Free Psychology Books: Foundation of Cognitive Psychology by D. J. Levitin

Foundation of Cognitive Psychology  by D. J. Levitin

What Is Cognition? Cognition encompasses the scientific study of the human mind and how it processes information; it focuses on one of the most difficult of all mysteries that humans have addressed. The mind is an enormously complex system holding a unique position in science: by necessity, we must use the mind to study itself, and so the focus of study and the instrument used for study are recursively linked. The sheer tenacity of human curiosity has in our own life-times brought answers to many of the most challenging scientific questions we have had the ambition to ask. Although many mysteries remain, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, we find that we do understand much about the fundamental laws of chemistry, biology, and physics; the structure of space-time, the origins of the universe. We have plausible theories about the origins and nature of life and have mapped the entire human genome. We can now turn our attention inward, to exploring the nature of thought, and how our mental life comes to be what it is. There are scientists from nearly every field engaged in this pursuit. Physicists try to understand how physical matter can give rise to that ineffable state we call consciousness, and the decidedly nonphysical ‘‘mind stuff ’’ that Descartes and other philosophers have argued about for centuries. Chemists, biologists, and neuroscientists join them in trying to explicate the mechanisms by which neurons communicate with each other and eventually form our thoughts, memories, emotions, and desires. At the other end of the spectrum, economists study how we balance choices about limited natural and financial resources, and anthropologists study the influence of culture on thought and the formation of societies. So at one end we find scientists studying atoms and cells, at the other end there are scientists studying entire groups of people. Cognitive psychologists tend to study the individual, and mental systems within individual brains, although ideally we try to stay informed of what our colleagues are doing. So cognition is a truly interdisciplinary endeavor, and this collection of readings is intended to reflect that.

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip advertising shorte.st. Basically when the page loads the site shorte.st. with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds to skip the add-on". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Neurotransmitters, Drugs and Brain Function Wiley (2001) by R. A. Webster

Neurotransmitters, Drugs and Brain Function Wiley (2001) by R. A. Webster

Anaysis of Biological Function generally presumes that function at once level arises from the interactions of lower-level elements. It is often relatively straightforward to identify elements that may be involved and their individual interactions [............]

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip advertising shorte.st. Basically when the page loads the site shorte.st. with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds to skip the add-on". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Treatment by Sarah H. & Lisanby M.D

Brain Stimulation in Psychiatric Treatment by Sarah H. & Lisanby M.D 

In our scientific journals, there is an explosion of information about neuroscience and about the bidirectional nature of brain and behavior. The matter was previously debated as if one had to choose between two camps (mind versus brain), but a rapidly developing new paradigm is replacing this former dichotomy— that the brain influences behavior, and that the mind (ideas, emo-tions, hopes, aspirations, anxieties, fears, and the wide realm of real and perceived environmental experience) influences the brain. 

The term neuropsychiatryhas served as successor to the former term organic psychiatryand is contrasted with notions of psychodynamics, such as the concept of unconsciously motivated behavior. As our field evolves and matures, we are developing a new language for meaningful but imperfectly un-derstood earlier concepts. Subliminal cuesand indirect memoryare among the terms of our new language, but the emerging under-standing that experience itself can activate genes and stimulate protein synthesis, cellular growth, and neurogenesis is a ground-breaking new synthesis of concepts that previously seemed in-compatible. Among the remarkable conclusions that these new findings suggest is that psychotherapy can be construed as a biological treatment, in the sense that it has the potential to alter the cellular microanatomy of the brain.

In the context of this rapidly changing scientific and clinical landscape, we selected for the 2004 Review of Psychiatry four broad areas of attention: 1) research findings in developmental psychobiology, 2) current recommendations for neuropsychiatric assessment of patients, 3) new treatments in the form of brain stimulation techniques, and 4) the application of cognitive-behavior therapy as a component of treatment of patients with severely disabling psychiatric disorders. Perhaps the logical starting place in the 2004 series is Devel-opmental Psychobiology, edited by B. J. Casey. Derived from re-search that uses animal models and studies of early human development, this work summarizes the profound impact of early environmental events. Following a comprehensive over-view of the field by Casey, elegant studies of the developmental psychobiology of attachment are presented by Hofer, one of the pioneers in this work......

