This book presents a novel perspective on psychology's methodology—moving it from quantification as a given imperative to science-philosophical look at phenomena-data relationship. The idea for this volume emerged from inquiries into the history of psychology of the 18th-19th centuries where the developmental focus within German Naturphilosophie led philosophers to emphasize the dialectical nature of biological and psychological development. The nature of the natural and social worlds is curvilinear and includes knot-complexes that cannot be investigated in terms of the consensually accepted General Linear Model of the 20th century. In this the new book continues the creative search for new forms of epistemological ways of thinking that was started in 2010 in the volume Methodological thinking in psychology: 60 years gone astray. General Liner Model and turned into metaphoric complexes that acquire life of their own in psychologists' thinking needs to be replaced by qualitative-structural units of thinking about how human psychological organization can be presented.

The goal of this book is to locate the birth pangs of psychology—the study of the psyche—in in the Renaissance unity of art and science. The historical period 1583-1611 in Prague was a particularly productive for all Europe in its intellectual advancements in art and science. It was facilitated by the special personality of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II who during his reign made Prague the capital of the Empire where the major artists, scientists, architects and alchemists came together in the service of the Emperor and formed a unique context of interdisciplinary synthesis of ideas that enhanced European philosophies, sciences, and arts in the following centuries. While the history of art in and astronomy in the Rudolfine era has been amply covered, the impacts of the intellectual atmosphere of the era on psychology, philosophy, social ideologies, and aesthetics has remained scarcely investigated. The volume includes analyses of history of ideas in psychology, sociology and other social sciences that received the impetus of the political situation of Rudolfine Prague with religious tolerance and decline of the political power of the Holy Roman Empire.

Ornamented Lives is a theoretical synthesis of cultural psychology, aesthetics, and philosophy of meaning construction. It is an extension of the author's theory of Semiotic Dynamics (Culture in Minds and Societies, 2007) to the field of ornaments. Ornaments are not merely "decorations" but play the important role of guiding the affective depths of the human minds. This is done by capturing the whole fields of perceivable peripheral spaces and filling them with highly recursive forms. The book concentrates on the visual ornaments of various kinds, indicating in them the tensions between basic forms-linear and curvilinear. This tension is present in human construction of environments-natural growth involves curvilinear forms while human constructions introduce linearity. The basic tension between linear and curvilinear infinities is expressed in the use of spiral forms in art and architecture. The book builds a theoretical account of human beings constantly creating sublime life occasions that give them affective charge for dramatizations of ordinary living. Episodically the sublime acquires new quality- becomes aesthetic. The coverage in this book links the aesthetic, the sublime, and the mundane into one theoretical scheme within cultural psychology.

The first volume of the Yearbook of Idiographic Science (YIS) was published on 2009. In a nutshell, the idea at the grounds of the YIS project is that idiography and nomothetic are not juxtaposed logics and that the science cannot but be both nomothetic - in the aim - and idiographic - in the modes. About thirteen years later, the sense and the direction of the YIS project envisaged in the first volume's introduction - together with the difficulties to pursue it - are still alive and valid. Thus, to both celebrate the milestone of the tenth issue and to plan the future, we asked to some colleagues, almost all contributors of previous volumes, to discuss what idiographic science means today, and what can mean tomorrow. The works they have generously provided are very instructive - each of them pictures a peculiar perspective on idiography that enables to recognize old and new challenges, thus paving the way to innovative ideas and directions.

A volume in Advances in Cultural PsychologySeries Editor: Jaan Valsiner, Clark University"This is a remarkable and highly original work on dialogism, dialogical theories and dialogue. With his erudite and broadly based scholarship PerLinell makes a path-breaking contribution to the study of the human mind, presenting a novel alternative to traditional monologism and exploring thedynamics of sense-making in different forms of interaction and communicative projects. Although Per Linell discusses complex dialogical concepts, the text is written with exceptional clarity, taking the reader through critique as well as appreciation of great intellectual traditions of our time."(Professor Ivana Markov, University of Stirling, U.K.)"Per Linells Rethinking Language, Mind And World Dialogically represents a landmark in the development ofa transdisciplinary dialogically basedparadigm for the human sciences. The author?'s lucid analysis and constructive rethinking ranges all the way from integrating explanations ofsignificant empirical contributions across the entire range of human sciences dealing with language, thought and communication to foundational, epistemological and ontological issues."(Professor Ragnar Rommetveit, University of Oslo, Norway)Per Linell took his degree in linguistics and is currently professor of language and culture, with a specialisation on communication and spokeninteraction, at the University of Link ping, Sweden. He has been instrumental in building up an internationally renowned interdisciplinary graduateschool in communication studies in Link ping. He has worked for many years on developing a dialogical alternative to mainstream theories inlinguistics, psychology and social sciences. His production comprises more than 100 articles on dialogue, talk-in-interaction and institutionaldiscourse. His more recent books include Approaching Dialogue (1998), The Written Language Bias in Linguistics (2005) and Dialogue in FocusGroups (2007, with I. Markov, M. Grossen and A. Salazar Orvig).

