Examines the importance of evolutionary biology for key issues in human development. Illustrates the power of socio- biological approaches in understanding developmental pheno- mena and their importance in generating new, empirically verifiable predictions.

The Proliferation of Action Theories and Their Applications Jaan Valsiner and Louis Oppenheimer Our contemporary psychology becomes satiated by references to "action" and "activity. " Over the recent decade numerous theoretical perspectives have appeared. all of which operate with the notion of "action" (Ajzen. 1985; Eckensberger & Silbereisen. 1980; Keller & Reuss. 1984; Lantermann. 1980). each of which define it (see Oppenheimer. Chapter 1 of this volume). Likewise. the empirical literature in child psychology is filled with "action-theoretic" notions--facilitated by the ease of seeing children acting within their environments at a pace that surpasses that of even the most hyperactive adult! Of course. the empirical discourse in contemporary psychology is highly limited by its empiricistic emphasis. which dissociates empirical work from theoretically elaborate reasoning. At times. one can find in the literature an "anything goes" attitude--as long as the "umbrella" (theoretical) notion under which the given empirical study looks consensually respectable. the theoretical needs of "research" are satisfied. and psychologists can continue to accumulate "data" in their pursuit of "normal science. " The latter attitude to theory. of course, is but a convenient illusion. For any serious hope for progress in any discipline, the conceptual sphere must be explicitly developed further together with the empirical efforts. This sentiment led us to organize a symposium at the conference of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987. The presentations at that symposium gave us the idea of editing a book on the origins of action.

Dreams seem the most private territory of experience. Yet Dreaming Culture argues they are a space in which we practice, consider, question, and adapt cultural models of the self, gender, sexuality, relationships, and agency. Through an innovative "dream ethnography" from college students in the northwestern U.S., this book contributes to recent research on dreaming and the brain in psychology and continuing research on dreaming and the self in clinical psychology and psychological anthropology. Dreaming Culture uses critical theory to understand power relations embedded in cultural models, a perspective often lacking in cognitive anthropology and in psychological studies of self and mind.

About a decade ago we edited The Psychology of Humor. Besides the summary chapter and bibliography of about 400 items, the book contained eleven original papers that represented the state of knowledge at that time. We confess that it was not easy to fill that volume with first-rate contributions. In a few instances we invited contributors only on the basis of having heard through the grapevine that they were doing interesting work on humor. Our sources proved reliable and we were pleased with the results. We even made new friends as a result of these blind invitations. But the fact remains that in the early 1970s there was only a handful of social scientists studying humor and laughter. The history of humor research prior to the 1970s can also be characterized in terms of the short-term commitment to investigating humor among those who did venture out and try their hand at designing humor studies. For reasons that remain unclear, many investigators published only one or two humor studies before abandoning the area in favor of some other research domain. We have the impression that for decades social scientists have been very intrigued by the idea of studying humor. Psychologists have suspected for a long time that humor somehow is very important in the lives of people. We find laughter and humor occurring almost wherever we find people engaged in social interaction.

"Polygraphy;' "lie detection;' and the "detection of deception" are all terms that refer to an application of the science of psychophysiology, which itself employs physiological measures to study and differentiate between psychological processes. The issues raised by polygraphy are controversial. One such issue is whether the polygraph is a genuinely scientifically based application, or merely a purported application, of psychophysiology. Such concerns are of interest not only to polygraph practitioners and to specialists in psychophysiology, but also to such other specialists as those in the legal and forensic professions. Moreover, there are two sorts of nonspecialists who should also be concerned. On the one hand, there are the potential "users" of the polygraph-for example, a manager who employs a polygrapher to check on subordinates; on the other hand, there are those "used by" the polygraph - the employee who is subjected to the poly graphic examination. To begin with the user of the polygraph, this person should know not only about its overall accuracy, but also about the rationales of the various detection methods and their validity for different purposes in different sorts of situations. This infor mation is important, because even for the potential user there are costs as well as benefits. Aside from the lack of trust generated by the polygraph, there have also been successful suits by employees against employers, so there are traps in polygraph usage that employers (and managers) need to keep in mind."

