bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychotherapy Outcome Research
Authors: Behar Evelyn S. , Borkovec Thomas D.
Published: November 2003

Between‐group outcome research is a scientific approach to evaluating the effectiveness of psychotherapy and the mechanisms of change associated with those treatments for psychological disorders. This area of research is replete with important methodological issues that need to be considered in order for investigators to draw the strongest, most specific cause‐and‐effect conclusions about the active components of treatments, human behavior, and the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. In this chapter, we present the various methodological considerations associated with these experiments. The chapter begins with a description of the different experimental designs from which investigators may choose in designing a therapy outcome study. These designs include the no‐treatment and common factors comparison designs, as well as the dismantling, additive, catalytic, and parametric designs. We also present the methodological, client/participant, and therapist concerns that must be taken into account in the design stage of a treatment outcome investigation. Following this, we discuss the measurement of change, starting with the considerations surrounding dependent variables and ending with methods of analyzing data and assessing clinically significant change. Finally, after a presentation on small‐
N
experimental designs, we discuss the importance of scientific research in naturalistic settings.
Health Psychology
Authors: Smith Timothy W.
Published: November 2003

This chapter reviews methodological issues in health psychology. The field addresses three major topics—health behavior and risk reduction (e.g., smoking cessation), stress and health or psychosomatics (e.g., emotions and cardiovascular disease), and psychosocial aspects of medical illness and care (e.g., adjustment to cancer and adjunctive psychosocial treatments). In each of these areas, research focuses on the determinants of risk and maladaptation, psychosocial and psychobiological connections with physical health, and the evaluation of interventions intended to reduce risk and improve functioning and quality of life. These very different research topics require a wide range of designs and methods, especially in light of the need to consider specific medical populations, standard medical care, and related topics in pathophysiology, epidemiology, and health economics. Classic methodological issues in psychology involving measurement, design, and analysis are critical in the design and evaluation of health psychology research, but the translation of these traditional topics into issues of physical health and illness poses major challenges.
Program Evaluation
Authors: Mark Melvin M.
Published: November 2003

This chapter focuses on the evaluation of policies and programs. Given the importance of causal questions, the chapter's major focus is on methods for estimating the effects of policies and programs in the context of evaluation. Topics addressed include the concept of causality, experimental and quasi‐experimental designs and analysis, including techniques for dealing with attrition and with selection bias, tests of mediation, and methods of “principled discovery”, that is, the integration of exploratory methods with subsequent tests of discoveries. Given that evaluations sometimes emphasize issues other than causal questions, this chapter attends in part to other kinds of methods that may be used for evaluation. In particular, the methods, potential, and limits of performance measurement are discussed. In addition, because evaluators may need special skills to identify the right evaluation questions, attention is given to the analysis of stakeholder needs and to a potentially useful policy analytic perspective. Finally, possible future developments in the field of evaluation are discussed, including areas of potential methodological development and challenges to be faced.
Mood Measurement: Current Status and Future Directions
Authors: Watson David , Vaidya Jatin
Published: November 2003

This chapter provides a basic introduction to the measurement of mood. We begin by defining the concept of mood and distinguishing it from related constructs such as emotion. We then discuss recent data related to the underlying structure of mood; on the basis of this evidence, we propose a hierarchical model consisting of two higher‐order dimensions (alternatively conceptualized as either pleasantness/activation or positive affect/negative affect) and multiple lower‐order states (e.g., fear, anger, sadness, joy). Next, we use this organizing scheme to evaluate existing mood instruments, noting both strengths and weaknesses in the available measures. Among other things, our review suggests the need for better measurement of the higher‐order activation dimension and for a more compelling taxonomy at the lower‐order level. We then examine several general issues that are broadly relevant to the overall construct validity of mood measures, focusing on such potential problems as: (1) random measurement error, (2) social desirability, and (3) the acquiescence response bias. Finally, we focus specifically on scales assessing long‐term individual differences in affectivity, reviewing such issues as: (1) temporal stability, (2) self‐peer agreement, and (3) the construct validity of general versus aggregated measures of trait affect.
Measuring Personality and Psychopathology
Authors: Morey Leslie C.
Published: November 2003

Contemporary scale construction methods focus heavily on a construct validation approach that elaborates the extent to which a measure can be said to reflect a theoretical (and hence not directly observable) construct. The construct validation approach emphasizes the interplay between the theoretical elaboration of the construct and its methodological validation.