This book comes as part of a broader project the first editor is developing in collaboration with the other two, aiming critically to articulate the central philosophical issue of time and temporality with Cultural Psychology and related areas in its frontier. Similarly to the previous milestone in this effort-Otherness in Question: Labyrinths of the Self, published in this same series, the present one we also invited international cast of authors to bring their perspectives about a possible dialogue between a central philosophical issue and the core subject of their respective research domains. The book interests to researchers, scholars, professionals and students in Psychology and its areas of frontier.

This book brings pragmatic theory and praxis into dialogue with contemporary psychodynamic ideas, practitioners, and clinical issues. Generally considered as a historical footnote to psychoanalysis, the chapters in this volume demonstrate pragmatism's continued relevance for contemporary thought. Not only does pragmatism share many of the values and sensibilities of contemporary psychodynamics, its rich philosophical and theoretical emphasis on active meaning making and agentic being in the world complements and extends current thinking about the social nature of self and mind, how we occupy space in the world, non-linear development, and processes of communication.

This book investigates whether, how and where the cultural milieu of European societies has changed as a result of the socio-economics crisis. To do so, it adopts a psycho-cultural approach, which views the cultural milieu as a set of meanings, placing the generalized image social actors have of themselves, the world, events and their relationships in the context of the socio-political and institutional environment, including policies. By analyzing the changes in cultural milieu and social identity, the book develops strategic and methodological guidelines for the design of post-crisis policies, providing a concept of how the cultural dynamics are associated with certain individual characteristics and specific socio-economic phenomena.

What sparks a psychologist's interest in a certain phenomenon? Is it a symptom, a syndrome, a treatment, the usual, the exceptional, the group, the individual? An epistemologist, for example, focuses on the group and delivers group results. The clinician has to focus on the patient, although the patient may be perceived as one of a group (e.g., all patients with the same disease). The patient usually focuses on the clinician, but can take other opinions into account; especially, when the clinician is not considered to be the only authority. These dynamics - observable in therapy as well as in research - are critically reflected in this book, not only highlighting differences, but also commonalities individuals share: They all filter information and concentrate on certain aspects according to their socialization. They all have different expectations and can, yet, all deal with the same objective. Communication and building relationships seem to be vital - this book aims to support this quest by moving from the universal to the particular.

This book explores and provides an overview of the Norwegian psychologist Jan Smedslund's life work on Psycho-logic. His contributions to science have been radical not only in challenging the empirical foundation of psychology, but also in seeking to develop a viable alternative. This book brings together various reflections on his key contributions from the 1960s to the present day. The volume features three chapters by Jan Smedslund, offering his updated views on psychological science and psychotherapy. It also features contributions from several scholars that critically evaluates his legacy. His seminal ideas are discussed, revised and expanded upon and the questions raised are put in relevant historical and interdisciplinary context. Respect for Thought is a valuable resource for psychological researchers, historians of psychology, cultural psychologists, critical psychologists, theoretical psychologists, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists, social scientists, philosophers of psychology, and philosophers of science.

This volume brings together a collection of papers centred on the theme of the psychological functions that are built up by communication in the developing child. It is part of a series that aims to integrate social and cognitive development research on the developing child within his/her environment. The approach strives to overcome impasses that are outgrowths of two traditional themes in psychology. First is the fundamental general biological issue of the contributions of the organism and its environment to the development of the former. The second is how we can understand social development in human ontogeny, and in which ways (if any) human social development differs from that of other species.

Making of the Future is the first English?language coverage of the new methodological perspective in cultural psychology-TEA (Trajectory Equifinality Approach) that was established in 2004 as a collaboration of Japanese and American cultural psychologists. In the decade that follows it has become a guiding approach for cultural psychology all over the World. Its central feature is the reliance on irreversible time as the basis for understanding of cultural phenomena and the consideration of real and imaginary options in human life course as relevant for the construction of personal futures. The book is expected to be of interest in researchers and practitioners in education, developmental and social psychology, developmental sociology and history. It has extensions for research methodology in the focus on different sampling strategies.

This book comes as part of a broader project the editor is developing aiming critically to articulate some theoretical and methodological issues of cultural psychology with the research and practical work of psychologists with Amerindian peoples. As such, the project - of which the present book is part - concerns to a meta-theoretical reflection aiming to bring in new theoretical-methodological and ethical reflections to Cultural Psychology. From this meta-theoretical reflection we have been developing the notion of dialogical multiplication as it implies the diversification (differentiation and dedifferentiation) of semiotic trajectories in interethnic boundaries.

