A Special Issue of Cognition & Emotion

• Edited by Peter Kuppens, Jeroen Stouten, Batja Mesquita

Our emotions define us as individuals: Each of us has unique ways of feeling and emotionally responding. In this Special Issue several contemporary approaches to emotion are used to gain insight in the ways people differ with regard to two of the most central features of emotions, their multicomponential and dynamical nature.

Different theoretical perspectives on how individual differences in emotion should be considered and studied are offered by Russell, Feldman Barrett, Scherer, and Larsen. Innovative empirical studies on individual differences in emotional experience are discussed by another set of articles by Smith, Van Mechelen, Silvia, and Verduyn and their respective colleagues. Finally, Frijda reflects on the challenges and controversies that emerge from the Special Issue. Together, the contributions of this Special Issue offer a cutting-edge view of current thinking and research, in which individual differences in the componential architecture of emotions as well as the unfolding of emotions over time are used as a stepping stone, not only to the understanding of how and why people differ emotionally, but also to the understanding of the nature of emotion itself.

ISBN: 9781841698571

Published November 04 2009 by Psychology Press.

A Special Issue of Visual Cognition

• Edited by Benjamin W. Tatler

Successfully completing many forms of behaviour requires that humans look in the right place at the right time: This has generated a large volume of research aimed at understanding how the eyes are guided. This special issue demonstrates that the decision about where to look involves a large number of factors from low- to high-level constraints. New models of eye guidance are presented, and these offer converging approaches to understanding how we inspect complex scenes. Importantly, this special issue brings together evidence from a range of settings - from static scene viewing to real world environments - in order to fully assess our current understanding of eye guidance in natural scenes.

ISBN: 9781848727151

Published September 18 2009 by Psychology Press.

A Special Issue of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry

• Edited by Brita Elvevåg, Daniel Weinberger

Neuropsychiatry stands to benefit enormously from the new research framework afforded by the sequencing of the human genome and from examining the role of molecular genetics on the clinical presentation of psychiatric patients. A solid foundation is essential if novel genetic breakthroughs are to be translated to successful clinical agents. However, this new research program is magnitudes more complex than any enterprise embarked on hitherto and requires the development, validation and deployment of novel behavioural and neurophysiological phenotypes in order to unravel the pathologies within neural functional systems. This Special Issue provides an introduction to some important findings and implications for neuropsychiatry. The role of specific functional polymorphisms - including genomic mutations - as well as ‘generalist’ genes are explored in childhood, adolescence and adulthood in terms of their modulatory roles on variables present at the level of clinical diagnosis as well as those evident at the level of intermediate neurocognitive and neurophysiological phenotypes, such as emotional reactivity, working memory, executive function, episodic memory and general intelligence. Methodological considerations of this research enterprise are discussed, such as genome wide association studies, the role of cognitive ontologies for neuropsychiatric phenomics as well as possible novel cognitive endophenotypes.

ISBN: 9781848727182

Published September 09 2009 by Psychology Press.

A Festschrift in Honour of Lars-Goran Nilsson

• Edited by Lars Backman, Lars Nyberg

This book brings together some of the best known experts in their fields to offer a cross-disciplinary summary of current research on human memory. More than this however, the book pays tribute to the work of Lars-Göran Nilsson and his many contributions to the psychology of human memory.

The book is divided into three subsections: General Issues in Human Memory, Memory and Aging, and Memory and the Brain. These sections represent the three cornerstones in Lars-Göran´s scientific career and comprise contributions from senior collaborators, colleagues and former students.

Areas of discussion include:

• long-term and working memory: how do they interact?
• an epidemiological approach to cognitive health in aging
• the cognitive neuroscience of signed language

Covering a broad range of topics, Memory, Aging and the Brain will be of great interest to all those involved in the study and research of human memory.

ISBN: 9781841696928

Published July 22 2009 by Psychology Press.

• By Aimee M. Surprenant, Ian Neath

In over 100 years of scientific research on human memory, and nearly 50 years after the so-called cognitive revolution, we have nothing that really constitutes a widely accepted and frequently cited law of memory, and perhaps only one generally accepted principle. The purpose of this monograph is to begin to rectify this situation by proposing 7 principles of human memory that apply to all memory. These principles are qualitative statements of empirical regularities that can serve as intermediary explanations and which follow from viewing memory as a function. They apply to all types of information, to all memory systems, and to all time scales. The principles highlight important gaps in our knowledge, challenge existing organizational views of memory, and suggest important new lines of research.

This volume is intended for people in the field of memory (from advanced undergraduates to seasoned researchers), although it will be of interest to those who would like a comprehensive overview of the fundamental regularities in cognitive functioning.

ISBN: 9781841694221

Published June 01 2009 by Psychology Press.

Current Issues and New Directions in the Integration of Cognition, Neurobiology and Genetics of Reading and Dyslexia Research and Practice

• Edited by Ken Pugh, Peggy McCardle

This book brings together in one volume information about the neurobiological, genetic, and behavioral bases of reading and reading disabilities. In recent years, research on assessment and treatment of reading disability (dyslexia) has become a magnet for the application of new techniques and technologies from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. This interdisciplinary fusion has yielded numerous and diverse findings regarding the brain basis of this syndrome, which are discussed in this volume by leading researchers. Intervention approaches based on such research are presented. The book also calls for research in specific directions, to encourage the field to continue moving into the bold frontier of how the brain reads.

