Relational Psychophysics in Humans and Animals
Relational Psychophysics in Humans and Animals

Author: Viktor Sarris

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2007-09-12

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1135420858

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Relational Psychophysics in Humans and Animals offers a comprehensive and integrated overview of the often fragmented field of psychophysics. It introduces key concepts in psychophysics and clearly summarises and illustrates the central issues through telling examples. It combines empirical research and theoretical approaches from general psychophysics, animal psychophysics and human-infant psychophysics, to create a systematic comparison of these three key areas. Through out, Viktor Sarris makes a strong case for more comparative psychophysical research across different species and across different stages of development. He presents original research and examines frame-of-reference models, behavioural psychophysics, developmental psychophysics, perceptual-cognitive psychophysics and evolutionary perspectives, to create an integrated framework for the direction of new research. The book will be an invaluable aid for researchers in the fields of perception and psychophysics.

Putting Psychology in its Place
Putting Psychology in its Place

Author: Graham Richards

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-07-19

Total Pages: 590

ISBN-13: 1000606430

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This fourth edition of Putting Psychology in Its Place builds on the previous three in introducing the history of Psychology and placing the discipline within its historical and social contexts. Written by esteemed Psychologists Graham Richards and Paul Stenner, this crucial text aims both to answer and raise questions about the role of Psychology in modern society by critically examining issues such as how Psychology developed and why psychoanalysis had such an impact. It discusses enduring underlying conceptual problems and examines how the discipline has changed to deal with contemporary social issues such as religion, race and gender. The fourth edition features revised and updated chapters, though the core structure remains unchanged. The final chapter has been restructured and jointly re-written. This text was written to remain compatible with the British Psychological Society requirements for undergraduate courses and is imaginatively written and accessible to all. Putting Psychology in Its Place is an invaluable introductory text for undergraduate students of the history of Psychology and will also appeal to postgraduates, academics and anyone interested in Psychology or the history of science.

Psychophysics Beyond Sensation
Psychophysics Beyond Sensation

Author: Christian Kaernbach

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2004-05-20

Total Pages: 615

ISBN-13: 1135633657

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This volume presents a series of studies that expand laws, invariants, and principles of psychophysics beyond its classical domain of sensation. This book's goal is to demonstrate the extent of the domain of psychophysics, ranging from sensory processes, through sensory memory and short-term memory issues, to the interaction between sensation and action. The dynamics and timing of human performance are a further important issue within this extended framework of psychophysics: Given the similarity of the various cortical areas in terms of their neuroanatomical structure, it is an important question whether this similarity is paralleled by a similarity of processes. These issues are addressed by the contributions in the present volume using state-of-the-art research methods in behavioral research, psychophysiology, and mathematical modeling. The book is divided into four sections. Part I presents contributions concerning the classical domain of psychophysical judgment. The next two parts are concerned with elementary and higher-order processes and the concluding section deals with psychophysical models. The sections are introduced by guest editorials contributed by independent authors. These editorials present the authors' personals view on the respective section, providing an integrated account of the various contributions or highlighting their focus of interest among them. While also voicing their own and sometimes different point of view, they contribute to the process of discussion that makes science so exciting. This volume should be of great interest to advanced students in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, neuropsychology, and related areas who seek to evaluate the range and power of psychological work today. Established scientists in those fields will also appreciate the variety of issues addressed within the same methodological framework and their multiple interconnections and stimulating "cross-talk."

The Origins of Meaning
The Origins of Meaning

Author: James R. Hurford

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-08-30

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 0191607231

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In this, the first of two ground-breaking volumes on the nature of language in the light of the way it evolved, James Hurford looks at how the world first came to have a meaning in the minds of animals and how in humans this meaning eventually came to be expressed as language. He reviews a mass of evidence to show how close some animals, especially primates and more especially apes, are to the brink of human language. Apes may not talk to us but they construct rich cognitive representations of the world around them, and here, he shows, are the evolutionary seeds of abstract thought - the means of referring to objects, the memory of events, even elements of the propositional thinking philosophers have hitherto reserved for humans. What then, he asks, is the evolutionary path between the non-speaking minds of apes and our own speaking minds? Why don't apes communicate the richness of their thoughts to each other? Why do humans alone have a unique disposition to reveal their thoughts in complex detail? Professor Hurford searches a wide range of evidence for the answers to these central questions, including degrees of trust, the role of hormones, the ability to read minds, and the willingness to cooperate. Expressing himself congenially in consistently colloquial language the author builds up a vivid picture of how mind, language, and meaning evolved over millions of years. His book is a landmark contribution to the understanding of linguistic and thinking processes, and the fullest account yet published of the evolution of language and communication. "A wonderful read - lucid, informative, and entertaining, while at the same time never talking down to the reader by sacrificing argumentation for the sake of 'simplicity'. Likely to be heralded as the major publication dealing with language evolution to date. Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington

The Method of Response Function in Psychology & Sociology
The Method of Response Function in Psychology & Sociology

Author: Irina G. Malkina-Pykh

Publisher: WIT Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 184564686X

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Social (psychological and sociological) systems present considerable difficulties for modellers due to their complexity, multidimensionality, uncertainty and irreducibility. The book proposes that response functions (MRF) be used as a method of constructing purposeful, credible and integrated social systems' models from data and prior knowledge or information. A semi-empirical, or "grey-box", MRF model may be regarded as a trade-off between a knowledge-based model and a "black-box" (empirical) model. It may embody all the existing knowledge on the process (or a part thereof) and, in addition, it relies on parameterised functions, whose parameters are determined from measurements. Observations contain hidden information on the processes under consideration and one of the main purposes of the proposed method is to "extract" and describe these hidden relationships. Parameterisation offers ways to couple qualitative with quantitative analysis. This combination makes it possible to take into account all the phenomena that are not modelled with the required accuracy through prior knowledge. Although only a simplified picture of the processes is modelled, a "grey box" system model provides some insight into the system processes. These processes are featured by chains of causality, highlighting stressors and variables responsive to stressors. The method of response functions is a nonlinear regression method that implies credible models in the sense that they are identifiable and, hopefully, explain system output behaviour satisfactorily. For case studies the authors have selected the problems usually studied by psychologists and sociologists with statistical procedures, such as investigation of variance and discriminant analysis based on the general linear model or one of its multivariate generalisations (structural equation models, etc.); disordered eating and obesity; subjective well-being and alexithymia. An accompanying CD-ROM contains the demonstration versions of three models that are discussed in the various chapters.The Method of Response Functions in Psychology and Sociology is aimed at Mathematical Psychologists; Mathematical Sociologists; Applied Psychologists; Sociologists and Social Practitioners. It will also be suitable for use on undergraduate as well as graduate and postgraduate courses specializing in these areas.

On Perceived Motion and Figural Organization
On Perceived Motion and Figural Organization

Author: Max Wertheimer

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0262017466

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This work by and about Max Wertheimer collects together new translations of his two most important articles and places them in both historical and contemporary contexts with the addition of essays by Michael Wertheimer ... [et al.]

Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry: Special Fields: 2011 Edition
Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry: Special Fields: 2011 Edition

Author:

Publisher: ScholarlyEditions

Published: 2012-01-09

Total Pages: 748

ISBN-13: 146496632X

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Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry: Special Fields: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Psychology and Psychiatry—Special Fields. The editors have built Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry: Special Fields: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Psychology and Psychiatry—Special Fields in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Psychology and Psychiatry: Special Fields: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

The Mathematical Biology of Diatoms
The Mathematical Biology of Diatoms

Author: Janice L. Pappas

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2023-04-18

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 1119751918

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THE MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY OF DIATOMS This book contains unique, advanced applications using mathematics, algorithmic techniques, geometric analysis, and other computational methods in diatom research. Historically, diatom research has centered on taxonomy and systematics. While these topics are of the utmost importance, other aspects of this important group of unicells have been increasingly explored in the biological sciences. While mathematical applications are still rare, they are starting take hold and provide an extensive avenue of new diatom research, including applications in multidisciplinary fields. The work contained in this volume is an eclectic mix of analytical studies on diatoms. Mathematical treatment of the various biological disciplines covered in this book range from implicit, but succinct studies to more elaborate detailed computational studies. Topics include growth models, nanostructure, nanoengineering, cell growth, araphid diatoms, valve ontogeny, diatom metabolism, diatom motility, synchronization, diatom kinematics, photonics, biogenic sensors, photochemistry, diatom light response, colony growth, siliceous unicells, algal kinetics, diatom structure, diatom imaging, functional morphology, geometric structure, biomineralization, high-resolution imaging, non-destructive imaging, and 3D structure. This wide-ranging volume provides an introductory as well as an advanced treatment of recent interests in diatom research. The mathematical research in this volume may be applicable to studies of other unicells, biomechanics, biological processes, physio-chemical analyses, or nanoscience.

Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships
Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships

Author: Laura K. Guerrero

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-08-15

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1135628696

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This volume focuses on nonverbal messages and their role in close relationships--friends, family, and romantic partners. For scholars and students in personal relationship study, as well as social psychology, interpersonal/nonverbal communication, family