DOCSLIB.ORG

Introduction to Political Psychology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Introduction to Political Psychology INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY This comprehensive, user-friendly textbook on political psychology explores the psychological origins of political behavior. The authors introduce read- ers to a broad range of theories, concepts, and case studies of political activ- ity. The book also examines patterns of political behavior in such areas as leadership, group behavior, voting, race, nationalism, terrorism, and war. It explores some of the most horrific things people do to each other, as well as how to prevent and resolve conflict—and how to recover from it. This volume contains numerous features to enhance understanding, includ- ing text boxes highlighting current and historical events to help students make connections between the world around them and the concepts they are learning. Different research methodologies used in the discipline are employed, such as experimentation and content analysis. This third edition of the book has two new chapters on media and social movements. This accessible and engaging textbook is suitable as a primary text for upper- level courses in political psychology, political behavior, and related fields, including policymaking. Martha L. Cottam (Ph.D., UCLA) is a Professor of Political Science at Washington State University. She specializes in political psychology, inter- national politics, and intercommunal conflict. She has published books and articles on US foreign policy, decision making, nationalism, and Latin American politics. Elena Mastors (Ph.D., Washington State University) is Vice President and Dean of Applied Research at the American Public University System. Prior to that, she was an Associate Professor at the Naval War College and held senior intelligence and policy positions in the Department of Defense. She has published books, articles, and papers on the political psychology of con- flict and armed groups. Thomas Preston (Ph.D., Ohio State University) is a Professor of Political Science at Washington State University. He specializes in political psychol- ogy, leadership analysis, and international politics. He has written books and articles on presidential leadership, weapons of mass destruction, and American foreign policy. Beth Dietz (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh) is a Professor of Psychology at Miami University, where she teaches a variety of courses in psychology. Her research interests include social identity theory, computer-mediated com- munication, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She also has inter- ests in online teaching and using technology to enhance student learning. This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY 3RD EDITION MARTHA L. COTTAM ELENA MASTORS THOMAS PRESTON BETH DIETZ Third edition published 2016 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Taylor & Francis The right of Martha L. Cottam to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or repro- duced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photo- copying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Psychology Press 2004 Second edition published by Psychology Press 2010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cottam, Martha L. Introduction to political psychology / Martha L. Cottam, Elena Mastors, Thomas Preston, Beth Dietz.— 3rd Edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Political psychology. I. Title. JA74.5.C68 2016 320.01΄9—dc23 2014048185 ISBN: 978-1-84872-671-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-84872-672-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-67193-2 (ebk) Typeset in Warnock Pro by Apex CoVantage, LLC CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgments xi About the Authors xiii Chapter 1 Political Psychology: Introduction and Overview 1 Chapter 2 Personality and Politics 15 Chapter 3 Cognition, Social Identity, Emotions, and Attitudes in Political Psychology 46 Chapter 4 The Political sychologyP of Groups 79 Chapter 5 The Study of oliticalP Leaders 120 Chapter 6 The Political sychologyP of Mass Politics: How Do People Decide for Whom to Vote? 161 Chapter 7 The Political sychologyP of the Media in Politics 197 Chapter 8 The Political sychologyP of Race 214 Chapter 9 From Ethnic Conflict to Genocide 256 Chapter 10 The Political sychologyP of Nationalism 293 Chapter 11 The Political sychologyP of Social Movements 328 Chapter 12 The Political sychologyP of Terrorism 355 Chapter 13 The Political sychologyP of International Security and Conflict 390 Chapter 14 Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation 418 References 435 Glossary 501 Index 517 This page intentionally left blank PREFACE When colleagues from other disciplines ask us what we specialize in, they are often puzzled when we say political psychology. “What’s that?” or “I didn’t know there was such a thing” are frequently heard comments. That is pri- marily a result of the fact that political psychology is not a traditional field in the social sciences. First, it is interdisciplinary, using psychology to explain political behavior. The field is so interdisciplinary that calling it “political psychology” is misleading because it includes scholars from political science and psychology, but also from sociology, public administration, criminal justice, anthropology, and many other areas. Second, unlike many fields in the social sciences, political psychology uses multiple methodologies, from experiments to surveys to qualitative case studies and beyond. And, if our colleagues from other disciplines have not heard of political psychology, they will soon, because it is exploding. It is a burgeoning field because it is inherently interesting and because it is enormously important. Under- standing the psychological causes of political behavior is crucial if we are to affect patterns of behavior that are harmful to humanity and to promote patterns of behavior that are beneficial to humanity. Political psychology is an important domain of academic research; students find it fascinating and often troubling as they are exposed to some of the most shocking examples of political violence, and policy makers would undoubtedly benefit greatly from a better understanding of political psychology. As the field of political psychology has grown, so has the need for a com- prehensive