The Neuroscience of Meditation: Understanding Individual Differences explores the individual differences in learning and practicing meditation, while also providing insights on how to learn and practice effectively. The book comprehensively covers the research in brain areas and networks that mediate the positive effects of meditation upon physical and mental health. Though it examines how people differ in how they learn and practice meditation, it underscores how underlying mechanisms differ in learning and practicing meditation and how they remain unclear to researchers. This book addresses the research gap and explores the brain science behind meditation.

The goal of this book is to persuade students of animal learning that cognitive theorizing is essential for an understanding of the phenomena revealed by conditioning experiments. The authors also hope to persuade the cognitive psychology community that conditioning phenomena offer such a strong empirical foundation for a rigorous brand of cognitive psychology that the study of animal learning should reclaim a more central place in the field of psychology.

In a critical analysis of the asumptions underlying experimental psychology, Pertti Saariluoma urges social scientists to reflect upon their procedures and methodology. He has revisited the philosophy of science to find a new way of applying its methods to psychology. Foundational Analysis shows how it is possible to analyze existing methodological arguments and find loopholes in them, and raises new issues for the rationale behind empirical technique. It will be of interest to researchers and students in cognitive science and other social sciences, and the philosophy of science.

This volume provides a primarily nontechnical summary of experimental and theoretical work conducted over the course of 35 years which resulted in a developmental framework capable of integrating causal influences at the genetic, neural, behavioral, and ecological levels of analysis. It describes novel solutions to the nature-nurture problem at both the empirical and theoretical levels. Following field observations, laboratory experiments led to the discovery of the nonobvious prenatal experiential basis of instinctive behavior in two species--ground-nesting mallard ducklings and hole-nesting wood ducklings. This work also describes the experiences that lead to the rigid canalization of behavioral development as well as the social and sensory experiences that favor the continuance of flexibility. The author also describes in detail a developmental psychobiological systems view that supports a behaviorally and psychologically mediated pathway to evolutionary change in humans and other species. Written in a way that is readable to even the nonspecialist, the text is accompanied by numerous photographs that illuminate and add personal meaning to the written words. Readers will be engaged by the emphasis on the human aspect of the scientific enterprise.

If you aren't using the term "naturalistic decision making, " or NDM, you soon will be. Even as a very young field, NDM has already had far-reaching applications in areas as diverse as management, aviation, health care, nuclear power, military command and control, corporate teamwork, and manufacturing.
Put simply, NDM is the way people use their experience to make decisions in the context of a job or task. Of particular interest to NDM researchers are the effects of high-stake consequences, shifting goals, incomplete information, time pressure, uncertainty, and other conditions that are present in most of today's work places and that add to the complexity of decision making. Applications of NDM research findings target decision aids and training that help people in their decision-making processes.
This book reports the findings of top NDM researchers, as well as many of their current applications. In addition, the book offers a historical perspective on the emergence of this new paradigm, describes recent theoretical and methodological advancements, and points to future developments. It was written for people interested in decision making research and applications relative to a diverse array of work settings and products such as human-computer interfaces, decision support systems, individual and team training, product designs, and organizational development and planning.

If you aren't using the term "naturalistic decision making, " or NDM, you soon will be. Even as a very young field, NDM has already had far-reaching applications in areas as diverse as management, aviation, health care, nuclear power, military command and control, corporate teamwork, and manufacturing.
Put simply, NDM is the way people use their experience to make decisions in the context of a job or task. Of particular interest to NDM researchers are the effects of high-stake consequences, shifting goals, incomplete information, time pressure, uncertainty, and other conditions that are present in most of today's work places and that add to the complexity of decision making. Applications of NDM research findings target decision aids and training that help people in their decision-making processes.
This book reports the findings of top NDM researchers, as well as many of their current applications. In addition, the book offers a historical perspective on the emergence of this new paradigm, describes recent theoretical and methodological advancements, and points to future developments. It was written for people interested in decision making research and applications relative to a diverse array of work settings and products such as human-computer interfaces, decision support systems, individual and team training, product designs, and organizational development and planning.

