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The chapters in the book come from an international group of authors with diverse backgrounds including ergonomics, psychology, architecture, computer science, engineering, and sociology. Specific topics include biometric systems development, military command and control, cellular phone interface design, methodologies for workplace design, medical device design, cockpit display and decision tool design for pilots, driver visual and cognitive processes, and performance of inspection tasks in manufacturing operations; and extend to human-automation integration in future aviation systems, novel 3-D display technologies for enhancing information analysis, training methods for mental models, approaches to activity analysis, new research-oriented frameworks and paradigms in training, and the use of virtual reality for skill development and assessment. The book is divided into sections covering:

I. Cultural Differences in Computing Systems Design
II. Decision Making and Decision Support
III. Desktop/Mobile Interface Design
IV. Ergonomics in Design
V. Ergonomics in Product Design
VI. Human Factors in Aviation Systems
VII. Human Factors in Driving
VIII. Human Factors in Manufacturing
IX. Human Factors in NextGen Operations
X. Information Visualization for Situation Awareness
XI. Mental Models
XII. Perceptuo-Motor Skills & Psychophysical Assessment
XIII. Task Analysis
XIV. Training Technology
XV. Virtual Reality for Behavior Assessment
XVI. Virtual Reality for Psychomotor Training

The implications of all this work include design recommendations for complex systems and commercial products, new procedures for operator training and self-regulation as well as methods for accessibility to systems, and specification of ergonomic interventions at the user. It is expected that this book will be of special value to practitioners involved in design process development, design and prototyping of systems, products and services, as well as training process design for a broad range of applications and markets in various countries.

Seven other titles in the Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics Series are:
Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare
Advances in Applied Digital Human Modeling
Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making
Advances in Occupational, Social and Organizational Ergonomics
Advances in Human Factors, Ergonomics and Safety in Manufacturing and Service Industries
Advances in Ergonomics Modeling & Usability Evaluation
Advances in Neuroergonomics and Human Factors of Special Populations

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Psychosemantics explores the relation between commonsense psychological theories and problems that are central to semantics and the philosophy of language. Building on and extending Fodor's earlier work it puts folk psychology on firm theoretical ground and rebuts externalist, holist, and naturalist threats to its position

This book is included in the series Explorations in Cognitive Science, edited by Margaret A. Boden. A Bradford Book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Brilliant!And wrong.
If you know much about the philosophy of mind, then you already know that Psychosemantics is a high-water mark for one thread of debate about belief-desire psychology.If you do not yet know much about the field, this book is very strongly recommended, with two important caveats.First, it is biased.Fodor is not trying to educate; he's trying to persuade, and he does this in part by offering characterizations of his opponents' views that they would not always recognize.Second, Fodor's style is misleadingly accessible.He is funny and casual, catching himself with (almost, but not quite) the same barbs the he levels at his opponents.But his arguments -- even the humour -- presumes a very considerable knowledge of philosophy and psychology.This is a book to be read in conjunction with a pretty thorough introduction, for the novice.A companion to metaphysics would be a good idea!

Extremely trite
Fodor does not give arguments in this book. He is merely stating his opinion on issues in philosophy of mind. Why is this guy getting so many MIT Press, Harv. U. Press contracts? ... Read more

Product Description
An exciting reference work which captures current thinking about the workings of the mind and brain, focusing on problems that are as old as recorded history, but reflecting new approaches and techniques that have emerged since the 1980's. 

The Encyclopedia contains 696 articles covering in depth the entire spectrum of the cognitive sciences.  Reviewing the common themes of information and information processing, representation and computation, it also covers in depth the core areas of psychology, philosophy, linguistics, computer science, and neuroscience.  Ancillary topics such as education, economics, evolutionary biology and anthropology are also covered.

The articles have been written to provide multiple levels of information so that readers from various levels can benefit from this set – from undergraduate and postgraduate students to university lecturers.

With extensive cross-referencing, a glossary and subject index to further aid the reader through the book, the Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science is an essential addition to any library or office shelf.

The Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (ECS) includes:

• 4 Volumes
• 4000 pages
• 696 articles
• Contributions from the world’s leading experts
• 1,500 illustrations
• Detailed indexes and appendices
• Extensive cross-referencing

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The process of developing models, known as modeling, allows scientists to visualize difficult concepts, explain complex phenomena and clarify intricate theories. In recent years, science educators have greatly increased their use of modeling in teaching, especially real-time dynamic modeling, which is central to a scientific investigation. Modeling in science teaching is being used in an array of fields, everything from primary sciences to tertiary chemistry to college physics, and it is sure to play an increasing role in the future of education. Models and Modeling: Cognitive Tools for Scientific Enquiry is a comprehensive introduction to the use of models and modeling in science education. It identifies and describes many different modeling tools and presents recent applications of modeling as a cognitive tool for scientific enquiry. ... Read more

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This is the most authoritative introduction to the brain, its structure, function, development, and control of behavior available today. It presents both a comprehensive summary of the state of the science and a full discussion of historical issues in the study of the brain. Neuroanatomy, cell and molecular mechanisms, mechanisms of signaling, and development are thoroughly described in the context of the cognitive approaches to behavior. Thoroughly revised, with a new full-color art program, this text was re-designed to be more user friendly. Also featured is an expanded treatment of the development of the nervous system, the genetic basis of neurological and psychiatric diseases, the cognitive neuroscience of perception, and ion channel mechanisms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Worth it!
One of the best neuroscience reference books I've come across. Clearly written and easy to understand. A great book for anyone interested in the field.

one psych grad student's perspective
I'm in a graduate level psychology course using this book, and my professor said it is essentially a medical school text book.my professor said this book is one of the best that you can get on the subject.he was a little dissapointed that the new edition hasn't come out yet and said that will really update a lot of the things currently going on in the field. it's a little dated relative to things going on now but he said that all the basic information is better than what you can find elsewhere.

A classic
This is a classic. Clear, very well written. Of course, right now is becoming rather old.

Principles of Neural Science
A truly fascinating book.The only problem is that the book is so large (1300 pages)that I have to take a separate briefcase to carry it on the train to read.

Wait for the new version (5th)
I enjoyed this book because it was written by luminaries of the field, such as Kandel, Jessell, and Schwartz.
(If you do not recognize those names, just know that they are famous neuroscientists)

As an introductory textbook, it might be a little bit overwhelming, but it is very useful if you just want to read about something a little bit more specific, such as audition (which was, incidentally, written by AJ Hudspeth- another luminary in the field of neuroscience).

My complaints with the book are as follows:
1. Outdated- it has been nearly 10 years since it was last published; needless to say, a lot of new facts have been discovered. I would wait for the new version, which is due in 2010.
2. Not very well organized.
3. It seems to be a little bit geared towards medical students.

Overall, every neuroscientist should probably have a copy on his shelf and it might be worth it for med students as well.
However, most undergrads will probably find it too dense and interested laypersons will not find it useful. ... Read more

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Although cognitive science has obtained abundant data on neural and computational processes, it barely explains such ordinary experiences as recognizing faces, feeling pain, or remembering the past. In this book Sunny Auyang tackles what she calls "the large pictures of the human mind," exploring the relevance of cognitive science findings to everyday mental life. Auyang proposes a model of an "open mind emerging from the self-organization of infrastructures," which she opposes to prevalent models that treat mind as a disembodied brain or computer, subject to the control of external agents such as neuroscientists and programmers. Her model consists of three parts: (1) the open mind of our conscious life; (2) mind's infrastructure, the unconscious processes studied by cognitive science; and (3) emergence, the relation between the open mind and its infrastructure.

At the heart of Auyang's model is the mind that opens to the world and makes it intelligible. A person with an open mind feels, thinks, recognizes, believes, doubts, anticipates, fears, speaks, and listens, and is aware of I, together with it and thou. Cognitive scientists refer to the "binding problem," the question of how myriad unconscious processes combine into the unity of consciousness. Auyang approaches the problem from the other end—by starting with everyday experience rather than with the mental infrastructure. In so doing, she shows both how analyses of experiences can help to advance cognitive science and how cognitive science can help us to understand ourselves as autonomous subjects. ... Read more

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The Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science series collects papers delivered at a yearly conference hosted by the Cognitive Science Programme of Simon Fraser University as well as papers written especially for each volume.Each volume focuses on a topic drawn from one of the four disciplines that make up cognitive science: philosophy, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and psychology.In this, the first volume in the series, leading exponents and critics of "information-based" theories of cognition and language reflect on the philosophical underpinnings of their respective approaches and identify and explore points of convergence and divergence.Topics covered include: what is information?, information and representation, belief and mental representation, and intrinsic information.Contributors include John Perry, Nicholas Asher, Fred Dretske, Scott Soames, Fred Llandman, Lee R. Brooks, and Ian Pratt. ... Read more

