Psychology has always defined itself as a science and yet it has lacked the theoretical and methodological unity regarded as characteristic of the natural sciences. Nicolò Gaj explores the topical question of unification in psychology, setting out a conceptual framework for considerations of unity and disunity, and exploring the evidence of its fragmentation. He takes a critical look at the history of the most prominent attempts at unification, and at the desirability and feasibility of the whole project. The book represents a unique and valuable attempt to address the issue of unification from a philosophical perspective, and via a combination of theoretical and empirical research.
"The Sociocultural Turn In Psychology addresses a variety of ways in which, in contemporary psychology, there has been a trend toward viewing both mind and self as fundamentally constituted by cultural context and human interaction. A variety of books on topics like herme-neutics and psychological theory or cultural psychology have been published, but no book has attempted to bring together these diverse yet related approaches to the sociocultural origins and basis of mind and self."---Jaan Valsiner, editor, Culture & Psychology The Sociocultural Turn In Psychology treats psychological subjects, such as the mind and the self, as processes that are constituted, or "made up," within specific social and cultural practices. In other words, though one's distinct psychology is anchored by an embodied, biological existence, sociocultural interactions are integral to the evolution of the person. Only in the past two decades has the sociocultural turn truly established itself within disciplinary and professional psychology. Providing advanced students and practitioners with a definitive understanding of these theories, Suzanne R. Kirschner and Jack Martin, former presidents of the American Psychological Association's Division of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, assemble a collection of essays that describes the discursive, hermeneutic, dialogical, and activity approaches of sociocultural psychology. Each contribution recognizes psychology as a human science and supports the individual's potential for agency and freedom. At the same time, they differ in their understanding of a person's psychological functioning and the best way to study it. Ultimately the sociocultural turn offers an alternative to overly biological or interiorized theories of the self, emphasizing instead the formation and transformation of our minds in relation to others and the world. "This book is urgently needed in psychology. The title phrase `sociocultural turn' has an important meaning because it connotes that a full `turn' is required. For too long, psychologists have resisted such a turn by attempting to add cultural sensitivity to culturally insensitive ideas, such as Western research, theory, and practice. Fortunately, this book has assembled a Who's Who of scholars who not only make the full sociocultural turn but describe practically how other psychologists can and should as well."---Brent D. Slife, Brigham Young University, author of Critical Thinking About Psychology: Hidden Assumptions and Plausible Alternatives
Introduction: what's the problem? -- Out of context -- Out of the head -- Turning to narrative -- How narrating functions -- Making it so -- Interpreting interpretations -- Interpreting Ben's survival -- Interpretation in practice -- Reasoned interpretations -- Conclusion: unity in psychology?
William James made many references to pluralism throughout his career. Interestingly, many contemporary psychologists also discuss pluralism and indeed call for pluralism as a corrective to the discipline's philosophical and methodological foundations. Yet, pluralism and the purposes to which it is applied are understood in a variety of ways, and the relation of contemporary pluralism to the pluralism(s) of William James is uncertain. This book offers conceptual clarification in both contexts, first distinguishing diverse senses of pluralism in psychology and then systematically examining different forms of pluralism across the writings of James. A comparison of meanings and analysis of implications follows, aimed at illuminating what is at stake in ongoing calls for pluralism in psychology.
The motivation for this volume in the History and Theory of Psychology series is to look across sub-disciplines within psychology and highlight instances where researchers transcended the tendency to think about methodology along traditional lines. Contributors have located examples of researchers who built upon existing ideas to create methods true to their interests and theoretical convictions. Emerging Methods in Psychology shows how a discipline creates new methods and carves out possibilities that not only generate data, but also advance knowledge of human psychological functioning. It concentrates on showcasing the possibilities that exist when the researcher focuses on the relationship between theory, method, and data. The question of what kind of expertise is required is a key issue. This is particularly the case in psychology where the tradition of standardizing methods over the last century has served to stabilize research questions. Knowledge creation is deeply affective and ambiguous rather than the secure accumulation of data by a socially legitimized procedure. This innovative volume moves beyond psychology as social engineering into new varieties of social knowledge.
This book highlights original and traditional African strategies for conflict resolution, based on four Basotho cultural concepts: namely, Botho (or unity of being), Pula (or universalism), Khotso (or communalism), and Nala (or humanism). In doing so, it provides the missing psychological and African cultural pieces in the puzzle of conflict and conflict resolution This paradigm, “AfroSymbiocity”, is Sub-Saharan African in scope, but will have universal relevance. The book transcends theory by demonstrating the application of traditional African peace and conflict resolution strategies through considering a historical personage, King Moshoeshoe, who effectively used authentic African conflict resolution strategies to forge harmony in Southern Africa, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The book represents a major contribution to research and literature in peace and conflict studies, and will be vital for students, researchers, and professionals in peace studies, national and international decision makers, and bodies which strive for world peace.
Volume 40 of the Advances in Child Development and Behavior series includes 10 chapters that highlight some of the most recent research in the area. A wide array of topics are discussed in detail, including Perspectives on Attachment and Social Cognition Across Generations; Developmental Perspectives on Vulnerability to Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Youth; Development of Future Thinking, Planning, and Prospective Memory; and Family Relationships and Children's Stress Responses. Each chapter provides in-depth discussions and this volume serves as an invaluable resource for Developmental or educational psychology researchers, scholars, and students. 10 chapters that highlight some of the most recent research in the area A wide array of topics are discussed in detail
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.
Is the human self singular and unified or essentially plural? This book explores the seemingly disparate ways that Christian theology and the secular human sciences have approached this complex question. The latter have largely embraced the idea of the plural self as an inescapable, even adaptive feature of psychological life. Contemporary Christian theology, by contrast, has largely neglected recent psychological accounts of the naturalness of self-plurality, and has sought to reaffirm the self's unity in opposition to those postmodern theorists who would dismantle it. Through an original analysis of recent theological and secular accounts of self and personhood, this book examines the extent of the intertheoretical disparity and its broader implications for theology's dialogue with the human sciences in general, and psychology in particular. It explains why theologians ought to take questions about the plurality of self very seriously, and how they overlap with many of the central concerns of contemporary theological anthropology, including the notions of relationality, particularity and human sinfulness. Introducing a novel psychological framework to distinguish various understandings of self-disunity, the author argues that contemporary theology's blanket condemnation of self-multiplicity is misconceived, and identifies a possible means of reconciling theological and human scientific accounts.
