Control of Human Behavior, Mental Processes, and Consciousness
Control of Human Behavior, Mental Processes, and Consciousness

Author: Walter J. Perrig

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-05-13

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 1135679649

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In this book, an international group of leading scientists present perspectives on the control of human behavior, awareness, consciousness, and the meaning and function of perceived control or self-efficacy in people's lives. The book breaks down the barriers between subdisciplines, and thus constitutes an occasion to reflect on various facets of control in human life. Each expert reviews his or her field through the lens of perceived control and shows how these insights can be applied in practice.

Science And Human Behavior
Science And Human Behavior

Author: B.F Skinner

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-12-18

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 1476716153

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The psychology classic—a detailed study of scientific theories of human nature and the possible ways in which human behavior can be predicted and controlled—from one of the most influential behaviorists of the twentieth century and the author of Walden Two. “This is an important book, exceptionally well written, and logically consistent with the basic premise of the unitary nature of science. Many students of society and culture would take violent issue with most of the things that Skinner has to say, but even those who disagree most will find this a stimulating book.” —Samuel M. Strong, The American Journal of Sociology “This is a remarkable book—remarkable in that it presents a strong, consistent, and all but exhaustive case for a natural science of human behavior…It ought to be…valuable for those whose preferences lie with, as well as those whose preferences stand against, a behavioristic approach to human activity.” —Harry Prosch, Ethics

Attention and Self-Regulation
Attention and Self-Regulation

Author: C. S. Carver

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1461258871

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"Seek simplicity and distrust it. " Alfred North Whitehead "It will become all too clear that an ability to see patterns in behavior, an ability that some might feel proud of, can lead more easily to a wrong description than a right one. " William T. Powers The goal of the theorist-the scholar-is to take a collection of observations of the world, and perceive order in them. This process necessarily imposes an artificial simplicity upon those observations. That is, specific observations are weighed differently from each other whenever a theoretical account is abstracted from raw experiences. Some observed events are misunderstood or distorted, others are seen as representing random fluctuations and are ignored, and yet others are viewed as centrally important. This abstraction and oversimplification of reality is inevitable in theory construction. Moreover, the abstracted vision builds upon itself. That is, as a structure begins to emerge from continued observation, the structure itself guides the search for new information. The result is a construction that is more elaborate than what existed before, but it still is usually simpler than reality. It is important for scholars to believe in the value of their task, and in the general correctness of the vision that guides their work. This commitment, and the hope of progress that follows from it, make it possible to continue even when the work is difficult and slow.

The Handbook of Behavior Change
The Handbook of Behavior Change

Author: Martin S. Hagger

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-07-15

Total Pages: 730

ISBN-13: 1108750117

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Social problems in many domains, including health, education, social relationships, and the workplace, have their origins in human behavior. The documented links between behavior and social problems have compelled governments and organizations to prioritize and mobilize efforts to develop effective, evidence-based means to promote adaptive behavior change. In recognition of this impetus, The Handbook of Behavior Change provides comprehensive coverage of contemporary theory, research, and practice on behavior change. It summarizes current evidence-based approaches to behavior change in chapters authored by leading theorists, researchers, and practitioners from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, behavioral science, economics, philosophy, and implementation science. It is the go-to resource for researchers, students, practitioners, and policy makers looking for current knowledge on behavior change and guidance on how to develop effective interventions to change behavior.

The Control Heuristic
The Control Heuristic

Author: Luca Dellanna

Publisher: Luca Dell'anna

Published: 2020-07-31

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13:

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“A SUPERB book [...] by one of the profound thinkers in our field [behavioral economics].” – Michal G. Bartlett on the second edition “Luca’s book was so helpful to my work. Opened my eyes up to some more reasons why change is so hard.” – Chris Murman on the first edition “So insightful with common sense applications of complexity and the ability to communicate clearly!!” – Bob Klapetzky Seen on Nudgestock. Reviews of Luca Dellanna's previous books "Absolutely brilliant." – Alberto Pisanello "A very thoughtful piece of writing, deep and wiring!" – David Krejca "A thoughtfully written book in very straightforward language." – A.L. Peevey "Very good book. Read it in in two evenings. Great insights straight to the point (not the usual self-help babble). Highly recommended." "One of the best works I have read in that matter (I have read a few) and it's surprising how realistically he depicts the condition." – Manel Vilar (on Luca's book on autism) "A profound, useful and insightful book" – Lorenzo Dragani THE BOOK At a first look, human behavior seems an inexplicable mess. Why do we behave irrationally? Why is change so hard? What is happiness and why does it seem to escape us? The Control Heuristic offers a new perspective to answer these questions and provides a guiding light to understand the subconscious processes that guide our behavior. Luca Dellanna, author of 5 books, writes here a revealing journey into the true motivations for human behavior. Understanding how the human mind really works is the first step to personal change. Suddenly, the frustrating becomes clear and the complex becomes simple.