How does a doctor or therapist bridge the gap between particulars and generalizations regarding patients and various phenomena or diseases? The authors of this volume illustrate the multiple ways practitioners in the fields of clinical psychology and medicine address the tension between the universal nature of scientific knowledge and its particular applications. They discuss the fact that some decisions, if made erroneously, have impacts that cannot be reversed. An error in the realms of medicine, ecology, peace, and war brings with it psychological strategies that differ from those a practitioner faces where errors are correctable. How does a doctor or therapist bridge the gap between particulars and generalizations regarding patients and various phenomena or diseases? The authors of this volume illustrate the multiple ways practitioners in the fields of clinical psychology and medicine address the tension between the universal nature of scientific knowledge and its particular applications. They discuss the fact that some decisions, if made erroneously, have impacts that cannot be reversed. An error in the realms of medicine, ecology, peace, and war brings with it psychological strategies that differ from those a practitioner faces where errors are correctable. The disciplines of psychology and medicine have two shared goals. The first is that both disciplines seek a basic understanding about how human beings exist in their ordinary biological and psychological worlds and the second is the attempt to describe and treat disruptions of each person's healthy state of being. Therefore, the four coeditors uncover areas of mutual interest between the two disciplines and the basis for the conflicts that have arisen in their fields.

This book brings together a variety of contemporary approaches to learning that by and large follow the structuralist path to understand learning, a path both ecological and dynamic. The book views the learning processes as they take place in the course of personenvironment relationships.

This volume is the firstborn of the Annals of Cultural Psychology - a yearly edited book series in the field of Cultural Psychology. It came into being as there is a need for reflection on "where and what" the discipline needs to further develop, in such a way, the current frontiers and to foster the elaboration of new fruitful ideas. The topic chosen for the first volume is perhaps the most fundamental of all- motherhood. We are all here because at some unspecifiable time in the past, different women labored hard to bring each of us into this World. These women were not thinking of culture, but were just giving birth. Yet by their reproductive success-and years of worry about our growing up-we are now, thankfully to them, in a position to discuss the general notion of motherhood from the angle of cultural psychology. Each person who is born needs a mother-first the real one, and then possibly a myriad of symbolic ones-from "my mother" to "mother superior" to "my motherland". Thus, it is not by coincidence if the first volume of the series is about motherhood. We the editors feel it is the topic that links our existence with one of the universals of human survival as a species. In very general terms what this book aims to do is to question the ontology of Motherhood in favor of an ontogenetic approach to Life's Course, where having a child represents a big transition in a woman's trajectory and where becoming (or not becoming) mother is heuristically more interesting than being a mother. We here present a reticulated work that digs into a cultural phenomenon giving to the readers the clear idea of making motherhood (and not taking for granted motherhood). By looking at absences, shadows and ruptures rather than the normativeness of motherhood, cultural psychology can provide a theoretical model in explaining the cultural multifaceted nature of human activity.

." . . provides rich and interesting detail about the conditions, values, and experiences of children and those who rear them" - Contemporary Psychology

CIP catalogs this two-volume set as a series, with the main entries as follows: Parental cognition and adult-child interaction (v.1); and Social co-construction and environmental guidance in development (v.2, 488-6). The first volume comprises six contributions on parental thinking and action and on

Reflexivity is a category that is too appealing not to arouse interest. It is a concept largely diffused in several psychological domains, as well as associated with epistemological, theoretical, methodological and practical discussions. At the same time, it is a very polysemic notion, understood and used in many different ways. If one approaches the notion and tries to identify the semantic boundaries of its usage, the seeming solidity of the term fades away, and a rather liquid semantic field emerges - a field where several interpretations coexist, being contingent to the context of the discussion in which they are implemented. This is the reason that makes the notion of reflexivity a prototypical example of the difficulties encountered by Psychology - and more in general social sciences -in the effort to define their own language. The term "reflexivity" ? like many others the language of Psychology is full of - is used in daily life and thus its semantics is shaped by the pragmatic, contingent functions it serves in such communicational circumstances. The apparent - from afar ? clearness of the concept does not concern its conceptual, epistemic status, but the capacity of the sign to contribute efficaciously to mediate and regulate the exchange. The theoretical elaboration of the notion of reflexivity can be seen as one of the ways of performing the challenging task of developing an intentional language for Psychology. By working on such a notion one can realize that common sense lies at the core of psychological science and what it means to separate the former from the latter, so as to pursue the foundational task of developing Psychology as a theory?driven science.

This volume considers the teaching of writing in computer-supported and traditional classrooms. It is divided into three main sections which consider: literary processes - access to a symbolic system; learning and meaning in childhood; and literacy and activity contexts in adulthood.

