Book Description

Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation speaks in the clear voice of a woman who emerged from the other side of autism, bringing with her an extraordinary message about how animals think and feel.

Temple's professional training as an animal scientist and her history as a person with autism have given her a perspective like that of no other expert in the field. Standing at the intersection of autism and animals, she offers unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas about both.

Autistic people can often think the way animals think -- in fact, Grandin and co-author Catherine Johnson see autism as a kind of way station on the road from animals to humans -- putting autistic people in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Temple is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. Not only are animals much smarter than anyone ever imagined, in some cases animals are out-and-out brilliant.

The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense, merging an animal scientist's thirty years of study with her keen perceptions as a person with autism -- Temple sees what others cannot.

Among its provocative ideas, the book:

• argues that language is not a requirement for consciousness -- and that animals do have consciousness

• applies the autism theory of "hyper-specificity" to animals, showing that animals and autistic people are so sensitive to detail that they "can't see the forest for the trees" -- a talent as well as a "deficit"

• explores the "interpreter" in the normal human brain that filters out detail, leaving people blind to much of the reality that surrounds them -- a reality animals and autistic people see, sometimes all too clearly

• explains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal genius

• compares animals to autistic savants, declaring that animals may in fact be autistic savants, with special forms of genius that normal people do not possess and sometimes cannot even see

• examines how humans and animals use their emotions to think, to decide, and even to predict the future

• reveals the remarkable abilities of handicapped people and animals

• maintains that the single worst thing you can do to an animal is to make it feel afraid

Temple Grandin is like no other author on the subject of animals because of her training and because of her autism: understanding animals is in her blood and in her bones. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

Excellent Book Used in My Dialectical Behavior Therapy Class
We are using this book in my dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) class and it has been extremely helpful in understanding mindfulness. I highly recommend this as an addition to DBT for consumers of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Wonderful!

A good presentation of a treatment and its develpment
A very well-written, comprehensive, clinician-friendly account of a treatment that appears to capture much of the essence of mindfulness and its benefits. Straight forward enough so that clinicians from all theoretical orientations should be able to appreciate the nature of the approach. It is very nice to see, in the past 15 years or so, psychologists finally trying to take a serious scientific stab at traditionally Eastern approaches like mindfulness and acceptance. The only drawback of the book, for me, was the relative lack of a serious scientific technical analysis of the approach, as the description of how the treatment theoretically works is largely discussed in metaphorical and somewhat lay-language. This may simply be because the book is aimed primarily at practicing clinicians, rather than academic psychologists and other researchers. Readers intrigued by this approach should also read Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (1999), by Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson.

Cognitive Therapy meets Mindfulness Meditation
If your interests include psychotherapy (especially cognitive therapies), or meditation (especially Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), or if you are interested in research on depression, then I suspect that you will find this book as compelling as I did.

Here is what I found profound about this book, from a cognitive therapy perspective. Cognitive therapists have long known that automatic thoughts are related to various psychopathologies, but they typically theorized that CHANGING those thoughts was the royal road to psychological health. The alternative studied and developed by the authors is that carefully ATTENDING to cognitions fully as they arise and fall is itself healing. Rather than focusing on cognitive restructuring of thoughts and thinking, this cognitive therapy postulates that observing thoughts, feelings, perceptions, bodily sensations, and world events in a compassionate, "non-attached" manner liberates one from the suffering that accompanies them. The authors have begun to collect outcome data consistent with this unusual cognitive theory.

I found the authors' review of the depression literature quite informative, and the evidence in support of MBCT is described clearly. At the same time, I couldn't help noting that the MBCT approach is specifically designed to target recovering depressives, with an eye toward preventing relapse. So although MBCT is "for depression, " it is not currently intended to treat depression per se, and it is intended as an adjunct to other treatments (e.g., medication, individual psychotherapy, etc.). So, the authors focus, at least for now, on a narrowly defined population. This is not a criticism of the book or MBCT. But for now, MBCT is quite limited in scope by its infancy. I expect that someone eventually will attempt to systematize a form of MBCT for depression in general, for individuals, or for other clinical populations.

I'm always tempted to buy another book on meditation and psychotherapy. I have to be careful here. There is a glut of excellent, relevant books (e.g., books by Mark Epstein, Daniel Goleman, Ken Wilber). Buying or reading yet another book is the easy, habitual behavior when books are your drug of choice, and your cluttered house is screaming at you with volumes of printed matter. Practicing mindfulness continuously, noticing a habitual tendency, and attending fully to the present moment, presents itself as the mindful, non-habitual alternative choice. Did I really need yet another book?

Well, I'm glad I read yet another book on this topic. This book shares many elements with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an influential meditative approach that has considerable empirical support and is finding its way into many medical and psychological settings (seeJon Kabat-Zinn's "Full Catastrophe Living"). Initially the authors attempted to bolt MBSR approaches onto previously existing variants of Cognitive Therapy. But as their methods and awareness evolved, MBCT increasingly came to resemble Kabat-Zinn's MBSR. Their current MBCT approach is an 8-week group program that strongly resembles the UMASS MBSR program, with some elements of traditional cognitive therapy added. I think that the MBCT variant of MBSR will be valuable in that it provides additional tools and strategies for running Mindfulness-based groups in a clinical setting. Additionally, I think MBCT nicely integrates empirically-validated components of CT with empirically-validated components of MBSR. It is worth noting that the MBCT approach is specifically psycho-educational, and takes place in a group setting. This could be the beginning of a beautiful psychotherapy.

A Suprisingly Readable and Useful Book
This is a fantastic book for a variety of audiences: (1) practicing psychologists and therapists who want to learn about a useful -- and empirically supported -- skill for treating depression; (2) people who think may suffer from sad moods -- even if not full-blown depression -- and who want a medicine-free and therapy-free way to feel better; (3) academic researchers who want to know more about varieties of meditation and how to adapt meditation programs to more specific goals; (4) people interested in mindfulness meditation who want to see a psychological angle on why it works so well; (5) academic researchers who want to know more about some theories about why cognitive-behavioral therapy works so well.

