DOCSLIB.ORG

Theories of Development

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Theories of Development Theories of Development Contents Note: Worth Publishers provides online Instructor and Student Tool Kits, DVD Student Tool Kits, and Instructor and Student video resources in PsychPortal for use with the text. See Part I: General Resources for information about these materials and the text Lecture Guides for a complete list by text chapter. What Theories Do Audiovisual Materials: Transitions Throughout the Life Span, Program 1: The Developing Person, p. 3 Teaching Tip: Differentiating Facts, Laws, Hypotheses, and Theories, p. 3 “On Your Own” Activities: D evelopmental Fact or Myth?, p. 3 (Handout 1, p. 19) The “Lifeline,” p. 3 (Handout 2, p. 20) Major Developmental Theories: Discover Your Bias, p. 4 (Handout 3, p. 21) Portfolio Assignment (see General Resources regarding the Portfolio Assignment for each unit) Grand Theories Classroom Activity: “Development” as a Social Construction, p. 4 Psychoanalytic Theory Audiovisual Materials: Young Dr. Freud , p. 5 Freud: The Hidden Nature of Man , p. 5 Sigmund Freud , p. 5 Erik Erikson: A Life’s Work , p. 5 “On Your Own” Activity: Freud’s Influence on Psychology and American Culture , p. 5 (Handout 4, p. 23) Behaviorism Audiovisual Materials: Learning , p. 5 Pavlov: The Condi tioned Reflex , p. 6 B. F. Skinner on Beha viorism , p. 7 B. F. Skinner and Behavior Change: Research, Practice, and Promise , p. 7 Childhood Aggression , p. 7 The Power of Positive Reinforcement , p. 7 Observational Learning, p. 8 Learning: Observational and Cognitive Approaches , p. 9 1 2 Theories of Development Classroom Activities: Freud and Watson, p. 6 Using a Token Economy to Bring Behaviorism to Life (and Increase Class Participation) , p. 7 Observational Learning , p. 8 Teaching Tips: Rehearsal, Reinforcement, and Learning Students’ Names, p. 6 Basic Terminology of Behaviorism , p. 6 Cognitive Theory Audiovisual Materials: Piaget’s Developmental Theory , p. 9 How Young Children Learn to Think , p. 10 Jean Piaget: Memory and Intelligence , p. 10 Cognitive Development , p. 10 Teaching Tip: Developmental Stages of Family and Friends, p. 9 Classroom Activity: Classroom Debate: “Resolved: Cognitive Development Is Most Accurately Characterized as a Continuous Process Rather Than as Occurring in a Sequence of Stages,” p. 9 “On Your Own” Activity: The Active Search for Knowledge , p. 9 (Handout 5, p. 24) Newer Theories Sociocultural Theory Audiovisual Materials: I’m Normal, You’re Weird: Understanding Other Cultures , p. 10 Culture, p. 10 Introduction to Culture and Diversity , p. 10 Social-Cultural Diversity , p. 10 Contexts of Development, p. 10 The Latino Family , p. 10 Street Children of Africa , p. 10 Vygotsky’s Developmental Theory: An Introduction , p. 10 Play: A Vygotskian Approach , p. 11 Learning in Context: Probing the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky , p. 11 Internet Activity: High-Quality Preschool Education: What Would Vygotsky Say?, p. 10 (Handout 6, p. 26) The Universal Perspective: Humanism and Evolutionary Theory Classroom Activities: Applying Humanism, Evolutionary Theory, and Other Theoretical Perspectives, p. 11 (Handut 7, p. 27) The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do , p. 11 The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine , p. 12 Teaching Tip: Evolutionary Psychology: Raising the “Why of Behavior” Question, p. 13 “On Your Own” Activity: Introducing Evolutionary Psychology, p. 13 (Handout 8, p. 28) What Theories Contribute Audiovisual Materials: Theories, p. 14 Classroom Activities: A Test of Three Theories of the Work–Family Interface , p. 14 Designing a Developmental Brochure for Targeted Audiences , p. 15 Positive Psychology , p. 16 Teaching Tip: The Role of Theories in Developmental Study, p. 14 Theories of Development 3 “On Your Own” Activities: Applying Principles of Positive Psychology: Well-Being , p. 17 (Handout 9, p. 29) Applying Principles of Positive Psychology: A Beautiful Day , p. 17 (Handout 10, p. 30) Critical Thinking Activity: Theories, p. 17 (Handout 11, p. 31) Suggested Activities tion and con sensus lacking, most feel that a theory of gravity still eludes science. What Theories Do As the crowning achievement of science, then, the - ories are used to organize and explain existing facts. On Your Own Activity: Developmental Fact or Myth? Facts (also referred to as observations) are objective Before students read about the theories of develop - statements based on direct, empirical measurement. ment, have