The volume is essential reading for a range of researchers, clinicians, and other professionals interested in reading and reading disability, and also commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Extraordinary Brain Conferences hosted by The Dyslexia Foundation.

ISBN: 9781848728431

Published June 01 2009 by Psychology Press.

• By Richard Jackson Harris

In this fifth edition of A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication, author Richard Jackson Harris continues his examination of how our experiences with media affect the way we acquire knowledge about the world, and how this knowledge influences our attitudes and behavior.

Presenting theories from psychology and communication along with reviews of the corresponding research, this text covers a wide variety of media and media issues, ranging from the commonly discussed topics--sex, violence, advertising--to lesser-studied topics, such as values, sports, and entertainment education.

In this fifth and fully updated edition, this book offers:

• Highly accessible and engaging writing
• Contemporary references to all types of media familiar to students
• Substantial discussion of theories and research, including interpretations of original research studies
• A balanced approach to covering the breadth and depth of the subject.
• Discussion of work from both psychology and media disciplines.

The text is appropriate for Media Effects, Media & Society, and Psychology of Mass Media coursework, as it examines the effects of mass media on human cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors through empirical social science research; teaches students how to examine and evaluate mediated messages; and includes mass communication research, theory and analysis.

ISBN: 9780415993111

Published May 19 2009 by Routledge.

Cognitive, Affective, and Motivational Processes

• Edited by Joseph P. Forgas, Roy F. Baumeister, Dianne M. Tice

The ability to regulate and control our behaviors is a key accomplishment of the human species, yet the psychological mechanisms involved in self-regulation remain incompletely understood. This book presents contributions from leading international researchers who survey the most recent developments in this fascinating area. The chapters shed new light on the subtle and often subconscious ways that the people seek to regulate their thoughts, feelings and behaviors in everyday social life. The contributions seek answers to such intriguing questions as: How can we improve our ability to control our actions? How do people make decisions about which goals to pursue? How do we maintain and manage goal-oriented behavior? What happens when we run out of self-regulation resources? Can we match people and the regulatory demands of to specific tasks so as to optimize performance? What role does self-regulation play in sports performance, in maintaining successful relationships, and in managing work situations?

The book offers a highly integrated and representative coverage of this important field, and is suitable as a core textbook in advanced courses dealing with social behavior and the applications of psychology to real-life problems.

ISBN: 9781848728424

Published May 18 2009 by Psychology Press.

Closing the Gap Between Neurophysiology and Behaviour

• Edited by Dietmar Heinke, Eirini Mavritsaki

Classically, behavioural neuroscience theorizes about experimental evidence in a qualitative way. However, more recently there has been an increasing development of mathematical and computational models of experimental results, and in general these models are more clearly defined and more detailed than their qualitative counter parts. These new computational models can be set up so that they are consistent with both single neuron and whole-system levels of operation, allowing physiological results to be meshed with behavioural data – thus closing the gap between neurophysiology and human behaviour.

There is considerable diversity between models with respect to the methodology of designing a model, the degree to which neurophysiological processes are taken into account and the way data (behavioural, electrophysiological, etc) constrains a model. This book presents examples of this diversity and in doing so represents the state-of-art in the field through a unique collection of papers from the world's leading researchers in the area of computational modelling in behavioural neuroscience.

Based on talks given at the third Behavioural Brain Sciences Symposium, held at the Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, University of Birmingham, in May 2007, the book appeals to a broad audience, from postgraduate students beginning to work in the field to experienced experimenters interested in an overview.

ISBN: 9781841697383

Published April 03 2009 by Psychology Press.

An Introduction to the Rule Space Method

• By Kikumi Tatsuoka

This book introduces a new methodology for the analysis of test results. Free from ambiguous interpretations, the results truly demonstrate an individual’s progress. The methodology is ideal for highlighting patterns derived from test scores used in evaluating progress. Dr. Tatsuoka introduces readers to the Rule Space Method (RSM), a technique that transforms unobservable knowledge and skill variables into observable and measurable attributes. RSM converts item response patterns into attribute mastery probabilities. RSM is the only up-to-date methodology that can handle large scale assessment for tests such as the SAT and PSAT. PSAT used the results from this methodology to create cognitively diagnostic scoring reports. In this capacity, RSM helps teachers understand what scores mean by helping them ascertain an individual’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. For example, two students may have the exact same score, but for different reasons. One student might excel at processing grammatically complex texts but miss the main idea of the prose, while another excels at understanding the global message. Such knowledge helps teachers customize a student’s education to his or her cognitive abilities. RSM is also used for medical diagnoses, genetics research, and to help classify music into various states of emotions for treating mental problems.

The book opens with an overview of cognitive assessment research and nonparametric and parametric person-fit statistics. The Q-matrix theory is then introduced followed by the Rule Space method. Various properties of attribute mastery probabilities are then introduced along with the reliability theory of attributes and its connection to classical and item response theory. The book concludes with a discussion of how the construct validity of a test can be clarified with the Rule Space method.

Intended for researchers and graduate students in quantitative, educational, and cognitive psychology, this book also appeals to those in computer science, neuroscience, medicine, and mathematics. The book is appropriate for advanced courses on cognometrics, latent class structures, and advanced psychometrics as well as statistical pattern recognition and classification courses taught in statistics and/or math departments.

ISBN: 9780805828283

Published April 01 2009 by Routledge Academic.