Cognition and cognitive psychology Books

Book Synopsis1. Viola Spolin: Games as a Means towards Flow, Empathy, and Finding One's Truer Self 2. Del Close: Improvisational Time and the Multiple Draft Modeled Mind 3. Keith Johnstone: Spontaneity, Storytelling, Status and Masks, Trance, Altered States 4. The Improvising Mind: On Stage and in the LabTrade Review"I found this work to be fascinating and, as an improviser, intuitive and affirming (which is, ultimately, one of the conclusions of the book). While there are many books on improv and many books on the 'mind/thinking/consciousness/how-humans-learn' there aren't many that link these two areas of scholarship. This book fills that gap." - Jeanne Leep, Professor of Theatre Arts, Edgewood College, USA and author of Theatrical Improvisation: Short Form, Long Form, and Sketch-Based ImprovTable of Contents1. Viola Spolin: Games as a Means towards Flow, Empathy, and Finding One's Truer Self 2. Del Close: Improvisational Time and the Multiple Draft Modeled Mind 3. Keith Johnstone: Spontaneity, Storytelling, Status and Masks, Trance, Altered States 4. The Improvising Mind: On Stage and in the Lab

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe environment is part of everyone's life but there are difficulties in communicating complex environmental problems, such as climate change, to a lay audience. In this book Klöckner defines environmental communication, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the issues involved in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour.Trade Review“This book will appeal to those who want a broad, academic, well-referenced foundation to environmental communication which is understandable to educated laypeople. … this book contains a wealth of actionable concepts and techniques. … The Psychology of Pro-Environmental Communication: Beyond Standard Information Strategies provides a valuable resource which environmental communicators may benefit from drawing on for insights and the stimulation of brainstorms.” (George M. Jacobs, Language & Ecology, ecolinguistics-association.org, 2017)“Multidisciplinary in nature, this book offers a comprehensive overview of theory and case studies. The parts of this book dedicated to accounting for the role of intraorganizational dynamics and innovation are arguably the most useful. These insights are applicable not only to environmental communication, but also organizational communication and management.” (Hyun Tae (Calvin) Kim, International Journal of Communication, Vol. 10, 2016)Table of ContentsPreface1. What is Environmental Communication and Why is it Important? 2. Potential and Limitations of Environmental Communication3. Understanding Communication - Insights from Theories of Communication4. Decision models - What Psychological Theories Teach Us about People's Behaviour5. Communication in Large Social Systems - How Information Spreads through Societies6. Traditional and New Media - About Amplification and Negation7. Target Group Segmentation - Why Knowing your Audience is Important8. An Overview of Communication-Based Intervention Techniques9. Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Groups and Organisations 10. Playing Good? - Environmental Communication through Games and Simulations11. Rock Festivals, Sport Events, Theatre - Some Out-of-the-Ordinary Means of Environmental Communication

Read more less

Book Synopsis1. A Sneak preview of the Journey Ahead2. A Disciplined Demolition Project3. You ' 're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat4. The Cogwheels of Culture5. The Mind ' 's New Tricks6. Prophets of Design Space7. The Brain ' 's Design Studio8. Flow Experiences: From Mystery to Mechanisms9. In Search of the Artificer Trade Review"Once again, Arne Dietrich proves that he is one of the brightest thinkers on the planet. With great insight, clarity and humor, How Creativity Happens In The Brain gives us a much needed breakdown of the neuroscientific hows and whys of creativity. This book is fantastic-a must read!" - Steven Kotler, a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and cofounder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project "In this brilliantly original book, Arne Dietrich ruthlessly demolishes all the nonsense about "left brains" and "divergent thinking," and sets out a bold new theory of creativity. Written with verve and panache, this is a must read for anyone interested in how brains generate new ideas." - Dylan Evans, author of Risk Intelligence and Placebo: Mind over Matter in Modern Medicine "For those of us getting claustrophobic in the super-heated sauna of pop-culture pontifications on creativity and how to maximize it in our lives, Arne Dietrich's new, groundbreaking book is a welcome, bracing plunge into the icy waters of clear thinking. Dietrich begins with a passionate, neurolingo free de-construction of the multiple theories of creativity prevailing today, including those held in the mostly lofty academic circles. This would be reason enough to make this an important book. But the author goes on to offer a new approach, one that takes seriously the thorough distribution of creativity in the brain and its multifaceted processes. His is an evolutionary paradigm, long familiar from other scholarly domains, with a variation-selection process at its core. Most simply stated: the brain produces (creative) mental models based on predictive processing, tests them, and selects. Dietrich's writing style is both accessible and leavened by a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. All in all, this makes for a great - and transformative - read." Gary Vikan, former Director of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA 'This is a remarkable book, coming from the guy doing the best work on the brain and creativity. Dietrich describes the role of the brain in creativity and clearly identifies what can and cannot be said about the neural basis of creative thinking. He is so right in saying that hundreds of books offer methods and even "results" about creativity, but most of what is available is bunk. It is easy to be misled because many books are written by "brain experts," but most do not know the creativity research. Others are written by creativity experts, but they are not knowledgeable about the brain. This is the first book that draws from both fields, accurately separating the trustworthy from the unreliable. Dietrich identifies what appears to be the central process occurring in the brain that leads to creative behavior ("ideational combination"). He accomplishes a great deal, and yet does it while minimizing impenetrable neurolingo and cumbersome academese. If you are interested in reliable information about the brain and creativity, this book is for you.' - Mark Runco, Editor, Creativity Research JournalTable of Contents1. A Sneak preview of the Journey Ahead2. A Disciplined Demolition Project3. You ' 're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat4. The Cogwheels of Culture5. The Mind ' 's New Tricks6. Prophets of Design Space7. The Brain ' 's Design Studio8. Flow Experiences: From Mystery to Mechanisms9. In Search of the Artificer

