Book Description

Emphasizing research findings and basic concepts rather than theories, this book surveys the major areas in the psychology of learning from a consistent behaviorist (i.e., B.F. Skinner) point of view.Explores the continuities between human learning and the learning of other animals. The book organizes the phenomena of learning in a systematic way, moving from Behavior Without Learning (evolution) to Learning Without Words (basics in nonhuman behavior and learning) to Learning With Words (human learning and memory). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Using Learning in learning courses
I have used the Learning text by Charles A. Catania for many years now inundergraduate as well as graduate Principles of Learning courses.I findthe text an excellent source for teaching students the technicalterminology and basic learning principles, and exposing them to importantstudies in the field. The text is very clearly written and absolutelyinformative. The text includes many research studies that the learningstudent must be familiar with in a clear and comprehensive fashion.Thesestudies and their context are described very clearly, providing the readerwith an excellent exposure the basic findings and principles in the field. The glossary in the back of the book is tremendously helpful in developingan understanding of the terminology.This textbook is, in my opinion, anessential must have for any student in the field of Learning. ... Read more

Book Description

When faced with an important decision, we are often on our own to think through what we might do and what the probable consequences of out behaviors are. As we make these judgments, it is important that we be able to communicate precisely and fluently with one another. In Rational Choice in an Uncertain World, renowned authors Hastie and Dawes compare the basic principles of rationality with actual behavior in making decisions. They describe theories and research finding from the field of judgment and decision making in a non-technical manner, using anecdotes as a teaching device. Intended as an introductory textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, the material not only is of scholarly interest but is practical as well.

In this volume, you’ll find:

• New, student-friendly chapter introductions and conclusions
• Practical, everyday examples from the fields of finance, medicine, law and engineering
• Comprehensive, up-to-date information keeping pace with changing ideas within the field

Additional discussion of the descriptive, psychological models of decision making to expand upon the original emphasis on normative, rational, expected utility models 

Reviews (4)

An interesting read
I read this book as part of a college course on cognition. It was defintely the most interesting of the 3 books we read in this class.

The book effectively teaches you how to go about making well-thought-out decisions. The text in itself is easy to read and comprehend. There are also many apt examples, both abstract and from everyday life. This combination ensures a successful reading of this book.

While I would have probably never read this book if not for the class I took, I'm glad I did and would recommend this people from all walks of life. Being able to make a good, well-thought-out, rational decision is the best skill one can have.

Helps you understand decisions -- and life, too
The authors emphasize that decision-making is a skill that can be learned and improved. As I work with career changers, I have become convinced that most of us have not learned this skill, and most of us could benefit from a careful reading of this book.

Hastie and Dawes present results of scientific psychological research, using language that is easy for the ordinary person to understand. Their examples come from everyday life and news stories: Chernobyl, the "hot hand" theory of basketball, mammography.

I would also recommend this book to any students of psychology, including those entering graduate school in social psychology, marketing or management. Hastie and Dawes demonstrate that academic studies needn't be dry, but in fact yield fascinating conclusions that are widely relevant. At the same time, they show the way researchers think and introduce the notion of probability in a way that makes readers want to learn more.

A great update to a classic
The addition of Reid Hastie as an author to Robyn Dawes' classic text on judgment and decision making was superb choice. This edition appears to be written very much in Hastie's voice, from the perspective of a cognitive psychologist. Moreover, we find additional attention paid to algebraic models, which was something that was missing from previous editions. Hastie and Dawes ranks as one of the essential readings for the judgment and decision-making field.

A must for all Decision Analysis Consultants
As a management consultant working with clients to make higher quality decisions, I have made many observations of how people (especially executives and groups) make business decisions. But observing how they make decisions is different than "why" they decide what they decide. This book provides so much insight into the "why" it is definitely worth the reading. While the book is very valuable on the "why" it is a little dated on state of the art analytic decision techniques. But with that said, I would highly recommend this book to any consultant (OE, OD, DA, etc.) working with individuals or groups where decisions are being made. ... Read more

Book Description

This new edition of the original text reveals how Nathaniel Branden's landmark book broke the rules of conventional behavioral theory and promulgated his revolutionary ideas on the critical role that self-esteem plays in living a healthy, fulfilling life. The book offers an in-depth exploration of the need for self-esteem, the nature of that need, the conditions of fulfillment, and how self-esteem (or lack of it) affects our values, responses, and goals. Branden also debunks the misguided notion that self-esteem is a "feel-good phenomenon" and shows instead how self-esteem, rationality, perseverance, self-responsibility, and personal integrity are all intimately related. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Really Enjoyed It
I don't know what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed this book. I was listening to the book on tape and tried to take notes while driving (bad idea). I thought comments such as "Self Esteem is your reputation with yourself," "A productive life is a psychological neeed," and his example of 3 men and their opinions, all valid of the same "cad" were, well, helpful to me. I recommend it to anyone who, regardless of their own self esteem issues, knows anyone dealing with anxiety or constant doubts. As I say, I enjoyed it.

a reality based approached to understanding human behavior
If you love Branden's books, this one will not disappoint you. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand themselves better and live life to the fullest. This book is at it's heart, a practical look at human psychology, a field in which ideas that work are often undervalued. The chapters on emotions, pathological anxiety, and social metaphysics were fascinating and somewhat opinionated while providing some amazing insights into the human condition. Like all of Branden's books, it is clearly written and the author anticipates beautifully the readers questions and addresses concepts in a very understandable manner. Anytime I read a book that really teaches me something valuable, I feel compelled to recommend it.

A Classic
Part I consists of the philosophical concepts relevant to psychology. The central ideas, presented in their essentials, lay the foundation of Branden's approach, illustrated in Part II and all of his future work. Part II deals with the central theme of Branden's life work: self-esteem. His radical approach is in stark contrast the ideas of the time and to the self-proclaimed self-esteem proponents in recent years.