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip advertising shorte.st. Basically when the page loads the site shorte.st. with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds to skip the add-on". Thank you ~ by Admin

NEURO the New Brain Sciences and the Management of the Mind by Rose & Rached

NEURO the New Brain Sciences and the Management of the Mind by Rose & Rached 

 

What kind of beings do we think we are? This may seem a philosophical question. In part it is, but it is far from abstract. It is at the core of the philosophies we live by. It goes to the heart of how we bring up our children, run our schools, organize our social policies, manage economic affairs, treat those who commit crimes or whom we deem mentally ill, and perhaps even how we value beauty in art and life. It bears on the ways we understand our own feelings and desires, narrate our biographies, think about our futures, and formulate our ethics. Are we spiritual creatures, inhabited by an immaterial soul? Are we driven by instincts and passions that must be trained and civilized by discipline and the inculcation of habits? Are we unique among the animals, blessed or cursed with minds, language, consciousness, and conscience? Are we psychological persons, inhabited by a deep, interior psyche that is shaped by experience, symbols and signs, meaning and culture? Is our very nature as human beings shaped by the structure and functions of our brains? Over the past half century, some have come to believe that the last of these answers is the truest—that our brains hold the key to whom we are. They suggest that developments in the sciences of the brain are, at last, beginning to map the processes that make our humanity possible—as individuals, as societies, and as a species. These references to the brain do not efface all the other answers that contemporary culture gives to the question of who we are. But it seems that these other ways of thinking of ourselves—of our psychological lives, our habitual activities, our social relations, our ethical values and commitments, our perceptions of others—are being reshaped. They must now be grounded in one organ of our bodies—that spongy mass of the human brain, encapsulated by the skull, which weighs about three pounds in an adult and makes up about 2% of his or her body weight. This ‘materialist’ belief has taken a very material form. There has been a rapid growth in investment of money and human effort in neurobiological research, a remarkable increase in the numbers of papers published in neuroscience journals, a spate of books about the brain for lay readers, and many well-publicized claims that key aspects of human affairs can and should be governed in the light of neuroscientific....

 Note: "This download page will direct you to skip advertising shorte.st. Basically when the page loads the site shorte.st. with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds to skip the add-on". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Cognitive Load Theory by J. L. Plass et al.

Cognitive Load Theory

What is Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)? The objective of CLT is to predict learning outcomes by taking into consideration the capabilities and limitations of the human cognitive architecture. The theory can be applied to a broad range of learning environments because it links the design characteristics of learning materials to principles of human information processing. CLT is guided by the idea that the design of effective learning scenarios has to be based on our knowledge about how the human mind works. Starting from this premise, different processes of knowledge acquisition and understanding are described in terms of their demands on the human cognitive system, which is seen as an active, limited-capacity information processing system. Taking into account the demands on cognitive resources induced by the complexity of the information to be learned, the way in which the instruction is presented to the learner, and the learner’s prior experience and knowledge, CLT aims to predict what makes learning successful and how learning can be effectively supported by teaching and instruction. 

Because of its applicability for a broad range of instructional materials, including Web-based and multimedia instruction, CLT is a frequently discussed concept in educational psychology and applied learning sciences. A growing body of empirical research has become available in recent years that describes the relationships among human cognitive architecture, the design of educational materials, and successful learning. Moreover, the research conducted in past years has led to a more detailed description of the theoretical components of CLT, including processes of schema acquisition, capacity limitations, and different causes for load, namely, intrinsic load (generated by the difficulty of the materials), extraneous load (generated by the design of the instruction and materials), and germane load (the amount of invested mental effort).

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip automatically advertising adf.ly. Basically when the page loads the site adf.ly with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Cognitive Load Theory by Sweller et al.

Cognitive Load Theory

Human structures and functions are the product of evolution by natural selection. Everything, from structures such as our opposable thumb to functions such as oxygen/ carbon dioxide transfers in our lungs, exists due to a long history of evolution over countless generations. While the evolution of our physical structures and functions tend to dominate our awareness when we consider our evolutionary history, the evolution of the human mind tends to take a back seat. We less frequently think of the human mind as an entity that evolved and even more rarely consider the consequences of an evolutionary view of human cognition. There are some important educational consequences that flow from considering brain structures and their resultant cognitive functions as the product of evolution by natural selection. Considering human cognition from an evolutionary perspective can yield novel insights into the functioning of the human mind and those insights may, in turn, yield instructional insights (Sweller, 2003, 2004; Sweller & Sweller, 2006). 