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This book presents a coherent state-of-the-art survey on the area of systematic and cognitive musicology which has enjoyed dynamic growth now for many years. It is devoted to exploring the relationships between acoustics, human information processing, and culture as well as to methodological issues raised by the widespread use of computers as a powerful tool for theory construction, theory testing, and the manipulation of musical information or any kind of data manipulation related to music. The book comes with a CD providing sound examples for various chapters; it contains a comprehensive name and subject index and the following chapters: Gestalt theory revisited, from pitch to harmony, from rhythm to expectation, from timbre to texture, from musical expression to interactive computer systems. ... Read more

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Can scientists study religion? Ilkka PyysiSinen says that they can. While the study of religion cannot be reduced to other disciplines, it must not ignore what other disciplines have learned about human thought and behavior. In this collection of essays, PyysiSinen shows how findings from cognitive science can offer new directions to debates in religion. After providing a historical and theoretical overview of the cognitive science of religion, PyysiSinen demonstrates how knowledge of the mind's workings can help deconstruct such concepts as 'god,' 'ideology,' 'culture,' 'magic,' 'miracles,' and 'religion.' For scholars of religion or for scholars of the mind-brain, Magic, Miracles, and Religion provides a helpful overview to this emerging field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Believers themselves are not conscious of the real nature of their religion"
Pyysiainen writes the above sentence on page 48 of this intellectually agile book and it could almost be seen as the underlying thesis for the whole field of cognitive science of religion. This book is in a way an overview of the scientific study of religion (however consciously incomplete) and a looker forward into the future studies of what Pyysiainen calls TEB (Thought, Experience, Belief) complexes.

Religion truly does have some real magic: its intricate interweaving of psychology, culture, biology, ethics, and emotions into a web of memes that ride parasitically on our evolved mental predispositions. The fact that it indeed is "True Fiction" (the title of chapter 8 and in my estimation, the core of this book's argument) is what makes religion such a delicious paradox to study.

Covered here are some core concepts in the cognitive science of religion such as agents, social causality, and counter-intuitiveness.

Listing the chapters may help clarify the truly wide scope of this book:
1. What is it Like to Be a believer?
2. A Cognitive-Scientific Perspective in the Study of Religion.
3. Breaking Boundaries.
4. Take the Buddha, for Example.
5. Religion: A Unique World, but in What Sense?
6. Explaining Miracles.
7. A New Theory of Magic.
8. True Fiction: The Philosophy and Psychology of Religious Belief.
9. Rituals: Why Indeed?
10. Singers of Tales.
11. Holy Book: The Invention of Writing and Religious Cognition.
12. Religion, Science, and Ideology.
13. `God' as Ultimate Reality in Religion and in Science.
14. Religious Experience across Cultures.
15. Do Cultures Exist?

The dauntingly complex and tangled web that modern religion has evolved into requires a scientist's method, a psychologist's training, and an anthropologist's eye to tackle and Pyysiainen seems to come equipped with all three. He brings the aforementioned qualities to bear here - a book that is a fascinating and rewarding read to the initiated layman and certainly a scholarly contribution to the field.
... Read more

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For much of the twentieth century, philosophy and science went their separate ways. In moral philosophy, fear of the so-called naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from incorporating developments in biology and psychology. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science, and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. This collaborative trend is especially strong in moral philosophy, and these three volumes bring together some of the most innovative work by both philosophers and psychologists in this emerging interdisciplinary field.

Contributors to Volume 2:
Fredrik Bjorklund (University of Lund), James Blair (National Institute of Mental Health), Paul Bloomfield (University of Connecticut), Fiery Cushman (Harvard University), Justin D'Arms (Ohio State University), John Deigh (University of Texas at Austin), John Doris (Washington University), Julia Driver (Dartmouth College), Ben Fraser (Australian National University Research School of Social Science), Gerd Gigerenzer (Max Plank Institute), Michael Gill (University of Arizona), Jonathan Haidt (University of Virginia) Marc Hauser (Harvard University), Daniel Jacobson (Bowling Green State University), Joshua Knobe (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Brian Leiter (University of Texas at Austin), Don Loeb (University of Vermont), Ron Mallon (University of Utah), Darcia Narvaez (University of Notre Dame), Shaun Nichols (University of Arizona), Alexandra Plakias (University of Michigan), Jesse Prinz (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Geoffrey Sayre-McCord (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Russ Shafer-Landau (University of Wisconsin), Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Dartmouth College), Cass Sunstein (University of Chicago), William Tolhurst (University of Northern Illinois), Liane Young (Harvard University). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent in every way
This second volume of the series on moral psychology continues the fine quality of the first, but with a different emphasis. This time the contributors discuss what role cognitive science has in morality and ethics, but the most important part of the book is in addressing the question of why there is so much variability in ethical doctrines and social mores throughout the peoples of the world. Such diversity raises doubts on the truth of the assertion of a "universal" ethical foundation that is applicable in all cultures and contexts.