Whew! So many good things to say:

The book actually reads very well -- not just by the minimal standards of academic writing, but by popular standards as well. It's clear, unpretentious and has a surprising amount of drama to it.

Many people now try to adapt some kind of mindfulness a la John Kabat-Zinn to a variety of needs for people to overcome this or that disorder, pain, etc. Nearly all assume that one can just take the whole Kabat-Zinn plan and just throw anyone into it. As someone who has taken a class based on the Kabat-Zinn program, and someone who has tried to adapt it to teaching law students and others about negotiation, I can tell you this does not work too well. Among other things, few people really manage to meditate 45 minutes a day.

The book explains how the researchers tried to adapt the program to a more specific need: preventing people from getting depressed again after they've been treated. They explain how they changed their thinking about meditation and how to teach it.

One of the most beautiful parts of the book is how frankly the authors admit how their first attempts fell short. They also frankly explain how they needed to meditate themselves before they could teach it.

Highly recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

Visual note-taking relies on paring down thoughts to key words and pictures. This introduction to this technique illustrates how relationships among various concepts are highlighted and more information can be recorded on a page. This helpful tool can be used for personal self-expression, curriculum planning, group processes, and as a teaching strategy in daily lessons. Beginners are introduced to stroke-by-stroke exercises in drawing simple iconic figures that can be incorporated into one's mindscapes. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Useful book at work and at home
This book helps. I used it with my kids, although it was recommended by my boss. It gives a straight-forward message with a lot of excellent examples of how to write your ideas using mind mappoing. I learned something about mind mapping a few years ago, but this goes way beyond that and is first-rate.

Mapping inner space is excellent!
I own Nancy Margulies' first book on Mapping Inner Space and am so glad that the new one is full of even more ideas, lots more color maps and an expanded drawing section. I don't draw, or I didn't until I tried the symbols and exercises in the book. The main reason it is such a useful (and delightful) book is that the mapping process can be used for planning and presentations and improving communication skills. It would be excellent for students and teachers. I would also recommend it to people experiencing stressful life experiences, it really helps in sharing ideas and has helped me think in new ways.

Beautifully practically
This book has managed to take a very creative process and make it doable for the less experienced. If you work with people and want to be able to, in an artistic way, but more importantly, a usuable way, record the unfolding work- this book is extraordinary. It covers so many differently arenas where visual mapping can support decistion making, creative thinking, and collaborations.It is the best book of it kind.

An excellent visual thinking application book for all!
This is actually the updated version of the author's earlier book bearing the same title. It has been fully expanded to cater to professional and businesspeople, and is now packed with many colourful illustrations.

I am very confident businesspeople will find this book useful in enhancing and expanding their visual-perceptual mode of thinking and problem solving.

In this book, the author stretches the traditional boundary of mindmapping as created by Tony Buzan in his many proprietary "Mindmapping" books since the mid-70s.

The author breaks some traditional "Mindmapping" rules in the process, which she now calls "Mindscaping." This enables the reader to exercise the untapped and unlimited potential of the mind to create new working maps in the process of learning and thinking.

For professionals and businesspeople, her 'mindscaping' approaches can be adapted to suit any 'focused conversations' in a group or organisational setting.

I find Tony Buzan somewhat structured in his proprietary approach, and it is good that Nancy has done an excellent job to take a refreshing and "out-of-the-box" approach to traditional mindmapping. This gives much more meaning to the mindmapping process as it should be in the first place, and now makes it much easier to learn and apply in the real world.

For those readers who still think 'mindmapping' (or Tony Buzan) is great stuff, wait till you get hold of this book!

For beginners, Nancy's book is also a great help as she shows how to do simple iconic pictures.

For further exploration, I would recommend readers to buy and read Larry Raymond's Reinventing Communication, which showcases more business applications, particularly in the area of strategic planning. Milli Sonneman's Beyond Words is also worth exploring, especially in the area of group problem solving.

Kathy Mason's Going Beyond Words and David Hyerle's Visual Tools for Constructing Knowledge are also worth pursuing, especially if you are in the teaching/academic environment. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Power Cards is an excellent new approach to helping kids.
I have read and re-read the Power Cards book with great satisfaction. This new approach to working with some of our special kids is wonderful and I have found that these concepts really work. They are well thought out and easy to do. I hope that everyone will give this concept a try, especially when it seems nothing else seems to work.

A behavior strategy that's fun to create and easy to use!
The Power Card Strategy has become one of the most effective strategies we use in our school. It is intrinsically motivating to students because it incorporates a student's special interest or favorite character into a story that helps them understand appropriate behaviors. The Power Card story is fun to develop because the student's favorite TV personality, cartoon character or real life hero explains the importance of using the appropriate behavior and explains how to display this behavior by following the listed steps. This resource has many examples of the Power Card Strategy and walks you through writing your own Power Card story and Power Card. It is an excellent resource for teachers, parents and other professionals who are involved in shaping children's behaviors.

Power Cards- What a strategy!
I am a special eduacation teacher in Illinois and work with children with autism spectrum disorder. I mainly work with children with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome. I have used the Power Card book several times and my district is adapting the strategy as one that really works with this population. My students can relate to their "obsessions" while learning rules- it's perfect! I have seen a significant increase in several target (preferred) behaviors with many students with autism and AS after the Power Card stratedy was implemented. I am big fan of this book. It's easy for anyone to use and I highly recommend it to parents and professionals.

A useful resource!
This book is a valuable resourcefor parents and special educators. It offers readers examples of incorporating a child's special interest into a motivational tool to help shape behaviors. The examples are easy to follow and easily translated into real life situations. The reader can certainly take the information in this book and apply it to their own children/students with special needs. ... Read more

Book Description

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR looks at learning as an evolutionary mechanism. Chance's book is stimulating, interactive, and peppered with high-interest queries and examples. Chance provides the depth of conceptual knowledge usually associated with books twice as dense and infinitely less interesting. Chance's engaging work has become a favorite of students because of his ability to illuminate how the psychology of learning can offer insight into their own behavior. ... Read more

Book Description

"Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Mel Levine, one of the best-known learning experts and pediatricians in America today. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all. Yet most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, many children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the way they are being taught.

In his #1 New York Times bestseller A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and those who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns, explaining how they can strengthen a child's abilities and either bypass or help overcome the child's weaknesses, producing positive results instead of repeated frustration and failure.

Consistent progress can result when we understand that not every child can do equally well in every type of learning and begin to pay more attention to individual learning patterns -- and individual minds -- so that we can maximize children's success and gratification in life. In A Mind at a Time Dr. Levine shows us how. ... Read more

Reviews (56)

EXCELLENT BOOK ON CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Anyone who has a child in the school system knows that the educational process does not allow for one-on-one assessment of a child's learning abilities. A child either keeps pace or in many cases, falls behind. The author has written an excellent book on what a child needs in order to grow, learn, and develop his or her full potential.

It would be wonderful if all children learned at the same rate and possessed the same aptitude for learning; however, each child is a unique individual. The educational system today does not structure its learning process around that fundamental fact. A good many of the behavioural problems we see surfacing today stem from the fact a child becomes frustrated, bored, overwhelmingly challenged, or discouraged by the educational process, and their actions are often a result of what is lacking in the education system. Some parents, as well, do not take that fact into consideration and often expect Mary to keep up with brother John, because John seems to excel in everything, while Mary struggles to achieve.

There are a variety of topics to be found in the book, including development of memory, language, and motor skills. If you are an educator or have a child who is experiencing difficulties in this area, this book provides excellent resource material. It is one parents and individuals with the authority to make changes in the system should read and take to heart. The book contains a valuable message, is well researched, and is equally as well written.

Significant, enlightening, and a good read too
Other reviewers have discussed the pros and cons of Dr. Levine's theories in depth, so I won't go into those; in the field of cognitive psychology, I'm an interested (and, I think, fairly well-read) amateur rather than a professional.

That said, I feel that this is an important book for both parents and educators. The child's "job" of learning how to function in the world, and mastering the many tasks set for him/her by the educational system, isn't an easy one. The human mind is complex and multifaceted, but our schools tend to think of "intelligence" as a narrowly defined set of skills, and anyone who doesn't do well in those must be either stupid or lazy. (Levine notes that the moral implications of such judgments, e.g., that a student "doesn't try hard enough" or is "unmotivated," can be devastating to a child, and are often grossly unfair.) The irony is that -- as Levine points out -- the abilities that enable a child to succeed in school aren't necessarily those that conduce to success in later life; so, by rewarding performance only in certain areas, we doom many children to a low opinion of their abilities and ignore a wide spectrum of human potential.

Although the subject isn't exactly lightweight, I found the book appealing and highly readable. Dr. Levine clearly has great respect and affection for his young subjects, so his anecdotes are engaging and (often) amusing. I was especially tickled when he urged a young client not to let his teachers "catch him doing something right" because from then on they'd hold it against him. In school, I was a "divergent thinker" to the max: if a subject interested me, I'd do a brilliant job, but if not I'd blow it off. So my occasional successes turned into threats: "See how well you can do if you just TRY hard enough." Trying hard had nothing to do with it! (When I got into college and graduate school, where I could study the subjects that interested me, my GPA soared.)

Although Levine's work is often compared with Howard Gardner's, in fact they're complementary. Levine deals with cognitive skills (such as learning to filter stimuli), while Gardner deals with innate abilities or faculties in various subject areas (such as affinity for music). A child's learning difficulties could result from either one -- for example, problems with math might mean that the child can't focus on details, or has little math ability -- or they could be caused by something totally unrelated to intelligence, such as eye problems. As Levine memorably points out, every child's mind is different, and "one size fits all" solutions rarely address the real problem.

A excellent resource for academia, parents, & future parents
The author Mike Levine provides us a book of rare quality and singular distinction as it relates to child development. Drawing from his experiences, Levine shares many interesting stories about children and their learning struggles. The universal theme running through his book is how to identify a child's weakeness, focusing on the child's strengths and interestes, and finding techniques or methods to circumvent the weaknesses. I rank this book among great writtings, such as, "Now discover your strengthens." The primary difference being, Levine provides a more clinical examination of children learning disabilities. Levine explores more of the neurological disorders that plague children than "Now discover your strengths". Levine helps us gain a more awareness about how these disorder effect children. Additionally, he helps us to understand the level of fustration and pain these disorders cause children. Levines book increases ones self awareness of the challenges associated with learning. Levine doesn't classify minds as good, fair, or poor rather he states that each mind learns differently. By accomodating the different types of learning weaknesses are circumvented.

Some of the weakness Levine addresses are short term memory problems, sequencing handicaps, spatial orientation, gross motor skills, relations, higher conceptualization, word and grammer challenges, and when a mind falls behind. The book has a fair number of diagrams which visually assist the reader in understanding various learning models being expressed by the author. I like the book because it provides a list of do's and don'ts at the end of each chapter. The reader learns about many ineffective behaviors they may have no effect on a struggling child.

Highly overrated
Mel gave a presentation at our school a number of years ago. He was am impassioned, motivational speaker. Last year this book was required reading for all the teachers at the school where I am employed. Most of us did not read very much of it because we were put off by the book. In fact, there is a running joke among the teachers that Mel really thinks "there are no lazy students". Other reviewers have mentioned the lack of literature research. Personally, I think that Howard Gardner's work on learning styles is far more useful that Levine's.

My Best Advice
This book is a must read for educators and students alike. And I mean ALL educators and students. You will be grateful for the information and advice. I am. And, I must say, I am also grateful for the advice of a previous reviewer who recommended that, after I read Mel Levine's great "A Mind at a Time", I also read Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Thomas Jefferson: Character Leadership Education". It WAS an education. This is my best advice. ... Read more

Book Description

DO YOU:

·dream about writing the Great American Novel?

·regret not finishing your paintings, poems, or screenplays?

·want to start a business or charity?

·wish you could start dieting or exercising today?

·hope to run a marathon someday?

If "yes," then you need…THE WAR OF ART

Now, in this powerful, straight-from-the-hip examination of the internal obstacles to success, bestselling author Steven Pressfield shows readers how to identify, defeat, and unlock the inner barriers to creativity. THE WAR OF ART is an inspirational, funny, well-aimed kick in the pants guaranteed to galvanize every would-be artist, visionary, or entrepreneur.

Steven Pressfield enjoys great international success as a bestselling novelist.But in order to reach the top he had to do a lot of work to fight the inner demons that told him he couldn’t make it.THE WAR OF ART is his challenge to creative block, and his succinct, straight-from-the-hip style will help every reader unleash their personal ambitions, be they literary, artistic, or business-minded.

According to Pressfield, the internal obstacle to success is Resistance.Resistance is the difference between the life you lead and the life you want to lead, and can take many forms.Pressfield shows readers how to identify and defeat Resistance at every turn and challenges them to change their amateurish, unsuccessful habits into a professional attitude that can get the job done. Finally, Sun Tzu for the soul!

Inspirational, funny, and a great kick in the pants, THE WAR OF ART is the perfect book for anybody who had a goal circumvented by life and circumstance:which is to say, you and everybody you’ve ever met. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Overcome resistance to living the life you love
If you have a passion in your life -- writing, painting, music, sculpting, dancing, acting -- and if this passion is the reason you believe you're alive, then check out this book. One of Pressfield's premises is that we're all MEANT for something, we're each here for some reason, to create something in the world (Eternity is in love with the productions of time) and if we don't live for and through this, then we're wasting our time. He blasts away even the most stubborn and alluring resistances - the excuses we tell ourselves for not doing the work. This book can rev you up -- it's short (165 pages)and powerful. I breezed through the book in a few hours and felt energized. Pressfield puts art-making in perspective, puts procastination in perspective, and delivers in a direct, conversational tone -- as one human who is trying to live a life that means something to another. I've read a lot of "how to" books and most don't live up to their hype. This one deals with how to overcome the obstacles of ambition and how (and why) to discipline yourself. As much as a cliche as it may sound, it will make a difference in how you look at what you do. Give it to anyone else you know who wants to write, paint, act, dance, compose, and wants to follow their dream.

The Best Book on Beating Blocks and Procrastination
I teach entrepreneurship to both artists and non-artists at a Boston nonprofit. We encourage all of our students to read The War of Art, and everyone who has read it says it has changed their life. Often, upon finishing the book, students are motivated to make some major decision or change that they have been agonizing over, and many students also get their spouse or kids to read it.

TWOA's main virtue is the clarity, precision, and conciseness with which it describes both the causes of, and cure for, creative blocks. Thanks to its clarity, etc., the reader can easily assimilate the points Pressfield is making and apply that information to make changes in his or her life. Because TWOA nails its topic so effectively and efficiently, I actually think it is more useful than other books on this topic, including best sellers such as Covey's Seven Habits.

I don't agree with every point Pressfield raises--for instance, he is somewhat skeptical of therapy, whereas I think it is often crucial--but there is no denying that this is a fantastically useful and effective book. In "real life" and on Amazon, I recommend it to everyone!

Didn't live up to expectations
After reading several glowing reviews of this book, I was eager to read it for myself in an effort to unlock my own creativity. I did enjoy the first part (dealing with Resistance) because it did a good job of describing just exactly what kinds of forces creative people are up against and how those forces manifest themselves. If the rest of the book had been that good I would have given it 4 or 5 stars. However, I thought things really went downhill from there. Pressfield could easily have squeezed all the important and useful information in this book into absolutely no more than 50 pages. And I don't mean simply compressing all the text as opposed to using the "Life's Little Instruction Book" format with often no more than a short paragraph on a page, leaving the rest of the page blank. I can understand why the book is formatted that way. What I mean is that much of the book, and especially the information after part I, struck me as being so esoteric and repetitious that it was of little use and added nothing to the book. For instance, the point that an artist should simply stop procrastinating and get to work instead of waiting for inspiration to strike is a valid one, and I think Pressfield is correct that something kind of magical happens after the process starts. However, going on and on and on about this subject for several pages was unnecessary and monotonous. Pressfield also comments several times on his disdain for "self help" programs or "workshops," yet in the end this book struck me as being precisely that. I'm not a fan of the self help craze, so I felt uncomfortable with much of this book. Overall I am still glad I read this book, if for no other reason than to glean the helpful information in part I. However, I give it just 3 stars for these reasons and because the publisher has no business putting a $12 price tag on a book this short. If you have a chance to buy this book at a used book store or borrow it from someone, it's worth your time (and it won't take much time - I finished it in one day). Otherwise you're better off saving your money.

Not Only for Artists
Without rehashing what this book is about, I want to tell you what it does: It pushes you to move beyond your current way of thinking about your creativity and removes the obstacles preventing you from taking greater creative actions.

I am not an artist, but rather an entrepreneur. The morning after I finished the book (it's a very quick read), I took what was previously a half-finished idea, fooled around with it for a while, saw it through to its completion and started using it as a marketing tool right away. It instantly became one of my most powerful methods for driving customers to my business. If I had not read the War of Art, the idea might still be unformed and unused.

If you're stuck in your way of thinking about problems in art, business or life, give this book a shot.

Tough Love for Artists
This book is tough love for creative professionals. Outlining many of the obstacles facing any artist, THE WAR OF ART confirms much of what I've experienced and observed in my own career.What another reviewer calls a "negative attitude" I find a refreshingly candid assessment of the artist's predicament. Making a living as a professional artist is difficult. But at least as much of that difficulty comes from inside our own heads as from the world around us. Pressfield doesn't let us off the hook for a moment. No excuses or self-pity allowed. Instead he encourages us to face our demons and commit to the challenge in a unique and stimulating way.

He does get a tad mystical with his talk of angels and muses, particularly toward the end of the book. But this is really just another way of describing that indecribable "something" we've all tapped into when we really find our creative groove.

