There are no atheists in foxholes; or so we hear. The thought that the fear of death motivates religious belief has been around since the earliest speculations about the origins of religion. There are hints of this idea in the ancient world, but the theory achieves prominence in the works of Enlightenment critics and Victorian theorists of religion, and has been further developed by contemporary cognitive scientists. Why do people believe in gods? Because they fear death. Yet despite the abiding appeal of this simple hypothesis, there has not been a systematic attempt to evaluate its central claims and the assumptions underlying them. Do human beings fear death? If so, who fears death more, religious or nonreligious people? Do reminders of our mortality really motivate religious belief? Do religious beliefs actually provide comfort against the inevitability of death? In Death Anxiety and Religious Belief, Jonathan Jong and Jamin Halberstadt begin to answer these questions, drawing on the extensive literature on the psychology of death anxiety and religious belief, from childhood to the point of death, as well as their own experimental research on conscious and unconscious fear and faith. In the course of their investigations, they consider the history of ideas about religion's origins, challenges of psychological measurement, and the very nature of emotion and belief.

Publisher's note on this book: This book is a radical leap into the apex of philosophy, psychology, and the science of seeing what's real for oneself. Written in a dense and penetrating style that is designed to induce deep thinking and thoughtful reflection, the book explains how to attain lucidity, a type of acute, profound awareness that serves as the fundamental base for Gnosis, individual illumination. It may not be an easy read the first time through, but it will be well worth it. The book is meant to be studied and reflected upon many times. This book is impeccable, more of an experience than just a book with profound information. It is a potent toolshed of ideas that will be of interest to psychologists, philosophers, social scientists, meditators, contemplatives, or anyone who wants to know what's really going on and how to SEE in a very clear and luminous way.

This volume brings together trends and their prospects to understand the complexity of metacognitive phenomena, with emphasis on the interactions of metacognition with affect. It discusses the three perspectives in understanding these interactions: the possible mechanisms underlying them, the manifestation of interactions of metacognition with affect in self- and co-regulation in social and educational contexts, and changes during development in young children and older adults. This volume is a tribute to Professor Emerita Anastasia Efklides, who was among the pioneers to investigate and argue the importance of the interactions between metacognition and affect. It serves as a dedication to her contribution in the widening of the scope of research in metacognition and self-regulated learning.

Originally published in 1972, this title provides an analysis of social interactions in educational contexts and opens up the field of the social psychology of education as an area in its own right at the very heart of the process of education. From a 'symbolic interactionist' perspective, the author develops a framework for the study of relations between teachers and pupils, discussing the basic ways of analysing social interaction, including the concepts of perception and role. He examines the distinctive perspectives of teachers and pupils on their relationships, bringing together into a coherent framework the insights of such writers as John Holt and Carl Rogers, and within this context he explores the notion of 'voluntary schooling'. The book also deals with other important aspects of education such as discipline, classroom group dynamics and the relations between headteachers and their staff. The theories put forward by the author are firmly grounded in the daily experience of teachers and pupils in the classroom at the time. The book was expected to be of value to experienced teachers and student teachers alike, as well as to teachers of the social sciences in general.

This second edition provides a review of the current flow research. The first, thoroughly revised and extended, part of the book, addresses basic concepts, correlates, conditions and consequences of flow experience. This includes the developments of the flow model, methods to measure flow, its physiological correlates, personality factors involved in the emergence of flow, social flow, the relationship of flow with performance and wellbeing, but also possible negative consequences of flow. The second, completely new, part of the book addresses flow in diverse contexts, in particular, work, development, sports, music and arts, and human computer interaction. As such, the book provides a broad overview on the current state of flow research - from the basics to specific contexts of application. It presents what has been learned since the beginning of flow research, what is still open, and how the mission to understand and foster flow should continue. The book addresses researchers and students who are interested in flow, as well as practitioners who seek for sound research on flow in their field of expertise.

Originally published in 1976, the bibliography presented here was intended to provide a useful research tool for scholars and students of perception. The primary concentration of the authors' efforts has been on the philosophical literature during the period of 1935-1974.

This book explores how discursive psychology (DP) research can be applied to disability and the everyday and institutional constructions of bodymind differences. Bringing together both theoretical and empirical work, it illustrates how DP might be leveraged to make visible nuanced understandings of disability and difference writ large. The authors argue that DP can attend to how such realities are made relevant, dealt with, and negotiated within social practices in the study of disability. They contend that DP can be used to unearth the nuanced and frequently taken for granted ways in which disability is made real in both everyday and institutional talk, and can highlight the very ways in which differences are embodied in social practices - specifically at the level of talk and text. This book demonstrates that rather than simply staying at the level of theory, DP scholars can make visible the actual means by which disabilities and differences more broadly are made real, resisted, contested, and negotiated in everyday social actions. This book aims to expand conceptions of disability and to deepen the - at present, primarily theoretical - critiques of medicalization.

This second edition has been substantially revised and expanded to form a truly comprehensive, practical guide to research methods and statistical analysis. The text retains the successful student-centred approach, assuming no background knowledge. Logically and intuitively organised, the book introduces key terms and concepts, progressing through the process of selecting a study and analysing results right through to the final point of preparing a report. This edition has been extensively revised to offer more detailed coverage - including more depth on topics such as power, meta-analysis, ethics, the literature review, questionnaire design, small sample research, and graphing techniques. Coverage of qualitative methods has been expanded to include more on software tools and IPA. The book offers a range of support focused on essential concepts, practicalities, and a new feature to highlight important research from the scientific literature. The examples have been increased and updated to help clarify concepts and further support the reader in developing both a conceptual and practical understanding of research and analysis. The book relates to the most recent version of PASW statistics (previously SPSS).

