Perspectives on Risk and Risk Analysis will be of great interest to researchers in and outside of psychology, including decision-making experts and behavioral economists. Additionally, this volume will appeal to practitioners who often have to make risky decisions, such as managers and physicians.

This volume marks the first comprehensive collection of reports from research projects in cognitive psychology in New Zealand. The existence of such a book is a reflection of the remarkable and ongoing growth in cognitive inquiry in this part of the world. Although most influential models and theories on cognition have originated in North America and Europe, the last two decades have seen an upsurge of cognitive research in the Australasian region. Cognitition and Language is intended to make accessible and integrate theoretically significant outcomes of cognitive science in New Zealand research centres. The intention was to edit the first volume on the international publishing scene reflecting the depth, quality, and some of the thematic diversity of cognitive psychology in New Zealand centres. It reflects some of the perspectives and approaches that New Zealand scientists take to internationally well recognised cognitive topics. It also indicates more unique themes that are investigated reliant on the Australasian context. In particular, the book is meant to integrate studies in the technical field of perception, the interfaces between cognition and language (psycholinguistics, psychology of communication), and cognitive-developmental studies - three domains that become increasingly salient in New Zealand cognitive science.

The last decade has seen a major growth in research on how memory is used in everyday life. This volume represents a reaction to traditional laboratory-bound studies of the first half of the century which sought to identify the fundamental principles of learning and memory through the use of materials and methods totally divorced from the real world. The new wave of memory research has had considerable success in charting how memory develops, the role it plays in educational and social skills and the impact of memory impairment on mental life. The current volume consists of authoritative reviews of this emerging area linked to comment and criticism from major researchers in the field.

Contrasted, probably for the first time, are two major styles of research in applied memory research: The "naturalistic approach," which has sought to study memory in everyday environments, using actual experiences from people's lives as the raw data from which to derive more general principles, and the "applied cognitive approach," whereby theories and methods are developed using orthodox laboratory techniques which are then validated by applying them directly to real phenomena. This is one of the few books to bring together evidence across the very wide spectrum of humdrum activity that constitutes the everyday uses of memory.

Time, it has been said, is the enemy. In an era of harried lives, time seems increasingly precious as hours and days telescope and our lives often seem to be flitting past. And yet, at other times, the minutes drag on, each tick of the clock excruciatingly drawn out. What explains this seeming paradox? Based upon a full decade's empirical research, Michael G. Flaherty's new book offers remarkable insights on this most universal human experience. Flaherty surveys hundreds of individuals of all ages in an attempt to ascertain how such phenomena as suffering, violence, danger, boredom, exhilaration, concentration, shock, and novelty influence our perception of time. Their stories make for intriguing reading, by turns familiar and exotic, mundane and dramatic, horrific and funny. A qualitative and quantitative tour de force, A Watched Pot presents what may well be the first fully integrated theory of time and will be of interest to scientists, humanists, social scientists and the educated public alike. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book.

This book offers a new approach to film studies by showing how our brains use our interpretations of various other films in order to understand Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Borrowing from behavioral psychology, cognitive science and philosophy, author Robert J. Belton seeks to explain differences of critical opinion as inevitable. The book begins by introducing the hermeneutic spiral, a cognitive processing model that categorizes responses to Vertigo's meaning, ranging from wide consensus to wild speculations of critical "outliers." Belton then provides an overview of the film, arguing that different interpreters literally see and attend to different things. The fourth chapter builds on this conclusion, arguing that because people see different things, one can force the production of new meanings by deliberately drawing attention to unusual comparisons. The latter chapters outline a number of such comparisons-including avant-garde films and the works of Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch-to shed new light on the meanings of Vertigo.

Historical analysis reveals that perceptual theories and models are doomed to relatively short lives. The most popular contemporary theories in perceptual science do not have as wide an acceptance among researchers as do some of those in other sciences. To understand these difficulties, the authors of the present volume explore the conceptual and philosophical foundations of perceptual science. Based on logical analyses of various problems, theories, and models, they offer a number of reasons for the current weakness of perceptual explanations. New theoretical approaches are also proposed. At the end of each chapter, dicussants contribute to the conclusions by critically examining the authors' ideas and analyses.

In these accelerated times, our decisive and businesslike ways of thinking are unprepared for ambiguity, paradox, and sleeping on it." We assume that the quick-thinking "hare brain" will beat out the slower Intuition of the "tortoise mind." However, now research in cognitive science is changing this understanding of the human mind. It suggests that patience and confusion--rather than rigor and certainty--are the essential precursors of wisdom.

With a compelling argument that the mind works best when we trust our unconscious, or "undermind," psychologist Guy Claxton makes an appeal that we be less analytical and let our creativity have free rein. He also encourages reevaluation of society's obsession with results-oriented thinking and problem-solving under pressure. Packed with Interesting anecdotes, a dozen puzzles to test your reasoning, and the latest related research, Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind is an Illuminating, uplifting, stimulating read that focuses on a new kind of well-being and cognition.

This book provides a scholarly yet accessible approach to critical psychology, specifically discussing therapeutic practices that are possible outside of the mainstream psychology industry. While there are many books that deconstruct or dismantle clinical psychology, few provide a compendium of potential alternatives to mainstream practice. Focusing on five main themes in reference to this objective: suffering, decolonization, dialogue, feminism and the arts, these pages explore types of personal inquiry, cultural knowledge or community action that might help explain and heal psychological pain beyond the confines of the therapy room. Chapters focus on the role of cultural knowledge, including spiritual traditions, relational being, art, poetry, feminism and indigenous systems in promoting healing and on community-based-initiatives, including open dialogue, justice-based collaboration and social prescribing. Beyond the Psychology Industry will be of interest to researchers, clinical psychologists, therapists, academics in mental health, and cultural psychologists.

What explains our ability to refer to the objects we perceive? John Cambell argues that our capacity for reference is explained by our capacity to attend selectively to the objects of which we are aware; that this capacity for conscious attention to a perceived object is what provides us with our knowledge of reference. When someone makes a reference to a perceived object, your knowledge of which thing they are talking about is constituted by your consciously attending to the relevant object. Campbell articulates the connections between these three concepts: reference, attention, and consciousness. He looks at the metaphysical conception of the environment demanded by such an account, and at the demands imposed on our conception of consciousness by the point that consciousness of objects is what explains our capacity to think about them. He argues that empirical work on the binding problem can illuminate our grasp of the way in which we have knowledge of reference, supplied by conscious attention to the relevant object.
Reference and Consciousness illuminates fundamental problems about thought, reference, and experience by looking at the underlying psychological mechanisms on which conscious attention depends. It is an original and stimulating contribution to philosophy and cognitive science.

In this revolutionary work, the author sets the stage for the science of
the 21st Century, pursuing an unprecedented synthesis of fields previously
considered unrelated. Beginning with simple classical concepts, he ends
with a complex multidisciplinary theory requiring a high level of
abstraction. The work progresses across the sciences in several
multidisciplinary directions: Mathematical logic, fundamental physics,
computer science and the theory of intelligence. Extraordinarily enough,
the author breaks new ground in all these fields.

In the field of
fundamental physics the author reaches the revolutionary conclusion that
physics can be viewed and studied as logic in a fundamental sense, as
compared with Einstein's view of physics as space-time geometry. This opens
new, exciting prospects for the study of fundamental interactions. A
formulation of logic in terms of matrix operators and logic vector spaces
allows the author to tackle for the first time the intractable problem of
cognition in a scientific manner. In the same way as the findings of
Heisenberg and Dirac in the 1930s provided a conceptual and mathematical
foundation for quantum physics, matrix operator logic supports an important
breakthrough in the study of the physics of the mind, which is interpreted
as a fractal of quantum mechanics. Introducing a concept of logic quantum
numbers, the author concludes that the problem of logic and the
intelligence code in general can be effectively formulated as eigenvalue
problems similar to those of theoretical physics. With this important leap
forward in the study of the mechanism of mind, the author concludes that
the latter cannot be fully understood either within classical or quantum
notions. A higher-order covariant theory is required to accommodate the
fundamental effect of high-level intelligence. The landmark results
obtained by the author will have implications and repercussions for the
very foundations of science as a whole. Moreover, Stern's Matrix Logic is
suitable for a broad spectrum of practical applications in contemporary
technologies.

This collection weitten by leading figures in cognitive science includes their lively debates with Dartnall about his call for a new epistemology, an alternative to the standard representational story in cognitive science. Dartnall aims to show that new epistemology is already with us in some leading-edge models of human creativity. Such an epistemology steers a middle road between the representationism of classical cognitive science and a radical anti-representationism that denies the existence or importance of representations.

Dartnall, who debates contributors at each chapter's end, believes that creativity inheres--not only in big ticket items such as plays, poems, or sonatas--but in our ability to produce cognitive content at all, so that representations are the creative products of our knowledge, rather than its passive carriers.

This open access book investigates the inter-relationship between the mind and a potential opportunity to explore the psychology of entrepreneurship. Building on recent research, this book offers a broad scope investigation of the different aspects of what goes on in the mind of the (potential) entrepreneur as he or she considers the pursuit of a potential opportunity, the creation of a new organization, and/or the selection of an entrepreneurial career. This book focuses on individuals as the level of analysis and explores the impact of the organization and the environment only inasmuch as they impact the individual's cognitions. Readers will learn why some individuals and managers are able to able to identify and successfully act upon opportunities in uncertain environments while others are not. This book applies a cognitive lens to understand individuals' knowledge, motivation, attention, identity, and emotions in the entrepreneurial process.

The book illustrates how the human ability to adapt to the environment and interact with it can explain our linguistic representation of the world as constrained by our bodies and sensory perception. The different chapters discuss philosophical, scientific, and linguistic perspectives on embodiment and body perception, highlighting the core mechanisms humans employ to acquire knowledge of reality. These processes are based on sensory experience and interaction through communication.

In an evaluation of the strengths and limitations of artificial intelligence in a number of intellectual domains, Wagman draws comparisons with human cognitive ability in those domains, and assesses its role as a theoretical model, as a collaborator, or as a competitor of the human mind. This book distinguishes itself in its structured and detailed account of advancing intellectual developments in the science of artificial intelligence as opposed to a highly technical or vague philosophical treatment of the topic.