Three stages define, in general, the development of a scale using the construct validation approach. The stage oftheory formulationinvolves an explication of the content domain of the construct, a delineation of the nature of the classification model and the linkages between constructs in the model, and a specification of the relationship of constructs to external variables, such as etiology or treatment outcome. The second stage ofinternal validationinvolves the operationalization of the constructs and examining various internal properties of the classification, such as interrater reliability, stability of measurement over occasions, internal correlation matrices, or the replicability of classification or factorial structures across different samples. The third stage of construct validation involvesexternal validation. At this stage, links of the constructs to other variables related to etiology, course, or prediction must be tested. This process involves both convergent and discriminant validation.

This chapter surveys important issues and procedures in the construction and implementation of measures of personality and psychopathology. Specific issues at each stage of scale development are discussed, and the methods of the construct validation approach are contrasted with other scale construction methods.
The Circumplex Model: Methods and Research Applications
Authors: Gurtman Michael B. , Pincus Aaron L.
Published: November 2003

Circumplex models assume that the content and structure of a particular domain (e.g., personality, affect, vocational interests) can be meaningfully described in terms of a circular array of variables. With the growing popularity of such models in psychology comes the need to apply appropriate research methodologies and data‐analytic strategies, as well as to further develop relevant research applications. The purpose of this chapter then is to review these methods and their associated applications. The chapter is organized with reference to basic empirical questions likely to underlie investigators' applications of the model and its related methods. Thus, after the circumplex is defined and examples from contemporary psychological literature are described, the chapter is divided into sections addressing the following questions: (a) How do I evaluate circular representations in my domain of interest? (b) How do I use the circumplex to describe individuals? (c) How do I use the circumplex to describe and compare groups? (d) How do I use the circumplex to evaluate constructs and their measures.? We conclude the chapter with a brief discussion of future directions in the development and application of circumplex methodology.
Item Response Theory and Measuring Abilities
Authors: Schmidt Karen M. , Embretson Susan E.
Published: November 2003

This chapter covers ability measurement in its two dominant traditions: Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. CTT methods are based largely on large sampling norms, fixed‐length tests, and ordinal‐level measurement scales. A person's ability performance is based upon relative standing among a population of individuals for a given test. However, a person's performance, or its change, relative to particular item performance, is not well incorporated. IRT methods use model‐based measurement, in which person performance may be referenced to specific item parameters, as well as to relative standing in a population of persons. The meaningfulness of the item parameters is independent of the population of persons sampled. Persons can receive different tests, of varying lengths, and still be meaningfully compared. The scale of measurement for IRT is interval‐level, so relative score levels and their change are weighted accordingly. This chapter discusses methodological assumptions, item difficulty, score meaning, test construction, and test evaluation using classical and item response theory approaches. Simple and complex models are presented, and each method's strengths and weaknesses are discussed.
Multiple Linear Regression
Authors: Aiken Leona S. , West Stephen G. , Pitts Steven C.
Published: November 2003

Multiple regression analysis (MR) is a highly flexible system for examining the relationship of a collection of independent variables (or predictors) to a single dependent variable (or criterion). The independent variables may be quantitative (e.g., personality traits, family income) or categorical (e.g., ethnic group, treatment conditions in an experiment). The present chapter explores ordinary least‐squares regression with a continuous dependent variable. The chapter has two foci: (1) testing of theoretical predictions through multiple regression and (2) identification of problems with implementation of regression analysis, both from the perspectives of model specification and the data themselves. The structure of MR is described, including the regression equation, estimation of partial regression coefficients, measures of overall model fit, and the contribution of individual predictors and sets of predictors to prediction accuracy. The treatment of categorical predictors through effects, dummy, and contrast coding is explained. Polynomial regression for capturing curvilinear relationships is explored. The specification and testing of interactions between continuous variables and between a continuous and a categorical variable are explicated. Assumptions of MR and detection of violations are explained, as is the use of regression diagnostics to identify problematic cases. The chapter illustrates the interplay between theory and empirical findings in the specification, testing, and revision of regression models.
Logistic Regression
Authors: DeMaris Alfred
Published: November 2003