His approach is reality oriented: Branden outlines the inescapable need for self-esteem, its source in reality and the consequence of the failure to live in accord with this need. The contrast between legitimate self-esteem and counterfeit self-esteem help to clarify and define this crucial concept.

The book is, one the whole, theoretical and condensed. I am always amazed to find it shelved in the self-help section. This book should be read in conjunction with his latter works: The Disowned Self, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem and The Art of Living Consciously. The journey will be rewarding. ... Read more

Book Description

Dr. Carl Sagan takes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends--and their amazing links to recent discoveries.
"A history of the human brain from the big bang, fifteen billion years ago, to the day before yesterday...It's a delight."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
... Read more

Reviews (47)

Engrossing
I've always considered Sagan my favorite story teller. He tells both wonderful fictional tales (like Contact), and tales that while certainly grand enough to be fiction, are actually tales of nature and science.

The Dragons of Eden is one such book. So large in its scope that one might think it would be disconnected and hard to follow, it in fact is the perfect balance of big picture and fascinating detail.

If you're even mildly interested in evolution, biology, zoology, neuroscience, or the nature of what really makes us who we are, this book is a must read.

Turn your Thinking about Thinking Upsidedown.
I had certainly heard of Carl Sagan, but only in terms of cosmology. I had no idea that he wrote extensively on the field of evolutionary biology-stimulated by his wife, the biologist Ann Druyan. My field is not science, so The Dragon's of Eden was my first encounter with the idea of the tripartite brain. The idea does not originate with Sagan, as he himself points out, but this slender volume makes the idea quite assessable for the lay person and, more importantly, it creatively explores the idea's possible implications. Although I read this book years ago, I have thought of it several times a week since then, as I speculate upon some of the biological causes of human behavior. Newer models of the brain have already proved some of the basic ideas in this book as a bit oversimplified, but if you are looking for an introduction to speculating about how the brain's evolution may shape human behaviors, this is great place to start. I found the book a "mind blower"-and I always pick it up used when I see it to give to friends. Prepare to have your perception of perception itself turned upside down.

The "OH SO FABULOUS" Book
Oh my gosh. everyone should TOTALLY read this book. it will give you informative info on all your life questions. i read this book in less than 24 hours and SO CAN YOU! wanna know about dinosaurs and cool aliens? well then DEFINITELY read this book. instead of going to the beach, i stayed in and read this truly intriguing book. oh wow. im such a good student! YOU can be just like me if you read this Carl Sagan dragon junk book. At first you might be discouraged because its REALLY BORING, but if you're into all that space stuff then you'll really like it. my friend OLGA recommended it to me and we just love sharing our thoughts over a nice hot cup of coffee, while checking out the other book worms. anyways be RAD like me and read some carl sagan today!

In a league of his own
Carl Sagan is one of the select few prolific non-fiction writers who can manage to create a masterpiece each time. While much of _Dragons of Eden_ is dated, the book was way ahead of its time and probably remains on the cutting edge of theory in the evolution of human intellegence (at least in the popular realm).

Those areas in which the book is clearly a generation old (Sagan predicts that someday computers will have television like interfaces, that regular people may have access to them and that they someday may exist in peoples' homes), are endearing, yet they also exemplify Sagan's foresight and wisdom. Predictions like these, and others (such as the then-absurd notion that genetic engineering may someday become science fact), are what sets him apart. As a scientist, he is a skeptic in the purest sense, but that doesn't mean he lost his imagination and ambition. He was not a cynic.

I recommend this book to just about anyone who is a Sagan fan. However, it isn't his best work. I would certainly place either _The Demon Haunted World_ and _Billions and Billions_ above this.

Sagan's Best
This was the first book I read by Cark Sagan while in college. As a layman, I found it to be completely accessible and absolutely fascinating. Among the most memorable of his well-thought out and original theories are: his belief that man's inherent fears of snakes and heights can be traced back to his days as a tree-dwelling primate during which the snake constituted his only natural enemy; his idea that the ogres, elves, goblins, and "little people" that pop up in every culture's myths and fairy tales are genetic memories of a time when man's ancestors shared the earth with other intelligent humanoids; and his speculation that perhaps man is the only primate capable of verbal speech (chimpanzees and other primates are right on the brink, so to speak, as evidenced by their quick grasp of sign language) because his ancestors engaged in genocide against other linguistic humanoids- their primary competition. Sagan is best known as the man who popularized astronomy. But this book, one of his best, shows that he was just as interesting when he focused on man's origins, as opposed to his destination. ... Read more

Book Description

Models Of The Self introduces recent developments in a growing field of research the embodiment of the self. Self- consciousness is probably the most fascinating aspect of this problem. The multidisciplinary approach to self-consciousness, from its development in infancy, to its disorders in neurological as well as psychiatric conditions, offers a real challenge to philosophers who are interested in such broad issues as the foundations of agency or the unity of the self. The book is fully edited, which is a rare feature in multi-authored works. The philosophical thread runs through the chapters, even those which deal with psychological or biological questions. Contributors include:PHILOSOPHICAL CONTROVERSIES: Galen Strawson (keynote paper), Kathy Wilkes, Andrew Brook, Eric Olson and John Pickering.COGNITIVE AND NEUROSCIENTIFIC MODELS: V.S. Ramachandran & W.Hirstein, Jaak Panksepp, Donald Perlis, Jun Tani and James BlachowiczDEVELOPMENTAL AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS: George Butterworth, Maria Legerstee, Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, Dan Zahavi & Josef Parnas.PATHOLOGIES OF THE SELF: Shaun Gallagher & Anthony J. Marcel, Jonathan Cole, Louis A. Sass, Jennifer Radden.MEDITATION-BASED APPROACHES: Robert Forman, Jeremy Hayward, Steven W. Laycock, Jonathan Shear and Arthur Deikman.FURTHER METHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS: Jose Louis Bermudez, Mait Edey, Tamar Szabo Gendler, Mary Midgley. ... Read more