Scientific work on mnemonics and imagery conducted in the 1960s and early 1970s was directed at testing enthusiastic claims of the efficacy of memory tech niques developed by the ancient Greeks and further refined in the popular litera ture by "professional" mnemonists. The early research on imagery and mnemonics confirmed many of these claims and also illuminated the limitations of some techniques (e. g., bizarre imagery). As such, these seminal studies clearly were valuable in providing a solid data base and, perhaps as important, making imagery and mnemonics acceptable research areas for experimental psycholo gists and educators. After this initial surge of work, however, it seemed that sub sequent contributions met with the attitude that "mnemonic techniques and imagery help memory, what else is new?" This attitude was not completely justi fied, however, given the theoretical insights from the work of such imagery and mnemonics pioneers as Gorden Bower, Allan Paivio, and William Rohwer. In the 1980s this claim is completely unjustified. Research on mnemonics and imagery has grown in exciting ways. Researchers are tapping the area's theoretical potential, both in terms of extending basic memory theories to account for the robust effects produced by mnemonic techniques and in terms of using explanations of mnemonic effects to understand basic memory processes. Individual differences in the use of imagery and mnemonic encoding activities are also being explored. This research has provided valuable information for basic memory theories (e. g."

Recently, in the area of learning disabilities, a subarea of special educa tion, an interesting development has become discernible. This develop ment centers on the increasing focus of learning disabilities professionals on theory building and empirical research, and it is reflected in the spate of books currently being published. With their clear emphasis on con ceptual and methodological issues along with directions for future re search, these newly published books differ essentially from the bulk of learning disabilities textbooks. They include S. Vaughn and C. Bos (Eds. ), Research in Learning Disabilities: Issues and Future Directions, published in 1987 by College-Hill; T. E. Scruggs and B. Y. L. Wong (Eds. ), Intervention Research in Learning Disabilities, published in 1990 by Springer-Verlag; and L. Swanson (Ed. ), Learning Disabilities: Theore tical and Research Issues, published in 1991 by Lawrence Erlbaum Asso ciates. As reflected in these three books, the discipline began with a service orientation and has evolved beyond that to come of age with aspirations of becoming a scientific discipline. These books can be taken to voice the concerted efforts, of learning disabilities professionals to promote theory building and empirical research. Undeniably these books provide valuable information on conceptual issues and research in learning disabilities. Nevertheless, they appear to have one drawback, namely, they focus exclusively on learning disabilities research in North America."

"Memory: Interdisciplinary Approaches" arrays the most current research and thinking on the cognitive, social, and neural aspects of memory. An international group of experts discusses the domains of working memory and the modularity of storage processes while other contributors examine the social and developmental consequences of memory. This volume represents the most comprehensive reviews of "frontline" memory work to date. This collection is based on the first series of G. Stanley Hall Lectures sponsored by Williams College.

Featuring contributions from some of the leading researchers in the field of SEM, most chapters are written by the author(s) who originally proposed the technique and/or contributed substantially to its development. Content highlights include latent variable mixture modeling, multilevel modeling, interaction modeling, models for dealing with nonstandard and noncompliance samples, the latest on the analysis of growth curve and longitudinal data, specification searches, item parceling, and equivalent models. This volume will appeal to educators, psychologists, biologists, business professionals, medical researchers, and other social and health scientists. It is assumed that the reader has mastered the equivalent of a graduate-level multivariate statistics course that included coverage of introductory SEM techniques.

Statistical Concepts-A First Course presents the first 10 chapters from An Introduction to Statistical Concepts, Fourth Edition. Designed for first and lower-level statistics courses, this book communicates a conceptual, intuitive understanding of statistics that does not assume extensive or recent training in mathematics and only requires a rudimentary knowledge of algebra. Covering the most basic statistical concepts, this book is designed to help readers really understand statistical concepts, in what situations they can be applied, and how to apply them to data. Specifically, the text covers basic descriptive statistics, including ways of representing data graphically, statistical measures that describe a set of data, the normal distribution and other types of standard scores, and an introduction to probability and sampling. The remainder of the text covers various inferential tests, including those involving tests of means (e.g., t tests), proportions, variances, and correlations. Providing accessible and comprehensive coverage of topics suitable for an undergraduate or graduate course in statistics, this book is an invaluable resource for students undertaking an introductory course in statistics in any number of social science and behavioral science disciplines.

Behavioral scientists - including those in psychology, infant and child development, education, animal behavior, marketing and usability studies - use many methods to measure behavior. Systematic observation is used to study relatively natural, spontaneous behavior as it unfolds sequentially in time. This book emphasizes digital means to record and code such behavior; while observational methods do not require them, they work better with them. Key topics include devising coding schemes, training observers and assessing reliability, as well as recording, representing and analyzing observational data. In clear and straightforward language, this book provides a thorough grounding in observational methods along with considerable practical advice. It describes standard conventions for sequential data and details how to perform sequential analysis with a computer program developed by the authors. The book is rich with examples of coding schemes and different approaches to sequential analysis, including both statistical and graphical means.