This chapter provides a thorough introduction to logistic regression models for categorical response variables. When the response is binary, the use of OLS regression is problematic for two reasons: (1)the errors are inherently heteroscedastic and (2)the left‐hand side of the equation is subject to a constraint—confinement within the bounds of 0 and 1—that doesn't apply to the right‐hand side. Logistic regression solves these problems by modeling the log odds of being in a given category ofYas a linear function of the regressors, providing parameter estimates via the technique of maximum likelihood. As the binary‐response case is most often encountered in practice, substantial discussion is devoted to its explication, covering such topics as analogues ofthe comparison of models across groups, and the comparison of coefficients across nested models. Logistic regression extends in a straightforward fashion to response variables with more than two categories. Multinomial logistic regression is best suited to a polytomous response with unordered values, whereas the ordered logit model is ideal for an ordinal response. Connected with these latter two approaches are a test for the collapsibility of response categories, as well as a test for the appropriateness of the ordered logit model.
Survival Analysis
Authors: Singer Judith D. , Willett John B.
Published: November 2003

Psychologists studying whether and when events occur face unique design and analytic difficulties. The fundamental problem is how to handle censored observations, the people for whom the target event does not occur before data collection ends. The methods of survival analysis overcome these difficulties and allow researchers to describe patterns of event occurrence, compare these patterns among groups, and build statistical models of the risk of event occurrence over time. In this chapter, we present a nonmathematical introduction to survival analysis. After describing the basic concepts, we focus on two topics‐study design and data analysis‐and for each, we identify the key issues researchers face and we provide guidelines for making informed decisions about them. In the process, we review how psychologists have used the methods to date and point towards new directions for their application.
Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis
Authors: Lanza Stephanie T. , Flaherty Brian P. , Collins Linda M.
Published: November 2003

Often quantities of interest in psychology cannot be observed directly. These unobservable quantities are known as latent variables. By using multiple items as indicators of the latent variable, we can obtain a more complete picture of the construct of interest and estimate measurement error. One approach to latent variable modeling is latent class analysis, a method appropriate for examining the relationship between discrete observed variables and a discrete latent variable. The present chapter will introduce latent class analysis, its extension to repeated measures, and recent developments further extending the latent class model. First, the concept of a latent class and the mathematical model are presented. This is followed by a discussion of parameter restrictions, model fit, and the measurement quality of categorical items. Second, latent class analysis is demonstrated through an examination of the prevalence of depression types in adolescents. Third, longitudinal extensions of the latent class model are presented. This section also contains an empirical example on adolescent depression types, where the previous analysis is extended to examine the stability and change in depression types over time. Finally, several recent developments that further extend the latent class model are introduced.
Evolutionary Psychology
Authors: Durrant Russil , Ellis Bruce J.
Published: November 2003

In this chapter we provide an introduction to the field of evolutionary psychology and describe the methodology that evolutionary psychologists use to explain human cognition and behavior. This description begins at the broadest level with a review of basic, guiding assumptions that are consensually held by most evolutionary scientists, including concepts of natural selection, adaptation, sexual selection, and inclusive fitness. Special attention is paid to the question of how to distinguish adaptations from nonadaptations in the biological world. Next, we discuss special metatheoretical assumptions employed by evolutionary psychologists, including the emphasis on psychological mechanisms as the main unit of analysis, domain‐specificity of psychological mechanisms, and the environment of evolutionary adaptedness. We then illustrate how evolutionary psychologists apply these assumptions to develop more specific theoretical models, hypotheses, and predictions that are tested in research. We use examples of sex and mating, including discussion of parental investment theory, and good genes sexual selection theory to demonstrate how evolutionary psychological theories are developed and tested. Specific hypotheses and predictions from good genes sexual selection theory are evaluated. We conclude by discussing potential future directions in evolutionary psychology and its potential impact on psychological inquiry.
Comparative Psychology of Vision
Authors: Jacobs Gerald H.
Published: November 2003

Light provides a very rich source of information that many animals can use in the guidance and control behavior. Considerable progress has been made in understanding how this comes about through the comparison of visual capacities and visual biology across widely variant species. This chapter summarizes that progress by first considering some basic features of eyes and examining how these features can be exploited to allow vision in different photic environments. Comments are then offered on the means that have been developed for assessing animal vision and on the challenges inherent in inferring visual capacity from anatomy and physiology. Finally, a range of examples are offered as to how animals solve three visual problems: detecting change in the photic environment, resolving spatial structure, and exploiting chromatic cues.
Comparative Psychology of Audition
Authors: Moss Cynthia F. , Carr Catherine E.
Published: November 2003

