Description
Book SynopsisThe psychology of thinking often makes comparisons between different groups. On the whole, these comparisons have rendered substantial knowledge; but often, they have employed faulty organizational logic and yielded unfounded or invidious conclusions. Here, Cole and Means survey the problems involved in comparing how people think.
Trade ReviewComparative Studies of How People Think has much to teach those who plan or are engaged in comparative research, both experimental and otherwise… The novice and the experienced researcher will benefit from the book's careful reexamination and critique of some of the basic assumptions underlying past experimental studies of cognitive processes among different groups. * Harvard Educational Review *
A compact, well-written, and well-argued volume. * Contemporary Psychology *
A crusading book.
Comparative Studies is a closely argued brief in favor of the proposition that comparative studies have, for the most part, been misguided and that there are superior ways of studying putative differences among individuals and groups… Cole and Means propose radical surgery on our views of these groups and on the way in which the sciences of human nature have traditionally proceeded. * Psychology Today *
Table of ContentsOld Interests and New Demands The Normative Logic of Experimental Design What Happens When All Other Things Are Not Equal? Obtaining Comparable Groups Equivalence of Treatment for Different Groups Limitations of Simple Descriptions of Group Differences Relating Group Differences to Underlying Causes Comparing Tasks and Groups Comparing Patterns of Performance The Group by Tack Interaction Approach Training Studies Cautionary Notes Model-based Approaches Qualitative information-processing Models Computer Simulation Models Mathematical Models Functional Measurement Advantages of Model-based Research Strategies Cautionary Notes From Laboratory to Life Comparing Laboratory and Real-Life Tacks Training Cognitive Processes Training Tacks of Practical Importance Value Judgments in Cognitive Research On the Reference of Basic Research Appendix. Statistical Issues in Comparative Research Attempts to Control for Pre-existing Group Differences Interpreting Group by Task Interactions References Notes Index
