Comparative studies of how people think : an introduction
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Comparative studies of how people think : an introduction
Harvard University Press, 1981
- : pbk
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Note
Bibliography: p. [183]-193
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
ISBN 9780674152601
Description
The psychology of thinking has traditionally been in the business of making comparisons between different groups of people. On the whole, these comparisons have rendered a substantial body of knowledge; but all too often, they have suffered the pitfalls of faulty organizational logic and unfounded or invidious conclusions. In this extraordinarily clear and critical introduction, Michael Cole and Barbara Means Jay out the problems involved in comparing how people think. They show, for example, how variables confounded with the constitution of two groups can lead to the wrong interpretation of group differences. More subtly, they demonstrate how cognitive differences between groups can destroy the equivalence of the tests used to make comparisons. They also discuss the unfortunate way that observed differences between groups have led to prejudicial interpretations in which mental differences are transformed into mental deficits.
Cole and Means illustrate all these problems with a rich variety of examples drawn from the research literature in comparative cognition. Because they use real examples. Cole and Means offer much more than the usual banal remedies for improving research design. Instead of merely telling the student to run the right control groups, for example, they show how theory enters into the selection of appropriate controls and how atheoretic comparative work can easily run amok.
It is a rare event when seasoned researchers take time to tell the novice how to avoid the problems of previous research. "Comparative Studies of How People Think" provides just such an event.
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780674152618
Description
The psychology of thinking has traditionally been in the business of making comparisons between different groups of people. On the whole, these comparisons have rendered a substantial body of knowledge; but all too often, they have suffered the pitfalls of faulty organizational logic and unfounded or invidious conclusions. In this extraordinarily clear and critical introduction, Michael Cole and Barbara Means out the problems involved in comparing how people think. They show, for example, how variables confounded with the constitution of two groups can lead to the wrong interpretation of group differences. More subtly, they demonstrate how cognitive differences between groups can destroy the equivalence of the tests used to make comparisons. They also discuss the unfortunate way that observed differences between groups have led to prejudicial interpretations in which mental differences are transformed into mental deficits.
Cole and Means illustrate all these problems with a rich variety of examples drawn from the research literature in comparative cognition. Because they use real examples. Cole and Means offer much more than the usual banal remedies for improving research design. Instead of merely telling the student to run the right control groups, for example, they show how theory enters into the selection of appropriate controls and how atheoretic comparative work can easily run amok.
It is a rare event when seasoned researchers take time to tell the novice how to avoid the problems of previous research. Comparative Studies of How People Think provides just such an event.
Table of Contents
Old Interests and New Demands The Normative Logic of Experimental Design What Happens When All Other Things Are Not Equal? Obtaining Comparable Groups Equivalence of Treatment for Different Groups Limitations of Simple Descriptions of Group Differences Relating Group Differences to Underlying Causes Comparing Tasks and Groups Comparing Patterns of Performance The Group by Tack Interaction Approach Training Studies Cautionary Notes Model-based Approaches Qualitative information-processing Models Computer Simulation Models Mathematical Models Functional Measurement Advantages of Model-based Research Strategies Cautionary Notes From Laboratory to Life Comparing Laboratory and Real-Life Tacks Training Cognitive Processes Training Tacks of Practical Importance Value Judgments in Cognitive Research On the Reference of Basic Research Appendix. Statistical Issues in Comparative Research Attempts to Control for Pre-existing Group Differences Interpreting Group by Task Interactions References Notes Index
by "Nielsen BookData"