Many animal species use sound to orient in the environment, detect predators, and communicate with conspecifics. Auditory systems have evolved to enable these behaviors, permitting the detection, localization, and discrimination of acoustic events. This chapter provides an overview of auditory systems and behavior in a variety of animal species, including insects, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Emphasizing a comparative and evolutionary perspective, the chapter details features of the auditory pathway—from the ear to central structures involved in the processing of acoustic stimuli. Anatomical pathways and physiological response characteristics of neurons at different stages of the auditory pathway are described. The chapter also reviews behavioral measures of auditory function, emphasizing studies of absolute hearing sensitivity, frequency selectivity, temporal resolution, sound localization, and scene analysis. Comparisons of auditory system anatomy, physiology, and function across species reveal exquisite specializations but also many common principles across the animal kingdom.
Comparative Psychology of Motor Systems
Authors: Fouad Karim , Fischer Hanno , Büschges Ansgar
Published: November 2003

Research in the field of locomotor control has greatly benefited from studies in lower vertebrates and invertebrates. These model systems helped to unravel basic principles for locomotor pattern generation from the systems down to the subcellular level, indicating that a functional locomotor program results from a close interaction between central pattern‐generating networks with peripheral signals from appendages as well as coordinating signals from adjacent segments. At present, it is clear that most of the mechanisms described also contribute to locomotor pattern generation in higher vertebrates, including mammals. Therefore, it currently appears that common principles underlie the design of locomotor networks in the entire animal kingdom. This review will give an historic overview of the research in this field and summarize in a comparative manner the current knowledge on several aspects of pattern generating networks for locomotion, including the construction principles and location of pattern‐generating networks for locomotion, the role of sensory signals, plasticity in motor systems, and modulation of locomotor activity. A major outcome of recent research is that networks are by no means “hardwired” but instead flexible regarding their topology, and the properties of the connections between their components.
Processing of Tactile Information in the Primate Brain
Authors: Hsiao Steven , Johnson Ken , Yoshioka Takashi
Published: November 2003

We discuss how the neural representation of surface features and objects are processed in the somatosensory system. Tactile perception begins with the activation of four functionally distinct cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferent systems. The SA1 system provides a high‐quality neural image of the spatial structure of surfaces and is the basis for form and texture perception. The RA system provides a neural image of motion across the skin and is important for grip control. The PC system provides a neural image of events transmitted to the hand through probes and tools. The SA2 system provides a neural image of skin stretch which plays a role in the perception of hand conformation. Information from these four systems flows centrally where it is processed by neurons in SI and SII cortex. Neurons in area 3b of SI cortex have receptive fields confined to single fingers and are selectively responsive to local spatial gradients. Neurons in SII cortex have large receptive fields that span multiple fingers on one or both hands. These neurons have complex responses and many neurons have position‐invariant responses to oriented bars. Selective attention has progressively larger effects as the information flows centrally. In SII, attention effects both the firing rates and temporal patterning of the neural responses.
Olfaction and Taste
Authors: Di Lorenzo Patricia M. , Youngentob Steven L.
Published: November 2003

The ability to detect and interpret the chemicals in our environment affects nearly every aspect of our survival. The flavor of our food, i.e., the combination of its taste and smell, is used both to prompt ingestion of nutrients and to protect us from ingesting or inhaling toxins. In the study of taste and olfaction, there are certain as yet unresolved questions that date from the very earliest research into these areas. For example, there is continued debate on the nature of primary stimuli, on the mechanisms of transduction, and on the ways in which stimuli are encoded and interpreted by the nervous system. In this review, the current thinking about these questions, as well as some recent data that may help to resolve them, are outlined. Data from both animal and human models are used to show how technological advances, particularly in the realm of molecular neurobiology, are providing the tools for a new and more complete understanding of how we taste and smell the chemicals in our environment.
Sex Behavior
Authors: Hull Elaine M. , Dominguez Juan M.
Published: November 2003