them respond to the true–false statements In psychology, facts are usually particular behaviors or in Handout 1. reliable patterns of behavior. For example, the unvary - The correct answers are shown below. Class dis - ing sequence in which children acquire the various cussion should focus on the origins of any developmen - rules of grammar in mastering their native language tal misconceptions that are demonstrated in the stu - is a “fact.” Noam Chomsky’s model of an innate lan - dents’ incorrect answers. guage acquisition device is a theory that was formulat - ed from (and designed to explain) this fact. Thus, in 1. T 6. T the grand scheme of science, facts are observations, 2. F 7. F laws are regularities, and theories are explanations. 3. T 8. F To follow up on Newton’s example: I release a ball at a 4. T 9. F certain time and place and it falls to the ground (fact). 5. T 10. T Balls and other objects descend according to a certain mathematical relationship between distance and time AV: Transitions Throughout the Life Span , (law). The law is explained by the theory of gravity. Program 1: The Developing Person The word hypothesis is especially problematic for students, many of whom confuse it with “theory” Program 1, The Developing Person, is described in (especially those who have taken a science course in detail in the Introduction of these resources. It applies which the two terms are, in fact, sometimes used also to Theories of Development in its discussion of interchangeably.) The word hypothesis is used in at theories and different theoretical perspectives. least three different ways. It has come to mean (1) an immature theory, (2) a tentative prediction, and (3) a Teaching Tip: Differentiating Facts, Laws, Hypotheses, tentative law. In psychology, it means a testable pre - and Theories diction. As valuable as it is, hypothesis testing has Because many students find the distinctions among several limitations. Failure to confirm a hypothesis, facts, laws, hypotheses, and theories to be extremely for example, may be due to apparatus failure or some confusing, it is a good idea to spend a few minutes other factor apart from a deficiency in the hypothesis. making sure everyone in your class is “on the same In the cycle of science, facts lead to theories, page” on this issue. As noted by one researcher: which lead to hypotheses, which are tested with exper - iments or other research designs, which lead to new Many believe that scientific ideas pass through the hypothesis and theory stages and finally mature as facts, which may lead to a reformulation of existing laws. A former president [Reagan] demonstrated his theories, and so on. misunderstanding of science by saying that he was not Proctor, R. W., & Capaldi, E. J. (2007). Teaching scientif - troubled by the idea of evolution because it was . “just ic methodology. Association for Psychological Science a theory.” The president’s statement is the essence of Observer. www.psychologicalscience.org/teaching/tips. this myth; an idea is not worthy of consideration until “lawness” has been bestowed upon it. The problem creat - ed by the false hierarchical nature inherent in this myth “On Your Own” Activity: The “Lifeline” is that theories and laws are very different kinds of To help your students become more aware of the knowledge. Laws are generaliza tions, principles, or pat - implicit stages in the life cycle, have them construct a terns in nature, while theories are the explanations of personal “lifeline” by following the directions in those generaliza tions. Thus, the “law of gravity” express - Handout 2. Then discuss with them the kinds of es the relationship of mass and distance to gravitational events they recorded and when these events occurred attraction as described by Sir Isaac Newton. The more thorny, and many would say more interesting, issue with or would occur. respect to gravity is the explana tion for why the law Students should discover that they have already operates as it does. At this point, there is no well- formed a relatively clear picture of the life cycle as accepted theory of gravity. Some suggest that gravity being divided into distinct stages that correspond to waves are the correct explanation; with clear confirma - childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age, 4 Theories of Development and old age. Some students may focus more on cate - with principles of learning and information processing. gories of events, dividing their lifelines into separate Whereas Watson attempted to explain developmental stages devoted to education, career, family, retirement, change in terms of conditioned Pavlovian asso ciations, and so on. This activity can also serve as the basis for Hull argued vigorously for the removal of any general a good class discussion of why people tend to organize concept of development, along with “all other vestiges their lives in these ways. As an alter native, discussion of vitalistic biology.” By the late 1960s, the classic con - can proceed with students comparing their lifelines in cept of development had come under so much fire