Consciousness and the relation between mind and brain are topics of contentious debate, and increasing interest amongst both academics and students of psychology. In this text, Lancaster takes a refreshingly balanced look at consciousness, bringing in approaches from neuroscience, cognitive science, depth psychology, philosophy and mysticism. With a distinctive "transpersonal" orientation, this text will be an invaluable authoritative overview of this subject, integrating scholarship and research from diverse areas.

This book advances our theoretical understanding of the human experience. By overcoming dualities such as the relationship between reflection and action, it allows a more in-depth analysis of how concepts constitute complementary parts of the complex human thinking to be developed. Presenting texts written by leading philosophers and psychologists, it provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of theoretical elaboration, which is then used to discuss the place and value of reflection in moral and epistemic scenes. These topics are accessible to experts and young scholars in the field alike, and offer scope for further reflections that could improve our understanding beyond the existing models and "-isms". The novelty of the book is in the dialogue established between several perspectives (e.g. philosophers and psychologists; Europe, America and Asia; etc.). The contributions of philosophers and psychologists establish a fruitful dialogue, so that readers realize that disciplinary divisions are overcome through dialogue and the common object of inquiry: the way human beings reflect and act in their everyday experiences.

Belief change lies at the heart of all human aspirations. From career progression, weight loss, spiritual commitment, and ideological passion, to love, grief, war, identity, and sport, beliefs guide our lives and to a great extent, determine our success, satisfaction and happiness. Cognitive Mechanisms of Belief Change is relevant to anyone interested in the machinations of how this occurs. It explains how certain ideas and concepts steal a place in the mind because they latch on to hardwired ways of thinking, experiencing, and behaving. Concepts throw light upon the mind's desires, which in turn casts a kaleidoscope of silhouettes against the walls of thought, with those taking distinct shape forging the outlines for beliefs to inhabit. Beliefs infiltrate our minds, and this book shows how they arrive and change in ways critical to our sense of meaning and identity.

Graphic displays such as charts, graphs, diagrams, and maps play in important role today in the design and presentation of instructional materials education. There is also a strong need in scientific, technical and administrative fields to visually present facts, laws, principles etc. The increasing use of computer-based learning environments has also become an important field where the visual presentation of information plays a central role. Despite the importance of graphical displays as a means of communication and the fact that research about learning and cognition has advanced rapidly in the past two decades, the comprehension of graphics is still a rather unexplored area.

The comprehension of graphics is not only a stimulating topic in the fields of science and instructional psychology, but also in related disciplines such as semiotics, and artificial intelligence. Research on the comprehension of graphics complements the scientific investigation of cognitive processes in text comprehension, which has contributed much to our understanding of human cognition and learning. Ultimately, a better understanding of the cognitive processes involved in the comprehension of graphics will have an impact not only on cognitive theory, but also on educational practice.

Wildly arrogant, stunningly bombastic, and undeniably fascinating. This 1901 work-the masterpiece of an eclectic genius whose life encompassed medical science, mystical transcendence, and prospecting for gold-posits a higher form of sentience that only a few humans have ever achieved, among them Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Dante, William Blake, and the author himself, of course. As Bucke shares his metaphysical experience of the "cosmic consciousness" and offers evidence for the few instances in history of its occurrence ("it may as well be frankly stated at once that the view of the present editor is that Francis Bacon wrote the 'Shakespeare' plays and poems"), the reader may well be moved to throw this bizarre and highly intriguing book furiously across the room... if the reader can put it down at all, that is. Canadian mystic and doctor RICHARD MAURICE BUCKE (1837-1902) was a pioneer in the medical treatment of mental illness; his famous friendship with Walt Whitman was the subject of the 1992 movie Beautiful Dreamers. He also wrote Man's Moral Nature (1879) and an 1883 authorized biography of Whitman.

Thanks to the enormous progress of neuroscience over the past few decades, we can now monitor the passage of initial stimulations to certain points in the brain. In spite of these findings, however, subjective consciousness still remains an unsolved mystery. This volume exposes neuroscience and cognitive science to philosophical analysis and proposes that we think of our conscious states of mind as a composite phenomenon consisting of three layers: neuronal events, somatic markers, and explicit consciousness. While physics and chemistry can and have been successfully employed to describe the causal relation between the first two layers, the further step to articulate consciousness is purely interpretative and points to the preponderant importance of language.

Language is essential for the transformation of inchoate, not very informative somatic markers and mere moods into full consciousness and appraised emotion. Munz uses literary examples to shift our understanding of the mind away from computational models and to show how eloquence about our states of mind is manufactured rather than caused. He firmly rejects the efforts of both Freud and non-Freudian psychologists to find a scientific explanation for such manufacture and to make a science out of the eloquence of folk psychology. Instead he argues that the many ways eloquence is being manufactured to transform somatic markers into conscious states of mind are best accounted for in terms of Wittgenstein's conception of language games. This volume challenges most current thinking about consciousness and mind and will appeal to philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, and linguists.