textbook that pulls many strands of research in political psychol- ogy together. This book is a result of the authors’ frustration produced by teaching courses in political psychology without such a book. Rather than having students purchase a textbook on psychology (of which they will read only a portion) and a number of books describing political behavior (with- out a psychological explanation of that behavior), we decided to produce a book that presents the psychology used in political psychology, and explains types of political behavior with political psychological concepts in a single book. We introduce readers to a broad range of theories of political psy- chology and sketch many cases of political activity to illustrate the behav- ior. Readers do not need a background in psychology or political science to understand the material in this book. However, knowing that an introduc- tion will stimulate a desire for more, we also include suggested reading in viii Preface the details of the cases. Such readings are rich, nuanced studies of each of the political behaviors we introduce readers to in this book. Once we embarked upon this project, we quickly discovered that the field of political psychology is much broader than those of us who teach and do research in the area may realize. It ranges from voting behavior to nuclear deterrence, from the politics of race to the politics of genocide. In the pages that follow, many of the patterns of behavior researched by political psychologists are presented, including leadership, group behav- ior, voting, media effects, race, ethnicity, nationalism, political extremism, social movements, genocide, and war and deterrence. Because political psychology is so broad, many of those who teach the courses tend to stick to the portion of political psychology we are familiar with. Consequently, another goal of this book is to educate educators by making it easier to get a background in areas of political psychology they are unfamiliar with. Specialists in voting behavior, for example, may not know much about gen- ocide, but both topics are covered here, and using this book as a primer will enable those who teach political psychology to expand the content of their courses. Students, in turn, will learn the interconnectedness of many patterns of behavior that at first glance seem quite distinct. They will learn, for example, that the same John or Jane Doe who exercises his or her polit- ical rights in a democracy could, under the right circumstances, support an authoritarian dictatorship that forbids political competition and tortures its opponents. Relatedly, we include examples of political behavior from around the world, so students will
Load more

Recommended publications
  • All in the Mind Psychology for the Curious
    All in the Mind Psychology for the Curious Third Edition Adrian Furnham and Dimitrios Tsivrikos www.ebook3000.com This third edition first published 2017 © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Edition history: Whurr Publishers Ltd (1e, 1996); Whurr Publishers Ltd (2e, 2001) Registered Office John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148‐5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley‐blackwell. The right of Adrian Furnham and Dimitrios Tsivrikos to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
    [Show full text]
  • Hans Eysenck's Interface Between the Brain and Personality: Modern Evidence on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Personality
    King’s Research Portal DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.009 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication record in King's Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Mitchell, R. L. C., & Kumari, V. (2016). Hans Eysenck’s interface between the brain and personality: Modern evidence on the cognitive neuroscience of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 74-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.009 Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognize and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. •Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. •You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain •You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the Research Portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
    [Show full text]
  • Disjunctions of Conjunctions, Cognitive Simplicity and Consideration Sets by John R
    Disjunctions of Conjunctions, Cognitive Simplicity and Consideration Sets by John R. Hauser Olivier Toubia Theodoros Evgeniou Rene Befurt Daria Silinskaia February 2009. Forthcoming Journal of Marketing Research, 2009. John R. Hauser is the Kirin Professor of Marketing, MIT Sloan School of Management, Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, E40-179, One Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 253-2929, fax (617) 253-7597, [email protected]. Olivier Toubia is the David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business, Columbia Business School, Columbia University, 522 Uris Hall, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, (212) 854- 8243, [email protected]. Theodoros Evgeniou is an Associate Professor of Decision Sciences and Technology Manage- ment, INSEAD, Boulevard de Constance 77300, Fontainebleau, FR, (33) 1 60 72 45 46, theo- [email protected]. Rene Befurt is at the Analysis Group, 111 Huntington Avenue, Tenth Floor, Boston, MA 02199, 617-425-8283, [email protected]. Daria Silinskaia is a doctoral student at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, E40-170, One Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 253-2268, [email protected]. We would like to thank Daniel Bailiff (AMS), Simon Blanchard (PSU), Robert Bordley (GM), Anja Dieckmann (GfK), Holger Dietrich (GfK), Min Ding (PSU), Steven Gaskin (AMS), Patricia Hawkins (GM), Phillip Keenan (GM), Clarence Lee (MIT), Carl Mela (Duke), Andy Norton (GM), Daniel Roesch (GM), Matt Seleve (MIT), Glen Urban (MIT), Limor Weisberg and Kaifu Zhang (INSEAD) for their insights, inspiration, and help on this project. This paper has benefited from presentations at the Analysis Group Boston, the Columbia Business School, Digital Business Conference at MIT, Duke University, General Motors, the London Business School, Northeastern University, the Marketing Science Conference in Vancouver, B.C., and the Seventh Triennial Choice Symposium at the University of Pennsylvania.
    [Show full text]
  • A Century of Social Psychology: Individuals, Ideas, and Investigations GEORGE R
    1 A Century of Social Psychology: Individuals, Ideas, and Investigations GEORGE R. GOETHALS ^ f INTRODUCTION This chapter tells an exciting story of intellectual discovery. At the start of the twentieth century, social psy- chology began addressing age-old philosophical questions using scientific methods. What was the nature of human nature, and did the human condition make it possible for people to work together for good rather than for evil? Social pschology first addressed these questions by looking at the overall impact of groups on individuals and then began to explore more refined questions about social influence and social perception. How do we understand persuasion, stereotypes and prejudice, differences between men and women, and how culture affects thoughts and behavior? In 1954, in his classic chapter on the historical govem themselves. In The Republic, Plato argued that background of modem social psychology, Gordon men organize themselves and form governments Allport nominated Auguste Comte as the founder because they cannot achieve all their goals as of social psychology as a science. He noted that individuals. They are interdependent. Some kind of Comte, the French philosopher and founder of social organization is required. Various forms emerge, positivism, had previously, in 1839, identified depending on the situation, including aristocracy, sociology as a separate discipline. In fact, sociology oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. Plato clearly did not really exist, but Comte saw it coming. favored aristocracy, where the wise and just govern, Allport notes that 'one might say that Comte and allow individuals to develop their full potential. christened sociology many years before it was Whatever the form, social organization and govem- born' (Allport, 1968: 6).
    [Show full text]
  • Hans J. Eysenck: Introduction to Centennial Special Issue
    Personality and Individual Differences 103 (2016) 1–7 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Hans J. Eysenck: Introduction to centennial special issue Philip J. Corr City University London, Department of Psychology, London EC1V 0HB, United Kingdom first to criticise his views on the efficacy of psychotherapy (Eysenck, article info 1952, 1965) — perhaps there is something to Freudian projection after all! Lastly, it would be shamefully remiss not to acknowledge the pro- Article history: Received 13 July 2016 duction staff at Elsevier for their support and constant hard work, and Accepted 16 July 2016 Tony Vernon, Editor-in-Chief of PAID, for guiding the special issue to fruition. Such vital behind-the-scenes work is rarely seen and all too Keywords: often under-appreciated. Hans Eysenck There are 34 papers in the special issue, and although they span a History Academic and professional psychology wide range of topics and opinions, they fall into thematic groups that allow the convenient structuring of this Introduction. 1. Papers in special issue The year 2016 marks the centenary of the birth of Hans Juergen Eysenck (4 March 1916–4 September 1997). This special issue devoted Sybil Eysenck opens the special issue with reflections on her to his work and life is very timely and its publication in Personality and husband as a scientist, psychologist and family man. She shows the Individual Differences (PAID) most appropriate as this was the influential breadth of Hans's interests and the ways in which he was often journal he founded in 1983 — the year of his de jure, but certainly not de misunderstood.
