Psychology Library Editions: Cognitive Science – serie

Originally published in 1995, this book is about the conduct of cognitive science rather than what cognitive science is. It has three main objectives. First, it describes the birth of cognitive science. Second, it outlines the method of enquiry which characterises and defines cognitive science. This method uses the techniques of artificial intelligence based on the assumption that mental activity can, in principle, be reproduced by a computer program. Third, the book describes the state of the art in relevant areas, with particular attention to application fields such as pedagogics, human–machine interaction, and psychotherapy. The developmental approach is emphasised and highlights the fact that developmental aspects are essential in order to comprehend the steady mode of functioning achieved once a person has reached total maturity. Cognitive science is not presented as a definitive method for the analysis of the mind, though the author’s conclusion is that it is the best of all possible methods today.At the time of publication this book would have been useful as an advanced textbook for students on courses specialising in cognitive science, and as a source of further information for those working in related areas such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, and computer science. It will still be of interest to experts and students in the field of cognitive science.

Originally published in 1995, this book is about the conduct of cognitive science rather than what cognitive science is. It has three main objectives. First, it describes the birth of cognitive science. Second, it outlines the method of enquiry which characterises and defines cognitive science. This method uses the techniques of artificial intelligence based on the assumption that mental activity can, in principle, be reproduced by a computer program. Third, the book describes the state of the art in relevant areas, with particular attention to application fields such as pedagogics, human–machine interaction, and psychotherapy. The developmental approach is emphasised and highlights the fact that developmental aspects are essential in order to comprehend the steady mode of functioning achieved once a person has reached total maturity. Cognitive science is not presented as a definitive method for the analysis of the mind, though the author’s conclusion is that it is the best of all possible methods today.At the time of publication this book would have been useful as an advanced textbook for students on courses specialising in cognitive science, and as a source of further information for those working in related areas such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, and computer science. It will still be of interest to experts and students in the field of cognitive science.

Piagetian theory was once considered able to describe the structure and development of human thought. As a result, it generated an enthusiasm that it could direct education to develop new teaching methods, particularly in science and mathematics. However, disillusionment with Piagetian theory came rather quickly because many of its structural and developmental assumptions appeared incongruent with empirical evidence. In recent years several neo-Piagetian theories have been proposed which try to preserve the strengths of Piaget’s theory, while eliminating its weaknesses. At the same time several other models have been advanced originating from different epistemological traditions, such as cognitive/differential psychology or socio-historical approaches. Originally published in 1992, this title was unique in representing most of these theories and traditions. Specifically, the authors focus their work on the educational implications of their research. The chapters are organised in three parts: the first part presents some widely known models of cognitive development and discusses their implications for different aspects of education; the second part is devoted to learning and cognitive acceleration; while part three highlights teaching methods that would improve the acquisition of particular skills in specific areas. Written by an eminent group of truly international contributors, this title will still be useful to students and researchers in cognitive development and education, as well as educational policy makers.

Piagetian theory was once considered able to describe the structure and development of human thought. As a result, it generated an enthusiasm that it could direct education to develop new teaching methods, particularly in science and mathematics. However, disillusionment with Piagetian theory came rather quickly because many of its structural and developmental assumptions appeared incongruent with empirical evidence. In recent years several neo-Piagetian theories have been proposed which try to preserve the strengths of Piaget’s theory, while eliminating its weaknesses. At the same time several other models have been advanced originating from different epistemological traditions, such as cognitive/differential psychology or socio-historical approaches. Originally published in 1992, this title was unique in representing most of these theories and traditions. Specifically, the authors focus their work on the educational implications of their research. The chapters are organised in three parts: the first part presents some widely known models of cognitive development and discusses their implications for different aspects of education; the second part is devoted to learning and cognitive acceleration; while part three highlights teaching methods that would improve the acquisition of particular skills in specific areas. Written by an eminent group of truly international contributors, this title will still be useful to students and researchers in cognitive development and education, as well as educational policy makers.

Physiological psychology deals with the interaction between ‘under the skin’ physiological variables and the personal and social context in which organisms live. Originally published in 1975, much of this book has relevance for the understanding of human action: knowledge of physiological mechanisms underlying psychological functions can throw light on conditions such as obesity, schizophrenia, and the emotional disorders, and on procedures such as psychosurgery and drug therapy.

Physiological psychology deals with the interaction between ‘under the skin’ physiological variables and the personal and social context in which organisms live. Originally published in 1975, much of this book has relevance for the understanding of human action: knowledge of physiological mechanisms underlying psychological functions can throw light on conditions such as obesity, schizophrenia, and the emotional disorders, and on procedures such as psychosurgery and drug therapy.