Psychology's recent immersion in risk research has introduced a new variant in which the focus is not solely on disease, but also on the effects and consequences produced by the multiple aspects of risk on individual adaptation. Variations in such patterns of adaptation signal the entrance of protective factors as an added element to the clinical and research focus in the prediction of positive versus negative outcomes under the duress of stressful experiences. Given psychology's investment in the entire range of human adaptation--embracing severe disorder at one extreme and strong positive adaptations at the other--it is not surprising to find this new element of compensatory protective factors as a reshaping factor in the field of risk research. It is one that recognizes and studies the relevance of risk influences on disorder, but also focuses on recovery from disorder or the absence of disorder despite the presence of risk. This latter element implicates the notion of "resilience." It is this opening of the field of risk research that seems to bear the heavy and welcome imprint of psychology. Fundamental to the study of protective factors in development, however, is a broad knowledge base focused on risk factors that often contain the healthy development of infants and children. This volume reflects a continuation of the concerns of the Institute of Child Development with the nature and content of development in multiple contexts. It comes at a most welcome point since the Institute--in collaboration with the University of Minnesota's Department of Psychology--now participates in a jointly shared graduate training program in clinical psychology which stimulates and supports the growth of a newly emergent developmental psychopathology. For this field to advance will require a broad perspective and acceptance of the significance of the diversity of risk factors that extends throughout the life span and results in developmental trajectories that implicate various biological, psychological, and sociocultural risk elements.

Despite the negative impact of anxiety in children, theories and research have lagged behind their adult counterparts. This special issue arose from an Economic and Social Research Council funded seminar series (Child Anxiety Theory and Treatment, CATTS). It highlights four themes in theories and research into child anxiety: the appropriateness of applying adult models to children, the need to isolate causal variables, the need to take a developmental perspective, and the importance of parents. This issue aims to stimulate debate about theoretical issues that will inform future child anxiety research.

The European Review of Social Psychology is an annual series that reflects the dynamism of social psychology in Europe and has been widely accepted as one of the major international series in social psychology. The series is open to authors from all nations and its major purpose is to further the international exchange of ideas by providing an outlet for substantial accounts of theoretical and empirical work. However, even though the series is worldwide in terms of the nationality of the authors, it is European in terms of the nationality of the editors who select the contributions and shape the editorial policies. With the help of an editorial board consisting of senior scholars from various European countries, Australasia, and North America, the editors invite outstanding researchers to contribute to these volumes. Invitations are based either on suggestions from editorial board members or made in response to proposals submitted to the editors. The emphasis of these contributions is on critical assessment of major areas of research and of substantial individual programmes of research as well as on topics and initiatives of contemporary interest and originality.

The empirical and theoretical analysis of executive control processes, dormant for many years, has grown to become one of the most fertile areas of research in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Because executive functions are thought to have a pervasive role in maintaining optimal information processing across many processing situations, issues related to executive control cut across many traditional research divides. Unique among many other areas of research in cognition, questions about the influence of ageing have figured prominently in executive control research. There is accumulating evidence of age-related changes in frontal/executive functions. The union of research on executive functioning with research on the cognitive effects of ageing could provide the theoretical framework for understanding the widespread influence of ageing on cognition. This special issue brings together well-known researchers in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience who approach the question of executive control using a wide range of methods from traditional behavioural studies, quantitative and computational modelling, and functional neuroimaging. The emphasis of these contributions is on a concise overview and integration of relevant theoretical ideas and empirical findings. By bringing together a diverse group of contributors, this special issue can serve researchers and students both as a summary of current research and as a starting point toward further explorations on the relations between executive control and the cognitive influences of ageing.

This book introduces the topic of intercultural mediation and conflict management. Based on the latest scientific research and successful conflict management practices, it provides theoretical insights and practical, self-reflective exercises, role-plays and case studies on conflict, mediation, intercultural mediation, and solution-finding in conflict mediation. The book serves both as a self-learning tool to expand personal competences and cultural sensitivity, and as training material for seminars, workshops, secondary, advanced and higher education and vocational training. It is a valuable contribution to the fields of intercultural conflict mediation and conflict management, intercultural communication, intercultural training and coaching. This is a book about practicing - the applied practice of competent conflict crafts in diverse intercultural contexts. Conflict practitioners, mediators, and intercultural trainers would be inspired by Professor Claude-Helene Mayer's creative integration of relevant intercultural models with do-able conflict strategies and in reaching intergroup harmony with reflexivity and cultural resonance. --- Professor Stella Ting-Toomey, Human Communication Studies, California State University at Fullerton, USA, and Co-Editor of The SAGE Handbook of Conflict Communication, 2e Given the difficulty and complexity of successful intercultural collaboration and conflict mediation, this is a much-needed addition to cross-cultural positive psychology. It is rich in content and training. I highly recommend it for teaching, corporate training, and for executive coaches. --- Professor Paul T.P. Wong, President International Network on Personal Meaning and President Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute, Toronto, Canada Intercultural conflict resolution is a critically important task in this modern world. This book by Professor Mayer is a welcome handbook on how to use mediation to resolve those conflicts. It should be in the library of every conflict mediator. My congratulations to Professor Mayer for her important work. --- Dan Landis, Founding President, International Academy of Intercultural Research, Affiliate Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii