The Psychology of Thinking is an engaging, interesting and easy-to-follow guide into the essential concepts behind our reasoning, decision-making and problem-solving. Clearly structured into 3 sections, this book will; Introduce your students to organisation of thought including memory, language and concepts; Expand their understanding of reasoning including inference and induction as well as motivation and the impact of mood; Improve their thinking in action, focusing on decision-making and problem-solving. Suitable for any course in which students need to develop their judgement and decision-making skills, this book uses clever examples of real-world situations to help them understand and apply the theories discussed to their everyday thinking.

In this book, eminent educational philosopher Nel Noddings and daughter Laurie Brooks explain how teachers can foster critical thinking through the exploration of controversial issues. The emphasis is on the use of critical thinking to understand and collaborate, not simply to win arguments. The authors describe how critical thinking that encourages dialogue across the school disciplines and across social/economic classes prepares students for participation in democracy. They offer specific, concrete strategies for addressing a variety of issues related to authority, religion, gender, race, media, sports, entertainment, class and poverty, capitalism and socialism, and equality and justice. The goal is to develop individuals who can examine their own beliefs, those of their own and other groups, and those of their nation, and can do so with respect and understanding for others' values. Book Features: Underscores the necessity of moral commitment in the use of critical thinking. Offers assistance for handling controversial issues that many teachers find unsettling. Proposes a way for students and teachers to work together across the disciplines.

Over the last few decades, economists and psychologists have quietly documented the many ways in which a person's IQ matters. But, research suggests that a nation's IQ matters so much more. As Garett Jones argues in Hive Mind, modest differences in national IQ can explain most cross-country inequalities. Whereas IQ scores do a moderately good job of predicting individual wages, information processing power, and brain size, a country's average score is a much stronger bellwether of its overall prosperity. Drawing on an expansive array of research from psychology, economics, management, and political science, Jones argues that intelligence and cognitive skill are significantly more important on a national level than on an individual one because they have "positive spillovers." On average, people who do better on standardized tests are more patient, more cooperative, and have better memories. As a result, these qualities-and others necessary to take on the complexity of a modern economy-become more prevalent in a society as national test scores rise. What's more, when we are surrounded by slightly more patient, informed, and cooperative neighbors we take on these qualities a bit more ourselves. In other words, the worker bees in every nation create a "hive mind" with a power all its own. Once the hive is established, each individual has only a tiny impact on his or her own life. Jones makes the case that, through better nutrition and schooling, we can raise IQ, thereby fostering higher savings rates, more productive teams, and more effective bureaucracies. After demonstrating how test scores that matter little for individuals can mean a world of difference for nations, the book leaves readers with policy-oriented conclusions and hopeful speculation: Whether we lift up the bottom through changing the nature of work, institutional improvements, or freer immigration, it is possible that this period of massive global inequality will be a short season by the standards of human history if we raise our global IQ.

In Ungifted , cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman,who was relegated to special education as a child,offers a new way of looking at intelligence. He explores the latest research in genetics, neuroscience, and psychology to challenge the conventional wisdom about the childhood predictors of adult success, arguing for a more holistic approach to intelligence that takes into account each individual's abilities, engagement, and personal goals. Combining original research and a singular compassion, Ungifted increases our appreciation for all different kinds of minds and ways of achieving both personally meaningful and publicly recognized forms of success.

This is an edited collection that examines advances in the study of IQ tests and the variables that influence test performance. The book contains contributions from a number of prominent scholars who are internationally recognised for their expertise in the area of human intelligence. Additionally, the compilation presents a unique combination of theoretical knowledge and practical advice and will be an excellent resource for graduate students, university professors and experienced clinicians. A particular emphasis is given to the role of IQ tests, as part of a diagnostic battery, in the identification of cognitive and psychological disorders. Individual chapters cover a broad range of topics related to IQ including, the underlying structure of contemporary IQ tests, race and genomics, the relationship between IQ and achievement, measures of mental chronometry, evolutionary adaptedness, IQ and dopamine receptor genes, Ashkenazi Jews, assessment practices for gifted children and pre-school students, and errors in measurement when assessing intellectual disabilities. Topics are covered in a comprehensive and up-to-date manner, yet accessible to both novice and expert professionals. A working knowledge of psychometric theory is helpful but not necessary. The book avoids any attempt to make a claim regarding exact estimates of the genetic or environmental influences on measures of IQ, fully recognising the complex interplay between these factors. However, the value of IQ tests in predicting scholastic achievement, diagnosing cognitive diseases, and assessing individual differences is acknowledged and affirmed, when recommendations offered by the authors are implemented within thoughtful and data-supported practices.