Cognitive science – which draws on ideas from psychology, philosophy, linguistics and artificial intelligence (AI) – attempts to explain our mental life within a scientific framework. Its goal is, thus, to remove the last major obstacle to a unified scientific account of the natural world. In this title, originally published in 1991, Alan Garnham provides an invaluable introduction to this exciting new development in the study of mind. The Mind in Action focuses on the development of a systematic explanation of cognition, rather than on facts about the way we perceive things, remember them, talk about them, think about them, and interact with them. The author looks in detail at the nature of scientific explanations, the reasons for developing them, and the way they are assessed. He describes the work carried out by cognitive scientists and considers the questions that motivate it. He introduces the computational metaphor for the mind, and explains how flushing out the metaphor might lead to an integrated scientific account of mental phenomena.Designed primarily for people about to embark on courses in cognitive science and related disciplines, The Mind in Action captures the liveliness and excitement of debates about the mind. It is readily accessible to anyone with an interest in how the mind works, avoiding technical terms where possible and explaining them fully where they are necessary.

Cognitive science – which draws on ideas from psychology, philosophy, linguistics and artificial intelligence (AI) – attempts to explain our mental life within a scientific framework. Its goal is, thus, to remove the last major obstacle to a unified scientific account of the natural world. In this title, originally published in 1991, Alan Garnham provides an invaluable introduction to this exciting new development in the study of mind. The Mind in Action focuses on the development of a systematic explanation of cognition, rather than on facts about the way we perceive things, remember them, talk about them, think about them, and interact with them. The author looks in detail at the nature of scientific explanations, the reasons for developing them, and the way they are assessed. He describes the work carried out by cognitive scientists and considers the questions that motivate it. He introduces the computational metaphor for the mind, and explains how flushing out the metaphor might lead to an integrated scientific account of mental phenomena.Designed primarily for people about to embark on courses in cognitive science and related disciplines, The Mind in Action captures the liveliness and excitement of debates about the mind. It is readily accessible to anyone with an interest in how the mind works, avoiding technical terms where possible and explaining them fully where they are necessary.

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.

Originally published in 1987 this title was designed as a textbook for first degree students of psychology and provides an introduction to the major topics within the subject of physiological psychology. The aim was to cover these major subject areas and at the same time to provide indications of advances made in the previous two decades. Today the book is still suitable for all levels of study, from beginning students to final year level, who wish to cover historical aspects of physiological psychology.

Originally published in 1987 this title was designed as a textbook for first degree students of psychology and provides an introduction to the major topics within the subject of physiological psychology. The aim was to cover these major subject areas and at the same time to provide indications of advances made in the previous two decades. Today the book is still suitable for all levels of study, from beginning students to final year level, who wish to cover historical aspects of physiological psychology.

Originally published in 1980, this title looks at the mental processes involved in producing and understanding spoken language. Although there had been several edited volumes on speech in the previous ten years, this volume was unique in that it deals exclusively with perception and production of fluent speech. The chapters in this volume, contributed to by distinguished scientists from psychology, linguistics and computer science, deal with such questions as: How are ideas encoded into sound? How does a speaker plan an utterance? How are words recognized? What is the role of knowledge in speech perception? In short, how do people communicate with each other using speech?

Originally published in 1980, this title looks at the mental processes involved in producing and understanding spoken language. Although there had been several edited volumes on speech in the previous ten years, this volume was unique in that it deals exclusively with perception and production of fluent speech. The chapters in this volume, contributed to by distinguished scientists from psychology, linguistics and computer science, deal with such questions as: How are ideas encoded into sound? How does a speaker plan an utterance? How are words recognized? What is the role of knowledge in speech perception? In short, how do people communicate with each other using speech?

Originally published in 1988, the purpose of this title was to present a coherent summary of the previous 30 years’ of research on the way in which animals and humans distribute their behaviour between alternative sources of reinforcement. There were three reasons why the book was needed at the time. First, it makes use of the empirical results available, something only partially present in many theories of the time. Second, as a general source of information to gain understanding of the scope of research on behaviour allocation. Third, a text was needed that described the techniques of experimental design and data analysis in this area.

Originally published in 1988, the purpose of this title was to present a coherent summary of the previous 30 years’ of research on the way in which animals and humans distribute their behaviour between alternative sources of reinforcement. There were three reasons why the book was needed at the time. First, it makes use of the empirical results available, something only partially present in many theories of the time. Second, as a general source of information to gain understanding of the scope of research on behaviour allocation. Third, a text was needed that described the techniques of experimental design and data analysis in this area.