In this volume, gender and schooling in the early years addresses a broad range of issues including, but not limited, to gender equity in education. We explore, for example, the complex world of play in Fromberg's chapter and are reminded that for young children, play involves issues of power and hierarchy in ways that parallel the role of gender in society. Miletta's study of preschool children in northern Italy, at Reggio Emilia, reveals a story of classroom interactions where gender differences are not part of the equation for the youngsters. Her chapter begs the question, ""How does this environment empower all children, regardless of gender?"" Two chapters provide a lens to the Montessori setting for young children. Wilgus studies the gendered patterns of young women teaching at a Montessori school, while Irby, Rodriguez, and Lara-Alecio explore the intersections of culture and gender at a bilingual Montessori public school. Further examining the preschool years, Plaster and Schiller address the current brain research and examine the ways in which the adults that staff early child care programs, and the environments that they offer, play an important role in the development of our children.

A volume in Advances in Cultural Psychology Series Editor: Jaan Valsiner, Clark University The dynamics of trust and distrust are central to understanding modern society. These dynamics are evident at all levels of society, from the child's relation to caregivers to the individual's relation to the state, and they span from taken for granted trusting relationships to highly reflective and negotiated contractual interactions. The collection of papers in this book questions the diverse ways in which the concept of trust has been previously used, and advances a coherent theorisation of the socio-cultural dynamics of trust and distrust. In this volume, trust and distrust are analysed in relation to lay knowledge and situated in historical, cultural and interactional contexts.The contexts analysed include witch-hunting during the Reformation, China before and after the move to capitalism, building close personal relationships in South Korea, the representation of political corruption in Brazil, tourists bargaining for souvenirs in the Himalaya, disclosing being HIV+ in India, the historical shaping of trust in Portugal, and the role of trust and distrust in the economic development of the Baltic States. Throughout these analyses, and in associated commentaries and theoretical chapters, the focus is upon the cultural and social constitution of trust and distrust.

A volume in Advances in Cultural Psychology Series Editor: Jaan Valsiner, Clark University Book Summary: Jakob von Uexkull founded Umwelt research with a clear idea - that humans are not qualitatively different than other species. Umwelt, literally "outer-world," is the study of the organism in relation to the world around it, as well as the meaning that the world holds for that organism. Thus the world is a truly subjective place. While von Uexkull's theory has entered into the social sciences via semiotics, and biology via ethology, the authors of these chapters go between and beyond these disciplines to examine everything from cells to spiders to humans and culture. The authors adopt the framework of Umwelt theory to examine unique aspects of the natural world by relating the inner world of the subject and the objects to which that organism attends.

This volume addresses the current situation in higher education and what creative action needs to be taken for the future development of the various systems of higher education. Higher education in the 21st centuries is under immense pressure from various sides. First, there is dramatic limitation of funding from public sources and limited and selective funding support from private sources that is re-constructing the landscape of higher education in most societies around the World. Secondly there is the continuous stream of administrative re-organization efforts of political origins (e.g. "the Bologna process") that guide the advancement of higher education in our present time. Increasing privatization of all forms of higher education-from bachelor to doctoral levels-and its corresponding focus on the advancement of the kind of knowledge that has immediate applicability in various spheres of societies leads to the question- what kind of creativity is expected from the new cohorts of students-future makers of knowledge-once the current social re-organization of higher education systems becomes fully established. To address these questions the international, interdisciplinary cast of authors in this volume provides a multitude of possible scenarios for future development of the systems of higher education. This book on "Sustainable Futures of Higher Education" captures the current trends and perspectives of the Knowledge Makers from various nations of the world on meeting and greeting the challenges of globalization and the pressures of the knowledge economy. It makes a strong case for universities of tomorrow sustaining their autonomous thinking and yet nurturing an environment of collaborative partnership with society, corporate and industry to fuel innovations in plenty and continuous supply of new science and technologies. Higher Education has been and shall remain a powerful vehicle of national and global transformation. I see a great value of the publication in impacting the minds of the leaders in higher education around the globe for revitalizing the universities. Professor P. B Sharma, President of Association of Indian Universities, AIU How should the higher education system be in the globalization era? In this book Jaan Valsiner and his colleagues analyze, criticize the existing and propose a new higher education system. When we say "higher education", three different layers are supposed to be there-- the lower, the middle and the higher. The latter has the function of production of new knowledges. Without new knowledge, our societies are never improving. Authors warn commercialized systems such as the "Bologna system" overestimate the homogeneity of education. ""Universities without Borders" would guarantee both diversity and innovation in the higher education systems. Professor Tatsuya Sato, Dean of Research, Ritsumekan University