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Todd K. Shackelford, Ph.D. Curriculum Vita: April 1, 2016 Oakland
    Todd K. Shackelford, Ph.D. Curriculum Vita: April 1, 2016 Oakland University Department of Psychology 112 Pryale Hall Rochester, Michigan 48309-4401 Email: [email protected] Office: 248-370-2285 Fax: 248-370-4612 Web: www.ToddKShackelford.com EDUCATION Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin, Psychology: 1997 Area concentration: Evolutionary Psychology M.A., The University of Michigan, Psychology: 1995 Secondary concentration in Multivariate Statistics B.A., The University of New Mexico, Psychology: 1993 Summa Cum Laude, with Honors in Psychology EMPLOYMENT 2016-Present Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology Oakland University 2010-2016 Professor and Chair of Psychology Founding Co-Chair, Ph.D. and M.S. Programs in Psychology (2012) Founding Member, Center for Social and Behavioral Research (2011) Oakland University 2007-2010 Professor of Psychology Founder and Chair, Ph.D. Program in Evolutionary Psychology Florida Atlantic University 2002-2007 Associate Professor of Psychology Founder and Chair, Ph.D. Program in Evolutionary Psychology Co-Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Psychology (2002-2005) Florida Atlantic University 1997-2002 Assistant Professor of Psychology Florida Atlantic University LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL HONORS AND AWARDS Member, Standing Review Board, Hong Kong Humanities and Social Sciences Panel of the Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (appointed 2015). Member, Thomson Reuters Expert Witness Services network (admitted 2014) Advisory Board Member, Center for Science and Reason. Appointed by Center officers and membership (2012). Fellow, Midwestern Psychological Association. Elected for substantial scientific contributions (2012). Fellow, American Psychological Association. Elected for substantial scientific contributions (2011) Division 6 (Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology, 2011) Division 3 (Experimental Psychology, 2013) Division 1 (Society for General Psychology, 2014) Division 8 (Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2016) Fellow, Association for Psychological Science.
    [Show full text]
  • TRHG 9-5 Text-Final.X
    BOOK REVIEW No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality Judith Rich Harris (2006).W.W. Norton & Company, 322 pp, $US26.95, ISBN 0393059480. they cannot explain differences variety of research fields, develop- We are all social beings by nature. between genetically identical indi- mental, cognitive, social, and That is what united the human viduals (i.e., monozygotic twins). evolutionary psychology, neuro- species in our successful trip Similarly, gene–environment correla- physiology, primatology, and even through evolution. But it is also the tions concern the way different entomology. Step by step she clue to explain human individuality, genotypes drive people to different builds upon her ‘group socializa- states Judith R. Harris in her environments. Harris shows how a tion theory’ outlined in The second book, No Two Alike. After second critical look at apparently Nurture Assumption. She departs her first very successful book, The appealing research can reveal hidden from the idea that behavioral con- Nurture Assumption (1998), Harris methodological deficiencies that lead sistencies are driven by genes, in her second book sets out to dis- one to question the results. This is whereas the adaptive plasticity of entangle how two genetically the case with Suomi’s studies on behavior is driven by our ability to identical individuals who grow up cross-fostered monkeys, which discriminate across different envi- in the same family, can turn out dif- claimed to demonstrate that nurtur- ronments, and react differentially ferently. How is it possible that they ing mothers prevent their children to them. This, translated into are perceived by themselves and by from becoming aggressive.