    [Show full text]
  • Intelligence : Its Structure, Growth and Action
    INTELLIGENCE : ITS STRUCTURE, GROWTH AND ACTION Raymond B. CATTELL Cattell Institute, Hawaii 1987 NORTH-HOLLAND AMSTERDAM . NEW YORK ' OXFORD . TOKYO @ ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS B.V., 1987 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any way, form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN : 0 444 87922 6 Publishers: ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS B.V. P.O.Box 1991 1000 BZ Amsterdam The Netherlands Sole distributors for the U.S.A. and Canada: ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. 52 Vanderbilt Avenue New York, N.Y. 10017 U.S.A. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cattell, Raymond B. (Raymond Bernard), 1905- Intelligence: its structure, growth, and action. (Advances in psychology ; 35) Rev. ed. of: Abilities: their structure, growth, and action. 1971. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Intellect. 2. Ability. I. Cattell, Raymond B. (Raymond Bernard), 1905- . Abilities: .their struc- ture, growth, and action. 11. Title. 111. Series: Advances in psychology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) ; 35. BF431.C345 1986 153.9 86-16606 ISBN 0-444-87922-6 (U.S.) PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS FOREWORD The nature and measurement of man’s abilities as a central pre- occupation of psychology had its day in the closing years of the last century and in the early decades of the present one. Unfortunately, the enterprise faltered, and interest declined as other aspects of psychology became more fashionable. Perhaps it is not entirely fair to say that interest in abilities went out of style but rather that the field stagnated, suffering from a paucity of new ideas and characterized by the persis- tence of out-moded concepts.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Personality and Cognitions Underlying Entrepreneurial Intentions Benjamin R. Walker a Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment O
    1 Personality and Cognitions underlying Entrepreneurial Intentions Benjamin R. Walker A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Management UNSW Business School March 30, 2015 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 6 Originality statement .................................................................................................................. 7 Publications and conference presentations arising from this thesis ........................................... 8 List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 9 Thesis Abstract......................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Assessing the impact of revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory ...................... 20 Table 1: Articles with original Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (o-RST) and revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (r-RST) measures .......................................................... 26 Table 2: Categorization of original Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (o-RST) and revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (r-RST) studies in the five years from 2010-2014 ........ 29 Chapter 3: How
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Message-Induced Ambivalence and Its Correlates
    Exploring Message-Induced Ambivalence and Its Correlates: A Focus on Message Environment, Issue Salience, and Framing Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jay D. Hmielowski, M.A. Graduate Program in Communication The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Dave Ewoldsen R. Kelly Garrett R. Lance Holbert (Chair) Erik Nisbet 0 Copyright By Jay D. Hmielowski 2011 1 Abstract Scholars across the social sciences (psychology and political science) have recently started to broaden the approach to concept of attitudes. These scholars have focused on the concept of attitudinal ambivalence, which is defined as people holding both positive and negative attitudes toward attitude objects. However, communication scholars have generally ignored this concept. Recently, communication scholars have emphasized the importance of looking at the complementary effects of consuming divergent messages on people‘s attitudes and beliefs. Although studies have started to look at the complementary effects of media, it is necessary to examine the relationship between the complexity of a person‘s communication environment and the complexity of their attitudes. Therefore, this study begins the process connecting the complexity of people‘s communication environment and the complexity of their attitude structures. The major goal of this dissertation is to look at the generation of ambivalence by looking at four important factors: a) the relationship between specific media outlets relative to the generation of potential ambivalence, b) how different individual difference variables moderate the relationship between different media outlets and the generation of ambivalence, c) pinpointing the message variables that may lead people to the generation of ambivalence, and d) how media, ambivalence fit into a larger communication process focused on different political outcome variables.
    [Show full text]
  • Article in Press + Model
    ARTICLE IN PRESS + MODEL International Journal of Psychophysiology xx (2006) xxx–xxx www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpsycho The role of theory in the psychophysiology of personality: From Ivan Pavlov to Jeffrey Gray ⁎ Philip J. Corr , Adam M. Perkins Department of Psychology, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK Received 16 June 2005; received in revised form 24 October 2005; accepted 5 January 2006 Abstract Psychophysiological approaches to personality have made significant progress in recent years, partly as a spin-off of technological innovation (e.g., functional neuroimaging) and partly as a result of an emerging theoretical consensus regarding the structure and biology of basic processes. In this field, Jeffrey Gray's influential psychophysiological theory of personality – now widely known as Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) – owes much to Pavlov, who devoted a large proportion of his later life to personality differences and their implications for psychiatry. In this article, we trace the influence of Pavlov on Hans Eysenck's and Jeffrey Gray's work, and then provide a brief description of RST in order to highlight some of the central problems – as well as some tentative solutions – in the psychophysiology of personality. Specifically, the importance of theory in personality research is stressed by the contrast of Gray's theoretically driven model with less fertile atheoretical (i.e., exploratory–inductive) approaches. The fecundity of RST, which has been in continual development over a period of thirty years, is discussed in the light of Karl Popper's views on the nature of science, especially the formulation of the ‘problem situation’, which sets up the theoretical and operational conditions under which hypotheses may be challenged and tested to destruction.