Written specifically for instructors, "The Student EQ Edge: Facilitation and Activity Guide "is designed to be used alongside the main volume, " The Student EQ Edge," and guides educators, counselors, and advisors in employing case studies, self-assessment questions, reflection and discussion questions, and activities and assignments that will help their students move from understanding to action.

What does the place of information within the cosmos have to do with the life of any one person or with the nature of right and wrong? It changes everything. Information can be viewed as nothing more than an ephemeral artefact of matter, energy, space and time. Or it can be viewed as a component of the universe every bit as real and consequential as the others. This book shows not only that information is real in its own right, but that the intelligence found in people would not have come into existence if it were not. The most powerful tool and weapon of humans is the information system their minds together comprise. Individuals in all their variety are the way they are because that is the way that together they are most intelligent. From the evolutionary mechanism which generated human intelligence to the affairs of people today, the driving force has always been the role of information in individual lives. The result of their decisions through the distant past has been a kind of intelligence new in the universe. People together form a functional mental system that is of a higher order of complexity and intelligence than any individual mind could be. Individual minds are designed not to survive alone in a wilderness, but to complement the human information system as a whole. To make the system function, human intelligence and morality necessarily evolved together. People can think together only if they get along. The basic outlines of morality are as fixed and timeless and as rooted in human evolution as the intelligence it evolved with. Each is both cause and product of the other. The intelligence of the human information system as a whole is the central principle of human life. Acknowledging the reality of information changes forever the divide between secular and religious outlooks. Religions envision the information world by belief in an invisible network of connections between people and the world around them. But these connections exist in hard reality because the existence of information is just as real and provable as the existence of rocks. Dividing reality, by believing that physical things are real and information is not, trivialises the most important aspect of human existence. Once the illusion that information is not real is given up, the basic relationships of life re-assume the kinds of firm definitions that they have always been given by religions. To live in harmony with the reality of information, each person must find a way to recognise that their own thoughts and feelings, which consist of information, are just as real as any objects they think about. This has always been the essential doorway to reality, opening to a world of enormous intelligence, love and beauty. Reasons to care about other people appear clearly and simply as features of the way things are, endowing every life with a sense of purpose as an indispensable element of the human information system. Together, humans exist to wonder and speculate, create and explore, seek truth and solve the riddles of the universe.

" A truly extraordinary book The range of knowledge revealed by the author is quite astonishing and the material presented is done so in a clear and unambiguous writing style. The book includes astonishingly varied perspectives on issues that will impact the hoped-for positive consequences of globalization. I felt I was being informed by an expert who grasps the complexity of the issues involved in ways that make them clear and useful. If I was teaching a course that had anything to do with globalization and/or culture, I would assign this book and if I knew of someone who was being assigned to another country, I would require him or her to read this book. " Benjamin Schneider, " Valtera Corporation and Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland"

What is a paradox? Why are cross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding the changes that are occurring because of globalization? Encompassing a wide variety of areas including leadership, cross-cultural negotiations, immigration, religion, economic development, and business strategy, Paradoxes of Culture and Globalization developscross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding globalization.

Key FeaturesHighlightsover 90paradoxes structured in a question/discussion format to actively engage readers and provide an integrative overview of the bookPresents key issues at a higher and integrative level of analysis to avoid stereotyping particular culturesFacilitates class discussions and the active involvement of class members in the learning process of culture and globalization.Enlarges individuals conceptual understanding of cross-cultural issues Focuses on both traditional and controversial topics including motivation and leadership across cultures, communicating and negotiating across cultures, immigration, religion, geography, economic development, business strategy, and international human resource management

Intended Audience

This is an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in International Management, International Business, Comparative Management, World Business Environment, Cross-Cultural Management, Cross-Cultural Communications, and Cultural Anthropology in the departments of businessand management, communication, and anthropology.

Meet author Martin J. Gannon www.csusm.edu/mgannon

Martin J. Gannon is also the author of the bestselling text "Understanding Global Cultures" (SAGE, Third Edition, 2004) and "Cultural Metaphors: ""Readings"," Research Translations, and Commentary "(SAGE, 2000)."