Sexual, as opposed to asexual, reproduction increases variability and provides a mechanism for repair of DNA and possibly reduction of pathogen specialization. Sex differentiation can be can be controlled by either environmental factors (as in some fish, amphibians, and reptiles) or by genes (as in other fish, amphibians, and reptiles, and all birds and mammals). Genetic influences on sex differentiation are typically mediated by hormones during early development; however, the specific hormones and their modes of action vary among species. Most hormonal actions require binding to intracellular receptors that act as regulators of gene transcription; however, hormones may also act rapidly via membrane receptors. Activational effects of hormones in adulthood act on the neural substrates that were differentiated during development. There is some conservation throughout evolution in the brain areas that control masculine and feminine sexual behaviors. The medial preoptic area, at the anterior end of the hypothalamus, is a major control hub for masculine behavior in all vertebrate species. Similarly, the ventromedial hypothalamus is important for feminine receptive behaviors of numerous species. Sexually relevant stimuli and motor outputs are processed by neurons that may require hormones to increase their responsiveness. The same brain areas and hormones that control sexual behavior also control other social behaviors.
Motivational Systems
Authors: McFarland Krista , Kalivas Peter W.
Published: November 2003

The present chapter reviews the behavioral, anatomical, and neurobiological evidence regarding the neural substrates of motivated behavior. This involves examination of motivational circuitry within the basal forebrain. The motive circuit consists of two parallel subcircuits: one predominantly associated with motor function and the other primarily associated with limbic functions. It is hypothesized that the motor circuit is critical for the production of well‐learned behavioral responses, while the limbic circuit is important for processing environmental stimuli and transmitting this information to portions of the motor circuit, thus instigating adaptive motor responses. Within this circuit, dopamine, glutamate, GABA, and neuropeptides are neurotransmitters, each conveying potentially distinct information. The present review is organized around these neruotransmitters in reference to the following hypotheses:

1. Glutamate stimulates behavior and the anatomical origin of the activated glutamatergic afferents provides motor memory to provoke the appropriate behavioral response. In addition, under the appropriate conditions glutamate transmission promotes neuroplasticity permitting learning and behavioral adaptations to occur.

2. Dopamine supports plasticity and learning by engaging the appropriate cellular machinery to modify neuronal communication, especially excitatory transmission.

3. GABA regulates overall circuit tone and thereby serves to ‘bind’ or sustain an animal's motivational state until the goal object can be achieved.

4. Neuropeptides contribute to subjective valence. Thus, the neuroanatomical and neurochemical organization of the motive circuit provides the neural basis of motivation and reinforcement and functions to elicit adaptive motor responses in the presence of motivationally significant stimuli.
Emotion
Authors: Davis Michael , Lang Peter J.
Published: November 2003

This chapter will present evidence to suggest that emotion is best defined, not as a single reaction, but as a process: Emotion involves multiple responses, organized according to temporal and spatial parameters. Thus, events that are positive/appetitive or aversive/threatening engage attention. They prompt information gathering, and do so more than other less motivationally relevant stimuli. Motive cues also occasion metabolic arousal, anticipatory responses that are oriented towards the engaging event, a mobilization of the organism that can lead to some action. Emotional processing can be compressed into fractions of a second or considerably extended in time. We suggest that neural networks underlying emotion include direct connections to the brain's primary motivational systems, appetitive and defensive. These neural circuits were laid down early in our evolutionary history, in primitive cortex, subcortex, and midbrain, to mediate behaviors basic to the survival of individuals and species. Unconditioned and conditioned appetitive and aversive stimuli activate these motivational circuits. They determine the general mobilization of the organism, the deployment of reflexive attentional, approach, and defensive behaviors, and mediate the formation of conditioned associations originally based on primary reinforcement.
Stress, Coping, and Immune Function
Authors: Dougall Angela Liegey , Baum Andrew
Published: November 2003

Stress is a fundamental process, characterizing individuals' interactions with their environments and responses to challenge. Appraisals of threatening or harmful challenges motivate individuals to take action to either eliminate these stressors or protect themselves from the stressor's negative impact. These appraisals and coping efforts elicit a series of specific and nonspecific cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses. Stress responses, in turn, promote adaptation by mobilizing catabolic energies that support coping efforts. One response system that has received considerable attention is the immune system because of its role in the detection and elimination of pathogenic agents and its apparent sensitivity to stress hormones. Repeated or protracted exposures to stress appear to suppress immune system functioning and may contribute to increased vulnerability to infection and disease. Alterations in other stress response pathways appear to provide mechanisms through which many stress‐related immune changes occur. By decreasing aspects of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responding, stress reduction interventions are used to facilitate adaptation and have important implications for decreasing vulnerability to disease processes. Continued characterization of the beneficial as well as harmful effects of stress will improve our ability to identify modifiable risk factors (e.g., lifestyle, appraisal, coping, and social resources) for the negative consequences of stress and to promote adaptation.
The Psychology and Ethology of Learning
Authors: Holland Peter C. , Ball Gregory F.
Published: November 2003