This is the first workbook that introduces the multilevel approach to modeling with categorical outcomes using IBM SPSS Version 20. Readers learn how to develop, estimate, and interpret multilevel models with categorical outcomes. The authors walk readers through data management, diagnostic tools, model conceptualization, and model specification issues related to single-level and multilevel models with categorical outcomes. Screen shots clearly demonstrate techniques and navigation of the program. Modeling syntax is provided in the appendix. Examples of various types of categorical outcomes demonstrate how to set up each model and interpret the output. Extended examples illustrate the logic of model development, interpretation of output, the context of the research questions, and the steps around which the analyses are structured. Readers can replicate examples in each chapter by using the corresponding data and syntax files available at www.psypress.com/9781848729568.

The book opens with a review of multilevel with categorical outcomes, followed by a chapter on IBM SPSS data management techniques to facilitate working with multilevel and longitudinal data sets. Chapters 3 and 4 detail the basics of the single-level and multilevel generalized linear model for various types of categorical outcomes. These chapters review underlying concepts to assist with trouble-shooting common programming and modeling problems. Next population-average and unit-specific longitudinal models for investigating individual or organizational developmental processes are developed. Chapter 6 focuses on single- and multilevel models using multinomial and ordinal data followed by a chapter on models for count data. The book concludes with additional trouble shooting techniques and tips for expanding on the modeling techniques introduced.

Ideal as a supplement for graduate level courses and/or professional workshops on multilevel, longitudinal, latent variable modeling, multivariate statistics, and/or advanced quantitative techniques taught in psychology, business, education, health, and sociology, this practical workbook also appeals to researchers in these fields. An excellent follow up to the authors' highly successful Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling with IBM SPSS and Introduction to Multilevel Modeling Techniques, 2nd Edition, this book can also be used with any multilevel and/or longitudinal book or as a stand-alone text introducing multilevel modeling with categorical outcomes.

Sample surveys provide data used by researchers in a large range of disciplines to analyze important relationships using well-established and widely used likelihood methods. The methods used to select samples often result in the sample differing in important ways from the target population and standard application of likelihood methods can lead to biased and inefficient estimates.

Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Sample Surveys presents an overview of likelihood methods for the analysis of sample survey data that account for the selection methods used, and includes all necessary background material on likelihood inference. It covers a range of data types, including multilevel data, and is illustrated by many worked examples using tractable and widely used models. It also discusses more advanced topics, such as combining data, non-response, and informative sampling.

The book presents and develops a likelihood approach for fitting models to sample survey data. It explores and explains how the approach works in tractable though widely used models for which we can make considerable analytic progress. For less tractable models numerical methods are ultimately needed to compute the score and information functions and to compute the maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters. For these models, the book shows what has to be done conceptually to develop analyses to the point that numerical methods can be applied.

Designed for statisticians who are interested in the general theory of statistics, Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Sample Surveys is also aimed at statisticians focused on fitting models to sample survey data, as well as researchers who study relationships among variables and whose sources of data include surveys.

Psychoanalytic infant observation is frequently used in training psychoanalytic psychotherapists and allied professionals, but increasingly its value as a research method is being recognised, particularly in understanding developmental processes in vulnerable individuals and groups. This book explores the scope of this approach and discusses its strengths and limitations from a methodological and philosophical point of view.

Infant Observation and Research uses detailed case studies to demonstrate the research potential of the infant observation method. Divided into three sections this book covers

• infant observation as part of the learning process
• how infant observation can inform understanding and influence practice
• psychoanalytic infant observation and other methodologies.

Throughout the book, Cathy Urwin, Janine Sternberg and their contributors introduce the reader to the nature and value of psychoanalytic infant observation and its range of application. This book will therefore interest a range of mental health practitioners concerned with early development and infants' emotional relationships, as well as academics and researchers in the social sciences and humanities.