    [Show full text]
  • Microcebus Griseorufus) Conservation: Local Resource Utilization and Habitat Disturbance at Beza Mahafaly, Sw Madagascar
    THE HUMAN FACTOR IN MOUSE LEMUR (MICROCEBUS GRISEORUFUS) CONSERVATION: LOCAL RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND HABITAT DISTURBANCE AT BEZA MAHAFALY, SW MADAGASCAR A Dissertation Presented by EMILIENNE RASOAZANABARY Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY February 2011 Anthropology © Copyright by Emilienne Rasoazanabary 2011 All Rights Reserved THE HUMAN FACTOR IN MOUSE LEMUR (MICROCEBUS GRISEORUFUS) CONSERVATION: LOCAL RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND HABITAT DISTURBANCE AT BEZA MAHAFALY, SW MADAGASCAR A Dissertation Presented By EMILIENNE RASOAZANABARY Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________________ Laurie R. Godfrey, Chair _______________________________________ Lynnette L. Sievert, Member _______________________________________ Todd K. Fuller, Member ____________________________________ Elizabeth Chilton, Department Head Anthropology This dissertation is dedicated to the late Berthe Rakotosamimanana and Gisèle Ravololonarivo (Both Professors in the DPAB) Claire (Cook at Beza Mahafaly) Pex and Gyca (Both nephews) Guy and Edmond (Both brothers-in-law) Claudia and Alfred (My older sister and my older brother) All of my grandparents Rainilaifiringa (Grandpa) All of the fellow gray mouse lemurs ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation has been more a process than a document; its completion is long anticipated and ever-so-welcome. So many people participated in and brought to me the most precious and profoundly appreciated support – academic, physical, and emotional. I would not have been able to conduct this work without leaning on those people. I am very grateful to every single one of them. In case you read the dissertation and find your name unlisted, just remember that my gratitude extends to each one of you. I am extremely grateful to Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Reuter
    Anthropologies of the south: cultures, emphases, epistemologies Edited by Sandy Toussaint Articles Anthropological theory and the alleviation of anthropogenic climate change: Understanding the cultural causes of systemic change resistance Thomas Reuter What can anthropologists say about climate change? Graeme MacRae Reimagining Technology: Anthropology, Geographic Information Systems, and the integration of diverse knowledges Christine Pam Reflections on the flow of emotions in environmental research Nor Azlin Tajuddin The figure of the ‘Fil-Whatever’: Filipino American Trans-Pacific social movements and the rise of radical cosmopolitanism Marco Cuevas-Hewitt Feeling extraordinary in ‘ordinary’ spaces: betwixt and between culture and gender in an Australian context Mandy Wilson Anthropology and multi-disciplinary agricultural research: Understanding rural advisory relationships Michael O’Kane Different stories about the same place: institutionalised authority and individual expertise within topographies of difference Brendan Corrigan n e CONTENTS Introduction Sandy Toussaint ..................................................................................3 Anthropological theory and the alleviation of anthropogenic climate change: Understanding the cultural causes of systemic change resistance Thomas Reuter ....................................................................................7 What can anthropologists say about climate change? Graeme MacRae ...............................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • The Champlain College Library Annual Report 2006-2007
    THE CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT 2006-2007 DECEMBER, 2007 THE STAFF OF THE CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE LIBRARY Administration: Director of Academic Resources and the Library: Janet R. Cottrell Associate Director & Collection Development/Acquisitions Librarian: Marie A. Kascus Librarians: Sarah Cohen, Technical Librarian Michele Melia, Online/Distance Learning/Technology Librarian Paula Olsen, Reference and Instruction Librarian Brenda Racht, Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian Circulation Staff: Tammy Miller, Circulation Coordinator Freddy Angel, Evening/Weekend Circulation Assistant Chris Campion, Evening/Weekend Circulation Assistant Gloria De Souza, Evening/Weekend Circulation Assistant Matt Jarvis, Evening/Weekend Circulation Assistant Archives: Archives Coordinator: Christina Dunphy THE CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT 2006-2007 CONTENTS Library Vision Statement.............................................................................................................. 1 Miller Information Commons: "Intellectual Center"................................................................. 2 The facility and its use ............................................................................................................ 2 Exhibits and displays .............................................................................................................. 3 Special events......................................................................................................................... 4 "Exemplary Library and Information
    [Show full text]
  • (Library Ebook) No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality Online
    gi4vw (Library ebook) No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality Online [gi4vw.ebook] No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality Pdf Free Par Judith Rich Harris ePub | *DOC | audiobook | ebooks | Download PDF Download Now Free Download Here Download eBook Détails sur le produit Rang parmi les ventes : #389535 dans eBooksPublié le: 2010-02-04Sorti le: 2010-02- 15Format: Ebook Kindle | File size: 41.Mb Par Judith Rich Harris : No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality: Commentaires clientsCommentaires clients les plus utiles1 internautes sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile. Pourquoi chacun a-t-il la personnalité qu'il a ?Par François TharaudJudith Rich Harris tente de départager les différentes réponses à cette question en faisant la part des gènes, du hasard, des influences familiales, de l'école, de la culture, et de la manière dont chacun se construit au sein d'un groupe de pairs au cours de son enfance et de son adolescence. La réflexion de Harris se distingue par son pragmatisme, son sens critique et son souci de pédagogie (elle est parfois même assez drôle). Elle décortique les différentes théories avec un grand souci de la méthode scientifique. Les conclusions de Harris sont à contre-courant de la pensée dominante, car elle montre que l'influence de l'éducation et des expériences de la petite enfance dans la personnalité de chacun est bien moindre que ce qu'on imagine ; mais même ceux qui ne seront pas convaincus doivent absolument lire ce livre, car il rappelle les faits essentiels que doit expliquer aujourd'hui toute théorie du développement psychologique qui se respecte, et il définit bien le niveau d'exigence méthodologique qui s'impose si on cherche la vérité plutôt que la simple confirmation de nos préjugés.