" A truly extraordinary book The range of knowledge revealed by the author is quite astonishing and the material presented is done so in a clear and unambiguous writing style. The book includes astonishingly varied perspectives on issues that will impact the hoped-for positive consequences of globalization. I felt I was being informed by an expert who grasps the complexity of the issues involved in ways that make them clear and useful. If I was teaching a course that had anything to do with globalization and/or culture, I would assign this book and if I knew of someone who was being assigned to another country, I would require him or her to read this book. " Benjamin Schneider, " Valtera Corporation and Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland"

What is a paradox? Why are cross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding the changes that are occurring because of globalization? Encompassing a wide variety of areas including leadership, cross-cultural negotiations, immigration, religion, economic development, and business strategy, Paradoxes of Culture and Globalization developscross-cultural paradoxes essential for understanding globalization.

Key FeaturesHighlightsover 90paradoxes structured in a question/discussion format to actively engage readers and provide an integrative overview of the bookPresents key issues at a higher and integrative level of analysis to avoid stereotyping particular culturesFacilitates class discussions and the active involvement of class members in the learning process of culture and globalization.Enlarges individuals conceptual understanding of cross-cultural issues Focuses on both traditional and controversial topics including motivation and leadership across cultures, communicating and negotiating across cultures, immigration, religion, geography, economic development, business strategy, and international human resource management

Intended Audience

This is an excellent text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in International Management, International Business, Comparative Management, World Business Environment, Cross-Cultural Management, Cross-Cultural Communications, and Cultural Anthropology in the departments of businessand management, communication, and anthropology.

Meet author Martin J. Gannon www.csusm.edu/mgannon

Martin J. Gannon is also the author of the bestselling text "Understanding Global Cultures" (SAGE, Third Edition, 2004) and "Cultural Metaphors: ""Readings"," Research Translations, and Commentary "(SAGE, 2000)."

The research projects presented in this book are the most recent studies of intelligence. They will improve our understanding of the human's ability to learn, understand or deal with new or trying situations and how people apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests). Understanding intelligence is important because it improves our understanding of how the brain works and could potentially be a gateway to improving education on all levels from individual teaching methods to widely used curriculums.

This title presents a total workout program guaranteed to build brain muscle fast. You exercise, try to eat right, and get enough sleep - all in the name of good physical health. But what have you done for your mind lately? Your brain is your most important organ, and all the latest scientific research indicates that, with regular doses of the right kind of mental stimulation, you can not only maintain but improve your brain power throughout your lifetime. Use it or loose it, as the saying goes - and now this book shows you how.Written by a noted cognitive scientist and a top neurologist, "Dental Floss for the Mind" features more than 100 creative and fun exercises that target the five key cognitive areas of memory, attention, language skills, spatial recognition, and reasoning ability. Exercises are of increasing difficulty and designed to progressively stimulate and build individual cognitive skills. A scoring system lets you assess your status, identify problem areas, and, with the help of the authors' expert guidance, set goals and improve various skills as needed. With "Dental Floss for the Mind" you'll: hone your attention to a razor's edge and block out annoying distractions; use all types of memory - sensory, short-term, long-term, episodic, semantic, and procedural - to the fullest; optimize reading comprehension and interpretive skills; fine-tune your spatial perception and mental imagery abilities; and, take your reasoning and analytical skills to lofty new heights.

