A leading psychologist takes a hard look at his profession today and argues for important changes in practices and attitudes This book is the product of years of thought and a profound concern for the state of contemporary psychology. Jerome Kagan, a theorist and leading researcher, examines popular practices and assumptions held by many psychologists. He uncovers a variety of problems that, troublingly, are largely ignored by investigators and clinicians. Yet solutions are available, Kagan maintains, and his reasoned suggestions point the way to a better understanding of the mind and mental illness. Kagan identifies four problems in contemporary psychology: the indifference to the setting in which observations are gathered, including the age, class, and cultural background of participants and the procedure that provides the evidence (he questions, for example, the assumption that similar verbal reports of well-being reflect similar psychological states); the habit of basing inferences on single measures rather than patterns of measures (even though every action, reply, or biological response can result from more than one set of conditions); the defining of mental illnesses by symptoms independent of their origin; and the treatment of mental disorders with drugs and forms of psychotherapy that are nonspecific to the diagnosed illness. The author's candid discussion will inspire the debate that is needed in a discipline seeking to fulfill its promises.

This relevant and influential book is the analysis of a longitudinal study of eighty-nine individuals who were assessed at birth and again at regular intervals; observational, psychometric, and interview data were collected for each child and his family until the child reached adolescence, and seventy-one of the subjects were reassessed when they became adults. The book emphasizes the relationship between early experiences and adult characteristics, and has remained throughout the years a forceful argument for and illustration of the continuity thesis.

The culmination of almost seven decades of research, A Trio of Pursuits: Puzzles in Human Development is the magnum opus of the career of Dr. Jerome Kagan, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, USA. This book summarizes three of the author's major research themes during a career that spanned from 1954 to present: preservation of individual traits, maturation of cognition and emotions, and the influence of two temperamental biases on personality. An introspective chapter on the deeper lessons learned by the author in research is also included, covering narratives such as the need to specify the context in which data are gathered, the need to supplement all self-reported data, studying puzzling observations rather than confirmation of a priori hypotheses, and avoiding the error of attributing psychological predicates to brain evidence. This book is a must-have for students and academics of Psychology and Cognitive Science, and may also be of interest to social scientists.

Nearly two thousand years ago a physician named Galen of Pergamon suggested that much of the variation in human behavior could be explained by an individual's temperament. Since that time, inborn dispositions have fallen in and out of favor. Based on fifteen years of research, Galen's Prophecy now provides fresh insights into these complex questions, offering startling new evidence to support Galen's ancient classification of melancholic and sanguine adults. Integrating evidence and ideas from biology, philosophy, and psychology, Jerome Kagan examines the implications of the idea of temperament for aggressive behavior, conscience, psychopathology, and the degree to which each of us can be expected to control our deepest emotions.

"A Young Mind in a Growing Brain" summarizes some initial conclusions that follow simultaneous examination of the psychological milestones of human development during its first decade and what has been learned about brain growth. This volume proposes that development is the process of experience working on a brain that is undergoing significant biological maturation. Experience counts, but only when the brain has developed to the point of being able to process, encode, and interact with these new environmental experiences.
This book's aim is to acquaint developmental biologists and neuroscientists with what has been learned about human psychological development and to acquaint developmental psychologists with the biological evidence. The hope is that each group will gain a richer appreciation of both knowledge corpora. The authors hope to appeal to neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and their students.
The idea for this book was born in 1993 when the authors--a leading developmental psychologist and a pediatrician--met for the first time and recognized the complementarity of their backgrounds and the utility of a collaboration. The reception of their first two papers motivated this attempt to synthesize the available information over a longer developmental era. Learning a great deal over the past decade, the authors hope that their enthusiasm provokes an equally intense curiosity in readers.

"A Young Mind in a Growing Brain" summarizes some initial conclusions that follow simultaneous examination of the psychological milestones of human development during its first decade and what has been learned about brain growth. This volume proposes that development is the process of experience working on a brain that is undergoing significant biological maturation. Experience counts, but only when the brain has developed to the point of being able to process, encode, and interact with these new environmental experiences.
This book's aim is to acquaint developmental biologists and neuroscientists with what has been learned about human psychological development and to acquaint developmental psychologists with the biological evidence. The hope is that each group will gain a richer appreciation of both knowledge corpora. The authors hope to appeal to neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and their students.
The idea for this book was born in 1993 when the authors--a leading developmental psychologist and a pediatrician--met for the first time and recognized the complementarity of their backgrounds and the utility of a collaboration. The reception of their first two papers motivated this attempt to synthesize the available information over a longer developmental era. Learning a great deal over the past decade, the authors hope that their enthusiasm provokes an equally intense curiosity in readers.

Nearly two thousand years ago a physician named Galen of Pergamon suggested that much of the variation in human behavior could be explained by an individual's temperament. Since that time, inborn dispositions have fallen in and out of favor. Based on fifteen years of research, Galen's Prophecy now provides fresh insights into these complex questions, offering startling new evidence to support Galen's ancient classification of melancholic and sanguine adults. Integrating evidence and ideas from biology, philosophy, and psychology, Jerome Kagan examines the implications of the idea of temperament for aggressive behavior, conscience, psychopathology, and the degree to which each of us can be expected to control our deepest emotions.