There are two major traditions in the study of learning in animals, a general process perspective within experimental psychology, and a view of learning as niche‐specific behavioral adaptation within ethology. Modern work in animal learning benefits from ideas that stem from each of these traditions. In this review, we develop some key ideas within each of these separate traditions, including the organization of species‐typical and how it might be modified by experience as well as a review of several influencial models in the study of animal learning such as the Rescorla‐Wagner model and more recent critiques of this model. We then discuss three case studies that show how more synthetic approaches can provide important insights into the nature of learning. We describe synthetic analyses of: (1) learning and memory processes in bird song, (2) rats, learning to anticipate food in standard laboratory conditioning tasks, and (3) sexual conditioning in Japanese quail. These analyses are characterized by concern with ethological questions of adaptive function and evolution, exploitation of analytic tools and theories developed within the general process tradition, and a unifying interest in neurobiological mechanism.
Biological Models of Associative Learning
Authors: Steinmetz Joseph E. , Kim Jeansok , Thompson Richard F.
Published: November 2003

Over the last 100 years or so, a great deal of progress has been made in delineating the behavioral properties of simple associative learning. In addition, much progress has been made in defining the neural circuitries involved in encoding learning and memory processes in the nervous system and also some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the encoding processes. Advances in our understanding of the behavioral and neural bases of simple associative learning are presented in this chapter. Some basic definition important for associative learning and memory are first presented, and then current data from a variety of invertebrate preparations that have proven useful for advancing our understanding of cellular and molecular correlates of learning and memory are covered. The use of simple spinal cord preparations is presented next, and this is followed by a detailed examination of fear conditioning and the brain systems involved in encoding this simple form of emotional learning. We next review the relatively large literature on classical and instrumental conditioning of discrete response. Featured in this final section of the chapter are a variety of current data about the brain systems that are involved in encoding classical eyeblink conditioning, arguably the most studied associative learning paradigm.
Memory Systems
Authors: Eichenbaum Howard
Published: November 2003

The idea that there are multiple memory systems in the brain has a long and interesting history. Early views, based on philosophical considerations and introspection suggested distinctions between recollective memory, habit formation, and the adoption of preferences and aversions to arbitrary stimuli. Early experimental work focused on controversies over which of these is the fundamental mechanism that underlies memory. A reconciliation of these divergent views has emerged from recent studies in the cognitive neuroscience of memory showing that these different forms of memory can be selectively disrupted by damage to distinct brain regions. This research, and parallel characterizations of neural activity in different brain areas, has shown that the three major forms of long‐term memory are supported by distinct brain systems. These include: (1) a cortical‐hippocampal circuit that mediates declarative memory, our capacity to recollect facts and events, (2) motor memory subsystems involving on a cortical‐neostriatal circuit that mediates habit formation and a brainstem‐cerebellar circuit that mediates sensori‐motor adaptations, and (3) a circuit involving subcortical and cortical pathways through the amygdala that mediates the attachment of affective status and emotional responses to previously neutral stimuli.
Primate Cognition
Authors: Hauser Marc D.
Published: November 2003

This chapter explores the evolution of cognition, attempting to assess the degree to which human and nonhuman primates share conceptual resources. I first lay out the logic of the comparative approach in biology, and then develop an argument concerning domain‐specific mechanisms underlying conceptual representations. In particular, I suggest that in both humans and nonhuman primates, several domains of knowledge are mediated by highly specialized mechanisms that operate over highly specific kinds of input. To buttress these claims, and showcase the power of the comparative method, I explore in detail two case studies: number and language. I argue that both systems depend upon core computational resources that evolved prior to humans. In the case of number, there are at least two core systems that are shared with other primates, and in fact other nonprimates, including rodents and birds. In the case of language, it appears that all the key perceptual mechanisms underlying speech are shared with other species, thereby suggesting that these mechanisms evolved for reasons other than speech. Where the differences appear to lie is in the domain of computation. I conclude by making some suggestions for future research on the domain‐specificity, including its evolutionary and developmental origins.
Language
Authors: Saffran Eleanor M. , Schwartz Myrna F.
Published: November 2003

Language is a uniquely human capacity; hence the investigation of language function, as well as language‐brain relationships, requires the use of human subjects. In recent years, the development of methods for monitoring brain activity as people engage in cognitive tasks has provided a means of studying language‐brain relationships in normal individuals. These techniques complement the study of disruptions to language function caused by brain damage—the aphasias—which for some time served as the primary means of investigating the neural substrates of language. The breakdown patterns observed in aphasia are the focus of much of this chapter, which also reviews evidence from studies that examine language activity in the normal brain. The section on semantics describes how the understanding of objects and their names erodes in the condition known as semantic dementia. The section on language comprehension moves through the processing of spoken input from sounds to sentences. Finally, the section on production describes models of word retrieval and sentence production that aim to account for aphasic as well as nonaphasic performance. Within each section, evidence from functional imaging studies is considered alongside the lesion evidence.
Psychological Function in Computational Models of Neural Networks
Authors: O'Reilly Randall C. , Munakata Yuko
Published: November 2003

The overarching goal of cognitive neuroscience is to understand how the brain gives rise to thought. We describe how computer models can help accomplish this goal by simulating networks of interacting neurons and measuring cognitive function in these networks at the same time. The variables in these networks can be easily manipulated and observed, so that their effects on cognitive processes can be clearly understood. We provide an up‐to‐date review of some of the core principles and prominent applications of computational models in cognitive neuroscience. We begin with a summary of some of the main questions confronting computational modelers in cognitive neuroscience, ranging from the basic properties of individual neurons and networks thereof, up to issues surrounding how networks of neurons can subserve complex cognitive functions. We then discuss provisional answers to these questions, showing how they apply to a range of empirical data in domains including perception, learning and memory, and higher‐level cognition. Throughout, and in closing, we discuss challenges to neural network models.
Environment and Development of the Nervous System
Authors: Black James E.
Published: November 2003

A relatively small number of species have evolved specialized brain systems that incorporate information from the environment during development to refine and better adapt the individual's brain structure. Remodeling of neural circuitry in response to experience has evolved in diverse animal species, from the honeybee to mammals, and adaptive systems can be found in numerous parts of the brain. The capacity to use experience to shape brain structure extends in mammals from the prenatal period through old age.

This chapter briefly discusses the genetic contributions to the developing brain, some parts of which become specialized for learning and memory. These are not “blank slates” but rather dynamic and interactive neural structures that organize and guide plasticity. The developing nervous system helps provide and organize experience by stabilizing the visuomotor platform, rough and tumble play, exploration, and other behaviors. Affiliative behaviors between parent and child also optimize experience so that it is safe and its affective tone is stimulating but comfortable. There is thus a complex ongoing transaction during development among: brain structure, the young organism's own often playful or curious contributions to its own experience, and parental contributions.

The chapter discusses two basic categories of neural plasticity:experience‐expectantdevelopment involving the readiness of the brain to receive specific types of information from the environment, andexperience‐dependentdevelopment involving the brain's adaptation to information that is unique to an individual. The former category has a species‐typical developmental period of sensitivity, as shown, for example, in studies of visual deprivation. Such processes typically overproduce synaptic connections followed by their dramatic pruning back, with synapse overproduction and pruning in prefrontal cortex seeming to occur relatively late in humans. Some information necessary for survival is unique to the individual, idiosyncratic in its timing, such that that information storage depends on the nature of the experience. A neural signal equivalent to fear or reward potentiates storage, which is not developmentally programmed but follows a lifelong pattern. Studies involving the manipulation of acrobatic training, environmental complexity, and higher education illustrate experience‐dependent processes.

Clinical implications for when the neural substrate is defective or experience is inadequate or incoherent, as well as strategies for helping the injured organism get back on a normative developmental trajectory, are discussed.
Consciousness
Authors: Banks William P. , Farber Ilya
Published: November 2003

Though unfashionable for much of the midtwentieth century, consciousness regained some respectability in the last two decades of the century and is now a hot topic for psychological research and theory. This resurgence was driven partly by the general rise of cognitive psychology and partly by more specific developments in experimental methodology and technology. Even within science, the study of consciousness is cross‐disciplinary and diverse, and so in this chapter we present work from a variety of experimental paradigms and traditions; within cognitive psychology, topics include subliminal perception, implicit cognition, and the effects of attention. Neuroscience has also become one of the major loci of work on consciousness, and so we provide an extended discussion of the relevant experimental work and of some of the latest theories about the neural basis of consciousness. We also discuss the theoretical and methodological challenges involved in applying the scientific method to subjective phenomena, and provide a brief summary of philosophical and early scientific approaches. The science of consciousness is admittedly still fragmentary, but it is remarkable how much has been discovered in a relatively short span of time, and in conclusion we offer a few predictions about the likely outlines of future progress.
Motivation
Authors: Godsil Bill P. , Tinsley Matthew R. , Fanselow Michael S.
Published: November 2003