"...it is extremely useful and contemporary, covering among its five hundred pages, genetics, neuro-imaging and emotional intelligence. It also provides a good indicator of current psychological work in the area with empirical evidence and theory sitting alongside each other. The material on meta-cognition would, I suspect, be of most interest to philosophers, along with the more basic questions concerning the nature of memory and intelligence." -PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY "This volume provides an in-depth yet accessible and up-to-date review of the key topics pertinent to current intelligence research. This state-of-the-art summary about our theoretical understanding of human abilities and their measurement is of interest for researchers, practitioners, and advanced students in psychology, education, and related disciplines. It's a great summary and a good read on a truly important topic." -Dr. Heinz Holling, University of Muenster "Wilhelm and Engle have compiled a highly informative set of chapters on various topics related to intelligence. The chapters describing recent European work will be especially informative for North American readers. The work is strengthened by provision of review chapters that keep the reader in sight of the forest rather than the trees." -Earl Hunt, University of Washington Without an informed cognitive understanding of intelligence as a construct, the technology of intelligence testing will make little to no progress. Psychologists with a more psychometric background need detailed knowledge about the cognitive processes underlying intelligent behavior. Likewise, psychologists with a more cognitive or experimental background need to make more use of applied knowledge from psychometric research. Earl Hunt, Without an informed cognitive understanding of intelligence as a construct, the technology of intelligence testing will make little to no progress. Psychologists with a more psychometric background need detailed knowledge about the cognitive processes underlying intelligent behavior. Likewise, psychologists with a more cognitive or experimental background need to make more use of applied knowledge from psychometric research.The Handbook of Understanding and Measuring Intelligence provides an overview of recent studies on intelligence to help readers develop a sound understanding of results and perspectives in intelligence research. In this volume, editors Oliver Wilhelm and Randall W. Engle bring together a group of respected experts from two fields of intelligence research, cognition and methods, to summarize, review, and evaluate research in their areas of expertise. The chapters in this book present state-of-the-art examinations of a particular domain of intelligence research and highlight important methodological considerations, theoretical claims, and pervasive problems in the field. The Handbook provides those with a broad interest in individual differences, cognitive abilities, intelligence, educational measurement, thinking, reasoning, or problem solving with a comprehensive description of the status quo and prospects of intelligence research. The book is divided into two parts that are intended to build upon and relate to one another. Part I, the cognitive section, explores several theoretical viewpoints on intelligence and Part II, the methodological section, addresses fundamental statistical problems and pragmatic assessment problems in measuring intelligence. Key Features The volume editors provide a general introduction and conclude the book with an integrative epilogue. Contributors to this volume are experts in intelligence with a background in methodology or theory who offer current theoretical perspectives and recent empirical results, which are of interest to a broad audience. In addition to contributions from U.S. intelligence experts, authors from Europe and Australia provide an international perspective and articulate viewpoints and results not otherwise readily available to an American audience. Developments in theory are described with respect to their implications at the measurement level, and developments on the methodological level are evaluated with respect to their contribution to the theoretical understanding of intelligence. The Handbook is designed for scholars and psychology professionals interested in intelligence, cognitive abilities, educational testing and measurement, reasoning, and problem solving. It can also be used by advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying intelligence or the psychology of individual differences. In addition, the Handbook will be a welcome addition to any academic library.

The testing of intelligence has a long and controversial history. Claims that it is a pseudo-science or a weapon of ideological warfare have been commonplace and there is not even a consensus as to whether intelligence exists and, if it does, whether it can be measured. As a result the debate about it has centred on the nurture versus nature controversy and especially on alleged racial differences and the heritability of intelligence - all of which have major policy implications. This book aims to penetrate the mists of controversy, ideology and prejudice by providing a clear non-mathematical framework for the definition and measurement of intelligence derived from modern factor analysis. Building on this framework and drawing on everyday ideas the author address key controversies in a clear and accessible style and explores some of the claims made by well known writers in the field such as Stephen Jay Gould and Michael Howe.

Valencia and Suzuki?s Intelligence Testing and Minority Students gives the reader a truly fresh opportunity to relearn and reconsider the nature of IQ and its strengths and limitations. Reading this book gives the psychometrician and the practitioner a good sense of what to do in the short run, and argues persuasively about what needs to be done on a priority basis. If testing and education are ever to serve the needs of all Americans, responding fairly and validly the growing diversity of this nation?s citizens.

Intelligence Testing and Minority Students: Foundations, Performance Factors, and Assessment Issues is a psychometric tour de force.

Presenting the major trends, theories, and practices in assessing culturally diverse clients, Advances in Cross-Cultural Assessment comprises chapters from some of the key leading authors in intelligence and intelligence testing. Author Ronald J. Samuda and associates contend that classic IQ tests and traditional standardized tests of cognitive ability are only appropriate for middle-class mainstream individuals, not for those of different cultural backgrounds. For those who grow up in deficient "environmental backgrounds" (inadequate rearing, serious economic stress), the traditional objective standardized tests are neither valid nor reliable in measuring intelligence. A number of scholars, some of whom are among the bookAEs contributing authors, have introduced alternative approaches to assessing cognitive ability in persons from such backgrounds. A groundbreaking volume that encourages professionals to treat individuals on an individual basis, Advances in Cross-Cultural Assessment will heighten the awareness of professionals and academics in clinical and counseling psychology, educational psychology, social work, psychology, public health, and ethnic studies.

Offering an alternative approach to the current models of assessing intelligence, this volume presents a comprehensive and informed understanding of the biological and cultural influences on intellectual behavior. In Assessing Intelligence, authors Eleanor Armour-Thomas and Sharon-Ann Gopaul-McNicol propose a "bio-cultural" model for intelligence assessment. This volume begins by examining the issues pertaining to intellectual assessment, the nature of intelligence, and the biological influences on cognition. It then explores a new model for assessing all childrenuThe Four-Tier Bio-Cultural Assessment System--and it presents an evaluation of that system. Finally, it offers training suggestions for teachers, parents, counselors, and psychologists for enhancing the intellectual potential of all children, and it presents implications for future research and clinical work as well as a vision for policymakers to ensure culturally sensitive assessment. Assessing Intelligence offers a diverse perspective from the fields of clinical psychology, school psychology, education, and education psychology. It will be a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in the fields of general psychology, clinical psychology, education, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, multicultural psychology, political science, and cultural studies.

Offering an alternative approach to the current models of assessing intelligence, this volume presents a comprehensive and informed understanding of the biological and cultural influences on intellectual behavior. In Assessing Intelligence, authors Eleanor Armour-Thomas and Sharon-Ann Gopaul-McNicol propose a "bio-cultural" model for intelligence assessment. This volume begins by examining the issues pertaining to intellectual assessment, the nature of intelligence, and the biological influences on cognition. It then explores a new model for assessing all childrenuThe Four-Tier Bio-Cultural Assessment System--and it presents an evaluation of that system. Finally, it offers training suggestions for teachers, parents, counselors, and psychologists for enhancing the intellectual potential of all children, and it presents implications for future research and clinical work as well as a vision for policymakers to ensure culturally sensitive assessment. Assessing Intelligence offers a diverse perspective from the fields of clinical psychology, school psychology, education, and education psychology. It will be a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in the fields of general psychology, clinical psychology, education, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, multicultural psychology, political science, and cultural studies.

Ideally a logic text should encourage not only criticism of thinking, but critical thinking itself. To its great credit, ard Thinking does both. -s Nicholas Rescher, University of Pittsburgh Mullen effectively combines logic, epistemology, and good old fashioned common sense. The dialogues and examples are telling; the explanations clear and to the point. The book articulates, defends, and exemplifies all the important features of 'hard thinking'. Many texts purport to aid in the teaching of thinking; this one will clearly succeed. -s Harvey Siegel, University of Miami Not only does Mullen's text challenge students to do some hard thinking, but it explains why they should and it shows them how....[T]he text includes strong chapters on both traditional and modern formal logic. As a result, this book should prove suitable for a wide variety of courses. -s Bruce Umbaugh, Webster University

Why do three out of four professional football players go bankrupt? How can illiterate jungle dwellers pass a test that tricks Harvard philosophers? And why do billionaires work so hard--only to give their hard-earned money away?
When it comes to making decisions, the classic view is that humans are eminently rational. But growing evidence suggests instead that our choices are often irrational, biased, and occasionally even moronic. Which view is right--or is there another possibility?
In this animated tour of the inner workings of the mind, psychologist Douglas T. Kenrick and business professor Vladas Griskevicius challenge the prevailing views of decision making, and present a new alternative grounded in evolutionary science. By connecting our modern behaviors to their ancestral roots, they reveal that underneath our seemingly foolish tendencies is an exceptionally wise system of decision making.
From investing money to choosing a job, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, our choices are driven by deep-seated evolutionary goals. Because each of us has multiple evolutionary goals, though, new research reveals something radical--there's more than one you making decisions. Although it feels as if there is just one single self inside your head, your mind actually contains several different subselves, each one steering you in a different direction when it takes its turn at the controls.
The Rational Animal will transform the way you think about decision making. And along the way, you'll discover the intimate connections between ovulating strippers, Wall Street financiers, testosterone-crazed skateboarders, Steve Jobs, Elvis Presley, and you.

What is intelligence? The concept crosses and blurs the boundaries between natural and artificial, bridging the human brain and the cybernetic world of AI. In this book, the acclaimed philosopher Catherine Malabou ventures a new approach that emphasizes the intertwined, networked relationships among the biological, the technological, and the symbolic. Malabou traces the modern metamorphoses of intelligence, seeking to understand how neurobiological and neurotechnological advances have transformed our view. She considers three crucial developments: the notion of intelligence as an empirical, genetically based quality measurable by standardized tests; the shift to the epigenetic paradigm, with its emphasis on neural plasticity; and the dawn of artificial intelligence, with its potential to simulate, replicate, and ultimately surpass the workings of the brain. Malabou concludes that a dialogue between human and cybernetic intelligence offers the best if not the only means to build a democratic future. A strikingly original exploration of our changing notions of intelligence and the human and their far-reaching philosophical and political implications, Morphing Intelligence is an essential analysis of the porous border between symbolic and biological life at a time when once-clear distinctions between mind and machine have become uncertain.

New essays by leading philosophers and cognitive scientists that present recent findings and theoretical developments in the study of concepts. The study of concepts has advanced dramatically in recent years, with exciting new findings and theoretical developments. Core concepts have been investigated in greater depth and new lines of inquiry have blossomed, with researchers from an ever broader range of disciplines making important contributions. In this volume, leading philosophers and cognitive scientists offer original essays that present the state-of-the-art in the study of concepts. These essays, all commissioned for this book, do not merely present the usual surveys and overviews; rather, they offer the latest work on concepts by a diverse group of theorists as well as discussions of the ideas that should guide research over the next decade. The book is an essential companion volume to the earlier Concepts: Core Readings, the definitive source for classic texts on the nature of concepts. The essays cover concepts as they relate to animal cognition, the brain, evolution, perception, and language, concepts across cultures, concept acquisition and conceptual change, concepts and normativity, concepts in context, and conceptual individuation. The contributors include such prominent scholars as Susan Carey, Nicola Clayton, Jerry Fodor, Douglas Medin, Joshua Tenenbaum, and Anna Wierzbicka. Contributors Aurore Avargues-Weber, Eef Ameel, Megan Bang, H. Clark Barrett, Pascal Boyer, Elisabeth Camp, Susan Carey, Daniel Casasanto, Nicola S. Clayton, Dorothy L. Cheney, Vyvyan Evans, Jerry A. Fodor, Silvia Gennari, Tobias Gerstenberg, Martin Giurfa, Noah D. Goodman, J. Kiley Hamlin, James A. Hampton, Mutsumi Imai, Charles W. Kalish, Frank Keil, Jonathan Kominsky, Stephen Laurence, Gary Lupyan, Edouard Machery, Bradford Z. Mahon, Asifa Majid, Barbara C. Malt, Eric Margolis, Douglas Medin, Nancy J. Nersessian, bethany ojalehto, Anna Papafragou, Joshua M. Plotnik, Noburo Saji, Robert M. Seyfarth, Joshua B. Tenenbaum, Sandra Waxman, Daniel A. Weiskopf, Anna Wierzbicka

Critical Reasoning & Philosophy has been praised as an innovative and clearly written handbook that teaches new philosophy students how to read, evaluate, and write in a critical manner. Concise, accessible language and ample use of examples and study modules help students gain the basic knowledge necessary to succeed in undergraduate philosophy courses, and to apply that knowledge to achieve success in other disciplines as well. With a reorganized presentation, fresh modules, new examples and illustrations, the second edition is even more clear and accessible to students.

"The Mental Models Theory of Reasoning" presents theoretical and empirical research on an area of growing interest, the status of mental models in deductive reasoning. As research in the framework of the mental models theory flourishes, this book answers a need to assess the contribution of the notion of training and content. It covers the central issues of propositional, relational, causal and probabilistic reasoning, and argumentation and development. In addition, this work presents data regarding strategies, argumentation, and the development of reasoning.
 
Special features of this text include:
*sharp theoretical analyses as well as important new empirical data offered by theorists who work in the framework of the mental models theory;
*a critical and empirically driven account of content effects in conditional and linear reasoning; and
*an original account on the influence of pragmatics on reasoning.
 
"The Mental Models Theory of Reasoning "will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of cognitive psychology, and will be valuable to individuals working in Artificial Intelligence, as it highlights theoretical and empirical data on how humans use mental models when tackling deductive puzzles.

Cutting edge scientific research has shown that exposure to the right kind of environment during the first years of life actually affects the physical structure of a child's brain, vastly increasing the number of neuron branches--the "magic trees of the mind"--that help us to learn, think, and remember. At each stage of development, the brain's ability to gain new skills and process information is refined. As a leading researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, Marion Diamond has been a pioneer in this field of research. Now, Diamond and award-winning science writer Janet Hopson present a comprehensive enrichment program designed to help parents prepare their children for a lifetime of learning.