Originally published in 1989 the purpose of this title was to provide information and ideas for: Staff Developers and Teacher Educators, as they consider program content to prepare teachers to teach thinking skills. Teachers, as they assess their own abilities to create classroom conditions for thinking and their readiness to implement a curriculum for developing thinking skills. Curriculum Developers, as they decide how the curriculum should be organized and sequenced according to children’s developmental levels. Administrators, as they assess and provide leadership for improving the conditions in their schools and classrooms, which allows the stimulating teaching of thinking. Although written some time ago the information is still valid today.

Originally published in 1989 the purpose of this title was to provide information and ideas for: Staff Developers and Teacher Educators, as they consider program content to prepare teachers to teach thinking skills. Teachers, as they assess their own abilities to create classroom conditions for thinking and their readiness to implement a curriculum for developing thinking skills. Curriculum Developers, as they decide how the curriculum should be organized and sequenced according to children’s developmental levels. Administrators, as they assess and provide leadership for improving the conditions in their schools and classrooms, which allows the stimulating teaching of thinking. Although written some time ago the information is still valid today.

Originally published in 1993, this title provided a lively but comprehensive account of experimental and theoretical approaches to the study of human memory at the time. Throughout, the book integrates experimental findings with neuropsychological data and describes a wide range of fascinating memory phenomena. A central theme of the book concerns the organization of memory. The idea that memory is composed of a series of structures is contrasted with process accounts of how memory works. There is a substantial account of the explicit/implicit distinction in memory research – an area that had been the centre of much recent experimentation and debate.The book was intended primarily as an intermediate text for undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students but its interdisciplinary approach and accessible style will also make it of interest to others, such as neurologists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, for whom some understanding of memory research is required.

Originally published in 1993, this title provided a lively but comprehensive account of experimental and theoretical approaches to the study of human memory at the time. Throughout, the book integrates experimental findings with neuropsychological data and describes a wide range of fascinating memory phenomena. A central theme of the book concerns the organization of memory. The idea that memory is composed of a series of structures is contrasted with process accounts of how memory works. There is a substantial account of the explicit/implicit distinction in memory research – an area that had been the centre of much recent experimentation and debate.The book was intended primarily as an intermediate text for undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students but its interdisciplinary approach and accessible style will also make it of interest to others, such as neurologists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, for whom some understanding of memory research is required.

Homesickness is a topic which has been neglected in research. It focuses on pre-occupation with home, family and friends and is further manifest in terms of distress such as depression, anxiety, obsessionality, absent-mindedness and physical symptoms. It has much in common with agitated depression and is in many ways similar to bereavement, and could be described as a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Originally published in 1989, this title will be of considerable interest to those who have counselling or care-giving roles. An attentional resource model of homesickness experience is developed, and the implications for self-help and counselling are considered. The book will also be of interest to cognitive psychologists, since investigation of the cognitive basis of homesickness provides information into the way in which planning processes operate, and in this sense there is a contribution to the understanding of cognitive factors in change and transition.

Homesickness is a topic which has been neglected in research. It focuses on pre-occupation with home, family and friends and is further manifest in terms of distress such as depression, anxiety, obsessionality, absent-mindedness and physical symptoms. It has much in common with agitated depression and is in many ways similar to bereavement, and could be described as a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Originally published in 1989, this title will be of considerable interest to those who have counselling or care-giving roles. An attentional resource model of homesickness experience is developed, and the implications for self-help and counselling are considered. The book will also be of interest to cognitive psychologists, since investigation of the cognitive basis of homesickness provides information into the way in which planning processes operate, and in this sense there is a contribution to the understanding of cognitive factors in change and transition.

Originally published in 1992, when connectionist natural language processing (CNLP) was a new and burgeoning research area, this book represented a timely assessment of the state of the art in the field. It includes contributions from some of the best known researchers in CNLP and covers a wide range of topics. The book comprises four main sections dealing with connectionist approaches to semantics, syntax, the debate on representational adequacy, and connectionist models of psycholinguistic processes. The semantics and syntax sections deal with a variety of approaches to issues in these traditional linguistic domains, covering the spectrum from pure connectionist approaches to hybrid models employing a mixture of connectionist and classical AI techniques.The debate on the fundamental suitability of connectionist architectures for dealing with natural language processing is the focus of the section on representational adequacy. The chapters in this section represent a range of positions on the issue, from the view that connectionist models are intrinsically unsuitable for all but the associationistic aspects of natural language, to the other extreme which holds that the classical conception of representation can be dispensed with altogether. The final section of the book focuses on the application of connectionist models to the study of psycholinguistic processes. This section is perhaps the most varied, covering topics from speech perception and speech production, to attentional deficits in reading. An introduction is provided at the beginning of each section which highlights the main issues relating to the section topic and puts the constituent chapters into a wider context.