This volume provides an integrative review of the emerging and increasing use of network science techniques in cognitive psychology, first developed in mathematics, computer science, sociology, and physics. The first resource on network science for cognitive psychologists in a growing international market, Vitevitch and a team of expert contributors provide a comprehensive and accessible overview of this cutting-edge topic. This innovative guide draws on the three traditional pillars of cognitive psychological research-experimental, computational, and neuroscientific-and incorporates the latest findings from neuroimaging. The network perspective is applied to the fundamental domains of cognitive psychology including memory, language, problem-solving, and learning, as well as creativity and human intelligence, highlighting the insights to be gained through applying network science to a wide range of approaches and topics in cognitive psychology Network Science in Cognitive Psychology will be essential reading for all upper-level cognitive psychology students, psychological researchers interested in using network science in their work, and network scientists interested in investigating questions related to cognition. It will also be useful for early career researchers and students in methodology and related courses.

The study of brain function is one of the most fascinating pursuits of m- ern science. Functional neuroimaging is an important component of much of the current research in cognitive, clinical, and social psychology. The exci- ment of studying the brain is recognized in both the popular press and the scienti?c community. In the pages of mainstream publications, including The New York Times and Wired, readers can learn about cutting-edge research into topics such as understanding how customers react to products and - vertisements ("If your brain has a 'buy button, ' what pushes it?," The New York Times, October19,2004), howviewersrespondtocampaignads("Using M. R. I. 's to see politics on the brain," The New York Times, April 20, 2004; "This is your brain on Hillary: Political neuroscience hits new low," Wired, November 12,2007), howmen and womenreactto sexualstimulation ("Brain scans arouse researchers,"Wired, April 19, 2004), distinguishing lies from the truth ("Duped," The New Yorker, July 2, 2007; "Woman convicted of child abuse hopes fMRI can prove her innocence," Wired, November 5, 2007), and even what separates "cool" people from "nerds" ("If you secretly like Michael Bolton, we'll know," Wired, October 2004). Reports on pathologies such as autism, in which neuroimaging plays a large role, are also common (for - stance, a Time magazine cover story from May 6, 2002, entitled "Inside the world of autism").

Qualitative methodologies in cultural psychology often lack the objective and verifiable character of quantitative analysis. Author Carl Ratner corrects this shortcoming by rigorously systematizing qualitative methods. The book discusses, for example, means of systematizing such subjective reports as interviews, letters, and diaries, which often yield valuable data that is not easily quantified. Ratner argues that "complex psychological phenomena are expressed through extended responses" and hence are best studied by new, more regularized qualitative methods that go beyond measuring simple, overt responses.

This is the sixth edition of a popular textbook on multivariate analysis. Well-regarded for its practical and accessible approach, with excellent examples and good guidance on computing, the book is particularly popular for teaching outside statistics, i.e. in epidemiology, social science, business, etc. The sixth edition has been updated with a new chapter on data visualization, a distinction made between exploratory and confirmatory analyses and a new section on generalized estimating equations and many new updates throughout. This new edition will enable the book to continue as one of the leading textbooks in the area, particularly for non-statisticians. Key Features: Provides a comprehensive, practical and accessible introduction to multivariate analysis. Keeps mathematical details to a minimum, so particularly geared toward a non-statistical audience. Includes lots of detailed worked examples, guidance on computing, and exercises. Updated with a new chapter on data visualization.

Presenting an innovative take on researching early childhood, this book provides an international comparison of the cultural and familial influences that shape the growth of young children. The book presents a unique methodology, and includes chapters on musicality, security, humour and eating.

The Handbook of Psychodiagnostic Testing is an invaluable aid to students and professionals performing psychological assessments. It takes the reader from client referral to finished report, demonstrating how to synthesize details of personality and pathology into a document that is focused, coherent, and clinically meaningful.

This new edition covers emerging areas in borderline and narcissistic pathologies, psychological testing of preschool children, and bilingual populations. It also discusses the most current clinical issues and evaluating populations on which standard psychological tests have not been standardized.

Synthesizing many years' investigation into sexual identity and orientation, this book presents Dr Money's formulation of how sexual preference is determined. It includes a review of long-term follow-up studies on pre-natal influences on sexual identity, and discusses gender differentiation in childhood. The book concludes with an examination of the conflict between gender and sexual identities, and a description of the paraphilias.

Researchers, clinicians, and graduate students in psychology, biology, endocrinology, psychiatry, and family studies will find this volume of interest, as will anyone interested in gay and lesbian issues.