"Developing Cultures: Essays on Cultural Change "is a collection of 21 expert essays on the institutions that transmit cultural values from generation to generation. The essays are an outgrowth of a research project begun by Samuel Huntington and Larry Harrison in their widely discussed book Culture Matters the goal of which is guidelines for cultural change that can accelerate development in the Third World. The essays in this volume cover child rearing, several aspects of education, the world's major religions, the media, political leadership, and development projects.
The book is companion volume to "Developing Cultures: Case Studies."(0415952808).

The scientific study of mental disorder is exciting today because of discoveries in molecular genetics, cognitive processes, neurochemistry and neuroanatomy. The study of mental disorder has evolved from a primarily descriptive discipline into a mature science that encompasses both biological underpinnings and social and developmental work. Psychopathology combines these fields of research to present a comprehensive picture of psychosis. In this important volume, distinguished investigators from these fields present findings from their laboratories, as well as perspectives on areas of rapid growth and change. The editors also provide thoughtful overviews of four major topics in psychopathology research: brain mechanisms, thinking, development and genetics. This book will appeal to graduate students, clinicians and researchers in the fields of psychiatry, cognitive science and neuroscience.

The scientific study of mental disorder is exciting today because of new discoveries in molecular genetics, cognitive processes, neurochemistry and neuroanatomy. Psychopathology combines these fields of research to present a comprehensive picture of psychosis. In this important volume, distinguished investigators from these fields present new findings from their laboratories, as well as perspectives on areas of rapid growth and change. The editors also provide thoughtful overviews of four major topics in psychopathology research: brain mechanisms, thinking, development and genetics.

""The Emergence of Morality in Young Children" is one of very few scholarly books concerning the development of moral tendencies in the early years. In its pages, a diverse group of eminent social and behavioral scientists address this fascinating topic and struggle with issues of inquiry that have persistently plagued this field."--Nancy Eisenberg, "Harvard Educational Review"
"This is a welcome and immensely provocative book. For those of us who favor ethical theorizing done in close proximity to psychology and anthropology, it provides new and illuminating theory and research relevant to perennial debates about the origins of moral sense, its psychological organization, and the objectivity and unity of the moral."--Owen Flanagan, "Ethics"
The contributors are Augusto Blasi, Lawrence Blum, Judy Dunn, M. Ann Easterbrooks, Carolyn Pope Edwards, Robert Emde, Carol Gilligan, Charles C. Helwig, William F. Johnson, Jerome Kagan, Melanie Killen, Sharon Lamb, Manamohan Mahapatra, Joan G. Miller, Edward Mueller, Richard A. Shweder, Catherine Snow, Elliot Turiel, and Grant Wiggins.

In 1959 C. P. Snow delivered his now-famous Rede Lecture, The Two Cultures, a reflection on the academy based on the premise that intellectual life was divided into two cultures: the arts and humanities on one side and science on the other. Since then, a third culture, generally termed social science and comprised of fields such as sociology, political science, economics, psychology, and anthropology, has emerged. Jerome Kagan s book describes the assumptions, vocabulary, and contributions of each of these cultures and argues that the meanings of many of the concepts used by each culture are unique to it and do not apply to the others because the source of evidence for the term is special. The text summarizes the contributions of the social sciences and humanities to our understanding of human nature and questions the popular belief that biological processes are the main determinant of variation in human behavior.

In 1959 C. P. Snow delivered his now-famous Rede Lecture, The Two Cultures, a reflection on the academy based on the premise that intellectual life was divided into two cultures: the arts and humanities on one side and science on the other. Since then, a third culture, generally termed social science and comprised of fields such as sociology, political science, economics, psychology, and anthropology, has emerged. Jerome Kagan s book describes the assumptions, vocabulary, and contributions of each of these cultures and argues that the meanings of many of the concepts used by each culture are unique to it and do not apply to the others because the source of evidence for the term is special. The text summarizes the contributions of the social sciences and humanities to our understanding of human nature and questions the popular belief that biological processes are the main determinant of variation in human behavior.

As infants we are rife with potential. For a short time, we have before us a seemingly infinite number of developmental paths. Soon, however, we become limited to certain paths as we grow into unique products of our genetics and experience. But what factors account for the variation,in skills, personalities, values,that results? How do experiences shape what we bring into the world?In The Human Spark , pioneering psychologist Jerome Kagan offers an unflinching examination of personal, moral, and cultural development that solidifies his place as one of the most influential psychologists of the past century. In this definitive analysis of the factors that shape the human mind, Kagan explores the tension between biology and the environment. He reviews major advances in the science of development over the past three decades and offers pointed critiques and new syntheses. In so doing, Kagan calls out the shortcomings of the modern fad for neuroscience, shows why theories of so-called attachment parenting are based on a misinterpretation of research, and questions the field's reflexive tendency to pathologize the behaviour of the young. Most importantly, he reminds us that a life, however influenced by biology and upbringing, is still a tapestry to be woven, not an outcome to be endured.A profound exploration of what is universal and what is individual in human development, The Human Spark is the result of a scientist's lifelong quest to discover how we become who we are. Whether the reader is a first-time parent wondering what influence she, her genes, and the wider world will have on her child an educator seeking insight into the development of her students or simply a curious soul seeking self-knowledge, Kagan makes an expert and companionable guide.