Why do police officers, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others with an interest in eliciting accurate memory-based testimony need to inform themselves of the research literature in experimental psychology that addresses the question of witness memory? The answer is straightforward, from the perspective of a simple cost/benefit analysis. As with so many matters in the administration of public funds, effectiveness holds important rewards. Those who investigate crimes and decide which line of investigation to pursue and which line to postpone or set aside, necessarily make judgments about the likely guilt of suspects based on the information at hand. If they can make these judgments with a high degree of accuracy, everyone benefits.
For many cases eyewitness identification is an important component of evidence, prosecution, and plea negotiation. If witness identification is correctly implemented, investigators and prosecutors can make their judgments effectively, and focus their resources more efficiently. A major component of effectiveness requires avoiding expending scarce resources on erroneous prosecutions. It is in everyone's interest to make the best use of the memory of witnesses: to preserve it without changing it; to render it maximally accessible; to provide an environment in which witnesses feel free to report their recollections; and to accurately assess the probable validity of the witness's report, regardless of the witness's certainty or doubts about its accuracy.
This volume gathers evidence from various research domains on eyewitness testimony. Although many of the studies discussed deal with eyewitness identification, it is noteworthy that many of them also touch upon other areas of concern to eyewitness researchers, including chapters on:
*voice recognition by humans and computers, with particularly detailed instructions on conducting voice "lineup,"
*differential aspects of recognition memory in children,
*elderly eyewitness' memory,
*problems of cross-racial identification,
*psychological aspects of facial image reconstruction techniques,
*person descriptions,
*particular benefits of reinstating context as a means to improve eyewitness memory,
*problems associated with various research paradigms in the eyewitness arena, and
*recommendations on how to conduct lineups and photospreads and their proper evaluation.
Differentiated from other literature on this topic by its non-technical language and accessibility to non-professionals, this volume covers a great deal of ground, raises a host of questions, settles some others, and points the way to more effective use and evaluation of what eyewitnesses have to say.

Why do police officers, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others with an interest in eliciting accurate memory-based testimony need to inform themselves of the research literature in experimental psychology that addresses the question of witness memory? The answer is straightforward, from the perspective of a simple cost/benefit analysis. As with so many matters in the administration of public funds, effectiveness holds important rewards. Those who investigate crimes and decide which line of investigation to pursue and which line to postpone or set aside, necessarily make judgments about the likely guilt of suspects based on the information at hand. If they can make these judgments with a high degree of accuracy, everyone benefits.
For many cases eyewitness identification is an important component of evidence, prosecution, and plea negotiation. If witness identification is correctly implemented, investigators and prosecutors can make their judgments effectively, and focus their resources more efficiently. A major component of effectiveness requires avoiding expending scarce resources on erroneous prosecutions. It is in everyone's interest to make the best use of the memory of witnesses: to preserve it without changing it; to render it maximally accessible; to provide an environment in which witnesses feel free to report their recollections; and to accurately assess the probable validity of the witness's report, regardless of the witness's certainty or doubts about its accuracy.
This volume gathers evidence from various research domains on eyewitness testimony. Although many of the studies discussed deal with eyewitness identification, it is noteworthy that many of them also touch upon other areas of concern to eyewitness researchers, including chapters on:
*voice recognition by humans and computers, with particularly detailed instructions on conducting voice "lineup,"
*differential aspects of recognition memory in children,
*elderly eyewitness' memory,
*problems of cross-racial identification,
*psychological aspects of facial image reconstruction techniques,
*person descriptions,
*particular benefits of reinstating context as a means to improve eyewitness memory,
*problems associated with various research paradigms in the eyewitness arena, and
*recommendations on how to conduct lineups and photospreads and their proper evaluation.
Differentiated from other literature on this topic by its non-technical language and accessibility to non-professionals, this volume covers a great deal of ground, raises a host of questions, settles some others, and points the way to more effective use and evaluation of what eyewitnesses have to say.