Learning and genetics cannot account for all the variation in behavior. The concept of motivation can be used as a construct to provide a more complete explanation of behavior. We suggest that motivation can best be defined in the context of a functional behavior system. From this perspective, the definition of motivation is explicitly related to a naturally occurring problem that the behavior system has evolved to solve. This problem‐oriented view provides a framework to organize both the stimuli that elicit motivated behavior, and the responses that address the naturally occurring problem. We focus our analysis on animal models of the functional behavior systems that organize feeding, fear, sexual and thermoregulatory behaviors.
Mood, Cognition, and Memory
Authors: Eich Eric , Forgas Joseph P.
Published: November 2003

The interplay between feeling and thinking, affect and cognition, has been a subject of scholarly discussion and spirited debate since antiquity. Within the past 25 years, the affect/cognition interface has also emerged as one of the most active and rapidly developing areas within psychological science. Two phenomena that have attracted much modern interest are mood congruence—the observation that a given affect state or mood promotes the processing of information that possesses a similar affective tone or valence, and mood‐dependence—the observation that information encoded in a particular mood is most retrievable in that mood, irrespective of the information's affective valence. This chapter examines the history and current status of research on mood congruence and mood dependence with a view to clarifying what is known about each of these phenomena, and why they are both worth knowing about. Particular consideration is given to the role of different information‐processing strategies in the occurrence of mood‐congruent and mood‐dependent effects, and to the way these effects may materialize in realistic everyday situations or clinical contexts.
Touch
Authors: Klatzky Roberta L. , Lederman Susan J.
Published: November 2003

The modality of touch encompasses distinct cutaneous, kinesthetic, and haptic systems that are distinguished on the basis of the underlying neural inputs. The cutaneous receptors are embedded in the skin; the kinesthetic receptors lie in muscles, tendons, and joints; and the haptic system uses combined inputs from both. Topics in this chapter range from sensory phenomena, such as threshold‐level responses, to cognitive and memory processes associated with the haptic system. Haptic perception extracts properties of objects and surfaces that lead to recognition of objects. Material properties are highly accessible, relative to geometric properties, providing a contrast between haptics and vision. The haptic system provides a map of space within reach of the body that provides the basis for recognition of two‐dimensional patterns and outline drawings. The spatial map is subject to systematic distortion, particularly as a result of the movements used in exploration. Interactions between haptic and visual perception are described with respect to attention, representation, and memory. As do other modalities, the sense of touch gives rise to implicit and explicit forms of memory. The chapter concludes with applications of research on touch, including aids for the blind and deaf and virtual environments that provide haptic feedback.
Visual Perception of Objects
Authors: Palmer Stephen E.
Published: November 2003

Visual perception of objects is discussed in terms of two major topics: the perceptual organization of images into hierarchical structures of scenes (containing groups, objects, and parts) and the identification of individual objects as instances of known meaningful categories (such as chairs, houses, and dogs). The major phenomena of perceptual organization are demonstrated and discussed, including grouping, region segmentation, figure‐ground perception, parsing, completion, part‐whole structure, and reference frames. Several important phenomena of object identification are also demonstrated and discussed, including categorical prototypes, basic level categories, perspective effects, orientational effects, and contextual effects. Two major types of theories of object identification are outlined—part‐based and view‐specific theories—both of which are examined for their effectiveness in understanding how visual categorization of objects might occur.
Speech Production and Perception
Authors: Fowler Carol A.
Published: November 2003

The chapter reviews past and current theorizing and research in four related domains: phonological competence, phonological planning for speech production, speech production itself, and speech perception. Research and theorizing in these domains is conducted, for the most part, independently. However, in the chapter, I link the domains by means of the concept of parity. This is the idea that, for language use to serve its public communicative function, listeners characteristically have to perceive the language forms that speakers produce. This would be facilitated if language forms were the public actions that speakers produce when they talk, so that the forms are public, not private, components of the message. Achievement of parity is also fostered if the forms are preserved throughout a communicative exchange—if they are elements of lexical forms, units of phonological planning, units of action in speech production and units perceived by listeners. I suggest that recognition of the parity requirement may help investigators identify compatible theories in the domains of competence, planning production and perception.