Book Description

Meaning in everyday thought and language is constructed at lightning speed.We are not conscious of the staggering complexity of the cognitive operations that drive our simplest behavior.This book reveals the creativity that underlies our effortless use of language in everyday life, when we engage in conversation, understand humor, or solve puzzles.The capacities and principles that we develop from infancy for ordinary thinking and talking are also the ones that drive scientific and artistic thought, high-level reasoning, and conceptual change.Researchers and graduate students in linguistics, cognitive science, and philosophy of language will find this text to be a fascinating addition to their collections. ... Read more

Book Description

"The soul never thinks without an image," claimed Aristotle. Indeed, as Angeles Arrien displays in this reissued edition of Signs of Life, shapes have significant psychological and mythological meanings embedded in our minds. Understanding the messages they convey and our attraction to them opens up a door to the secret workings of our inner selves and to a fuller appreciation of the art itself.As in her widely popular The Tarot Handbook, Arrien applies her background as a cultural anthropologist to the import human beings attribute to shapes. Examining her results, she has developed an effective tool to determine the connection between a person's preferences for certain shapes and the same person's inner, subjective states. In the course of using Arrien's book, individuals, parents, teachers, and therapists will experience the universal processes of growth embodied in images and myths.

Life, we discover, is art, and through Arrien's fascinating journey in Signs of Life, we gain a new perception of the omnipresent patterns and symbols that surround us.

Illustrated throughout with drawings and photographs ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Practical Uses for the Five Universal Shapes
I recommend this book to artists who are interested in finding out ways to express their personal vision. Expanding on Arien's initial exercise of arranging the five shapes, one can develop images that come from the center of one's life rather than from outside influences. It goes without saying that a person feels better when he/she understands why he/she feel more comfortable (or uneasy)with certain aspects of their lives. This simple book can help a person to know and understand where they are in life and how they might have gotten there. I go back to it every few months and use it in teaching art classes and in art retreats.

Angeles Arrien is a gifted teacher.
Once again Angeles inspires and soothes my soul with her beautiful and powerful writing. This book is a treasure and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the language of the Universe.

A very thought provoking book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is in process of self examination. The simplicity of the use belies the depth of the information that can be extracted from Ms Arrein's analysis. Her use of "universal" symbols clears away much of the overburden of intellectual understanding and cultural training that colors our perceptions of the world. The work in this book cuts through to base emotions and drives. This book will improve your understanding of your motivations in all aspects of your life.

A book you'll come back to again and again
This was one of the books that picked me instead of me picking it. I feel like it was my fate to posess this book. It helps me view my soul as if I was looking through spiritual glasses. And of course being creatures of change, what we see is different from time, even within ourselves. This book remarkably brings to the reader knowledge or information that is not commonly found in this society. Very reflective and definately a great tool when on path to personal enlightment.

Excellent starting point for making art from the inside.
As an art teacher, I encourage adult students to read this book so as to begin to understand how to express through art what is inside them. This is in contrast to making art by looking at something in the outside world and duplicating it in some way. I have found that most students respond favorably to the shapes assay. They are intigued by how close the shape preferences do actually mirror where they are in their lives. A great book! I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Book Description

Can evolutionary theory really help us to understand human behaviour? 'Sense and nonsense' provides an exciting, readable introduction to the science behind the works of Dawkins, Dennett, Wilson and Pinker. Including profiles of the major protagonists, the book provides the first balanced account of evolutionary theory, and all its faults. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

God sense, not nonsense
The final chapter of E O Wilson's Sociobiology was a bombshell whose shockwaves reverberate today. Kevin Laland and Gillian Brown set out to sift through the morass of evolutionary approaches to human nature that is has spawned.

This is a useful review of the various schools of research, although I would have liked a firmer conclusion than 'a pluralistic approach is best'. Sometimes the authors could be a little less polite and have a little more bite.

Good stuff overall though, probably most helpful for those new to the area, or for students looking for an introduction. The book is a little light in content, concentrating on methodology, but the emphasis on cultural processes, absent from many evolutionary discussions, is most refreshing.

Do Laland and Brown successfully separate the sense from the nonsense? No. But they do equip the reader with some of the tools to do it for herself.

A breath of fresh air
This book is both a great read, and an informative one, for anyone interested in human behavior, evolutionary theory, and the links between the two. The area of potential evolutionary bases to human behavior has traditionally been filled with much controversy, some fighting, scattered irresponsible speculations and pronouncements that at times have produced tragic effects, and quite often, more heat than light. Laland and Brown have produced a book that is truly a breath of fresh air. One of the things I liked most about Sense and Nonsense is that Laland and Brown had actually sat down to talk with--and listen to--many of the leading proponents of different "schools" of thought. They work hard in Sense and Nonsense to give a fair presentation of each different approach, before moving on in each chapter to provide their own analysis of the approach presented from their own perspective as working scientists. In the midst of an area in which some researchers have been prone to simply shout louder--often literally--at those they disagree with, Laland and Brown have truly taken the time to listen, reflect, and form considered and thoughtful judgements. This is a service to all of us: After reading their book, I know that I will always look reflect differently on researchers' claims of evolutionary bases of human behavior, whether that's hearing them at a conference, or reading a journal article, or the latest best-selling book or TV interview. If you want to improve your understanding of evolution and human behavior, get a guided tour through the area and its controversies by two thoughtful experts, and come out with a changed perspective that will likely always stay with you, then read Sense and Nonsense. Great book. ... Read more

Book Description

In Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot, eminent neuropsychiatrist and bestselling author Richard Restak, M.D., combines the latest research in neurology and psychology to show us how to get our brain up to speed for managing every aspect of our busy lives.

