To become informed consumers of research, students need to thoughtfully evaluate the research they read rather than accept it without question. This second edition of a classic text gives students what they need to apply critical reasoning when reading behavioral science research. This second edition updates the original text with recent developments in research methods, including a new chapter on meta-analyses. Part I gives a thorough overview of the steps in a research project. It focuses on how to assess whether the conclusions drawn in a behavioral science report are warranted by the methods used in the research. Topics include research hypotheses, sampling, experimental design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and ethics. Part II allows readers to practice critical thinking with a series of fictitious journal articles containing built-in flaws in method and interpretation. Clever and engaging, each article is accompanied by a commentary that points out the errors of procedure and logic that have been deliberately embedded in the article. This combination of instruction and practical application will promote active learning and critical thinking in students studying the behavioral sciences.  

In Memories of WWII the author re-lives what it is like to be converted from a peace-loving civilian into a soldier during wartime. After making the transition, and adapting to life in the field artillery, he is selected for specialized training in psychology. With the invasion of Europe approaching, he is assigned to team up with the psychiatrist of an Infantry Division that is preparing for combat in the European Theater. Overseas, their unit is placed just behind the front lines of the Division so that they can deal with the influx of soldiers suffering from the acute stress of combat. He describes "Combat Exhaustion" or "Battle Fatigue" in the immediacy of its onset, the methods employed to treat it, and the central issues for fear and courage in battle. In addition, he shares his memories of some of the shocking, repugnant, and ugly realities that follow in the wake of combat. He tells vivid and unforgettable stories of dead bodies and body parts, of ignoble acts, of Buchenwald, of displaced persons, of human waste, of looting, of sex, rape, and venereal disease, of homosexuality in the army, and of racial interaction in a segregated military. He takes us with his Infantry Division through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany until finally linking up with Soviet forces at the Elbe River. He re-creates the hilarity, and also the tension and its resolution, when celebrating victory with the Russians. Lastly, he provides insight about the military occupation of Germany after the cessation of hostilities. His final days awaiting transport to an emotional homecoming are spent in a former Hitler Youth Camp in Bavaria.