This text focuses on the experimental methods and the associated terminology encountered in the research literature of psychology. Initially, the content is kept simple, so as not to distract from the information on research technique and philosophy. Interesting psychological questions from well researched areas are then examined in detail, permitting a fuller discussion of the problems encountered in specific paradigms. It is in this fashion that the book offers both methods and content.
Unique features of this text include:
* a detailed discussion of the process of theorizing, coupled with a close examination of psychological constructs, offers the reader an opportunity to see how psychologists think about, develop, and modify their theories, and the part played by research in changing explanations of behavior.
* Although it is common for psychologists to be self-conscious in their reasoning, it is uncommon to see an analysis of the logic that they use to draw conclusions. Presenting material that is rarely verbalized but readily acknowledged by experienced researchers, the text contains an overt analysis of the logic of drawing conclusions from research.
* Instructors are given a choice among 15 chapters to focus on or combine to suit the course's concentration. For example, instructors have the option of focusing on experimental psychology or a broad-based course including material on research methods in experimental, social, clinical, and applied psychology.
* Courses in experimental psychology or research methods are required for every psychology major. Statistical understanding is vital for this curriculum, and this text contains a comprehensive chapter on statistics making it ideal for courses that combine statistics and experimental methods.
Other important coverage includes:
* an all-inclusive summary of the material found in an introductory statistics class. Although courses in research methods and experimental psychology usually have a statistics prerequisite, the students rarely remember the material when entering the research course. This text provides the instructor with the option of simply assigning the statistics information as a review, rather than repeating the lectures. If the course requirements are such as to necessitate a joint statistics and research methods course -- with the instructor lecturing on both topics -- this text could serve as the single text for the course. A helpful discussion -- accompanied by a valuable table -- demonstrates how to choose an appropriate statistic. All necessary formulas and other familiar statistical procedures -- illustrating computational steps -- are also featured.
* a detailed discussion of how to develop tests for use in research. Aside from the value of this information for any researcher, it can be particularly helpful to students who are required to develop original experiments.
* an elaborate discussion of methodological issues in outcome research, using smoking cessation and weight reduction programs as examples.
Test bank disks for "Experimental Methods in Psychology, " -- free to adopters -- consist of an average of six short-answer, 11 fill-in-the-blank, and 11 multiple-choice questions for each chapter. The files are in both ASCII and Word-for-Windows formats.

Nonlinear Psychophysical Dynamics utilizes new results in systems theory as a foundation for representing sensory channels as a form of recursive loop processes. It demonstrates that a range of phenomena, previously treated as diverse or anomalous, are more readily seen as related and as the natural consequence of self-regulation and nonlinearity. Some cases with appropriate data analysis are reviewed.

Psychophysics is a lively account by one of experimental psychology's seminal figures of his lifelong scientific quest for general laws governing human behavior. It is a landmark work that captures the fundamental themes of Steven's experimental research and his vision of what psychophysics and psychology are and can be. The context of this modern classic is detailed by Lawrence Mark's pungent and highly revealing introduction. The search for a general psychophysical law-a mathematical equation relating sensation to stimulus-pervades this work, first published in 1975. Stevens covers methods of measuring human psychophysical behavior; magnitude estimation, magnitude production, and cross-modality matching are used to examine sensory mechanisms, perceptual processes, and social consensus. The wisdom in this volume lies in its exposition of an approach that can apply generally to the study of human behavior.

First published in English in 1969, the book opens with a chapter by Pierre Oleron on intellectual activities. These fall into three groups: inductive activities (the apprehension of laws, relations and concepts), reasoning and problem solving. It describes typical methods and essential results obtained by relevant experiments. There are two chapters by Jean Piaget and his collaborator Barbel Inhelder. The first, on mental images, breaks new ground: it describes original experiments carried out by Piaget and associates with children of various ages. Piaget examines the relations between images and motor activity, imitation, drawing and operations. He also classifies images according to their degree of complexity and show why children have inadequate images of some processes. The second chapter is on intellectual operations and Piaget gives a summary of the main findings of a number of his earlier books, on the child's notions of conservation, classification, seriation, number, measurement, time, speed and chance. In the last chapter, Pierre Greco discusses learning and intellectual structures. He describes the work of psychologists with rats in mazes and formulating theories of animal learning. Gestalt psychology and various other interpretations are examined and Greco also pays attention to Piaget's view of 'structural learning' based on experience.

This monograph brings together important research that the author and his colleagues at the University of New England have been conducting into the early stages of reading development, and makes a valuable contribution to the debate about literacy education. It should appeal to a broad audience since it is written in an entertaining and accessible style, with chapter summaries, and where appropriate short tutorials in relevant topics, in particular Learnability Theory (Chapter 1), levels of language structure (Chapter 2) and writing systems (Chapter 2). It will be of interest to experimental psychologists concerned with the reading process, developmental psychologists interested in cognitive growth, educational psychologists interested in the application of experimental methods in the classroom situation, and teachers and teacher educators.

Based on Estes' important Fitts Lectures, this volume details a set of psychological concepts and principles that offers a unified interpretation of a wide variety of memory, categorization, and decision-making phenomena. These phenomena are explained via two families of models established by the author: a storage-retrieval model and an adaptive network model. Estes considers whether the models are competing or complementary, offering cogent and instructive arguments for both perspectives. Estes' theory is then applied to two large-scale series of studies on category learning and recognition, providing an integrated understanding of seemingly disparate phenomena. This book is the culmination of the author's more than ten years of research in the field, and stands as a great achievement by one of this century's eminent psychologists. It will be indispensable to a wide variety of behavioral scientists, including mathematical and cognitive psychologists.