Everything we think and everything we choose to do alters our brain and fundamentally changes who we are, a process that continues until the end of our lives. Few people think of the brain as being susceptible to change in its actual structure, but in fact we can preselect the kind of brain we will have by continually exposing ourselves to rich and varied life experiences. Unlike other organs that eventually wear out with repeated and sustained use, the brain actually improves the more we challenge it.

Most of us incorporate some kind of physical exercise into our daily lives. We do this to improve our bodies and health and generally make us feel better. Why not do the same for the brain?The more we exercise it, the better it performs and the better we feel. Think of Restak as a personal trainer for your brain—he will help you assess your mental strengths and weaknesses, and his entertaining book will set you to thinking about the world and the people around you in a new light, providing you with improved and varied skills and capabilities. From interacting with colleagues to recognizing your own psychological makeup, from understanding the way you see something to why you’re looking at it in the first place, from explaining the cause of panic attacks to warding off performance anxiety, this book will tell you the whys and hows of the brain’s workings.

Packed with practical advice and fascinating examples drawn from history, literature, and science, Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot provides twenty-eight informative and realistic steps that we can all take to improve our brainpower. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Not for Beginners or Neurosurgeons, Good Intermediate Read.
Among the books about improving your thinking, this book takes you one step further. This is not just an explanation of thinking skills but an overview of the interactions among the various parts of the brain. It includes suggestions for general brain health as well as activities that involve multiple areas of the brain, which in turn form new neuro connections.The second half of the title "Unleashing Your Brain's Potential" is more appropriate for the content of this book.
N. Illing, author of SPARKS Ignite Imagination, an informational activity book for stretching the imagination.

Plausible Ideas
"I need a change of pace." (We all probably say that from time to time.)

This book offers an interesting explanation as to why we might feel that way: one functional part of our brain is tired and another part could use some exercise.

The author elaborates on the idea: engaging in a variety of physical and mental activities is healthy for our brains and, therefore, healthy for us, overall.

This seems pretty plausible to me.

Easy to read and filled with interesting ideas.

I Wanted to be Wowed......
and in this case, I wasn't. The material wasn't bad... but it was missing
that "edge" that sets apart exceptional books from unexceptional
books.

What was the largest weakness for me was an inconsistency between
the chapters: some were filled to the brim with useful, workable
suggestions and ideas and others left me wondering, "Wait, what
was the intended suggestion for that chapter?"

Perhaps the confusion was part of Restak's intent... to get the
reader really applying our newly-stretched brainpower?

*Shrug* Just not sure.... there is some decent information here
which I will more than likely use and reuse, which is why the
ranking is 4 stars rather than 3.

Audio Version not the Correct Format
I found this book difficult to absorb because I had the audio version. An audio book is a disadvantage to a reader trying to participate in the brain exercises while on the daily commute. The book format would have allowed a sedentary reader to take advantage of the information provided. I was not able to flip back and forth easily or mark pages to return to. I thought the book (tape) would be more about brain architecture and how Mozart's brain actually would differ from a fighter pilot's brain. There is a little speculation about how the brains of the MTV generation cope with image overload versus the previous generation's method of acquiring information. The title is a little misleading. It really is a book about brain exercises, because the author believes these exercises help keep the brain young and healthy. It is the old theory of "use it or lose it" adapted to the brain. I do not know if I totally subscribe to this theory, avid readers seem to be the first to wear glasses, hockey and football players retire with injured knees. The book on the whole is interesting. Definitely worth it. It presents some unique ideas and it's a noble goal to keep your brain active even if the exercises were to have no effect.

Use it or Lose it
In his 15th book, renowned brain expert Richard Restak offers up twenty-eight tips on how to improve the function of our brains and possibly help stave off senility, Alzheimer's, and other mental impairments. At the heart of his message is the fact that, unlike our body's other organs, the brain doesn't age, but will suffer atrophy with disuse. Luckily, with constant stimulation of the proper kind, the brain can stay sharp and actually improve to the end of our years.

The list of beneficial brain activities includes listening to or--better yet--learning music (this is where Mozart comes in), playing challenging games, reading advanced books, meditating, solving puzzles, playing certain sports, and even watching thought-provoking television programs. Restak also offers a number of brain "exercises." These are essentially new ways to think of stuff. While some of these seem a bit boring and time consuming, with results that aren't quite clear, there is something for everyone in the book.

Despite an intriguing title, the book is a bit dry. His detailed explanation of the inner workings of the brain isn't going to be for everyone. But since we all seem to be living longer lives, and nobody wants to spend them in a nursing home, it makes a lot of sense to follow Restak's twenty-eight easy steps to life-long lucidity. Definitely a worthwhile read. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of BIG ICE and WAKE UP DEAD ... Read more

Reviews (5)

It's just my imagination, running away with me
Great book, great techniques. Imagine yourself buying this book and do it!
I thought I was happy but after reading this book I guess I was mistaken. I never imagined a better life. Such as more money, bigger TV, DVD player, bigger house, nicer clothes, etc. You get the idea, the important things in life. Well not any more, not after reading this book and doing the exercises. Now my imagination knows no bounds. Why it's like an imagination with...um...er...it's like an imagination with out any bounds. Now I see my self at work and instead of my same old outlook I now look at things differently. It's like um...er...well kind of like looking at things with more imagination and stuff. It's GREAT, no really, I really mean it. Everything is just GREAT. REALLY I keep telling myself things are great so they must be.

You must buy this book
If you ever wondered about life, If you ever wanted help but did not know where to begin, then begin with this book. It will open opportunities and heal wounds you never knew you had.

Reflected Enlightenment
A truly enlightening book that gave me a feeling of being.