Read more less

Book Synopsis An exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of the new and familiar is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not. Computers, like us, confront limited space and time, so computer scientists have been grappling with similar problems for decades. And the solutions they've found have much to teach us.In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths show how algorithms developed for computers also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to peering in

Read more less

Book SynopsisA New York Times Notable Book of 2020A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world.Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you're rather psychologically peculiar.Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselvestheir attributes, accomplishments, and aspirationsover their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological dif

Read more less

Book SynopsisLonglisted for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Riveting stories of the brain on the brink, from an acclaimed cognitive neurologist.Trade Review"Peskin writes...with a grace and humanity that recall Oliver Sacks. [She is] a dazzling stylist and a compassionate observer." -- Annie Murphy Paul - New York Times Book Review"Peskin provides the reader with an acute and evocative demonstration of the fragility and interchangeability of mental, emotional and behavioral states, and shows how they may be affected by the misbehavior of the molecules defining them." -- Adrian Woolfson - Wall Street Journal"Gripping accounts…scaffolded in clear explanations of their causes, and neuroscientific opportunities towards possible cures." -- Harvard Magazine"Sara Manning Peskin is remarkably skillful at breaking down complex neuroscience into easily digestible components and explaining the mysteries of the brain with profound elegance. Rarely has a writer been able to depict the devastating consequences of neurologic illness through such poignant patient stories. Like Oliver Sacks before her, she is sure to inspire a generation of future neurologists, neuroscientists, and students of the brain." -- Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, president of the American Academy of Neurology"Sara Manning Peskin’s elegant, empathic portrait of the vulnerable brain is both absolutely terrifying and wonderfully optimistic." -- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind"Readable and well-researched… with added appeal for anyone with a loved one suffering from brain disease. Fascinating popular science." -- Kirkus"Neurologist Peskin debuts with an impressive account of the search for cures for a number of neurologic diseases including dementia and psychosis...There’s much to savor in this powerful survey." -- Publishers Weekly"Captivating and convincing…should bring hope and confidence to general readers as well as general practitioners, and to the millions living with neurodegenerative illness and their families. An exemplary work." -- Library Journal (starred review)

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of the Next Big Idea Club's Favorite Nonfiction Books A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2022 A legendary record producer–turned–brain scientist explains why you fall in love with music.Trade Review"This Is What It Sounds Like is a revelation. Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas offer extraordinary insights about music, emotion, and the brain, and they deliver them with great flair and flow. For all I thought I knew about these subjects, I learned a lot from this book—and was entertained at every turn, both by the ideas and the poetry of their expression. This instant classic should be read by anyone who has ever been moved by a piece of music—in other words, everyone." -- Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind"A deliciously nerdy resource for music lovers, and for anyone who thinks deeply about music and how it moves them. What Rogers and Ogas do with This Is What It Sounds Like is distill the science around music into an accessible and wonderous new level of understanding, of the elusive why of loving and living for music." -- Jessica Hopper, author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic"Susan Rogers found her superpower in the music world not as a musician, but as a master listener. Rogers’ book is a gift to music listeners of all kinds—because in listening we hear not only the music, we hear the sonic signature of our own soul." -- Dan Charnas, author of Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm"Susan is one of the smartest people in the world of music and this book will help you hear music more deeply and more thoughtfully. You can tell why Prince loved working with her." -- Touré, author of I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon"This is the book that scholars and fans of popular music across all disciplines have impatiently waited for. It is truly inspiring, the kind of book you fall in love with, that causes us to reflect over how and why records become a condition of the heart." -- Stan Hawkins, Professor of Musicology, University of Oslo"[A] pitch-perfect deep-dive into the power of music….Combining erudite analysis with plenty of soul, this will have music lovers rapt." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"An intriguing look at how what enters our ears shapes our minds." -- Kirkus Reviews"It’s like two books in one: stories of some of our most beloved musicians, singers and songwriters, coupled with insights about how and why our brains decipher musical notes, melodies and lyrics in particular ways." -- BookPage (starred review)