First published in English 1968, in this volume Paul Fraisse begins with history, looking at the evolution of experimental psychology, starting with its origins. He then moves on to the establishment of experimental psychology around the world. In the second chapter he discusses the experimental method. In the third chapter Jean Piaget tackles the questions of explanation and parallelism and their problems within experimental psychology. The final chapter by Maurice Reuchlin goes on to discuss measurement in psychology looking at various scales with their experimental conditions and numerical properties.

Advances in Experimental Philosophy of Free Will and Responsibility brings together leading researchers from psychology and philosophy to present new findings and ideas about human agency and moral responsibility. Their contributions reflect the growth of research in these areas over the past decade and highlight both the ways that philosophy can be relevant to empirical research and how empirical work can be relevant to philosophical investigations. Mixing new empirical work with the meta-philosophical and philosophical upshot of the latest research being done, chapters cover motivated cognition and free will beliefs, folk intuitions about manipulation and agency, mental control in assessments of responsibility, the importance of skilled decision making to free will judgments and the relationship between free will and substance dualism. Blending cutting-edge research from philosophy with methods from psychology, this collection is a compelling example of the value of interdisciplinary approaches, contributing to our understanding of the complex networks of attitudes, beliefs, and judgments that inform how we think about agency and responsibility.

"This book is the fruit of Alex Shepherd's remarkable teaching experience in one of the most prestigious universities in the world. This publication will certainly become the main reference for science students at BSc, MSc and PhD levels." Roberto Filippi, PhD, University College London "I highly recommend this book as essential reading for psychology students at all levels from undergraduate to PhD. It provides a friendly and engaging guide to developing critical evaluation skills through the use of clear and accessible examples that capture the reader's interest." Dr Elisa Lewis, Senior Lecturer, London South Bank University "Alex Shepherd offers an accessible forensic filleting of published research articles, with helpful how-to guides showing what questions to ask and (more importantly) what the answers mean." Gina Rippon, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Neuroimaging, Author of The Gendered Brain If something is published, does that mean it's true? Critical Analysis in Experimental Psychology encourages the critical reading and analysis of psychological research reports and shows how design principles and statistics are applied. A.J. Shephard empowers you to read between the lines of any published study and draw your own conclusions. Using synopses of published research articles as examples, the book shows how to work out if summary claims made by authors or the media accurately reflect an experiment's real findings. Through guided analysis of both quantitative and qualitative real-world research, you will learn to: *Review research articles comprehensively and critically *Understand the rationale, logic, and purpose of an article *Identify the hypotheses (whether stated or unstated) *Describe and assess the suitability of the research methods used *Analyse the implied interpretation of the results, *Become an active - rather than a passive - reader of scientific articles. This book gives new insight into published research articles, helping you feel less like a student and more like a researcher. The critical skills learned will help you to navigate through the confusing science messages we are exposed to through all types of media. Dr A.J. Shepherd has over 20 years of experience teaching Critical Analysis. She is a Reader in Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, UK and since 2004 she has run the third year Critical Analysis course, which she also designed.

Over the last decade, there has been a revolution in our understanding of the physiological role of the cochlea (the inner ear), and the mechanisms of cochlear hearing loss, the most common type in adults, which results in distortions in sound perception. This is the first book to cover the topic; aimed at students and researchers in auditory rehabilitation and its technology, it explains the nature of hearing distortion and relates them to the underlying physiological mechanisms. It provides a theoretical framework for understanding the changes that follow cochlear damage which had important implications not only for theories of normal perception but also the design of signal processing hearing aids.

Sadness is an inevitable part of life, but for most people it will usually alternate or coexist with happy times. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is a mental disorder that causes torment and anguish. It has no moments of relief. It unhinges us from everything we thought we knew about the world and makes us strangers to those we love. It is the predominant mental-health problem worldwide, affecting more than 250 million people. More than a fifth of the population of the UK report symptoms of depression or anxiety. Yet how much do we really know of the condition and of ways to treat it?

