How can we objectively define categories of truth in scientific thinking? How can we reliably measure the results of research? In this ground-breaking text, Dienes undertakes a comprehensive historical analysis of the dominant schools of thought, key theories and influential thinkers that have progressed the foundational principles and characteristics that typify scientific research methodology today. This book delivers a masterfully simple, 'though not simplistic', introduction to the core arguments surrounding Popper, Kuhn and Lakatos, Fisher and Royall, Neyman and Pearson and Bayes. Subsequently, this book clarifies the prevalent misconceptions that surround such theoretical perspectives in psychology today, providing an especially accessible critique for student readers. This book launches an informative inquiry into the methods by which psychologists throughout history have arrived at the conclusions of research, equipping readers with the knowledge to accurately design and evaluate their own research and gain confidence in critiquing results in psychology research. Particular attention is given to understanding methods of measuring the falsifiability of statements, probabilities and the differing views on statistical inference. An illuminating book for any undergraduate psychology student taking courses in critical thinking, research methods, BPS's core area 'conceptual and historical issues' as well as those studying masters, phd's and experienced researchers.

* Benchmarking cost-benefit analysis and testing impinge on every area of society* Important tool for business, educators, policy makers, planners and researchersWritten for nonprofessionals and professionals alike who wish to master the reading and critiquing of policy and program evaluation, "Evaluation in Practice" is packed with practical guidelines and useful examples. The book covers approaches to outcome evaluations, measurement, threats to internal validity, performance measurement, and benchmarking. It also introduces the basic experimental and quasi-experimental designs supported by an article that uses each design, and offers an explanation and critique of how the authors implemented the design. Primarily written for readers with a social science background the examples and articles in the book are taken from a variety of fields to illustrate the commonality of evaluation. Program and policy analysts, research directors, and assistant city managers will find the explanations and critiques of published evaluations particularly valuable.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger: every generation has unforgettable events, the shared memory of which can create fleeting intimacy among strangers. These public memories, combined with poignant personal moments--the first day of college, a baseball game with one's father, praise from a mentor--are the critical shaping events of individual lives. Although experimental memory studies have long been part of empirical psychology, and psychotherapy has focused on repressed or traumatizing memories, relatively little attention has been paid to the inspiring, touching, amusing, or revealing moments that highlight most lives. What makes something unforgettable? How do we learn to share the significance of memories? David Pillemer's research, brought together in this gracefully written book, extends the current study of narrative and specific memory. Drawing on a variety of evidence and methods--cognitive and developmental psychology, cross-cultural study, psychotherapy case studies, autobiographies and diaries--Pillemer elaborates on five themes: the function of memory; how children learn to construct and share personal memories; memory as a complex interactive system of image, emotion, and narrative; individual and group differences in memory function and performance; and how unique events linger in memory and influence lives. A provocative last chapter, full of striking examples, considers potential variations in memory across gender, culture, and personality. Momentous Events, Vivid Memories is itself a compelling and memorable book.

"I think David C. Edwards does a very good job of covering the material. The writing style is consistently clear, direct and interesting. Research findings are clearly presented and clearly explained."

--Ronald R. Ulm, Salisbury State University

How do culture and other people affect our eating habits? Is love "natural" to humans? Is anger always at the root of aggressive behaviors? Aimed at unraveling the mysteries of human motivation and emotion, author David C. Edwards explores the evolutionary, physiological, social, and cognitive factors that shape each motivational behavior from anger to sex to work and play. Topically organized, Edwards provides readers with the best of contemporary findings in each motivational behavior and summarizes how past research in the field contributed to current thought. To facilitate the reader?s comprehension of the material, each chapter begins with a concise overview statement and ends with a personal summary. Within the chapter, the author highlights material of special importance and concludes major sections with a summary. Each chapter ends with a set of questions that will help a student reader prepare for an exam.

The question of memory recovery is now more important than ever with the controversy over delayed recall and false memory having spilled over from psychology to the courts and the public media. The Recovery of Unconscious Memories provides a comprehensive scientific treatment of a century of research that integrates for the first time the findings of the clinic and the laboratory. Included are authoritative treatments of hypnotic hypermnesia, free association and forced recall, the recovery of subliminal stimuli in dreams and fantasy, electrical recall, recovery of sensory-motor skills (also symptoms or "sick skills"), and modern mathematical decision theory analyses of true and false memories. Erdelyi's own ground-breaking research is presented, including his recent discovery of striking memory recoveries in long-delayed recall probes administered months after last testing. In a technical appendix, Erdelyi unveils for the first time a methodological solution to the problem of response bias in narrative recall.

Are images an important means of recalling information from memory and solving problems? Or are images just display lights on the mind's computer? In "Image and Mind," Stephen Kosslyn makes an impressive case for the view that images are critically involved in the life of the mind. In a series of ingenious experiments, he provides hard evidence that people can construct elaborate mental images, search them for specific information, and perform such other internal operations as mental rotation. Kosslyn demonstrates that these results are best explained by a two-tiered model in which images are stored in abstract form in long-term memory and then assembled for internal display in much the way that images on a TV screen can be created from files in a computer memory.

Kosslyn shows how this model can be used to solve many of the persistent questions which have traditionally plagued theories of imagery that attempted to install imagery as the exclusive medium of mental representation.

Unlike any other work on imagery, Image and Mind provides an integrated account of most of the modern empirical results from imagery research within the framework of a coherent theory. The book also introduces a host of new experimental techniques and major hypotheses to guide future research. The result is a landmark book and a major event in the study of the mind.

Transformational Chairwork: Using Psychotherapeutic Dialogues in Clinical Practice is an exposition of the art and science of Chairwork. It is also a practical handbook for using the Chairwork method effectively with a wide range of clinical problems. Originally created by Dr. Jacob Moreno in the 1950s and then further developed by Dr. Fritz Perls in the 1960s, Chairwork has been embraced and re-envisioned by therapists from cognitive, behavioral, existential, Jungian, experiential, psychodynamic, and integrative perspectives. Transformational Chairwork builds on this rich and creative legacy and provides a model that is both integrative and trans-theoretical. The book familiarizes clinicians with essential dialogue strategies and empowers them to create therapeutic encounters and re-enactments. Chairwork interventions can be broadly organized along the lines of external and internal dialogues. The external dialogues can be used to help patients work though grief and loss, heal from interpersonal abuse and trauma, manage difficult relationships, and develop and strengthen their assertive voice. The internal dialogues in turn focus on resolving inner conflicts, combatting the negative impact of the inner critic and the experience of self-hatred, working with dreams and nightmares, and expanding the self through polarity work. Using both internal and external strategies, this book explores how Chairwork dialogues can be a powerful intervention when working with addictions, social oppression, medical issues, and psychosis. This is done through the use of compelling clinical examples and scripts that can be read, studied, and enacted. Chairwork's central emphasis is helping patients express each of their voices as distinctly and as forcefully as possible. The book concludes with a review of the deepening technique-the strategies that therapists can use to help facilitate clarity and existential ownership.