This latest edition has been fully updated to accommodate the needs of users of SPSS Releases 17, 18 and 19 while still being applicable to users of SPSS Releases 15 and 16. As with previous editions, Alan Bryman and Duncan Cramer continue to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly introduction to the widely used IBM SPSS Statistics. The simple, non-technical approach to quantitative data analysis enables the reader to quickly become familiar with SPSS and with the tests available to them. No previous experience of statistics or computing is required as this book provides a step-by-step guide to statistical techniques, including: Non-parametric tests Correlation Simple and multiple regression Analysis of variance and covariance Factor analysis. This book comes equipped with a comprehensive range of exercises for further practice, and it covers key issues such as sampling, statistical inference, conceptualization and measurement and selection of appropriate tests. The authors have also included a helpful glossary of key terms. The data sets used in Quantitative Data Analysis with IBM SPSS 17, 18 and 19 are available online at http://www.routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/_author/bryman-9780415579193/; in addition, a set of multiple-choice questions and a chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint lecture course are available free of charge to lecturers who adopt the book.

Shame remains at the core of much psychological distress and can eventuate as physical symptoms, yet experiential approaches to healing shame are sparse. Links between shame and art making have been felt, intuited, and examined, but have not been sufficiently documented by depth psychologists. Shame and the Making of Art addresses this lacuna by surveying depth psychological conceptions of shame, art, and the role of creativity in healing, contemporary and historical shame ideologies, as well as recent psychobiological studies on shame. Drawing on research conducted with participants in three different countries, the book includes candid discussions of shame experiences. These experiences are accompanied by Cluff's heuristic inquiry into shame with an interpretative phenomenological analysis that focuses on how participants negotiate the relationship between shame and the making of art. Cluff's movement through archetypal dimensions, especially Dionysian, is developed and discussed throughout the book. The results of the research are further explicated in terms of comparative studies, wherein the psychological processes and impacts observed by other researchers and effects on self-conscious maladaptive emotions are described. Shame and the Making of Art should be essential reading for academics, researchers, and postgraduate students engaged in the study of psychology and the arts. It will be of particular interest to psychologists, Jungian psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, creativity researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of this shame and self-expression.

This comprehensive Handbook is the first to provide a practical, interdisciplinary review of ethical issues as they relate to quantitative methodology including how to present evidence for reliability and validity, what comprises an adequate tested population, and what constitutes scientific knowledge for eliminating biases. The book uses an ethical framework that emphasizes the human cost of quantitative decision making to help researchers understand the specific implications of their choices. The order of the Handbook chapters parallels the chronology of the research process: determining the research design and data collection; data analysis; and communicating findings. Each chapter: Explores the ethics of a particular topic Identifies prevailing methodological issues Reviews strategies and approaches for handling such issues and their ethical implications Provides one or more case examples Outlines plausible approaches to the issue including best-practice solutions. Part 1 presents ethical frameworks that cross-cut design, analysis, and modeling in the behavioral sciences. Part 2 focuses on ideas for disseminating ethical training in statistics courses. Part 3 considers the ethical aspects of selecting measurement instruments and sample size planning and explores issues related to high stakes testing, the defensibility of experimental vs. quasi-experimental research designs, and ethics in program evaluation. Decision points that shape a researchers' approach to data analysis are examined in Part 4 - when and why analysts need to account for how the sample was selected, how to evaluate tradeoffs of hypothesis-testing vs. estimation, and how to handle missing data. Ethical issues that arise when using techniques such as factor analysis or multilevel modeling and when making causal inferences are also explored. The book concludes with ethical aspects of reporting meta-analyses, of cross-disciplinary statistical reform, and of the publication process. This Handbook appeals to researchers and practitioners in psychology, human development, family studies, health, education, sociology, social work, political science, and business/marketing. This book is also a valuable supplement for quantitative methods courses required of all graduate students in these fields.

A Handbook of Process Tracing Methods demonstrates how to better understand decision outcomes by studying decision processes, through the introduction of a number of exciting techniques. Decades of research have identified numerous idiosyncrasies in human decision behavior, but some of the most recent advances in the scientific study of decision making involve the development of sophisticated methods for understanding decision process-known as process tracing. In this volume, leading experts discuss the application of these methods and focus on the best practices for using some of the more popular techniques, discussing how to incorporate them into formal decision models. This edition has been expanded and thoroughly updated throughout, and now includes new chapters on mouse tracking, protocol analysis, neurocognitive methods, the measurement of valuation, as well as an overview of important software packages. The volume not only surveys cutting-edge research to illustrate the great variety in process tracing techniques, but also serves as a tutorial for how the novice researcher might implement these methods. A Handbook of Process Tracing Methods will be an essential read for all students and researchers of decision making.