The Reference Shelf:  Psychology

 
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Oxford

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Handbook of Psychology

• Assessment Psychology (v.10)
  

  "Devoted to the unique features of assessment in different kinds of settings (adult and child mental health, schools, medical centers, business and industry, forensic and correctional, and geriatric).  Other chapters address assessment in various domains of functioning (e.g., cognitive and intellectual, interests, personality and psychopathology). Still other chapters address various approaches used in the assessment process (e.g., interviews, behavioral methods, projective approaches, and self-report inventories)."

• Biological Psychology (v.3)
  

  "Since the late 19th century, biological psychologists have used the methods of the natural sciences to study relationships between biological and psychological processes...For instance, social and personality psychologists have become conversant with evolutionary concepts in their studies of traits, prejudice, and even physical attraction. Many cognitive psychologists have forsaken black boxes in favor of functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans, and clinical psychologists, as participants in the mental health care of their clients, have become more familiar with the basis for the action of pharmacological therapeutics on the brain."

• Clinical Psychology (v.8)
  "The first nine chapters are concerned with the diagnosis, course, etiology, and pathology of the problems of the mind; the next ten chapters are concerned with their treatment; and the concluding five chapters are concerned with professional issues."

• Developmental Psychology (v.6)
  

  "As we pursue our scholarship about human development at this early part of a new century, we do so with an orientation to the human life span that is characterized by (a) integrated, relational models of human life, perspectives synthesizing biological-through-physical ecological influences on human development in nonreductionistic manners; (b) a broad array of qualitative and quantitative methodologies necessary for attaining knowledge about these fused, biopsychoecological relations; (c) a growing appreciation of the importance of the cultural and historical in-fluences on the quality and trajectory of human development across the course of life; and (d) a synthesis of basic and applied developmental science."

• Experimental Psychology (v.4)
  

  "Each chapter provides an up-to-date, state-of-the art review of a specific subfield of experimental psychology, providing coverage of what is known and what is currently being done, along with some of the historical context... The term experimental psychology is currently limited to cover roughly the topics of perception, performance, learning, memory, and cognition...Research on experimental psychology is focused on tests of theories, so that theoretical and experimental objectives and methods are necessarily intertwined. Indeed, research in experimental psychology has become progressively more interdisciplinary, with an emphasis on not only psychological theories but also theories based on other disciplines including those in the broader fields of cognitive science and neuroscience."

• Forensic Psychology (v.11)
  "It includes chapters focusing on the nature of the field: what forensic psychologists do, ethical conflicts they encounter, and the field’s special methodology, such as the use of third-party information and the assessment of malingering and deception. The nature of expert witness testimony is reviewed, along with the limits imposed on such testimony. A wide range of civil and criminal psycholegal issues is addressed. Chapters focus on topics such as eyewitness memory, jury selection, screening for high-risk occupations, sexual offenders, battered women, those with violent attachments (e.g., stalkers), and risk assessment of those about whom there are questions of potential future acts of violence.  This volume also considers emerging directions in forensic psychology, including therapeutic jurisprudence and the application of forensic psychology to public policy and the law. Each chapter reviews the professional literature relevant to its topic. Major ethical conflicts and their potential resolutions are presented; where appropriate, authors have discussed statutes and landmark case law and have described practical implications of conducting forensic evaluations. Appropriate forensic assessment methodology, including the use of traditional psychological techniques, specialized forensic assessment instruments, and forensically relevant instruments, is reviewed. When appropriate, chapters discuss the nature of written reports and expert testimony. Future trends in each area of forensic practice are predicted."

• Health Psychology (v.9)
  

  "We cover both conceptual and professional issues (Overview and Causal and Mediating Psychosocial Factors), as well as a plethora of disease-specific chapters.... This latter section focuses on 14 major disease entities or medical problems and provides information concerning prevalence, psychosocial causal factors, and treatment approaches. Because we view all phenomena as taking place within varying contexts, we also believe that health and health care need to be viewed within the context of varying developmental stages, hence the inclusion of...Health Psychology across the Life Span. Last, because we believed there were additional contextual issues, such as gender...and cultural/ethnic background..., as well as emerging related issues in the elderly (Chapter 24 on occupational health psychology and Chapter 25 on complementary and alternative therapies), we added Part Five titled Special Topics."

• History of Psychology (v.1)
  

  "The first two chapters are general overviews of psychology as a science and as a profession. These are followed by several basic areas that typically are included in a core curriculum in a graduate program. We then cover a number of major professional areas and lastly three areas of special interest. The chapter on ethnic minorities is notably different from the others in that it consists of vignettes reflecting on historical events, some very personal, that have characterized the field’s perception and interaction with minority groups. The chapter on international psychology includes a unique time line of events covering more than three millennia."

• Industrial and Organizational Psychology (v.12)
  

  "The first eight chapters address the nature of work and behavior at work that typically is described as personnel psychology. They are followed by six chapters that address organizational psychological issues of motivation, attitudes, teams, and customer relations. From these discussions, we turn to issues of the organizational, work, and social environment that influence behavior in the present environment and over a career."

• Personality and Social Psychology (v.5)
  Chapters include:  Genetic Basis of Personality Structure; Biological Bases of Personality; Structures of Personality Traits; Social Cognition; Emotions, Affect, and Mood in Social Judgments; Attitudes in Social Behavior; Persuasion and Attitude Change; Social Influence and Group Dynamics; Environmental Psychology; Close Relationships; Altruism and Prosocial Behavior; Social Conflict, Harmony, and Integration; Prejudice, Racism, and Discrimination; Justice Equity, and Fairness in Human Relations; Aggression, Violence, Evil, and Peace; Personality in Political Psychology.

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