A truly helpful book I'll keep with me as a rough guide and reference for years to come. ... Read more

Book Description

This contemporary survey of the field of learning offers comprehensive coverage of both classic studies and the most recent developments and trends—with an emphasis on the importance of learning principles in everyday life. Many real-world examples and analogies make the often abstract concepts and theories of the field more concrete and relevant, and most chapters include sections that describe how the theories and principles have been used in the applied field of behavior modification.Simple Ideas, Simple Associations, and Simple Cells. Innate Behavior Patterns and Habituation. Basic Principles of Classical Conditioning. Theories and Research on Classical Conditioning. Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning. Reinforcement Schedules: Experimental Analyses and Applications. Avoidance and Punishment. Theories and Research on Operant Conditioning. Stimulus Control and Concept Formation. Comparative Cognition. Learning by Observation. Learning Motor Skills. Choice.For educators, social workers, and anyone interested in human learning behavior. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

excellent
I have taught from this book in New Zealand and America. If your students are used to being spoon fed they may rebel at its complexity -- but if they are given proper guidance it will be useful first introduction and enduringly useful text for them. If you are graduating students with degrees in psychology and they cannot comprehend this book -- then their degree is not worth the paper it is printed on.

A Student Reader
This text is much too complex for even an advanced undergraduate student. I found the chapters to be poorly organized, repetitious and over emphatical on small points, and vague on many important points. For a reader who has a good deal of previous exposure to behavior psychology, this may be a good text. For the majority of readers using this as a text to obtain an undergraduate degree without an emphisis on behavior, it is not. It seems to require quite a bit of previous exposure to behaviorist theories that most readers I have encountered do not have.

A must for anyone serious about behavior.
This book is not for the faint of heart but is indispensable for anyone seriously into the field of behavior. In the animal training field it is one of the five top books that I and many other trainers recommend.

Marked four stars only because it is not for the casual reader.

Overly technical for the undergraduate, needs simplified.
I found this book to be too technical and dry for the average undergraduate. It contained information that seemed both relevent and useless to the consumer. For instance, the chapters explained a mild version of the topic of discussion, then, went into detail on that topic later on. Instead of breaking the topics up so much it would be preferrable to read it all at once. I read the book numerous times, and still had some problems comprehending the exact meanings of many of the subjects. Learning and Behavior was more technical than the average undergraduate can learn, or should be tested on. ... Read more

Book Description

Ancient astronauts? Atlantis? Psychic archaeology? Committed to the scientific investigation of human antiquity, this indispensable supplementary text uses interesting archaeological hoaxes, myths, and mysteries to show how we can truly know things about the past through science. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An Excellent Guide to Reason vs. Faith in Archeology
Kenneth Feder has collected a whooole bunch of examples of funny hoaxes and archaeological misadventure in this curiously good book. Read about the Cardiff Giant scam, the Piltdown man hoax, Noah's ark tomfoolery and fakery, the slippery slope of Creationist craziness, Atlantis Atrophy, the Shredded evidence for the Shroud of Turin, and more!

Feder's volume is interesting, stimulating, and even if you are a well read skeptic, you will probably learn something new. I personally was reminded how easy it is to fool people who want to believe something and aren't moved to investigate or challenge the beliefs they are comfortable with. The gist of the book seems to be that people who rely mostly upon faith can end up believing just about anything, while those who are inclined to question and test new information via logic, scientific methods, and common sense are more likely to actually uncover the facts for themselves, doing away with faith altogether.

Outstanding for archeology and skeptic enthusiats
This is an outstanding book written as a result of the author's own reading in the paranormal genre. Kenneth Feder points out how believable he found "The Morning of the Magicians" until it wandered into his own field of expertise: archeology. After comparing notes with chemists, physicists, historians, etc. he found the same response-- that such books seem perfectly logical--at least in areas in which one has no knowledge.

All the big name hoaxes are here: the Cardiff Giant, Piltdown Man, the Shroud of Turin; but presented in a way that's fresh for the initiated and straight forward for the budding archeologist; and since he's writing as an archeologist, Feder never lapses into the bitter sarcasm so common to skeptical writers.

There are surprises: who knew one of the largest pyramids in the world was in St. Louis, or that the Shroud of Turin was declared a fake in 1359? Above all Feder's love of archeology and sincere delight in the real mysteries of the past should make this book required reading for anyone interested in human history.

Will the "real" pseudoscientists please stand up?
Kenneth Feder, apparently a self-proclaimed authority on everything archaeological and areas that are around the fringe, continues his startling pseudoscientific blunders in the new edition of this book. In line with the now-disproven "Clovis-First" doctrine that dominated American archaeologists, Feder has long asserted that all Native Americans came from Asia. Of course, both the "Clovis-First" and Asian origin have been shown to be false beliefs maintained by a purported "science" apparently functioning more like a religion than a science. His book, like Stephen Williams' equally-flawed competitor book, is a fun read, partially because it reads like an absolute authority pointing out how stupid those are who disagree. The fundamental blunders in the book, crossing into the realm of what medical practitioners and juries would call "malpractice," are best pointed out by his references to the psychic Edgar Cayce.
Feder makes several references to Cayce including the assertion that Cayce had "Atlantean texts" that enabled him to "predict the future and effect cures on terminally ill people." Feder lists two references with this assertion giving it an air of authority. In 2001 I asked Feder to check out where these references made that asertion. After a brief time, Feder replied that he "had no idea" whatsoever where these claims were made and couldn't tell me where the idea originated. In brief, Edgar Cayce never claimed to have Atlantean texts and never claimed that he could cure the terminally ill. Like Stephen Williams, Feder blindly quotes from previous skeptics (gullible pseudoscientists blindly following pseudoauthority) without actually verifying facts. Like Williams, Feder makes an inexcusable blunder-either purposefully or from the skeptic's gullibility. That inexcusable blunder is this: Feder believes that Edgar Evans Cayce, author of several books on Atlantis, is Edgar Cayce the psychic. Edgar Evans Cayce was Edgar Cayce's son. Edgar Cayce, the psychic, never wrote books. But Feder asserts that the psychic Edgar Cayce saw "his paranormal abilities fail him terribly" when "Cayce obtained information from another plane of reality informing him" that Piltdown man (Eoanthropus) was from Atlantis. Feder concludes that "Apparently, Cayce's other-worldly sources were not aware that the whole thing had been a fake." The facts about this are simple: Edgar Cayce the psychic never mentioned Piltdown man or Eoanthropus. But in one of (Cayce's son) Edgar Evans Cayce's books he mentioned them. Apparently, Feder's skeptical sources never mentioned to him that they actually couldn't tell the difference between Cayce the psychic and his son. And apparently, actual facts aren't important in Feder's book. What is important is the agenda and religious doctrine being pushed down gullible archaeology students' throats by self-proclaimed authorities. It is likely that in the future psuedoscientific editions of both Feder's and William's books, they will continue the deceptions.