The debate on moral diversity takes the form of convergent versus divergent moral realism and is strongly dependent on the ability of each individual to conceptualize or intuit moral concepts. The "common" or "folk theory" usage of moral concepts may be very different than what "professional" philosophers put forward as ethical theories. Even further, and maybe even more interesting, is the (very plausible) assertion made in a few places in the book that contributions by professional philosophers are even completely unnecessary in dialog on ethics and morality. The arguments put forward for this are very convincing but not final, for the fact that philosophers are generally absent in everyday life when real decision-making is taking place raises considerable doubt on the need for their ideas or presence. They have no "dog in the fight" to quote one contributor to the volume. Other contributors though are not so quick to judgment, presenting the need and efficacy of the thought experiments and "armchair" methods of professional philosophers.

Debates on moral responsibility inevitably lead to questions on causation, and this topic is amply represented in this volume. At least to this reviewer, the attribution of causation to certain events is usually done so quickly and "on-the-fly" without in-depth analysis and usually not deploying sophisticated concepts. Perhaps this attribution is a useful fiction that works in the short term in order to avoid lengthy (and therefore) costly deliberations on human actions. Along these same lines, some contributors to this volume are careful to note the difference between moral and criminal responsibility.

But expediency (or pragmatism, which may be a synonym) in dealing with causation may eventually be repeated so often that it becomes codified as a timeless, objective philosophical system. This may result in what some contributors have labeled as "conversational pragmatics", which results in a much wider view of causation in public use than what is actually believed privately.

Considerations of how "ordinary" people (a class never defined in the book) use moral concepts or "moral vocabulary", results in the assertion by some contributors that a clarification or dissection of these concepts will result in a "convergence" to moral truth. Moral relativism is viewed in this framework as a kind of "statistical outlier" that in the final form (after "convergence") will be insignificant or inconsequential. Other contributors however write that moral systems are so incoherent that any sensible discussion of what is moral will always be frustrated. Attempting to collect empirical evidence on moral vocabularies will only reveal more and more divergence, they argue.

For this reviewer, the in-depth study of this book has resulted in the conviction that cognitive science has much to say about ethics and morality, and the volume forms an excellent prequel to the third and final book of the series, which deals with how the field of neuroscience has affected discussions of morality and ethics. Now labeled as `neuroethics", it will put morality and ethics where it should be: in the synapses and processes of the human brain, and it will be the predominant one in the twenty-first century. ... Read more

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Paying attention is something we are all familiar with and often take for granted, yet the nature of the operations involved in paying attention is one of the most profound mysteries of the brain. This book contains a rich, interdisciplinary collection of articles by some of the pioneers of contemporary research on attention. Central themes include how attention is moved within the visual field; attention's role during visual search, and the inhibition of these search processes; how attentional processing changes as continued practice leads to automatic performance; how visual and auditory attentional processing may be linked; and recent advances in functional neuro-imaging and how they have been used to study the brain's attentional network ... Read more

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Exciting new research has yielded potential breakthroughs in our understanding of how the mind ages. We have learned, for example, that as we age, cognitive decline may depend less on loss of brain cells age than on changes in the health of neurons and neural networks. Not only has research shown promise of new ways to promote cognitive functioning in older people, it has also revealed the link between biology and culture as determinants of cognitive functioning. Past life experiences, present living situations, changing motives, cultural expectations, physical health status, and sensory-motor capabilities are all factors in how we adapt to changes in our nervous system as we age-and may affect the brain itself.

