Mnemonology


Book Description

This book bridges the gap between basic memory research and mnemonic applications through a careful analysis of the processes that underlie effective memory aids. The book traces the history of mnemonics, examines popular techniques, and discusses the current relevance of mnemonics to both psychological researchers and those seeking to improve their memory. Using a unique approach (termed "mnemonology"), the authors seek not necessarily to promote specific mnemonic techniques, but to provide information which will allow one to improve memory by creating their own mnemonics.




A Networked Self and Birth, Life, Death


Book Description

We are born, live, and die with technologies. This book is about the role technology plays in sustaining narratives of living, dying, and coming to be. Contributing authors examine how technologies connect, disrupt, or help us reorganize ways of parenting and nurturing life. They further consider how technology sustains our ways of thinking and being, hopefully reconciling the distance between who we are and who we aspire to be. Finally, they address the role technology plays in helping us come to terms with death, looking at technologically enhanced memorials, online rituals of mourning, and patterns of grief enabled through technology. Ultimately, this volume is about using technology to reimagine the art of life.




Hypothetical Thinking


Book Description

Hypothetical thought involves the imagination of possibilities and the exploration of their consequences by a process of mental simulation. In this Classic Edition, Jonathan St B T Evans’ presents his pioneering Hypothetical Thinking Theory; an integrated theoretical account of a wide range of psychological studies on hypothesis testing, reasoning, judgement and decision making. Hypothetical Thinking Theory is built on three key principles and implemented in a version of Evans' well-known heuristic–analytic theory of reasoning. The central claim of this book is that this theory can provide an integrated account of apparently diverse phenomena including confirmation bias in hypothesis testing, acceptance of fallacies in deductive reasoning, belief biases in reasoning and judgement, biases of statistical judgement and numerous characteristic findings in the study of decision making. Featuring a reflective and insightful new introduction to the book, this classic edition discusses contemporary theory on cognitive biases, human rationality and dual-process theories of higher cognition. It will be of great interest to researchers, post graduates as well as advanced undergraduate students.




Superportraits


Book Description

Despite their exaggerated features, caricatures can remain instantly recognizable. The author assembles clues from a variety of sources to discover why, concluding that caricatures are effective for humans, animals and computer recognition systems.




After Phrenology


Book Description

A proposal for a fully post-phrenological neuroscience that details the evolutionary roots of functional diversity in brain regions and networks. The computer analogy of the mind has been as widely adopted in contemporary cognitive neuroscience as was the analogy of the brain as a collection of organs in phrenology. Just as the phrenologist would insist that each organ must have its particular function, so contemporary cognitive neuroscience is committed to the notion that each brain region must have its fundamental computation. In After Phrenology, Michael Anderson argues that to achieve a fully post-phrenological science of the brain, we need to reassess this commitment and devise an alternate, neuroscientifically grounded taxonomy of mental function. Anderson contends that the cognitive roles played by each region of the brain are highly various, reflecting different neural partnerships established under different circumstances. He proposes quantifying the functional properties of neural assemblies in terms of their dispositional tendencies rather than their computational or information-processing operations. Exploring larger-scale issues, and drawing on evidence from embodied cognition, Anderson develops a picture of thinking rooted in the exploitation and extension of our early-evolving capacity for iterated interaction with the world. He argues that the multidimensional approach to the brain he describes offers a much better fit for these findings, and a more promising road toward a unified science of minded organisms.