Bad science bashing bad science
In the very first pages of his substandard work, Mr. Feder tells us how he became interested in archaeological hoaxes. He says that he was reading a book called 'Morning of the Magicians' which unveiled evidence of the paranormal using shoddy science, bad fact-finding, and outright lies. Unfortunately, Mr. Feder is guilty of the same sins he denounces in chapter one.

Admittedly, the content of the first several chapters on revealed hoaxes is interesting and educational, and his sound debunking of psychic archaeology is an excellent example of how skepticism can help us all live a better life free from toll-free 800 hucksters. Unfortunately, this same skepticism dismisses any of the more interesting and plausible theories about how ancient life was lived and apparently gives him license to make false claims about false claims.

In addition to his outright fictions, Mr. Feder plays amateur psychologist when he ascribes motive to the frauds of yesteryear (nationalism or money). Amusingly, he also talks about why today's frauds are as popular as they are. About halfway through the book you suddenly realize that Mr. Feder feels bad that he's white, since he says that most of these myths are the result of racial supremacy. I certainly hope Mr. Feder gets over his whiteness soon, otherwise we may have to tolerate 5/e of this book written entirely in Ebonics.

I am a bit reluctant to point out one of the fictions that I found, as they will undoubtedly allow others to accuse me of being too religious in my motivations for a lukewarm review. However, one of the errors I found relates to the Book of Mormon. Mr. Feder states that this book says that the Moundbuilders were from Israel. The Moundbuilders post-date the alleged timeframe of the Book of Mormon by some 1000 years, so it would be very difficult for it to discuss these individuals. Further, a search of this book reveals no mentions of mounds or Moundbuilders at all. (I will admit there are a few Mormons that think this is the case, but it's certianly not directly mentioned in the book, as Feder represents it). If he can't be careful enough to check this fact during the past four runs of his book, I'll have to use his own skeptical logic to conclude that he's either a bad researcher or a liar, neither of which is a comforting option when the book purports to tell the truth.

Superlative
A superlative journey to the edges of reason and beyond with a witty and knowledgable guide. As the claims of self-styled "alternative" historians of the ancient past gain more and more publicity, it is excellent to encounter such a balanced and well-reasoned antidote to their poison. Particularly useful is to realize that the supposedly "new" theories of the likes of Graham Hancock(who is not addressed in the book, unfortunately) are, in reality, little more than recycled flim-flam from earlier speculative and paranormal movements.

One previous reviewer brands the book "too sceptical," which is nonsense. Feder actually subscribes to the Theran theory for the origins of the Atlantis myth (which I personally do not), but the investigative process by which he reaches this conclusion is clearly charted in the text. He is no dogmatist, dismissing ideas out of hand. He carefully presents the cases for and against various claims and exposes flaws based on a comparison with the observable evidence and archaeological procedure. In any case, it is also hard to see how one could be "too sceptical" about claims that aliens built the pyramids.

An excellent read. Highly recommended to any with an interest in "alternative" archaeology, esp. if you've tended to believe such "theories" in the past. ... Read more

Book Description

Dr. David Burns is one of the prime developers of cognitive therapy, a fast-acting, drug-free treatment for designed to help the clinically depressed. In The Feeling Good Handbook, he adapts cognitive therapy to deal with the wide range of everyday problems that plague so many (chronic nervousness, panic attacks, phobias, and feelings of stress, guilt, or inferiority). The Feeling Good Handbook teaches how to remove the mental obstacles that bar you from success--from test anxiety and fear of public speaking to procrastination and self-doubt.

Filled with charts, quizzes, weekly self-assessment tests, and a daily mood log, The Feeling Good Handbook actively engages its readers in their own recovery. With a new section on the latest prescription drugs for treating depression and anxiety disorders, The Feeling Good Handbook is an indispensable guide to help change thinking, control mood swings, deal with disasters, and feel better about yourself and those around you.

"A wonderful achievement.The best of what modern psychotherapy has to offer to people suffering from anxiety, depression, and marital problems." --M. Anthony Bates, Clinical psychologist, Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia

"If you are looking for sound, workable advice on how to change your life a little or a lot, this is the book for you." --Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., Director, Center for Cognitive Therapy, New York ... Read more

Reviews (42)

A moderately effective course in cognitive therapy
Many people don't buy into the whole "root of your problems" mentality that seems to infect the mental health fields nowadays. That's understandable. There certainly is something to be said for a more pragmatic, straightforward approach to the treatment of certain mental states. It is to this group of people that Dr. David Burns addresses his Feeling Good Handbook.

The methods in The Feeling Good Handbook are aimed at helping those suffering from depression, anxiety, and other "mild" mental issues to train themselves into healthy mental patterns. Burns has put together a series of writing exercises and journaling that is intended to help readers recognize fallacies in their thought processes. He then spends a great deal of time on each of these fallacies of thought and how to overcome them.

Burns is an avid supporter of cognitive therapy. It is obvious that Burns feels the best way to mental health is through learning to master these negative thought processes. Furthermore, he states outright that it is possible to train yourself to be positive and happy by following these exercises.