I found that what I was reading was slowly changing me into a better person. With each day passing I felt more rewarded and comfortable with what ever direction my life was heading, simply because 'CV' gives you satisfaction, desire, acceptance and a balance to know who u are and be exactly what u want! As I read through the book and did the meditations not only was my life changing for the better but everyone's around me has become a balance of happiness and success. I

My intuition is growing stronger with each day and i love and appreciate everything and everyone life has to offer. Learning the art of using your imagination to get what you want in life has shown me that what I desire and want out of life is not going to happen one day but an actual fact already manifested in my wonderful life!

I encourage everyone to read this book

A Step in the Right Direction
This book gave me a step-by-step process to make positive changes in my life. I worked the lessons and followed Shakti's methods for visualizing my future. Years later I found the workbook and reread my own words. I was surprised to see how accurately I had depicted my future! I used this in conjunction with Louise Haye's You Can Heal Your Life. Both helped me to understand how I could take control of my life and direct my future. Shakti's book is a great how-to for those that have never done much meditation or visualization.

A great book for positve change and focusing on goals
i found this book to be very helpful in teaching you how to focus on personal goals and making positive changes in your life. It offered credible how to steps that showed you how to understand your needs, affirm yourself and your possibilities and then gave you the instructions that you needed to move you on to achieve your goals. It really gave me some tools to work with and it is a book that I will use over and over again. ... Read more

Book Description

Reporting research that provides an invaluable tool forutilizing individual capability, it makes it possible for talent pooldevelopment programs to effectively meet the organization's future humanresource requirements. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Outstanding, intuitive, and well worth reading
Dr. Jaques is re-writing our understanding of the human mind and how to use it best. Forget IQ, Meyers-Briggs, and the other flim-flam out there. This book offers us the hope that we can work to our potential without overload, balance our task output and spiritual needs at work, and organize our companies as effectively as possible, without sacrificing our humanity. So far every criticism I've seen leveled at Jaques has proven baseless. High level writing may put off some, but this is great research work.

Ideal for those concerned with developing human capital.
This book presents the results of a three year study by Jaques and Cason, providing a major breakthrough in understanding human capability, intelligence, and development. An outcome of this study is further development of managerial practices to match people with roles and develop training and development programs. This is a highly interesting and informative volume that will be of significant value to all HR professionals whose agenda includes HRD and the cultivation of an organization's human capital. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates and HRconsultant.com InfoCenter.

A Must For Managers and Educators.
The Fundation for understand Mental Processing Capability and Handling Complexity. Very simple and powerfull application in everyday situations. Like 'THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE' [Peter M. Senge] this is a great book about HUMAN PRESENT AND FUTURE possibilities ... JUST READ THIS! ... Read more

Book Description

The old man isn't just anyone. In fact, professors familiar with previous editions of this book may conclude that he is related to those extraterrestrials Kongor and Kro, who so successfully guided students through the maze of historic and current theories that help us understand how humans learn. And, wise as he is, the old man does the job even more effectively than his predecessors in this Fourth Edition of THEORIES OF HUMAN LEARNING: WHAT THE OLD MAN SAID.Both a serious academic text and a delightful story, this book offers a clear, readable look at a full range of learning theories?from behavioristic to cognitive?examining memory and motivation, and concluding with a comprehensive synthesis. Its most apparent strength is its easily accessible style, but its greatest value lies in the clarity of its concepts. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Human Learning
I liked the book a lot.It gives great examples and I do not have a hard time reading it.The examples are explanatory and I would recommend this book to others for their knowledge of learning. ... Read more

Book Description

Although researchers have long been aware that the species-typical architecture of the human mind is the product of our evolutionary history, it has only been in the last three decades that advances in such fields as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and paleoanthropology have made the fact of our evolution illuminating. Converging findings from a variety of disciplines are leading to the emergence of a fundamentally new view of the human mind, and with it a new framework for the behavioral and social sciences.First, with the advent of the cognitive revolution, human nature can finally be defined precisely as the set of universal, species-typical information-processing programs that operate beneath the surface of expressed cultural variability. Second, this collection of cognitive programs evolved in the Pleistocene to solve the adaptive problems regularly faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors--problems such as mate selection, language acquisition, cooperation, and sexual infidelity. Consequently, the traditional view of the mind as a general-purpose computer, tabula rasa, or passive recipient of culture is being replaced by the view that the mind resembles an intricate network of functionally specialized computers, each of which imposes contentful structure on human mental organization and culture.The Adapted Mind explores this new approach--evolutionary psychology--and its implications for a new view of culture. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A watershed work!
It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance and uniqueness of this work. It is without question, the most comprehensive, most authoritative, most timely, most compelling, most interdisciplinary book ever written on the topic of evolutionary psychology. Practically all the major exponents of this new science are presented and accounted for (Buss, Symons, Daly & Wilson, Tooby & Cosmides, Barkow and Kaplan). In addition, many qualified and distinguished experts in other fields have made valuable supporting contributions (McGrew, Shepard and Fernald). It already stands as a classic in the field of evolutionary psychology and is destined to be a watershed in the development of psychological thought. However, readers beware: this book is not a light, bedside read. It is dense, scholarly reading. Although enjoyable, it is not appropriate for a lay audience looking for pop-psychology. But if you are a social scientists or serious reader who wishes to know what evolutionary psychology is about, there is simply no other book to read. My only question is when can we look forward to a second volume?

More Tooby & Cosmides, please
I was prompted to respond by the review from the individual in Virginia. He or she didn't like the Tooby & Cosmides chapters whereas I feel they were by far the most interesting chapters in the book. Reading their long essay (Chapter 2)is one of the best favors psychologists can do for themselves. Being a psychology major, I know that I was often confused about psychology before reading it, but their combination of cognitive psychology with evolutionary biology finally gave me an idea of where psychology should be going in the future. If only social psychologists and domain-general cognitive psychologists would read it, their research and approach might not be so sterile and boring. My only regret is that the book contained some chapters that were not as strong as the early chapters, but the importance of the good chapters greatly outweighs any weaknesses in the other ones.

