Michael L. Commons – författare

Examines the nature of late adolescent and adult thought and concludes that there is describable and significant cognitive development during those stages of life which goes beyond Piaget's stage of formal operations.

In recent years, a number of researchers have begun to question the Piagetian theory that cognitive structural development ends with the adolescent's acquisition of formal operations and have begun to focus on the development of thought in late adolescence and adulthood. This volume brings together the work of numerous scholars in cognitive social, and perceptual development to explore the nature of postformal thought. The contributors represent the diversity of models and approaches that characterize the ongoing research in this area and, at the same time, act to unify this body of literature within a common framework of analysis. Students, researchers, and practicing psychologists will find her important new insights into the evolution of thought processes throughout the human lifespan.A number of the papers present alternative, but closely related models of postformal cognition, as well as techniques of measuring postformal thought. Of special interest is the presentation of data supporting claims that thought represents a stage qualitatively distinct from the transition between hierarchical and formal operations. The opening chapter describes Beethoven's cognitive development in late adolescence and adulthood, while subsequent essays discuss the modifications of formal structures that develop in the attempt to use formal reasoning in real-life problem solving. A set of studies that extend the study of postformal thought into the domains of moral thought and social reasoning complete the volume.

In recent years, researchers have begun to focus attention on postformal thought--the development of thought in late adolescence and adulthood--questioning Piaget's early terminus of structural development in adolescence. This volume brings together the works of distinguished authors in the field of postformal-operational cognitive, social, and perceptual development to examine the models and methodology used to investigate postformal thought. The contributors represent the variety of approaches that characterize this body of research, while, at the same time, seeking to unify this diverse literature with a common language. An ideal text for advanced courses in adult development, this volume is also a primary reference for developmental and educational psychologists and students working in the fields of cognitive development, adolescent and adult development, and lifespan development.Divided into four parts, the volume begins by examining both Piagetian and nonstructural models of adult cognitive development, considering them in light of current research developments. Individual papers address models of equilibrium, knowledge, reflective judgment, ego-development, and consciousness. In Part II, the contributors discuss the measurement and comparison of cognitive development in adults, exploring such topics as construct validity and theories of adult development, the structural and developmental relations between formal and postformal capacities, and the relationship between Piagetian and Kohlbergian stages. The third section assesses the research and theory of adult reasoning in the moral domain, while the concluding chapter investigates critical evaluations of postformal research. Numerous tables and figures enhance the discussions.

The ninth volume in this highly acclaimed series discusses the computational and clinical approaches to pattern recognition and concept formation regarding: visual and spatial processing models; computational models, templates and hierarchical models. An ideal reference for students and professionals in experimental psychology and behavioral analysis.

This volume is based on the 10th annual Harvard Symposium for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. The first Harvard Symposium was devoted to signal-detection analyses of reinforcement and choice behavior. The present volume reprises the original signal- detection theme, incorporating additional insights based on experimental and theoretical analyses undertaken during the years separating the two conferences. This collection illustrates how signal-detection theory, first advanced to account for performance in threshold-level sensory discrimination, has broadened to encompass a variety of psychological problems involving discriminations between confusable stimuli. The approach is quantitative in its emphasis on estimation of independent parameters of the discrimination process, and analytical in its efforts to separate the determiners of discriminability and bias and to identify the mechanisms of their operation. Above all, the book is broadly integrative in its approach to diverse problems. This volume is based on the 10th annual Harvard Symposium for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. The first Harvard Symposium was devoted to signal-detection analyses of reinforcement and choice behavior. The present volume reprises the original signal- detection theme, incorporating additional insights based on experimental and theoretical analyses undertaken during the years separating the two conferences.

The sixth volume in this respected series systematically presents and evaluates quantitative models of various foraging phenomena, including: steady state decision rules; acquisition of decision rules; perception and learning in foraging behavior.

This seventh volume, divided into four parts, addresses the biological determinates of reinforcement and memory. Covers topics in electrical brain stimulation, drugs and reinforcement, and cellular mechanisms.