In MENDING THE MIND, Oliver Kamm recounts what it's like to be mentally ill with severe depression, and he details the route by which, with professional help, he was able to make a full recovery. His experience prompted him to find out all he could about a condition that has afflicted humanity throughout recorded history. He explains the progress of science in understanding depression, and the insights into the condition that have been provided by writers and artists through the ages. His message is hopeful: though depression is a real and devastating illness, the mind and its disorders are yielding to scientific inquiry, and effective psychological, psychiatric and pharmacological treatments are already available. Candid, revelatory and deeply versed in current scientific research, MENDING THE MIND sets out in plain language how the scourge of clinical depression can be countered and may eventually be overcome.

This book is a collection of Leea (TM)s most important works, placed in a historical setting and contextualized through the commentaries of other leading researchers in the field. The contributors were selected on the basis of their standing in the field. Some have been directly involved in collaborations with Lee, while others have participated in public discussions on particular controversies. All contributors know David Lee well as a researcher and scholar, and some know him on a more personal levela "as a student, supervisor, mentor, or friend. It is this mixture of involvements with David Lee and his writings that yields a unique exchange of ideas on the origins of movement. Closing the Gap: The Scientific Writings of David N. Lee is an invaluable resource for academics and postgraduate students studying perceptuo-motor control.

This book is a collection of Leea (TM)s most important works, placed in a historical setting and contextualized through the commentaries of other leading researchers in the field. The contributors were selected on the basis of their standing in the field. Some have been directly involved in collaborations with Lee, while others have participated in public discussions on particular controversies. All contributors know David Lee well as a researcher and scholar, and some know him on a more personal levela "as a student, supervisor, mentor, or friend. It is this mixture of involvements with David Lee and his writings that yields a unique exchange of ideas on the origins of movement. Closing the Gap: The Scientific Writings of David N. Lee is an invaluable resource for academics and postgraduate students studying perceptuo-motor control.

A cognitive psychology which becomes increasingly specialized requires a special effort in order to avoid a fragmentation into several controversial issues that are independently discussed but also inherently related. Rather than asking additional differentiated questions which are then investigated by more specialized experimental methods and designs, this book promotes unified theories and a levels approach for their experimental evaluation. Within this cognitive science approach and on the basis of the most foundational assumptions of Kintsch's construction integration theory, a computational theory of knowledge acquisition is then developed and subsequently evaluated by psychological experiments.
For forty years, computer simulation techniques and experimental psychology research have greatly matured the understanding of human knowledge and its acquisition in different learning environments. This volume critically assesses the advantages and limitations of these approaches and then develops an integrated research methodology. It goes on to provide significant progress concerning the following questions:
* What are the most promising research methodologies for investigating human cognition?
* How can the experimental psychology research on text comprehension, concept formation, and memory become more closely related to one another when the very specialized research paradigms and the highly specific scientific controversies promote their separation and independent discussion?
* How can a general comprehension-based theory bridge the gap between simple experimental settings and the real-life situations that occur in education and work environments?
This book demonstrates how experimental psychology can proceed more successfully by investigating those aspects that are shared among different areas of research like text comprehension, categorization, and learning by exploration. It also shows how unified theories can assist in applying experimental psychology and cognitive science results to areas such as intelligent tutoring systems, instructional design, and the development of expert systems in complex real world domains.

"Winnicott" and "sex" are two subjects that are rarely associated with one another. Sexuality is not a prominent theme within the work of Winnicott, who preferred to concentrate on the development of the self from infancy. However, his writings contain unexplored insights into sexuality and it is these hidden insights that prompted Lesley Caldwell to invite papers from leading analysts to expand upon them.This collection provides a fresh and innovative look at the work of Winnicott and into sexuality, in particular infantile sexuality. The unusual link of Winnicott to Freud and to psychoanalysis located in the drives encourages a different perspective into British psychoanalysis. Other diverse themes include a historical examination of Winnicott through the British Society; an exploration of the similarities between Laplanche and Winnicott; a parallel reading of Winnicott's paper on transitional objects and transitional phenomena and Donne's "The Good Morrow"; linking Rilke through his poem "Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes" to Winnicott; the use of Winnicott's work in the treatment of sexual dysfunction; and the interrelation between sexuality and play.The sixth volume in the Winnicott Studies Monograph series, these papers will appeal to all practicing psychoanalysts and will open a new perspective on D.W. Winnicott.Contributors: Mario Bertolini, Lesley Caldwell, Andreas Giannakoulas, Andre Green, Joyce McDougall, Francesca Neri, Adam Phillips, Helen Taylor Robinson, Dominique Scarfone, and Maggie Schaedel