On the basis of these exciting findings, this book makes specific recommendations for federal support of major research initiatives in three areas:

* Neural health
* Cognition in context
* Structure of the aging mind ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The aging mind review
The Aging Mind offers a global view on what is and should be the research on cognition in aging. It's a framework that integrates the most relvant areas of research and proposes specific actions to improve understanding of the aging mind and develop actions for promoting health in the aging elder. This book helps anyone that wants to do reaserch on cognitive aging. ... Read more

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John Campbell investigates how consciousness of the world explains our ability to think about the world; how our ability to think about objects we can see depends on our capacity for conscious visual attention to those things. He illuminates classical problems about thought, reference, and experience by looking at the underlying psychological mechanisms on which conscious attention depends. ... Read more

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Categorization, the basic cognitive process of arranging objects into categories, is a fundamental process in human and machine intelligence and is central to investigations and research in cognitive science. Until now, categorization has been approached from singular disciplinary perspectives with little overlap or communication between the disciplines involved (Linguistics, Psychology, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Cognitive Anthropology). Henri Cohen and Claire Lefebvre have gathered together a stellar collection of contributors in this unique, ambitious attempt to bring together converging disciplinary and conceptual perspectives on this topic.

"Categorization is a key concept across the range of cognitive sciences, including linguistics and philosophy, yet hitherto it has been hard to find accounts that go beyond the concerns of one or two individual disciplines. The Handbook of Categorization in Cognitive Science provides just the sort of interdisciplinary approach that is necessary to synthesize knowledge from the different fields and provide the basis for future innovation."

Professor Bernard Comrie, Department of Linguistics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany

"Anyone concerned with language, semantics, or categorization will want to have this encyclopedic collection."

Professor Eleanor Rosch, Dept of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, USA ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

everything known about categories, but book impossible to search
This book has 49 chapters of exhaustive discussions regarding the nature of categories in the brain, computationally, linguistically.And in some ways this is the weakness of the book.It has no index section.Thus, if you are looking for specific information it is impossible to find.I needed some specific information, and due to its volume, the book was of no use. Hopefully the authors will take the time and create an index whenever they do a second edition.

... Read more

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Religions_whatever else they may be_are configurations of cultural information reproduced across space and time. Beginning with this seemingly obvious fact of religious transmission, Harvey Whitehouse goes on to construct a testable theory of how religions are created, passed on, and changed. At the center of his theory are two divergent 'modes of religiosity:' the imagistic and the doctrinal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

from the publisher
Considering buying this book, but there's no information on Amazon about it. So I found this on the publisher's (AltaMira Press) website:


Religions-whatever else they may be-are configurations of cultural information reproduced across space and time. Beginning with this seemingly obvious fact of religious transmission, Harvey Whitehouse goes on to construct a testable theory of how religions are created, passed on, and changed. At the center of his theory are two divergent 'modes of religiosity:' the imagistic and the doctrinal. Drawing from recent advances in cognitive science, Whitehouse's theory shows how religions tend to coalesce around one of these two poles depending on how religious behaviors are remembered. In the 'imagistic mode,' rituals have a lasting impact on people's minds haunting not only our memories but influencing the way we ruminate on religious topics. These psychological features are linked to the scale and structure of religious communities, fostering small, exclusive, and ideologically heterogeneous ritual groupings or factions. In the doctrinal mode, on the other hand, religious knowledge is primarily spread through intensive and repetitive teaching; religious communities are contrastingly large, inclusive, and centrally regulated. While these tendencies have long been recognized in the history of the study of religion, the modes of religiosity theory is unique in that it explains why these tendencies exist. More importantly, Whitehouse does not give the final word, but invites us to join a series of collaborative networks among anthropologists, historians, archaeologists, and psychologists, currently trying to falsify, confirm, or refine the theory. Are you tired of the flood of descriptions and interpretations of religions which offer no clear strategy for evaluation, comparison, and testing? Modes of Religiosity can provide you with a new way to think when you think about religion.

About The Author
Harvey Whitehouse is Professor of Anthropology and Director of Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Humanities at Queen's University Belfast. He is co-editor, with Luther H. Martin, of the AltaMira 'Cognitive Science of Religion Series'. His previous books include Inside the Cult: Religious Innovation and Transmission in Papua New Guinea (1995, OUP), Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity, (2000, OUP), and The Debated Mind: Evolutionary Psychology versus Ethnography (2001 Berg). ... Read more

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First published in 1977, this is a volume about the scientific study of thinking: its possibility, its part state and its future prospects. The editors have brought together a set of readings which draw on work in cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, psycholinguistics and philosophy. It is not, however, a mechanical or merely routine collection. At the time of publication there had been rapid and important advances in several different disciplines concerned with human thinking; many of these advances seem to be fundamental and convergent, to point towards a genuine cognitive science. The editors have tried to capture this sense of readiness, excitement and impetus in their selection of readings and their presentation of them. There are substantial introductions to each of the seven parts of the book as a whole to connect and explain the material, with the student and general reader particularly in mind. ... Read more