    [Show full text]
  • THE TROUBLE with TWIN STUDIES: a Reassessment of Twin Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
    Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:51 14 August 2016 THE TROUBLE WITH TWIN STUDIES The Trouble with Twin Studies questions popular genetic explanations of human behavioral differences based upon the existing body of twin research. Psychologist Jay Joseph outlines the fallacies of twin studies in the context of the ongoing decades-long failure to discover genes for human behavioral differences, including IQ, personality, and the major psychiatric disorders. This volume critically examines twin research, with a special emphasis on reared-apart twin studies, and incorporates new and updated perspectives, analyses, arguments, and evidence. Jay Joseph, PsyD., is a licensed psychologist practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1998 he has published two books, several book chap- ters, and many articles in peer-reviewed journals, where he has presented a critical appraisal of genetic theories and research in psychiatry and psychology. Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:51 14 August 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:51 14 August 2016 THE TROUBLE WITH TWIN STUDIES A Reassessment of Twin Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Jay Joseph Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:51 14 August 2016 First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Jay Joseph The right of Jay Joseph to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Passion and Compassion: Psychology of Kin Relations Within and Beyond the Family
    Passion and Compassion: Psychology of Kin Relations within and Beyond the Family The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Park, Justin H., and Joshua M. Ackerman. “Passion and Compassion: Psychology of Kin Relations Within and Beyond the Family.” The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Family Psychology. Ed. Todd K. Shackelford & Catherine A. Salmon. Oxford University Press, 2011. As Published http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195396690.013.0019 Publisher Oxford University Press Version Author's final manuscript Citable link http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77619 Terms of Use Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Detailed Terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Park and Ackerman 1 Passion and compassion: Psychology of kin relations within and beyond the family Justin H. Park Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Joshua M. Ackerman MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Correspondence: Justin H. Park Department of Experimental Psychology University of Bristol 12a Priory Road Bristol, BS8 1TU United Kingdom Phone: +44 117 954 6845 Fax: +44 117 928 8588 E-mail: [email protected] Word count (p. 2 onwards): 12,140 Park and Ackerman 2 Abstract Family is special. People avoid sexual contact with close relatives, but at the same time are highly beneficent toward them. Such discriminatory behavior is guided by a set of psychological mechanisms, heuristics that facilitate evolutionarily adaptive behavior most of the time but may lead to over-perception of kinship under specific circumstances.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Sociality and Our Expanding Circle
    Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization Volume 2 Number 1 Article 1 2011 State of the Field: Human Sociality and our Expanding Circle Matthew McCool Southern Polytechnic State University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/rpcg Part of the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation McCool, Matthew (2011) "State of the Field: Human Sociality and our Expanding Circle," Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization: Vol. 2 : No. 1, Article 1. Available at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/rpcg/vol2/iss1/1 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. ISSN: 2153-9480. Volume 2, Number 1. December - 2011 State of the Field: Human Sociality and our Expanding Circle Matthew McCool Southern Polytechnic University, USA Abstract The first part of this essay provides a brief summary of this journal’s first editorial, which examined eight needed developments and eight critical contexts for global inquiry. The second part addresses our expanding circle of ethics, which starts with kin but has gradually increased to include tribes, states, nations, and even the world. It is our expanding circle of ethics that has led to a heightened awareness of equality, the product of a noble goal with origins in recent social justice movements. The aim of this essay is to assert that the field has a promising future by including both the local and the global, a position that reflects how our own moral sense has moved beyond kin relations to the entire human family.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nurture Assumption : Why Children Turn out the Way They Do, by Judith Rich Harris, 2D Ed., Revised and Updated P