In this chapter we will consider the two categories of knowledge introduced above that we have evolved to acquire, biologically primary and biologically secondary knowledge. How we acquire those two categories of knowledge and the consequent instructional implications will be analysed. The distinction between biologically primary and biologically secondary knowledge was suggested by Geary (2007, 2008). By distinguishing between these categories of knowledge, Geary has provided a unique base for educational psychology. He differentiates between biologically secondary knowledge that is learnable and teachable and biologically primary knowledge that is learnable but not teachable because it is usually learned without being explicitly taught. In the process, he explains many otherwise puzzling findings. Indeed, his formulation has the potential to not only change instructional design but to change our view of ourselves. 

The contrast between primary and secondary knowledge constitutes the core of Geary’s treatment. We have evolved to assimilate biologically primary knowledge. In some ways, it can be seen as instinctive knowledge that we are programmed to acquire and so does not need to be taught. On the other hand, we also can assimilate biologically secondary knowledge; but because it is knowledge we have not had to deal with [......]

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip automatically advertising adf.ly. Basically when the page loads the site adf.ly with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy by Brian Sheldon

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

During twenty years as a behaviour therapist and teacher of behavioural psychology, the prospect that this well-researched and broadly applicable approach might leap to prominence among the therapeutic methods employed by social workers has always seemed tantalizingly close. However, the plain fact is that although each generation of students produces a handful of enthusiasts, and the journals and publication lists now contain much more of this work than hitherto, these methods are still not as widely used as empirical research suggests that they should be. This said, proponents have had another, more general influence on the profession. For example, it is now taken for granted that social workers should plan their interventions, look at contemporary behaviour and what influences it as well as at the historical origins of their clients’ difficulties, that they should set clear and specific goals for themselves, and that they should evaluate their influence as objectively as possible. Behaviour therapy has not been the only source of such ideas, but it has undoubtedly been the major one (Reid and Hanrahan 1980). This is not to be sneezed at, but the more specific aims of equipping all social workers with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective behavioural practice, and for this work to become routine in appropriate cases—as it is to a much greater degree in the United States—have not been achieved. We are still a school. This is regrettable, not least because where social workers do make use of these approaches they tend to do so in an attractively broad and pragmatic way, usually in the context of a range of other practical help and against a backdrop of social deprivation. Social work has, therefore, provided an interesting test-bed for behaviour therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy in ‘least propitious’ conditions.

 

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip automatically advertising adf.ly. Basically when the page loads the site adf.ly with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds". Thank you ~ by Admin

Free Psychology Books: Cognitive Modifiability in Learning and Assessment by Seng Tan & Hoon Seng

Cognitive Modifiability in Learning and Assessment

 

The key idea of cognitive modifiability came from Feuerstein’s concept of structural cognitive modifiability (Feuerstein & Rand, 1990). His concept is best illustrated by his theory of structural cognitive modifiability (SCM), which states that “all human characteristics, including personality, cognition and behavior are modifiable states. Strang and Shayer (1993) observed that the cognitive functions approach provided the teacher with “insight into the cognitive difficulties associated with particular concepts so that these can be compensated for in the selection of materials and in the teaching approach adopted” (p. 336). As Skuy and Mentis (1991) noted, Feuerstein’s criteria for MLE and his list of cognitive dysfunctions (e.g., impulsivity, episodic grasp of reality, need for accuracy) are two key dimensions for an intervention program. They noted that Feuerstein’s checklist for cognitive functions and dysfunctions enables one to gain insights into his/her own cognitive skills and thus move to a level of reflective thinking and metacognition.....

Note: "This download page will direct you to skip automatically advertising adf.ly. Basically when the page loads the site adf.ly with various advertisements, the add-on does go directly to the site you want, kindly be patient waiting a few seconds". Thank you ~ by Admin