Evolution from Several Vantages
This book is a massive tome on evolutionary factors that influence human behavior. It begins with clarification of the kind of Darwinism the authors appeal to, so that everyone is on the same page, and considers the general psychological foundations of Darwinism on culture.

The book then moves on to discuss cognitive adaptations for social exchange, citing human and non-human examples. The book also includes the evolutionary psychology of mating and sex, examining preferences for mate selection and competition, mechanisms for sexual attraction, and the evolutionary use of women as chattel (something any Old Testament and Quran reader can relate to).

A significant portion of the book is devoted to parental care and children, examining how pregnancy sickness, patterns between twins, maternal-infant vocalizations, and child play in the form of chasing each other are all evolutionary mechanisms that continue to be featured.

Steven Pinker adds an essay on natural language and natural selection; Roger Shepard contributes an essay on the man's perceptual adaptation to the natural world; both of which demonstrate the interconnectedness between perception, language, and adaptation.

The book concludes with some of its most esoteric issues: environmental aesthetics, intrapsychic processes, and the theoretical implications of culural phenomena.

The whole book, while not necessarily over-academic, is ultimately dense reading. Most of the concepts and conceptualizations require mental work to apprehend, while the statistics and empirical evidence are clearly described. While drawing from many disparate areas of evolutionary biology, all the essays find their ultimate significance in how the mind, in particular, has adapted to environmental forces. A demanding, but facinating, read.

A fresh start
The argument - and it is an argument - is that human behaviour is strongly influenced by evolved psychological mechanisms, and that those mechanisms are numerous and specific, rather than just one general learning mechanism - ie a human baby comes with an installed operating system and quite a lot of free software, and is definitely not a blank slate. What makes the argument persuasive is the attempt to import the scientific method - hypotheses falsifiable by experiment - to an area previously characterised by mumbojumbo and pseudoscience. Not all the attempts are successful, but as they say it's a start. 100 years late (for psychology) it is saying (a) the brain is an organ so it must have evolved too - let's think about it in a Darwinian fashion and (b) let's try to make pyschology a science not a humanity. It is potentially very offensive to existing psychology practitioners, because it implies that most existing psychologists are witch doctors. It is also very offensive to large bodies of public policy wonks (let's not beat about the bush here - in American speak this book is very offensive to liberal Democrats), essentially saying that most of the "science" behind social and educational policy has no foundation. And because it is polemical - it is shooting at a century of vested interests after all - it overstates its case in some places, although the writers are usually very careful to stress that while behavioural programmes may be partly pre installed, behaviour itself is not hardwired.

It was the start for me of looking at the way we think in a completely different light and led me to later, more detailed, more balanced statements of the case.

It is pretty hard going in places, particularly as they do rather tiresomely go out of their way trying to avoid giving direct offence, but they're not fooling anyone (not mss67 for a start.)But in reality they are yelling that the Emperor ("learning/nurture is all") has no clothes. For all its faults it's the book that has most influenced my thinking in the last 10 years, and definitely a five star performance.

Great work
Finally, a branch of psychology which does not use the standard psycho-babble which distorted our views of human-kind in the 20th century. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed to help problem solvers improve their streetsmarts, this hands-on guide examines the componentsof problem solving, and presents a series of graduatedexercises — drawn from a variety of industrial applications —to familiarize, reinforce, challenge, and stretch readers creativelyin the problem solving process.Leads readers step-by-stepthrough a complete problem-solving process — from encounteringan ill-defined problem to identifying the real problem, effectivelyexploring constraints, planning a robust approach, carryingit through to a viable solution, and then evaluating what has beenaccomplished. MARKETS: For students, new professionals, andpractitioners. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Lecturer and Engineer
I would highly recommend any engineering student to read this book. It is worthy to buy and keep it on your library.This will be one of many most useful books you have ever considered in your engineering career.

Fantastic Book: Not For Cry Babies
This is mainly a to stress that problems can be solved with an open minded approach such as the authors recommend. Unlike the cry baby whose essentially useless review shows that he has not and never will solve any real world problems. Probably a disgruntled ex student who got a D-.

Well organized, and entertaining intro to problem solving
This is a systematic and well organized introduction. I used it with managers and students not just engineers. What was important was not just to follow an algorithmic approach but to imbue a way of thinking. It simplyis not true that everyone has formed the discipline to use their mindfollowing these or similar heuristics. We may stumble on them naturally, Iagree. But for many people this is a useful revelation. In addition to thebook, they have produced software to engage you in learning the problemstrategies.Compared to many other books on the subject, this book hasenough real world examples and strategies that it is not just poppsychology or wishful thinking or one more brainstrom with web-likediagrams.

Surprisingly poor book considering the topic: Thinking!
I read about half of this book before setting it down in disgust.The book is targeted to working engineers that are confronted with unique challenges on regular occasion.As such, I would have expected the authorsto know a bit more about real word problem solving.

The authors basicallypostulate that any person, of any ability can solve any problem if theyemploy a problem solving heuristic.While a nice idea, and certainlypolitically correct, this is simply not the case.A good (adequate)engineer looks at a failed design or unique problem and without sittingdown in a group brainstorming session or plotting his creative solutionprocess on paper, she mentally decides what is important and then asks thenecessary questions, performs the necessary calcs, researches theappropriate topics, etc..I've never seen a talented engineer plot hisproblem solving approach on paper when confronted with a problem.Thoseengineers that actually employed a heuristic never solved the problemspresented to them and ultimately lost their jobs. Either you know yourmaterial or you don't. You're either creative or your not.You have astrong work ethic paying sufficient attention to detail, or you don't. Period.Exercises (like those that the authors suggest) to increase yourcapacity for creativity are foolish, unnecessary and ineffective.(If youdon't believe me, check out the book.You'll get a good laugh.)

