A groundbreaking study into the formative role of play in our livesSergio and Vivien Pellis have synthesized three decades of empirical research to create a remarkable work, unequalled in its field.A book that will not only expand our current knowledge of play behaviour, but will inspire change and progress from the laboratory to the playground.

All students and researchers of behaviour – from those observing freely-behaving animals in the field to those conducting more controlled laboratory studies – face the problem of deciding what exactly to measure. Without a scientific framework on which to base them, however, such decisions are often unsystematic and inconsistent. Providing a clear and defined starting point for any behavioural study, this is the first book to make available a set of principles for how to study the organisa...

This volume is the first to aim at summarizing all of the scientific literature published so far regarding male-female differences and similarities, not only in behavior, but also in basic biology, physiology, health, perceptions, emotions, and attitudes. Results from over 18,000 studies have been condensed into more than 1,900 tables, with each table pertaining to a specific possible sex difference. Even research pertaining to how men and women are perceived (stereotyped) as being differe...

Preeminent psychologist Lisa Barrett lays out how the brain constructs emotions in a way that could revolutionize psychology, health care, the legal system, and our understanding of the human mind.“Fascinating . . . A thought-provoking journey into emotion science.”—The Wall Street Journal“A singular book, remarkable for the freshness of its ideas and the boldness and clarity with which they are presented.”—Scientific American“A brilliant and original book on the sc...

Boost Your grades with this fully illustrated Study Guide. You will use it from an undergraduate school all the way to medical school.Audience:Intended for everyone interested in psychology, particularly undergraduate and graduate students, medical students, nursing, and dental students.TABLE OF CONTENTS: I. Introduction II. Neuropsychology III. Sensory Systems IV. Perception V. Learning and Memory VI. Thinking, Language, Intelligence VII. Development VIII. Personality, Mind, and Social Ps...

Chronic pain has been correctly described as the invisible crisis at the heart of contemporary life.Despite stunning advances in other areas of medical science, no similar breakthrough in the treatment of chronic pain has resulted from an exclusive focus on the body. Dr James Alexander’s young life was redefined by a tragic car accident in his late teens, and the chronic physical and emotional trauma inspired him to become a psychologist. Now pain-free, Dr Alexander has dedicated t...

A look at the seven emotional systems of the brain by the researcher who discovered them.What makes us happy? What makes us sad? How do we come to feel a sense of enthusiasm? What fills us with lust, anger, fear, or tenderness? Traditional behavioral and cognitive neuroscience have yet to provide satisfactory answers. The Archaeology of Mind presents an affective neuroscience approach—which takes into consideration basic mental processes, brain functions, and emotional beh...

What happens in our brains to make us feel fear, love, hate, anger, joy? Do we control our emotions, or do they control us? Do animals have emotions? How can traumatic experiences in early childhood influence adult behavior, even though we have no conscious memory of them? In The Emotional Brain, Joseph LeDoux investigates the origins of human emotions and explains that many exist as part of complex neural systems that evolved to enable us to survive.One of the principal r...

Some investigators have argued that emotions especially animal emotions are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. However with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamental emotional te...

Our big brains, our language ability, and our intelligence make us uniquely human.But barely 10,000 years ago (a mere blip in evolutionary time) human-like creatures called "Boskops" flourished in South Africa. They possessed extraordinary features: forebrains roughly 50% larger than ours, and estimated IQs to match--far surpassing our own. Many of these huge fossil skulls have been discovered over the last century, but most of us have never heard of this scientific marvel....

Are animals intelligent? How do they learn to solve everyday survival problems? Can they be intentionally deceptive? The investigation of animal behaviour is an important and fascinating aspect of comparative psychology. Determinants of Animal Behaviour thoroughly covers the section on determinants of animal behaviour in the AQA (A) comparative psychology module and deals with the three main topics featured in the syllabus. Firstly the evolutionary explanations of animal behaviour...

Highly acclaimed in its first three editions, McWhinney's Textbook of Family Medicine is one of the seminal texts in the field. While many family medicine texts simply cover the disorders a practitioner might see in clinical practice, McWhinney's defines the principles and practices of family medicine as a separate and distinct field of practice. The fourth edition presents six new clinical chapters of common problems in family medicine: respiratory illness, musculoskeletal pain, ...