    ™ i N urture Assumption Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do "A graceful, lucid, and utterly persuasive assault on virtually every tenet of child development." -Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker Critical Praise for The Nurture Assumption “Judith Rich Harris wrote a brilliant book called The Nurture Assump­ tion. Beautifully and convincingly, Harris showed that our parents play a far smaller role in determining how we are than we could ever imagine—and that what really matters is the influence of our peers. At a time when parents have become convinced that everything they say and do irreparably affects the lives and potential of their children, Harris’s book is an absolute must-read.” —Malcolm Gladwell, Entertainment Weekly “Important. Lively anecdotes about real children suffuse this book. Harris’s brilliant stroke was to change the discussion from nature (genes) and nurture (parents) to its older version: heredity and environment.” — Carol Tavris, The New York Times “A sea-changing book.” —Ellen Goodman, The Boston Globe “Harris’s book is well written, toughly argued, filled with telling anecdotes and biting wit.” —Howard Gardner, The New York Review of Books “Harris’s core, convincing message—that many parents wildly overestimate their influence—may usefully calm some nerves in this age of high-anxiety parenting.” —Robert Wright, Time “A leading tome on child development published in 1934 didn’t even include a chapter on parents .. With an impish wit and a chatty style, Harris spins a persuasive argument that the 1934 book got it right.” —Sharon Begley, Newsweek “Mixing logic-chopping rigor and wise-cracking humor, Harris turns aca­ demic overviews and her own sleuthing into a brisk tour of controversial data collection and interpretation.
    [Show full text]
  • West Group 01/04/2008 12:41
    Gene Expression: The West Group 01/04/2008 12:41 Go to the front page Sunday, March 02, 2008 The West Group posted by DavidB @ 3/02/2008 02:13:00 AM Open Thread Contact Authors Send to: GNXP forum Shortcuts: A comment on my recent post on Group Selection and the Wrinkly Seed GNXP Archives Spreader has drawn my attention to the work of S. A. West, A. S. Interviews Griffin and A. Gardner. In recent years this team and their various Blogroll associates have done a great deal of theoretical and empirical work on Books kin selection, group selection, co-operation, spite, and related issues. On searching for their names I found this excellent web page, which Recent comments: B.B: The novel variant is found in an ethnic- provides a list of publications with pdf links. I was disgracefully unaware religious minority population and no other of this work, but am now catching up. I have only read a few papers so phenotypic eff far, but from what I have seen I like the cut of their jib. They are razib: but not god or even a significative working very much in the tradition of W. D. Hamilton, and emphasise presence of plural gods. also, this is just a seman that interpretations of social behaviour in terms of inclusive fitness are razib: Hmmm... I don't know of any, at least in usually preferable to complex multi-level selection models. They also which the main gods are that way. There may emphasise that seemingly 'altruistic' behaviour often brings direct fitness be secondary..
    [Show full text]
  • An Evolutionary Paradigm for Literary Study
    Joseph Carroll University of Missouri, St. Louis An Evolutionary Paradigm for Literary Study 1. The Current Institutional Position of Literary Darwinism Over the past thirteen years or so, evolutionary literary study has emerged as a distinct movement, and that movement is rapidly gaining in visibility and impact. More than a hundred articles, three special journal issues, four edited collections, and about a dozen free-standing books have been devoted to the topic. Many other articles and books are in press, under submission, and in preparation. Commentaries on the field have appeared in newspapers and journals all over the industrialized world, including notices in Nature, Science, and The New York Times Magazine. As it has gained in visibility, the movement has also attracted a good deal of criticism from diverse disciplinary perspectives—from traditional humanism, poststructuralism, cognitive poetics, and evolutionary social science. In four previous articles—the first in this journal in 2002, the most recent in 2007— I have surveyed contributions to the field, aiming at bibliographic inclusiveness.1 In this present article, I shall not replicate those bibliographic efforts. Instead, I shall briefly describe some of the more important contributions, discuss key theoretical issues, and respond to representative critiques. The central concept in both evolutionary social science and evolutionary literary study is “human nature”: genetically mediated characteristics typical of the human species. In the concluding paragraph of the survey I wrote in 2002, I said that “we do not yet have a full and adequate conception of human nature. We have the elements that are necessary for the formulation of this conception, and we are on the verge of synthesizing these elements” (611).
    [Show full text]