Like most self-help books, Burns' popular book has both positive and negative attributes. Burns has managed to accurately classify the thought traps that those suffering from clinical depression and anxiety fall into. He also presents them in such a way that they are easily memorable and will often return to the reader's mind throughout the course of the day. Burns also includes a surprisingly accurate quiz to gauge the progress of the reader.

However, Burn's book depends very heavily on the reader following his instructions with exactness--and some of them are extremely tedious. This is, perhaps, not the best way to help those suffering with depression. Usually depression saps an individual of their desire to do anything at all. Additionally, Burns tends to be a little over-simplistic about his methods and even more over-enthusiastic about their results.

On its own, The Feeling Good Handbook is a moderately useful book in the amateur diagnosis and treatment of mild depression. When used in conjunction with a counselor who understands cognitive therapy, this book is an excellent tool in training the reader to think in a new way.

Conquer your depression and fears
The advice in this book is extremely beneficial. It does work. Some of the things Dr. Burns states a depressed person must do is get out of bed and get busy. He also states you must face your fears and suggests that you make yourself "crack up" It is impossible. You can face your fears or phobias using a proces he calls "flooding." I forced myself to face my fear of going back to work. Once I made it through the first day and was successful, I had disproved my distorted thoughts. Dr. Burns gives some incredible writing exercises to do. You state your automatic (negative) thoughts . He has you identify the distortions and then write a realistic thought. You then rate your realistic thought and then again rate your belief in your "automatic" thought. The writing exercises really help, but it does take time and practice. You start feeling gradually better and within a month of hard work, you actually do feel good most of the time. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with any level of depression, phobia, or anxiety attacks.

Very important book
This is a crucial book to evaluate for those suffering from depression but skeptical of the effectiveness of most psychologists and self-help books.

Burns is one of the biggest popularizers of cognitive-behavioral therapy, one of extremely few therapeutic forms that have stood up to any scientific scrutiny. Over the last 20 years, CBT has become the predominant form of therapy practiced by psychologists. This book is intensive CBT, much more involving and direct than the form practiced in most psychologists' offices.

Burns takes a very simple approach: he does not place any weight on diagnostic categories or figuring out "why" people behave the way they do or the roots of their problems. Instead, every depressed thought is traced to irrational thought processes. Why those thought processes were developed is irrelevant; the challenge is identifying one's distortions and learning to think more rationally.

Contrary to some reviewers' opinions, I believe this book is best for people who have long-term depression in the medium range (recurrent major depression or dysthymia), with substantial experiences with psychologists. Clearly for more extreme cases - a manic depressive or a suicidal person - the first course of action should be a psychiatrist or psychologist, not a self-help book. This book requires a very high level of involvement and personal responsibility. I believe that it is patients who think of themselves as having a medical problem, seeing psychologists and taking medication for years and perhaps feeling dependent on them, who will at some crisis point become frustrated, develop the energy and motivation to work through a book like this and benefit the most from it. Patients with more minor depression will not feel sufficiently motivated to actually do the exercises, which take a substantial amount of time and clash with other life priorities.

CBT encourages short-term (only 12 weeks on average if seeing a psychologist!) therapy and extreme personal responsibility. For most problems, I believe CBT, either in the form of this book or combined with short-term therapy, is much better than seeing a psychologist long-term. Long-term psychotherapy without very clear goals strongly encourages dependence on the psychologist or medication and reinforces the idea that one is permanently ill. This dependence produces further irrational thinking and can very easily lead to continual depression. Reading a book like this and doing its exercises is an exercise in independence and self-reliance and a major accomplishment in itself. The ability to solve one's own problems is difficult to achieve but extremely powerful - perhaps the only solution - for relieving long-term depression.

Burns feels that virtually no one should be on medication long-term - more than about a year - a view that is somewhat debatable (he excludes, obviously, bipolar and schizophrenic patients). The long-term effectiveness of SSRIs is unproven, but Burns' one-year limit seems purely arbitrary.

CBT is also more art than science - although anyone with any experience with psychologists or self-help books will realize that this is true of the entire field. Often Burns' methods and categorizations of irrational thoughts seem completely arbitrary and hardly authoritative. They could probably use more refinement and clarity. What I think is important is that CBT, and even simply reading Burns' book "Feeling Good", have been demonstrated through scientific means - double-blind testing - to produce considerable improvement.

All in all, this is a book with a clear philosophy that has stood up to scientific scrutiny, unlike psychoanalysis or most other therapeutic methods practiced by psychologists. It requires high involvement and emphasizes personal responsibility, and one has to develop considerable motivation to make any use of it. But the results can be extremely worthwhile.

Excellent practical advice!
Because I suffer from bipolar disorder (manic-depression), I have been looking for a something that can help me in some way. Most self-help type books have not helped me. This is the first book that really enabled me to see some light. It has excellent practical advice regarding how to manage your emotions by behaving and thinking in new ways. It takes you through the process step by step and can be understood by ordinary people like myself without rereading it five times. After benefiting from reading this book for a while, I became curious of why this type of thing works so well for my depression. After a long search, I discovered a book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato that explained this beautifully. Sato's book is more theoretical but it is full of truly amazing insights that I can understand. I feel that it is a true blessing to have people like this share their insights and knowledge to the rest of the world.

