Progress in understanding humor and developing a comprehensive, testable theory of humor has been slow in coming. Fortunately, we do not need to have at our command a thorough understanding of a phenomenon in order to make use of it. In Volume II, Applied Studies, of the Handbook of Humor Research, there is a movement away from theoretical issues that lay beneath humor and laughter as biological, psychological, and social acts. Rather than attempting to deal with the dynamics of humor-with why a particular situation or object elicits laughter-the chapters in Volume II explore humor and laughter as behaviors that are correlated with and have effects upon a great many other realms of social and psychological life. In this volume we explore the uses and consequences of humor. Joel Goodman is one of only a handful of individuals who teaches the development of humor, not for purposes of entertainment, but for the enhancement of human relationships. He has taught humor techniques to business executives and rank and file workers, teachers, medical and mental health practitioners, and government employees. In recognizing that humor is an important form of social communication, Goodman focuses on making conscious the often unthinking use of humor. What does a card-carrying comedian think of humor? More than you may have supposed. In Chapter 2, Stanley Myron Handelman likens humor to religion, a set of beliefs and a foundation for interpreting the cosmos.

The United Nations' designation of 1979 as the International Year of the Child marked the first global effort undertaken to heighten awareness of the special needs of children. Activities initiated during this special year were designed to promote purposive and collaborative actions for the benefit of children throughout the world. Michigan State University's celebration of the International Year of the Child was held from Septem ber 1979 through June 1980. A variety of activities focused attention on the multiplicity of factors affecting the welfare of today's children as well as the children of the future. Many people involved with the university were concerned that benefits to children continue beyond the official time allocated to the celebration. The series Child Nurturance is one response to this concern. The first five volumes of Child Nurturance reflect directly the activities held on the Michigan State University campus and consist of original contributions from guest speakers and invited contributors. Subsequent biennial volumes will present original contributions from individuals representing such fields as anthropology, biology, education, human ecology, psychology, philosophy, sociology, and medicine. We hope the material presented in these volumes will promote greater understanding of children and encourage interdisciplinary inquiry into the individual, family, societal and cultural variables which influence their welfare and development. We would . like to express both our thanks and our admiration for who not only typed the camera-ready copy for each of Margaret Burritt the volumes, but also served as general manager of the entire project."

The Collective Unconscious in the Age of Neuroscience brings the connection between C. G. Jung's theory of a collective unconscious, neuroscience, and personal experiences of severe mental illness to life. Hallie B. Durchslag uses narrative analysis to examine four autobiographical accounts of mental illness, including her own, and illuminate the interplay between psychic material and human physiology that Jung intuited to exist. Durchslag's unique study considers the links between expressions of the collective unconscious, such as myth, fairy tales, folk tales, and 'big dreams', and the experiences of those diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. The author's personal narrative account of a psychotic episode is at its heart, bringing both an intimate foundation and exceptional insight to the book. With reference to neuroscientific and genetic research throughout, The Collective Unconscious in the Age of Neuroscience highlights gaps in depth psychological notions of etiology and treatment, highlights patterns of collective material in the qualitative experience of these genetic and biological disorders, and explores how the efficacy of pharmacological treatment sheds light on Jung's theoretical model. The Collective Unconscious in the Age of Neuroscience will be essential reading for academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian studies, consciousness, neuroscience and mental health. It will also provide unique insight for analytical psychologists interested in severe mental illness and the collective unconscious.

The major portion of the investigations described in the present volume would never have been undertaken without the generous support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Society). During my professorship at the University of Marburg, I could not have carried on with my work in the psychology of language had it not been for the aid offered by this institution. Since these experimental investigations constitute the empirical backbone of the entire argument, I feel especially indebted to the Society. My warm thanks are also extended to the over two thousand subjects whose willing cooperation enabled my associates and myself to collect the body of data reported in these pages. I would like to thank the many parents, teachers, and school principals whose good will and collaboration were the prerequisites for conducting many of our experiments. The book also incorporates valuable contributions by my associates, insofar as my ideas and arguments bear the imprint of our joint work and discussion, to an extent that makes an accurate acknowledgement of each inspiration next to impossi ble. Giving them due credit, I would like to thank my assistants, the graduating students, and the student-aides back in Marburg and more recently in Mannheim."

Im beruflichen Alltag sind wir immer wieder mit Konflikten konfrontiert. Dieses Buch stellt anhand zahlreicher Praxisbeispiele dar, wie Konflikte in Unternehmen traditionell gehandhabt werden und welche komplementaren Formen der Konfliktbearbeitung es gibt. Stephan Proksch erlautert diese innovativen Methoden und stellt ihre Einsatzmoglichkeiten nachvollziehbar dar. Die Mediation wird als wirkungsvolle Form der Konfliktlosung ins Zentrum der Betrachtung gestellt. Gesprachs- und Fragetechniken als Werkzeuge des Konfliktmanagers werden leicht verstandlich erklart.

Die 2. Auflage ist komplett uberarbeitet und um das Kapitel Konfliktpravention sowie das Thema Konfliktanalyse erganzt. "

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.

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."

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.

"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.

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."

Contemporary society is in constant change. Transitions and crises occur in every life, regardless of status, ethnicity, sex, race, education, or religion. Yet, the traditional societal forms for helping with these transitions and crises are changing as well. The typical nuclear family has given way to single-parent, blended, or dual-career structures. Religious, health, educational, social service, philanthropic, and other organizational support systems have also changed from their pre-1950 counterparts. As these sometimes evolutionary, sometimes revolutionary, changes have occurred, considerable scholarship and empirical research has attempted to identify and develop methods of helping people encounter these transitions and crises. These efforts have come from various fields: psychology, sociology, anthropology, linguistics, law, social work, nurs ing, medicine, education, labor relations, and others. Each has brought its own theories, research methods, and practical experiences to bear on the problems. One of the methods that these fields have universally been intrigued with is the use of empathy. Empathy, that crucial but elusive pheno menon (so the literature has reported), has been identified as important in human interactions. Labor mediators, legal arbitrators, psychiatric psychoanalysts, encounter group facilitators, classroom instructors, and kindred helpers have been told that "understanding how the other person or group is thinking and feeling" will help that person or group. The anxious parent and troubled spouse have been urged to "understand the other's point of view." Some writers have even argued that empathy is crucial to resolving international tensions and terrorist group violent actions."

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.

"Models of Psychological Space" begins the reformulation of the construct of psychological space by bringing together in one volume a sampling of theoretical models from the psychometric, developmental, and experimental approaches. The author also discusses five general issues which cut across these three approaches; namely, age-related differences, sex-related differences, trainability, imagery, processing solutions, and the effect of stimulus dimensionality upon spatial performance. "Models of " "Psychological Space" provides an overview of a significant construct which has many researchable ideas, and which should be of interest to scholars from a wide range of disciplines.

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").

"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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.