Problems in the Behavioural Sciences - Böcker

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is currently the subject of considerable research, since recent epidemiological studies have suggested that the condition is more prevalent than was originally believed. This book offers a critical discussion of the most important theories that have been put forward to explain this disorder. The book includes behavioural/learning accounts (and cognitive-behavioural supplements of these), based on Pavlovian personality theories (such as those by Eysenck, Gray and Claridge), Pierre Janet's account, cybernetic approaches, psychodynamic approaches, Reed's 'cognitive-structural' account, and biological approaches. Therapeutic approaches to the disorder are also considered, insofar as they are relevant to these theories. This book is unique in both the comprehensiveness and the depth of its coverage of theories of OCD. It also offers an entirely new approach to the definition of the disorder.

Latent inhibition is an exquisitely simple, robust and pervasive behavioural phenomenon - the reduced ability of an organism to learn new associations to previously inconsequential stimuli. It has been demonstrated in a variety of animals, including humans, across many different learning tasks. The ease of demonstrating the latent inhibition effect, on the one hand, is matched by the difficulty of incorporating it into contemporary conditioning and learning theories, on the other. R. E. Lubow offers a complete survey of the basic data that comprise the latent inhibition effect and a review of theories that attempt to explain it. He then elaborates his own Conditioned Attention Theory and derives applications for learned helplessness and schizophrenia. A wide range of experimental psychologists and neuroscientists will find this a stimulating and useful book for themselves and their students.

We live in a world in which inconsistency is the rule rather than the exception and this is particularly true for rewards and frustrations. In some cases, rewards and frustrative non-rewards appear randomly for what seems to be the same behaviour; in others a sequence of rewards is suddenly followed by non-rewards, or large rewards by small rewards. The important common factor in these and other cases is frustration - how we learn about it and how we respond to it. This book provides a basis in learning theory and particularly in frustration theory, for a comprehension not only of the mechanisms controlling these dispositions, but also of their order of appearance in early development and, to an approximation at least, their neural underpinnings.

What is the mind? How does it work? How does it influence behavior? Some psychologists hope to answer such questions in terms of concepts drawn from computer science and artificial intelligence. They test their theories by modeling mental processes in computers. This book shows how computer models are used to study many psychological phenomena - including vision, language, reasoning, and learning. It also shows that computer modeling involves differing theoretical approaches. Computational psychologists disagree about some basic questions. For instance, should the mind be modeled by digital computers, or by parallel-processing systems more like brains? Do computer programs consist of meaningless patterns, or do they embody (and explain) genuine meaning?

We live in a world in which inconsistency is the rule rather than the exception and this is particularly true for rewards and frustrations. In some cases, rewards and frustrative non-rewards appear randomly for what seems to be the same behaviour; in others a sequence of rewards is suddenly followed by non-rewards, or large rewards by small rewards. The important common factor in these and other cases is frustration - how we learn about it and how we respond to it. This book provides a basis in learning theory and particularly in frustration theory, for a comprehension not only of the mechanisms controlling these dispositions, but also of their order of appearance in early development and, to an approximation at least, their neural underpinnings.

Thirst is a subjective sensation, triggered by a lack of water and accompanied by the desire to drink. As a powerful and compelling sensation, it is perhaps only exceeded by the hunger for air and by pain, and is central to any concern with the overall mechanisms of homeostasis. Drinking is essential to the survival of most terrestrial vertebrates, and provides a useful model system with which to analyse the control of a complex type of behaviour. Furthermore, drinking requires integrated behavioural responses to physiological stimuli and environmental demands, and therefore offers a good example for the analysis of the biological mechanisms underlying behaviour. First published in 1982, this book describes the control of thirst and water intake, and the physiology and psychology of drinking. Although this book is intended primarily for students of psychology, physiology and medicine, it should be of interest to all those concerned with the scientific study of thirst and with the physiological and neural bases of behaviour.