    [Show full text]
  • New Frameworks for Evaluating Cognitive Complexity
    NEWA FRAMEWORK FORFRAMEWORKS APPROACHING COGNITIVE DEMAND ON STUDENTFOR THINKING EVALUATING IN SCIENCE ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY Frameworks for educators evaluating the cognitive complexity of assessment items in mathematics, science, and reading Throughout the country, state assessments in reading, mathematics, and science continue to play important roles in instructional improvement and accountability. State assessments must align to academic standards that are significantly more challenging than previous standards, reflecting the current knowledge and skill demands of postsecondary education and careers. They require a deeper understanding of subject matter, the ability to read more complex texts and materials, and the development and application of essential skills for collaboration, communication, inquiry, and problem solving. In short, new academic standards demand a more complex set of cognitive skills. Consequently, assessing student performance in these subjects is challenging and requires different kinds of assessments and assessment items. All statewide summative assessments must now require a range of cognitive demand. As Achieve has helped states design, develop, and evaluate state assessments, we’ve seen firsthand the challenge of assessing cognitively complex skills. Attempting to understand the cognitive complexity of assessment items is not new, but traditional frameworks now fall short because many are broad and content- agnostic. As new standards across all three content areas have become more reflective of the actual work students must do in each content area, understanding the cognitive complexity of the tasks that students complete requires content-specific frameworks. Achieve has developed three new frameworks - one each for mathematics, reading, and science - that can be used to evaluate the cognitive complexity of assessment tasks.
    [Show full text]
  • The Catholic High School of Baltimore Summer Reading List Reading
    The Catholic High School of Baltimore Summer Reading List Teacher’s Name: Carolyn Marinari School Year: 2011-2012______________ Grade Level: 11 and 12 Course No.: 255 Course Name: AP Psychology Academic Level (Honors/AP/CP1/CP2/CPA): AP Reading: Understanding Psychology, Robert S. Feldman (required course textbook) Assignment 1: Read pp. xxxiv-iii and read and take notes on Chapter 1 p.3-29. This chapter covers basic information and the history of psychology. The material is pretty self-explanatory. Note any questions you have about the material. We will spend a day or two on this material which will be followed by a chapter test during the first week of school. Textbooks can be picked up from Mrs. Marinari before the end of school or in the main office during the summer. Assignment 2: Create a set of note cards on the top psychologists listed below. This will be due the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend. Cards should be 3x5 format. The top card should list your name in the upper left-hand corner and Top Psychologists in the center. Each of the psychologist cards should be numbered 1-50. The cards should be formatted as follows: FRONT OF CARD # card Person's full name BACK OF CARD Years alive (in upper right) Field: This should indicate what area of psychology the psychologist was most interested in. Contributions: This should detail (succinctly) what the major contributions/ideas/studies of the psychologist. Source: Source information of where you found your information *Avoid wikipedia *Must be handwritten and in pen *Feel free to color-code, your brain likes it-just be consistent!! Top 50 Psychologists for your cards 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Cognitive Complexity and the Structure of Musical Patterns
    1 Cognitive complexity and the structure of musical patterns Jeffrey Pressing Department of Psychology University of Melbourne Parkville, Victoria Australia 3052 [email protected] Introduction Patterns are fundamental to all cognition. Whether inferred from sensory input or constructed to guide motor actions, they betray order: some are simple, others are more complex. Apparently, we can erect a simplicity-complexity dimension along which such patterns may be placed or ranked. Furthermore, we may be able to place the sources of patterns—such things as mental models, neural modules, growth processes, and learning techniques—along a parallel simplicity-complexity dimension. Are there psychological forces pushing us along this dimension? Seemingly so. The drive to simplify and regularize is seen in familiar Gestalt ideas of pattern goodness and Prägnanz, which hold in many situations. The drive towards complexity can be seen in the accretional processes of individual development, or the incremental sophistication of many cultural behaviours such as systems of musical design (e.g. musical harmonies in mid to late 19th century Europe), or new scientific methodologies (e.g. increasing sophistication in brain imaging techniques). Quite beyond this, the handling of complexity is a central issue in human skill and learning, providing the drive to efficiency in resource-limited processes like memory, attention, or multi-tasking. It has parallel implications in systems engineering, organization management or adaptive neural network design problems. In these cases, complexity is something to be circumscribed by various information- management strategies while functional performance specifications are maintained. Yet another picture of complexity is as an emergent property, one embodying sophisticated implicit order springing up as a cumulative consequence of simple, typically iterative nonlinear processes operating in certain ranges of their control parameters.
    [Show full text]