Memory and Technology


Book Description

How is technology changing the way people remember? This book explores the interplay of memory stored in the brain (internal memory) and outside of the brain (external memory), providing a thorough interdisciplinary review of the current literature, including relevant theoretical frameworks from across a variety of disciplines in the sciences, arts, and humanities. It also presents the findings of a rich and novel empirical data set, based on a comprehensive survey on the shifting interplay of internal and external memory in the 21st century. Results reveal a growing symbiosis between the two forms of memory in our everyday lives. The book presents a new theoretical framework for understanding the interplay of internal and external memory, and their complementary strengths. It concludes with a guide to important dimensions, questions, and methods for future research. Memory and Technology will be of interest to researchers, professors, and students across the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, library and information science, human factors, media and cultural studies, anthropology and archaeology, photography, and cognitive rehabilitation, as well as anyone interested in how technology is affecting human memory. _____ "This is a novel book, with interesting and valuable data on an important, meaningful topic, as well as a gathering of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ideas...The research is accurately represented and inclusive. As a teaching tool, I can envision graduate seminars in different disciplines drawing on the material as the basis for teaching and discussions." Dr. Linda A. Henkel, Fairfield University "This book documents the achievements of a vibrant scientific project – you feel the enthusiasm of the authors for their research. The organization of the manuscript introduces the reader into a comparatively new field the same way as pioneering authors have approached it." Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schönpflug, Freie Universität Berlin




Cognitive Enhancement


Book Description

Cognitive Enhancement: Pharmacologic, Environmental and Genetic Factors addresses the gap that exists in research on the topic, gathering multidisciplinary knowledge and tools that help the reader understand the basics of cognitive enhancement. It also provides assistance in designing procedures and pharmacological approaches to further the use of novel cognitive enhancers, a field that offers potential benefit to a variety of populations, including those with neurologic and psychiatric disorders, mild aging-related cognitive impairment, and those who want to improve intellectual performance. The text builds on our knowledge of the molecular/cellular basis of cognitive function, offering the technological developments that may soon enhance cognition. Separate sections cover enhancement drugs, environmental conditions, and genetic factors in terms of both human and animal studies, including both healthy/young and aging/diseased individuals. Provides a multidisciplinary knowledge, enabling a further understanding of cognitive enhancement Offers coverage of the pharmacologic, environmental, and genetic factors relevant to the topic Discusses cognitive enhancement from the perspective of both healthy and diseased or aging populations Topics are discussed in terms of both human and animal studies




Introduction to Cultural Studies


Book Description

Divided into seven themed chapters: signs, media, body, time, space, memory and identity, this book aims to provide a fresh approach to complex theoretical and historical questions. Sparking the reader's interest in literature from different genres and periods, this volume not only provides a useful introduction, it is an important study tool which supports the reader's own endeavours to get to grips with the relationship between reading and major key questions of culture.--Back cover




Essentials of Human Memory (Classic Edition)


Book Description

This Classic Edition of the best-selling textbook offers an in-depth overview of approaches to the study of memory. With empirical research from both the real world and the neuropsychological clinic, the book explains the fundamental workings of human memory in a clear and accessible style. This edition contains a new introduction and concluding chapter in which the author reflects on how the book is organized, and also on how the field of memory has developed since it was first published. Essentials of Human Memory evolved from a belief that, although the amount we know about memory has increased enormously in recent years, it is still possible to explain it in a way that would be fully understood by the general reader. After a broad overview of approaches to the study of memory, short-term and working memory are discussed, followed by learning, the role of organizing in remembering and factors influencing forgetting, including emotional variables and claims for the role of repression in what has become known as the false memory syndrome. The way in which knowledge of the world is stored is discussed next, followed by an account of the processes underlying retrieval, and their application to the practical issues of eyewitness testimony. The breakdown of memory in the amnesic syndrome is discussed next, followed by discussion of the way in which memory develops in children, and declines in the elderly. After a section concerned with mnemonic techniques and memory improvement, the book ends with an overview of recent developments in the field of human memory. Written by the leading expert in human memory, recently awarded the British Psychological Society Research Board Lifetime Achievement Award, Essentials of Human Memory will be of interest to students of Cognitive Psychology, Neuropsychology, and anyone with an interest in the workings of memory.




An Introduction to Applied Cognitive Psychology


Book Description

This book offers a student friendly review of recent research in the application of cognitive methods, theories and models to real-world scenarios.