This 1980 book provides a general but comprehensive study of the way in which animals learn and in particular, learn about the relationship between events in their environment. The study of animal learning and conditioning can be approached from two very different perspectives. The psychologist can focus directly on behaviour, relying on the conditioning experiment in his attempt to formulate behavioural laws and principles which will transcend the confines of the laboratory. The learning theorist however, is concerned not with behavioural change per se but rather with the way in which animals acquire knowledge through experience: the types of relationship to which they are sensitive, their representation of their knowledge about these and the mechanisms that control these representations. Dr Dickinson provides an integrated survey of the experimental and theoretical work which was being carried out as he wrote. The book will continue to interest scholars of animal learning theory.

From birth, the urge to eat is the most common everyday experience. Eating to be nourished is the most basic behaviour of human life, and is one of the main functions in all living organisms. Clear answers to a number of important questions have only recently begun to emerge. Why are animals hungry? How are they driven to seek and eat selected foods? How do they become satiated so that they ingest the exact amount of food they need for growth and to maintain stable body weight in adulthood? This book is the first synthesis, by one hand, of the new knowledge on feeding behaviour. It describes the roles of body depletion and repletion of energy and of specific nutrients, of the orosensory qualities of food and of the brain in integrating and interpreting internal and external signals. This volume complements that of B.J. & E.T. Rolls, Thirst, in the same series.

This well-written and lively account of the principles of how motivational systems operate includes discussions of both theories and empirical results from individual systems. It reviews current experimental evidence on hunger, thirst, sex and other areas and argues that common factors must be emphasised as much as differences between the systems. The book summarises the theoretical principles that emerge: it shows where motivation theory and learning theory should come together, rather than diverge. Models with general predictive power are elaborated and related to the goal directed aspect of motivation. The book deals with motivation at all levels from the physiological to that of mathematical modelling and explains complex ideas lucidly. It complements other books in the Problems in the Behavioural Sciences Series including Hunger (le Magnen), Thirst (Rolls & Rolls) and Contemporary Animal Learning Theory (Dickson).

There have been rapid and important advances in all behavioural sciences in recent years. These advances have in one sense been very diverse and specialised - sufficiently so for a scientist to quickly lose touch with the current concerns of even neighbouring researches: but in some cases the developments have seemed also to be fundamental and perhaps convergent, with implications across a range of disciplines. In either case there is a real, and increasing, need for scientists to communicate their discoveries and to a new generation of students in their own. Problems in the Behavioural Sciences is designed to meet this need. The books are by leading researchers, and deal with problems or topics that are attracting a special current interest. The central subject matter is psychology, but many of the issues will need to be pursued across existing (and fluid) boundaries between psychology and other behavioural sciences like physiology, pharmacology, sociology, ethology and linguistics. The central idea of this book is that biology, and particularly evolution, provides the best starting point for the study of emotion. In particular, it is argued that all the conventional properties of emotion such as expression, feeling, and motivation can be considered in a scientific manner, and useful conclusions drawn therefrom. The major part of the book involves the application of this central idea to a wide variety of the phenomena of emotion. The resultant review should be useful as an undergraduate text, and so explanations in the text are aimed at the non-specialist. At the same time, the specific conclusions drawn in the book should be of interest to all those who do research on emotion, and particularly those who need a solid framework on which to base interdisciplinary studies. Biology and Emotion differs from the majority of books in the field in that it does not present a specific theory of emotion. The material covered is therefore more general than is often the case, and has not been selected to support a particular point of view. It combines an organised, yet artheoretical, approach with coverage of both animal and human emotions.

Brain damage can cause memory to break down in a number of different ways, the analysis of which can illuminate how the intact brain mediates memory processes. After first considering the problems involved in assessing memory, this book provisionally advances a taxonomy of elementary memory disorders and, for each in turn, reviews both the specific processes that are disrupted and the lesions responsible for the disruption. These disorders include short-term memory deficits, deficits in previously well-established memory, memory decifits caused by frontal lobe lesions, the organic amnesias, the disorders of conditioning and skill acquisition. Particular attention is paid to the organic amnesias, about which we know the most, and to the contributions of animal models to our knowledge. Andrew Mayes argues that the memory deficits found in several neurological and psychiatric syndromes comprise co-occurring elementary memory disorders. Finally, he outlines the implications of his taxonomy for our understanding of normal memory. A wide audience of researchers and students will find Human Organic Memory Disorders a helpful guide to a complex problem area.