Very Helpful Sequel to Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
I found this book to be very helpful as an adjunct to Burns's previous book Feeling Good. While not absolutely essential, I think most people would benefit from reading and applying the techniques from Feeling Good prior to studying The Feeling Good Handbook. Once you have the basics down from the former book, you can more easily benefit from the specific techniques in the Handbook. I especially found the chapters on procrastination to be very helpful. I was able to go from extremely depressed to normal and happy using the techniques in Feeling Good alone, but I enjoyed Burns's writing so much that I just had to pick up this book, too, as well as his other books.
If you only purchase one self-help book I'd recommend Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. If you want to read more I'd recommend this book as a second purchase for help with applying cognitive therapy techniques to specific problems such as procrastination, anxiety problems and communication problems. If you need help with shyness or relationships I'd recommend Burns's Intimate Connections. ... Read more

Book Description

This respected up-to-date survey of contemporary behavior therapy synthesizes the clinical, research, theoretical, and ethical facets of behavior therapy. It is simultaneously an introduction for beginning students and a scholarly review and resource for advanced students. The book is comprehensive, covering all the major behavior therapies. The wealth of case studies illustrate the application of behavior therapy techniques to a wide array of problems and clinical populations. The text's multidisciplinary approach includes applications to diverse fields, including psychology, education, social work, nursing, and rehabilitation. ... Read more

Book Description

Dennis Coon presents psychology in a way readers will find fascinating, relevant, and above all, accessible. The first author to integrate the proven SQ4R active learning system (survey, question, read, recite, relate, and review) into a psychology textbook, Coon helps readers grasp major concepts, develop a broad understanding of psychology's diversity, and see for themselves how psychology relates to the challenges of everyday life. The author delights in sparking readers' curiosity, insights, imagination, and interest, and makes his investment in the subject of psychology apparent on every page. Coon effectively presents the latest research, the most vital controversies, and key scientific content in an involving way that gets students "hooked" on psychology and eager to read on. Because readers become actively involved with the material, they develop a basic understanding of psychology that they take with them into their future courses and careers. In a course where professors are frequently confronted by students who haven't actually read their textbooks, Coon's text offers a solution that students will want to read. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed to apply learning theory and principles to the presentation of learning, this text shows how learning principles work in both animals and people. Throughout the book, the authors show how the study of learning helps solve practical problems, such as improving study skills, improving relationships, raising children, and effectively stopping smoking. This book is both solidly based in research and engaging for the student. To help ensure that students understand the materials, the authors strategically include multiple opportunities for review and self-testing within the text. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive volume takes a models approach by presenting separate chapters on individual theorists and perspectives. Within this well-organized structure, Gredler offers meticulously accurate coverage of contemporary learning theories and their application to educational practice—including issues of readiness, motivation, problem-solving, and the social context for learning. Key content additions include increased emphases on the contributions of neuroscience and of Vygotsky's work. For those involved with student counseling and evaluating classroom learning and instruction. ... Read more

Book Description

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE, THIRD EDITION helps students master the principles and concepts of behavior modification before they move on to the procedures. The author uses a precise, step-by-step scientific approach to explain human behavior, using numerous case studies and interesting examples to help illustrate the key principles. Each concept is presented, explained, and clarified by discussing pertinent research, and is then brought into focus with examples showing how each behavioral principle can be applied to everyday life. This approach gives students a chance to understand WHY they might use a particular procedure before they actually use it. Current scholarship, engaging authorship, ample graphs and illustrations, and a clear organization make Miltenberger's text very accessibleeven for students with no background in psychology. Professors and students find the "Applications and Misapplications of Behavioral Principles" especially helpful, as these end-of-chapter features give readers a feel for the concepts they've just explored. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Clear overview of behavior principles
I read this book to deepen my knowledge in the area of behavior modification. I especially liked the succinct and clear examples and the discussion of applications and misapplications of each procedure. Thereby, one learns the strenghts and possible pitfalls of behavior principles when applying to daily life. Throughout the book, the author uses easy to understand language and urges the reader to apply the learned principles to his own self-management projects.
Very comprehensive and recommendable! ... Read more

Book Description

Since its first edition in 1990, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook has sold more than 600,000 copies. Its engaging exercises and worksheets have helped millions of readers make real progress in overcoming problems with anxiety and phobic disorders. The Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health (Norcross, et al., 2003) gave the book its highest rating and praised it as "a highly regarded and widely known resource." Thousands of mental health and medical professionals recommend this book to their clients and patients every year. Simply put, it is the single finest source of self-help information on its topic available anywhere.

The text of this fourth edition has been fully revised and expanded and includes two new chapters: a discussion of physical conditions that can aggravate anxiety and an overview of the use of mindfulness practice in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and some forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. As in previous editions, the book offers the most up-to-date information on medications, natural supplements, and complementary strategies that can alleviate anxiety symptoms. The sections on relaxation, nutrition, and exercise have all been updated and broadened. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Useful materials to handle PTSD and Substance abuse
The dual diagnosis of PTSD with [substance abuse] addiction is always missed. The author has written a lot of useful materials and skills for the therapist to handle various aspects of the comorbid condition. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youth
This is an impressive book in its seventh edition since 1977 and used as an introductory text in special education on the subject of children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. It is also impressive, because the publisher has developed a companion website accompanying the book with resources for the professor and the student (www.prenhall.com/kauffman). The website is divided according to the chapters of the book with focus questions, multiple choice questions and web resources. The user will also find a message board and a chat room for communication with other students and professors. For the professor there is a syllabus manager in order to create and modify an online syllabus for their courses. The book has 18 chapters arranged with the text arranged around basic concepts like the nature, extent and history of the problem and conceptual approaches to it, assessment of the problem, major causal factors, the many facets of disordered emotions and behavior and each chapter ending with personal statement or reflections by someone else that the author, about teaching pupils with these disorders. I especially liked the history chapter of special education for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, because history is so important for how we deal with problems today. Before 1800 most of the children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders were looked upon as possessed, wicked or idiotic. In the 19th century teaching went from lunatic asylums and institutions for idiots to houses of refuge, detention centers and later to public school classes for truants, troublemakers and backward pupils. In the 20th century the mental hygiene and child study movements led efforts to deal more effectively with the youth at home and in school. In the 1940s psychoanalytic oriented educational programs began, 1960s and 70s saw periods of rapid growth in educational interventions and the 1980s saw new legislation. All in all a recommended book for persons working with emotional and behavioral disorders both in children and youth.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD, DMSc Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: jmerrick@aquanet.co.il

Great book for EBD teachers
I had this book as one of my college textbooks. It is very user friendly and has a lot of great qualities. The book describes all of the possible factors associated with emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as prevalance, history, models of thinking, screening and classification. The book dexcribes many different disorders by giving definitions, types,