How malleable is human nature? Can an individual really change in meaningful ways? Or, are there immutable limits on the possibilities of human growth set in place by the genes and by the early experiences of childhood? These are questions which touch our deepest political and personal concerns; and they have long been a matter of fierce debate in the behavioral sciences.

"Constancy and Change in Human Development" takes a thorough inventory of the growing body of research which now bears upon these questions. Editors Brim and Kagan have assembled an outstanding group of specialists in human growth and commissioned them to assess questions of change and continuity in physical, mental, and emotional development throughout the life span. Beginning with three general chapters which place the ideas of continuity and discontinuity in historical and philosophical perspective, the book moves across a broad spectrum of developmental issues, ranging from the basic adaptability of the human central nervous system to the effects of social institutions which seek to promote individual change. There are chapters on physical growth, health, cognitive development, personality, social attitudes and beliefs, occupational careers, psychosis, and criminal behavior. Throughout these chapters, the recurring question is whether development can be seen as a continuous process in which early stages reliably predict subsequent events, or whether instead there are sharp discontinuities which render individual development essentially unpredictable. The variety and richness of the answers to this question provide a summary of human development which is unparalleled in any other single volume.

Additional Editors Are Nelson B. Henry And Herman G. Richey.

Additional Editors Are Nelson B. Henry And Herman G. Richey.

In this provocative book, now updated, the renowned psychologist Jerome Kagan challenges many of psychology's most deeply held assumptions-arguing, for example, that early experience does not inexorably shape our lives and that the influence of the family is more subtle than has been supposed.

This relevant and influential book is the analysis of a longitudinal study of eighty-nine individuals who were assessed at birth and again at regular intervals; observational, psychometric, and interview data were collected for each child and his family until the child reached adolescence, and seventy-one of the subjects were reassessed when they became adults. The book emphasizes the relationship between early experiences and adult characteristics, and has remained throughout the years a forceful argument for and illustration of the continuity thesis.

A revered psychologist invites us to re-examine our thinking about controversial contemporary issues, from the genetic basis for behaviors to the functions of education In this thought-provoking book, psychologist Jerome Kagan urges readers to sally forth from their usual comfort zones. He ponders a series of important nodes of debate while challenging us to examine what we know and why we know it. Most critically he presents an elegant argument for functions of mind that cannot be replaced with sentences about brains while acknowledging that mind emerges from brain activity. Kagan relies on the evidence to argue that thoughts and emotions are distinct from their biological and genetic bases. In separate chapters he deals with the meaning of words, kinds of knowing, the powerful influence of social class, the functions of education, emotion, morality, and other issues. And without fail he sheds light on these ideas while remaining honest to their complexity. Thoughtful and eloquent, Kagan's On Being Human places him firmly in the tradition of Renaissance essayist Michel de Montaigne, whose appealing blend of intellectual insight, personal storytelling, and careful judgment has attracted readers for centuries.

"Developing Cultures: Essays on Cultural Change "is a collection of 21 expert essays on the institutions that transmit cultural values from generation to generation. The essays are an outgrowth of a research project begun by Samuel Huntington and Larry Harrison in their widely discussed book Culture Matters the goal of which is guidelines for cultural change that can accelerate development in the Third World. The essays in this volume cover child rearing, several aspects of education, the world's major religions, the media, political leadership, and development projects.
The book is companion volume to "Developing Cultures: Case Studies."(0415952808).

We have seen these children--the shy and the sociable, the cautious and the daring--and wondered what makes one avoid new experience and another avidly pursue it. At the crux of the issue surrounding the contribution of nature to development is the study that Jerome Kagan and his colleagues have been conducting for more than two decades. In "The Long Shadow of Temperament," Kagan and Nancy Snidman summarize the results of this unique inquiry into human temperaments, one of the best-known longitudinal studies in developmental psychology. These results reveal how deeply certain fundamental temperamental biases can be preserved over development.

Identifying two extreme temperamental types--inhibited and uninhibited in childhood, and high-reactive and low-reactive in very young babies--Kagan and his colleagues returned to these children as adolescents. Surprisingly, one of the temperaments revealed in infancy predicted a cautious, fearful personality in early childhood and a dour mood in adolescence. The other bias predicted a bold childhood personality and an exuberant, sanguine mood in adolescence. These personalities were matched by different biological properties. In a masterly summary of their wide-ranging exploration, Kagan and Snidman conclude that these two temperaments are the result of inherited biologies probably rooted in the differential excitability of particular brain structures. Though the authors appreciate that temperamental tendencies can be modified by experience, this compelling work--an empirical and conceptual tour-de-force--shows how long the shadow of temperament is cast over psychological development.