Latent inhibition is an exquisitely simple, robust and pervasive behavioural phenomenon - the reduced ability of an organism to learn new associations to previously inconsequential stimuli. It has been demonstrated in a variety of animals, including humans, across many different learning tasks. The ease of demonstrating the latent inhibition effect, on the one hand, is matched by the difficulty of incorporating it into contemporary conditioning and learning theories, on the other. R. E. Lubow offers a complete survey of the basic data that comprise the latent inhibition effect and a review of theories that attempt to explain it. He then elaborates his own Conditioned Attention Theory and derives applications for learned helplessness and schizophrenia. A wide range of experimental psychologists and neuroscientists will find this a stimulating and useful book for themselves and their students.

Disappointment and recovery occur frequently in life; as does irritation regarding ones financial or economic state compared to others. Incentive relativity is the study of this phenomenon, and this book provides a full account of the subject, suitable for behavioral scientists and psychologists. The book shows that animals also respond on the basis of the relative value of rewards - current compared to previous, to the reward available in one situation versus what is available in another context. These relativity effects are stressful in animals but they may also be adaptive, driving animals to seek the best that is available. The book demonstrates that animal research may lead to an understanding of individual differences in discernment and susceptibility to disappointment and to an understanding of both the advantages and disadvantages of dissatisfaction.

It is hard to think of any significant aspect of our lives that is not influenced by what we have learned in the past. Of fundamental importance is our ability to learn the ways in which events are related to one another, called associative learning. This book provides a fresh look at associative learning theory and reviews extensively the advances made over the last twenty years. The Psychology of Associative Learning begins by establishing that the human associative learning system is rational in the sense that it accurately represents event relationships. David Shanks goes on to consider the informational basis of learning, in terms of the memorisation of instances, and discusses at length the application of connectionist models to human learning. The book concludes with an evaluation of the role of rule induction in associative learning. This will be essential reading for graduate students and final year undergraduates of psychology.

It is hard to think of any significant aspect of our lives that is not influenced by what we have learned in the past. Of fundamental importance is our ability to learn the ways in which events are related to one another, called associative learning. This book provides a fresh look at associative learning theory and reviews extensively the advances made over the last twenty years. The Psychology of Associative Learning begins by establishing that the human associative learning system is rational in the sense that it accurately represents event relationships. David Shanks goes on to consider the informational basis of learning, in terms of the memorisation of instances, and discusses at length the application of connectionist models to human learning. The book concludes with an evaluation of the role of rule induction in associative learning. This will be essential reading for graduate students and final year undergraduates of psychology.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is currently the subject of considerable research, since recent epidemiological studies have suggested that the condition is more prevalent than was originally believed. This book offers a critical discussion of the most important theories that have been put forward to explain this disorder. The book includes behavioural/learning accounts (and cognitive-behavioural supplements of these), based on Pavlovian personality theories (such as those by Eysenck, Gray and Claridge), Pierre Janet's account, cybernetic approaches, psychodynamic approaches, Reed's 'cognitive-structural' account, and biological approaches. Therapeutic approaches to the disorder are also considered, insofar as they are relevant to these theories. This book is unique in both the comprehensiveness and the depth of its coverage of theories of OCD. It also offers an entirely new approach to the definition of the disorder.

Genius: The Natural History of Creativity presents a novel theory of genius and creativity, based on the personality characteristics of creative persons and geniuses. Starting with the fact that genius and creativity are related to psychopathology, it uses modern research into the causes of cognitive over-inclusiveness to suggest possible applications of these theories to creativity. Professor Eysenck reports experimental research to support these theories in their application to creativity, as well as considering the role of intelligence, social status, gender and many other factors that have been linked with genius and creativity. The theory traces creativity from DNA through personality to special cognitive processes to genius.