Originally published in 1992, when connectionist natural language processing (CNLP) was a new and burgeoning research area, this book represented a timely assessment of the state of the art in the field. It includes contributions from some of the best known researchers in CNLP and covers a wide range of topics. The book comprises four main sections dealing with connectionist approaches to semantics, syntax, the debate on representational adequacy, and connectionist models of psycholinguistic processes. The semantics and syntax sections deal with a variety of approaches to issues in these traditional linguistic domains, covering the spectrum from pure connectionist approaches to hybrid models employing a mixture of connectionist and classical AI techniques.The debate on the fundamental suitability of connectionist architectures for dealing with natural language processing is the focus of the section on representational adequacy. The chapters in this section represent a range of positions on the issue, from the view that connectionist models are intrinsically unsuitable for all but the associationistic aspects of natural language, to the other extreme which holds that the classical conception of representation can be dispensed with altogether. The final section of the book focuses on the application of connectionist models to the study of psycholinguistic processes. This section is perhaps the most varied, covering topics from speech perception and speech production, to attentional deficits in reading. An introduction is provided at the beginning of each section which highlights the main issues relating to the section topic and puts the constituent chapters into a wider context.

At the time of original publication psychobiology was one of the most rapidly developing areas of psychology. Its growth owed much to recent advances both in techniques for studying the physiological bases of behaviour and in major conceptual advances in the way people thought about the brain. First published in 1989, this textbook introduction to the field looks at the state of psychobiology in the light of these advances. The issues covered include: the factors that have shaped the current state of the field; the value of animal subjects in the study of psychological processes; the problems of studying the brain, including the theoretical assumptions underlying the most widely used methods; the current status of influential theories, like Stellar’s 2-center theory of motivation and Papez’s theory of emotion; the relationship between psychological theory and physiological data, such as recent accounts of the visual system; the problems presented by ‘emergent properties’ like consciousness.

At the time of original publication psychobiology was one of the most rapidly developing areas of psychology. Its growth owed much to recent advances both in techniques for studying the physiological bases of behaviour and in major conceptual advances in the way people thought about the brain. First published in 1989, this textbook introduction to the field looks at the state of psychobiology in the light of these advances. The issues covered include: the factors that have shaped the current state of the field; the value of animal subjects in the study of psychological processes; the problems of studying the brain, including the theoretical assumptions underlying the most widely used methods; the current status of influential theories, like Stellar’s 2-center theory of motivation and Papez’s theory of emotion; the relationship between psychological theory and physiological data, such as recent accounts of the visual system; the problems presented by ‘emergent properties’ like consciousness.

Originally published in 1976, this volume is based on a conference held in 1974. The purpose of the conference was to foster communication between those researchers studying habituation or closely related processes in children and those studying habituation at the level of neurophysiology and animal behaviour. Within each of these groups there was burgeoning interest in habituation, yet there had been little, if any, interaction between them. Overall, this volume provides a medium for cross-fertilization between animal-neurophysiological and developmental research on habituation, highlighting some of the current empirical and theoretical concerns within each area at the time. While other volumes may have provided more comprehensive and detailed reviews of aspects of habituation, the juxtaposition of developmental and animal neuro-physiological research provided in this text was unique in the literature at the time.

Originally published in 1976, this volume is based on a conference held in 1974. The purpose of the conference was to foster communication between those researchers studying habituation or closely related processes in children and those studying habituation at the level of neurophysiology and animal behaviour. Within each of these groups there was burgeoning interest in habituation, yet there had been little, if any, interaction between them. Overall, this volume provides a medium for cross-fertilization between animal-neurophysiological and developmental research on habituation, highlighting some of the current empirical and theoretical concerns within each area at the time. While other volumes may have provided more comprehensive and detailed reviews of aspects of habituation, the juxtaposition of developmental and animal neuro-physiological research provided in this text was unique in the literature at the time.

To the vast majority of academic psychologists in the 1980s, the study of cognition referred to that area of psychology known as ‘cognitive psychology’. The major basis of this area had been the computer metaphor with its accompanying notion of the individual as an information-processing system. Yet within the field the study of cognition is much broader and has a history that reaches into antiquity, whereas ‘cognitive psychology’ as information-processing psychology had only recently become the standard bearer of cognitive studies.One of the purposes of this volume, originally published in 1986, was to articulate some of the fundamental distinctions between and concordances among different orientations concerning the study of cognition. The collection includes chapters on information processing, ecological, Gestalt, physiological, and operant psychology.