Read more less

Book SynopsisLearn to let go of the illusions of the ego and discover the real you with this collection of inspiring quotes on the ego, mind, and spiritual enlightenment from human-consciousness expert Dr. David R. Hawkins.Are you willing to let go of seeing yourself as the ego believes you to be? Are you willing to go further, to know that the ego itself is an illusion? In this book, select teachings from Dr. David R. Hawkins’s extensive body of work will guide you in the process of realization, surrender, and transformation. When we let go of the old ways of thinking, our attachments, and the false promises of the ego, we discover the truth that we are one with All.Features classic passages, including:It is not really necessary to subdue the ego, but merely to stop identifying with it.Every life experience, no matter how “tragic,” contains a hidden lesson. When we discover and acknowledge the hidden gift that is there, a healing takes place.Enlightenment is not a condition to be obtained; it is merely a certainty to be surrendered to, for the Self is already one’s Reality. It is the Self that is attracting one to spiritual information.To be enlightened merely means that consciousness has realized its most inner, innate quality as nonlinear subjectivity and its capacity for awareness.The only energy that has more power than the strength of the collective ego is that of Spiritual Truth. “This book is small in size, but it can have a massive impact on your life. It will take you through the process of a total transformation of consciousness—if you choose to apply its teachings deeply within yourself.”  — From the Introduction by Fran Grace, Ph.D. 

Read more less

Book SynopsisChristopher C. French is Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. Anna Stone is Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of East London, UK.Trade Review"A fantastic resource for anyone interested in learning more about anomalous experiences." - Caroline Watt, Senior Lecturer, Koestler Parapsychology Unit, University of Edinburgh, UK "Christopher French and Anna Stone have written a balanced, authoritative, and reader-friendly guide about unusual but poorly understood psychological phenomena. There is nothing quite like it in the field." - Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Saybrook University, USA, and co-author, Demystifying Shamans and their World "Lots of people believe they have had strange experiences, such as alien abduction or seeing heaven when near death. French and stone, in this meticulously researched and beautifully written book, help us understand why. Anomalistic Psychology is a masterful, one-of-a-kind book that will interest anyone who cares about the sometimes seemingly bizarre workings of the human mind." - Elizabeth F. Loftus, PhD, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine, USA, Past President of the Association for Psychological Science, and author of Eyewitness Testimony "Anomalistic Psychology provides an excellent introduction to this topic. The style is engaging, informative and easy to read, without any loss of depth or critical evaluation. I think that students will find it an engaging and thoughtful book, and because it contains relevant examples drawn from current cultural topics, they will find it accessible and entertaining. I will certainly recommend this text to the students on my Parapsychology course." - Nick Neave, Reader in the Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, UK "Anomalistic psychology tries to explain bizzare and/or paranormal experiences and beliefs. A listing of these would be endless, but among those that French and Stone consider are alien abduction, extrasensory perception, near-death experiences, and past-life memories." - ChoiceTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. Individual Differences 3. Clinical Perspectives 4. Developmental Perspectives 5. Psychobiological Perspectives 6. Cognitive Perspectives 7. Social Perspectives 8. Evolutionary Perspectives 9. Integrating the Different Approaches: Alien Contact Claims 10. Parapsychological Perspectives 11. Philosophical Perspectives 12. Future Prospects for Anomalistic Psychology and Parapsychology.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Basics of Sleep.- Clinical Features of Insomnia.- Assessment and Differential Diagnosis of Insomnia.- Sleep Hygiene and Relaxation Therapy.- Sleep Scheduling.- Cognitive Therapy.- Sleep Medications.- Clinical and Treatment Implementation Issues.Table of Contents1: The basics of sleep. Introduction. The nature and organization of sleep. Biopsychosocial determinants of sleep. Sleep needs. The consequences of sleep deprivation. 2: Clinical features of insomnia. Introduction. Clinical presentation. Definition. Concomitant laboratory findings and clinical features. Course and prognosis. Insomnia as a symptom or a syndrome. Does your patient suffer from insomnia? 3: Assessment and differential diagnosis of insomnia. Introduction. The assessment of insomnia. Differential diagnosis of insomnia. Clinical formulation of the sleep problem. 4: Sleep hygiene and relaxation therapy. Introduction. Rationale for sleep hygiene. Practical instructions for using sleep hygiene advice. Rationale for relaxation therapy. Practical instructions for using relaxation therapy. Implementation issues with relaxation therapy. Clinical vignette. 5: Sleep scheduling. Introduction. Rationale for sleep scheduling. Practical instructions for using sleep scheduling. Implementation issues. 6: Cognitive therapy. Introduction. The role of dysfunctional cognitions in insomnia. Rationale and objectives. Principles and practice of cognitive therapy. Practical recommendations for changing beliefs and attitudes about sleeplessness. Clinical vignettes. Treatment implementation issues. Supporting evidence. Other cognitive approaches. 7: Sleep medications. Introduction. Types of medications used for insomnia. Clinical benefits, risks, and limitations. Indications and contra-indications. Clinical guidelines on the appropriate use of sleep medication. Combining psychological and pharmacological approaches. Clinical guidelines for hypnotic discontinuation. Conclusions. 8: Clinical and treatment implementation issues. Introduction. Treatment implementation formats - individual, group, and brief consultations models. Treatment parameters - frequency, timing and duration of treatment. Strategies to promote compliance. Treatment of special populations. References.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less