Theauthors are clearly young academics that have no real information to offerthe public in this book.While I believe that they meant well, I trulybelieve that neither of them has actually ever solved a real problem andthey are therefor not qualified to sell a book on this topic.The accurateinformation that they do present is obvious to the most average of highschool students. Consequently, this material can hardly be used in anargument to redeem this book's worth.

One good thing about the book:Theauthors include quite a few real-world examples and case histories that areboth entertaining and insightful.The authors should have published acollection of these stories and omitted their useless dribble.(About 60%of the examples are useful.The remaining examples are over-simplifiedwith significant details omitted.The authors regularly neglect importantfactors including: economic factors, regulatory body concerns, availabilityof resources, and others when they cast blame on the problem solver.Thisfurther indicates that the authors read a lot, but don't actually have anybreadth of experience to draw upon)(If, indeed, the authors do have realproblem solving experience; then I wonder how effective they were inindustry.The way they tackled the problem of writing a book, I wouldn'thire either of them to sharpen my pencils.)

One last point to countertheir foolishness:As dangerous as it is to make assumptions when aproblem statement is sufficiently vague; it is the in-effective (andunemployed) engineer that doesn't draw upon his experiences to form areasonable set of assumptions.The engineer that does otherwise takesthree months to fold a drawing.I'd really like to see the author(s) workin the field; I need a good laugh. ... Read more

Book Description

Connecting the study of cognition to everyday life in an unprecedented way, Bruce Goldstein's COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY gives equal treatment to both the landmark studies and the cutting-edge research that define this fascinating field. The text employs a wealth of concrete examples and illustrations that will help students understand the theories of cognition -- driving home both the scientific importance of the theories and their relevance to students' daily lives. Students will leave this text with a true understanding of the "behind the scenes" activity that happens in the mind when humans do such seemingly simple activities as perceiving, remembering, or thinking. Goldstein's coverage also focuses on the behavioral and physiological approaches to cognition by including physiological materials in every chapter. To help students further experiment with the concepts discussed in the text, free pincode access to CogLab: The Online Cognitive Psychology Laboratory is automatically packaged with every new copy of the text. Students also automatically receive the Concept Maps with CogLab Online Manual. The manual includes 60 "Concept Maps," which present the major concepts in the text using a visual approach that will help students remember the material. ... Read more

Book Description

Dogs occupy a special position in human society. They were probably the first animal species to become domesticated, but their relationship with humans has always been ambivalent. Dogs form strong attachments to humans, even in the face of rejection and punishment, voluntarily allying themselves to us as faithful companions, uncomplaining child-substitutes, enduring workers, and excellent hunters and guards. Yet they are also reviled as vicious killers, unclean scavengers and outcasts. In this book, the many facets of dog behavior are set in the context of the dog's place in our society.Based on firm scientific research, the book dispells many myths and stereotypes about our canine friends, and it will be the definitive reference work on dog behavior for many years to come. Dog-lovers with an interest in understanding how and why dogs behave as they do will find this fascinating reading. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Excellent information painfully presented
If your memories of college give you migraines, the pain will return in reading these articles. The information is wonderful, but can be found in more enjoyable books. If, on the other hand, you enjoy reading professional journals, you will feel right at home with the jargon and format, and may find it worthwhile to have leading thoughts on domestication, genetics, and behavior all in one place.

A Serious Must for Serious Dog People
First published in 1995, nothing else as comprehensive and as carefully researched on canine behavior and development has been published. For the general reader, the writing style may be a bit dry; however, because each chapter has different authors, the writing style, while basically academic and fact driven, varies.

Any serious dog breeders, trainers, or owners will find themselves returning to certain chapters over and over again. Breeders and even new puppy owners would benefit from the chapter by Serpell and Jagoe on "Early experience and the development of behaviour," which updates the standard beliefs about puppy development resulting from the Bar Harbor experiments of over 50 years ago.

Excellent book!

The Domestic Dog, James Serpell (Ed.)
For those people hungry for scientific literature on dogs and curious about what other references there are on particular dog topics, this is a must read/must have text; almost every chapter serves as a review of the scientific literature on that topic. Those who don't care for reading anything drier than James Herriot's "All Creatures Great & Small" should avoid it.

The book is probably used as a text for graduate students and upper division majors in ethology, comparative psychology, zoology, etc. It was published in 1995 so most of the information is fairly current. The book is in its 5th printing so some professors must share my judgment of it. Let's hope that by 2005 there's a revised edition including and evaluating recent work.

It has 17 chapters written (or co-written) by 21 specialists in their fields -- British, American, Italian -- (after an introduction) divided into 3 major divisions: I. Domestication & evolution (2 chapters) ; II. Behaviour & behaviour problems (8 ch.s); III. Human-dog interactions (6 ch.s). The chapters provide an excellent summary and the key references to the area discussed. A few chapters have a definite British flavor but American readers will be able to transpose when needed.

Dog breeders (& many owners) may be especially interested in the chapters dealing with what's known about heritability of traits, temperament, etc., as well as the role of early experience on later behaviors, disorders, etc.

A few chapters are filled with research results in tables and graphs. One is dense with specialist jargon. But all are readable if you're interested in learning what the applicable sciences know and do not know about the dog. All chapters have information I found important and to some, I'll refer back to many times.

Academic, researched, impartial book on dogs.
Does it seem that retail book stores stock dog books that appear opinion-based and poorly referenced or researched? The early chapters of The Domestic Dog concerning evolution may be a little bit factual and historically oriented (read: a tad dry) but presents an excellent understanding of how dogs came into contact with humans and the resulting reliance and interations. The book, in part, looks at areas of canus familiarus and human interaction from both a biological, survival necessity to what kind of kennel should be considered based on breed selection. There are many discussions on topics not normally covered in commercial or general appeal dog books that will compliment, inform and provide insight into otherwise unknown or insufficiently covered areas about dogs. Areas of new information include (but is not limited to): pack hierarchy, dog development and growth, dog psychology and others. It is one dog book I can rely on for its research, reference material and impartial analyses into breed types. It has helped me learn more about dogs than previously possible in other purported books based on fact. I do believe that one must be more interested in dogs than just a casual manner (i.e.: one must really want to get into the nuts and bolts) to enjoy and finish this book.