Making Sense of Behavior
Making Sense of Behavior

Author: William T Powers

Publisher:

Published: 2023-11-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Making Sense of Behavior is the long-anticipated work on Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) by the originator written for the general reader in nontechnical language. From the author: "This is a book about human nature, as we try to guess about it by watching human behavior. It's about a particular theory that seems to fit a great deal of what we see people doing and a great deal of our own private experience. A lot of people think that this is a pretty good theory. But my object in this book is not to persuade you that the theory is right, either by itself or by comparison with other theories. My main objective is to tell you what the theory is and why it has been constructed as it is. I will tell you of the observations that I have thought needed an explanation, and of how this theory appears to explain them. You can decide for yourself whether the theory and the observations go together, and are important."

Self-Control in Animals and People
Self-Control in Animals and People

Author: Michael Beran

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2018-08-11

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 0128125098

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Self-Control in Animals and People takes an interdisciplinary look at what self-control is, how it works, and whether humans are alone as a species in their ability to demonstrate self-control. The book outlines historical and recent empirical approaches to understanding when self-control succeeds and fails, and which species may share with humans the ability to anticipate better future outcomes. It also provides readers with in-depth explorations of whether various species can delay gratification, the ways in which people and animals exhibit other forms of self-control, what influences the capacity and expression of self-control, and much more. In addition to its comprehensive coverage of self-control research, the book also describes self-control assessment tests that can be used with young children, adults, and a wide variety of nonhuman species, with the goal of making fair and clear comparisons among the groups. This combination makes Self-Control in Animals and People a valuable resource for cognitive, developmental, and clinical psychologists, philosophers, academic students and researchers in psychology and the social sciences, and animal behaviorists. - Provides a comprehensive perspective of the evolutionary emergence of self-control across species - Explores different "kinds" of self-control and their links to one another, and whether self-control can be improved or strengthened - Offers insight on mental time travel (chronesthesia) and how it relates to self-control - Demonstrates how to develop self-control tests for human and nonhuman animals, and how to make fair and clear comparisons among those groups

Human Behavior Learning and Transfer
Human Behavior Learning and Transfer

Author: Yangsheng Xu

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2005-09-06

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1000654559

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Bridging the gap between human-computer engineering and control engineering, Human Behavior Learning and Transfer delineates how to abstract human action and reaction skills into computational models. The authors include methods for modeling a variety of human action and reaction behaviors and explore processes for evaluating, optimizing, and trans

Gaining Control
Gaining Control

Author: Robert Aunger

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 0199688958

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'Gaining control' tells the story of how human behavioral capacities evolved from those of other animal species. Exploring what is known about the psychological capacities of other groups of animals, the authors reconstruct a fascinating history of our own mental evolution. In the book, the authors see mental evolution as a series of steps in which new mechanisms for controlling behavior develop in different species - starting with early representatives of this kingdom, and leading to a species - us - that can engage in a large number of different types of behavioral control. Key to their argument is the idea that each of these steps -- from reflexes to instincts, drives, emotions, and cognitive planning - can be seen as a novel type of psychological adaptation in which information is 'inherited' by an animal from its own behavior through new forms of learning - a form of major evolutionary transition. Thus the mechanisms that result from these steps in increasingly complex behavioral control can also be seen as the fundamental building blocks of psychology. Such a perspective on behaviour has a number of implications for practitioners in fields ranging from experimental psychology to public health. Short, provocative, and insightful, this book will be of great interest and use to evolutionary psychologists and biologists, anthropologists and the scientific community as a whole.

Nonlinear Dynamics in Human Behavior
Nonlinear Dynamics in Human Behavior

Author: Raoul Huys

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-12-08

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 3642162614

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Humans engage in a seemingly endless variety of different behaviors, of which some are found across species, while others are conceived of as typically human. Most generally, behavior comes about through the interplay of various constraints – informational, mechanical, neural, metabolic, and so on – operating at multiple scales in space and time. Over the years, consensus has grown in the research community that, rather than investigating behavior only from bottom up, it may be also well understood in terms of concepts and laws on the phenomenological level. Such top down approach is rooted in theories of synergetics and self-organization using tools from nonlinear dynamics. The present compendium brings together scientists from all over the world that have contributed to the development of their respective fields departing from this background. It provides an introduction to deterministic as well as stochastic dynamical systems and contains applications to motor control and coordination, visual perception and illusion, as well as auditory perception in the context of speech and music.