First published in 1986. This is Volume V of six in a series on Quantitative Analyses of Behavior. Quantitative analysis now generally refers to the fact that theoretical issues are represented by quantitative models. An analysis is not a matter of fitting arbitrary functions to data points. The volumes in the present series have been written for behavioral scientists. Those concerned with issues in the study of how behavior is acquired and then allocated in various environments-biologists, psychologists, economists, anthropologists, and other researchers, as well as graduate students and advanced undergraduates in those areas-should find volumes in this series to be state-of the-art readers and reference works. Each volume of the series examines a particular topic that has been discussed at the annual Symposium on Quantitative Analyses of Behavior held at Harvard University. This volume, V, addresses the topic of how reinforcement value is affected by delay and intervening events. Self-control studies are also presented and discussed.

Originally published in 1991, this title was the result of a symposium held at Harvard University. It presents some of the exciting interdisciplinary developments of the time that clarify how animals and people learn to behave adaptively in a rapidly changing environment. The contributors focus on aspects of how recognition learning, reinforcement learning, and motor learning interact to generate adaptive goal-oriented behaviours that can satisfy internal needs – an area of inquiry as important for understanding brain function as it is for designing new types of freely moving autonomous robots. Since the authors agree that a dynamic analysis of system interactions is needed to understand these challenging phenomena – and neural network models provide a natural framework for representing and analysing such interactions – all the articles either develop neural network models or provide biological constraints for guiding and testing their design.

Originally published in 1991, this title was the result of a symposium held at Harvard University. It presents some of the exciting interdisciplinary developments of the time that clarify how animals and people learn to behave adaptively in a rapidly changing environment. The contributors focus on aspects of how recognition learning, reinforcement learning, and motor learning interact to generate adaptive goal-oriented behaviours that can satisfy internal needs – an area of inquiry as important for understanding brain function as it is for designing new types of freely moving autonomous robots. Since the authors agree that a dynamic analysis of system interactions is needed to understand these challenging phenomena – and neural network models provide a natural framework for representing and analysing such interactions – all the articles either develop neural network models or provide biological constraints for guiding and testing their design.

This volume is based on the 10th annual Harvard Symposium for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. The first Harvard Symposium was devoted to signal-detection analyses of reinforcement and choice behavior. The present volume reprises the original signal- detection theme, incorporating additional insights based on experimental and theoretical analyses undertaken during the years separating the two conferences.This collection illustrates how signal-detection theory, first advanced to account for performance in threshold-level sensory discrimination, has broadened to encompass a variety of psychological problems involving discriminations between confusable stimuli. The approach is quantitative in its emphasis on estimation of independent parameters of the discrimination process, and analytical in its efforts to separate the determiners of discriminability and bias and to identify the mechanisms of their operation. Above all, the book is broadly integrative in its approach to diverse problems. This volume is based on the 10th annual Harvard Symposium for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. The first Harvard Symposium was devoted to signal-detection analyses of reinforcement and choice behavior. The present volume reprises the original signal- detection theme, incorporating additional insights based on experimental and theoretical analyses undertaken during the years separating the two conferences.

The ninth volume in this highly acclaimed series discusses the computational and clinical approaches to pattern recognition and concept formation regarding: visual and spatial processing models; computational models, templates and hierarchical models. An ideal reference for students and professionals in experimental psychology and behavioral analysis.

This volume is one of the first to concentrate on positive growth and development in a clinical arena, rather than loss and pathology. In contrast to the general theories and cross-sectional studies of existing adult developmental research, much of this volume looks at the whole-life level of development of adults through case studies. The book unites three compatible approaches to the study of adult development. The first considers the development of whole life. The second approach examines behavior during certain periods in adults' lives by combining clinical and developmental stage perspectives. The third approach examines periods of life following the work of Erikson, Levinson, and Vaillant. The editors of this volume believe that these three approaches form, in their synergy, a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to uniquely difficult problems of late adolescence and early adulthood. It is the unification of these three approches that makes this book unique in its field.

This volume is one of the first to concentrate on positive growth and development in a clinical arena, rather than loss and pathology. In contrast to the general theories and cross-sectional studies of existing adult developmental research, much of this volume looks at the whole-life level of development of adults through case studies. The book unites three compatible approaches to the study of adult development. The first considers the development of whole life. The second approach examines behavior during certain periods in adults' lives by combining clinical and developmental stage perspectives. The third approach examines periods of life following the work of Erikson, Levinson, and Vaillant. The editors of this volume believe that these three approaches form, in their synergy, a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to uniquely difficult problems of late adolescence and early adulthood. It is the unification of these three approches that makes this book unique in its field.