Excellent book, suitable for both researcher and dog lover
This book is packed with easily understandable, concise information. Whether you are a behaviorist or simply a dog lover, this is a must have. ... Read more

Book Description

This book combines sensation and perception with all biological-sensory aspects of perception with all biological-sensory aspects of perception covered from an evolutionary point of view. It raises the key question: How do the senses gather and secure information about the outside world? This basic question is addressed by explaining how the physical world interacts with and stimulates the senses, and, in turn, how the sense and the nervous system transform, integrate, and process the stimulation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Best in its Field!
This is one of the most clearly written and well organized textbooks in the field of psychology.In an intelligently concise manner, Prof. Schiffman captures his readers with his insightful invitations to explorethe human senses.Full of well presented color diagrams, fascinatingillusions and interesting pictures, this text enahnces your senses whileexplaining how they work.This text is a must read for any psychologist,biologist, physician or individual who is interested in learning how humanssense and perceive the environment.

The Best in its Field!
This is one of the most clearly written and well organized textbooks in the field of psychology.In an intelligently concise manner, Prof. Schiffman captures his readers with his insightful invitations to explorethe human senses.Full of well presented color diagrams, fascinatingillusions and interesting pictures, this text enahnces your senses whileexplaining how they work.This text is a must read for any psychologist,biologist, physician or individual who is interested in learning how humanssense and perceive the environment. ... Read more

Book Description

* Inviting prose
* Lucid style
* Familiar language
* Practical applications
* Real-world examples ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Ideal for the self-instruction
This is really a wonderful introductory text on reasoning. I believe that it is particularly noteworthy in two key areas: breadth and accessibility. The only plausible criticism to offer would be to say that this book lacks depth. But to make an issue out of that is rather silly because this book is an introductory text.

The first few chapters introduce some useful ideas about thinking. The chapters on classification, definitions, and propositions prepare the reader by introducing them to the basic tools of critical thinking. This is extremely important and useful because from the beginning Kelley has the reader thinking very carefully about words. And when it comes down to it, the study of arguments is the study of what we mean by the words we use and what can be inferred from how we put string them together.

The later chapters on classical and modern deductive logic offer what should be the center of any introductory course in logic. There's little sense in me listing all that is covered, as you can easily take a look at the table of contents of this book and see what the book covers. In essence, all the topics are here that should be covered in an introductory logic class. While there are other books that I prefer for some of these topics I don't believe there is anything necessarily lacking in Kelley's presentation.

The contents that I most enjoy in this book are found in Part V, Inductive Logic. This section covers the "critical thinking" skills that I believe are really the most needed by students. These are issues such as causality (and distinguishing it from correlation), as well as the proper use of analogies and statistics in arguments. This is all very practical stuff and the topics from logic that I wish more people had some familiarity with. In political debates there are all sorts of improper uses of statistics and analogies; very rarely are there improper uses of Venn diagrams and truth tables.

The most noteworthy quality of this book is its accessibility. This is a book from which the motivated student can teach himself to become a better thinker. While this book is intended to be a textbook for a college level class my guess is that if you're reading this review on Amazon you're probably not a college instructor (if you are, just contact the publisher and obtain a review copy!), but rather someone who is looking to improve his or her thinking skills. More than any other introductory book on logic or critical thinking that I've seen, this book excels at being one that a motivated learner can use to learn from on their own.

Are there "better" books on logic available? If by better you are referring to depth, the answer is "sure!" You can find all sorts of books on logic that are more rigorous. Logic has many sub-fields and obviously more specialized books can offer more depth on symbolic logic or Aristotelian logic, for example. It's simply unfair to try to compare this book with those books. This is a book that will open the doors to all sorts of more advanced books, and I believe it does it better than any other introductory text that I've come across.

Superb Critical Thinking Text
This is an excellent introduction to non-symbolic logic, with interesting and intelligent exercises for students. Kelley's textbook is well-organized and lucidly written. It's one of the very best books on critical thinking.

And contrary to what a previous reviewer has said, Kelley's personal Randian philosophy does not intrude on his pedagogy. He chooses his examples from all across the political spectrum and makes a strenuous effort to be fair and impartial in his analyses. What more can one ask of a philosopher?

The Perfect Introduction to Logic
Although I originally learned logic using Hardegree's _Symbolic Logic_, Kelley's book is a vastly superior text for teaching logic to students and inspiring interest in the subject. Many academics complain that you can't teach Critical Reasoning without covering Aristotelian & symbolic logic; they then complain that Aristotelian & symbolic logic is of no importance or interest to non-philosophy majors, and so that it would be preferable to teach Critical Reasoning.

David Kelley accomplishes something incredible in this book: he teaches BOTH, and he shows how they are connected. He starts the reader off with a general discussion of concepts, definitions, and propositions. Then he shows the reader how to analyze the basic structure of arguments, using op-eds and Supreme Court decisions as illustrations. He then moves into Aristotelian logic, venn diagrams, and the informal Fallacies. After this, he discusses sentential logic and the canonical patterns of inference. In the next section, he introduces the Russell/Frege predicate calculus (and Fred Sommers' term logic) and shows how it expands the precision of argumentative analysis. Finally, he discusses inductive logic, including how to generalize correctly, how to evaluate arguments by analogy, and how to form and test hypotheses.

This is a perfect introduction to logic because it teaches one how to think clearly ("in a straight line," as Flew once put it) about issues that one encounters in ordinary life. At the same time, it equips the student who wants to go further in philosophy with the powerful (Russell/Frege) analytic techniques appropriate to that task. Ther