Book reviews

Weiskrantz, L. (1986). Blindsight: A case study and implications. Oxford University Press. Pp. 187. ISBN 0-19-852129-4. £19.50.

Humphreys, G. W. & Riddoch, M. J. (1987). to see but not to see: A case study of visual agnosia. Hove and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. Pp. 124. ISBN 0-83677-064-9. £12.95.

Downing, J. A. (1988). Advances in psychology: Cognitive psychology and reading in the USSR. Amsterdam: North Holland; Elsevier Science Publishers. Pp. 471. ISBN 0-444-70374-8. $108.00.

John Beech & Ann Colley (Eds.) (1987). Cognitive approaches to reading. Chichester: John Wiley. Pp. xii + 315.

James Wertsch (Ed.) (1985). Culture, communication and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 379. ISBN 0-521-25214-8. £27.50 (Hardback).

Fodor, J. A. (1987). Psychosemantics: The problem of meaning in the philosophy of mind. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press. Pp. xiii, 1-171. ISBN 0-262-06106-6.

Richardson, K. (1988). Understanding Psychology. Milton Keynes: The Open University Press. Pp. 114. ISBN 0-335-09842-8. Paperback £7.95.

Stanovich, Keith E. (Ed.) (1988). Children's reading and the development of phonological awareness. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Pp. 177. ISBN 0-8143-1909-2. $20.00.

Allport, A., MacKay, D.G., Prinz, W., & Scheerer, E. (Eds.), (1987). Language perception and production: Relationships between listening, speaking, reading, and writing. London: Academic Press. Pp. xiii + 497. ISBN 0-12-052750-2. £32.00

Light, L. L. & Burke, D. M. (eds.) (1988). Language, Memory and Aging. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 280. ISBN-0-521-32942-6. £27.50

Friedman, S.L., Scholnick, E.F., and Cocking, R. R. (1987). Bleuprints for thinking: The role of planing in cognitive development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. xv + 559. ISBN 0-521-25605-4. £40.00.     

Physical Disability and Suicidal Ideation: A Community‐Based Study of Risk/Protective Factors for Suicidal Thoughts

Although the significance of poor physical health for suicide risk is well established, the potential relevance of physical disability, as distinct from diseases and traumas that give rise to disability, has received little attention. Prior evidence suggests the possible utility of the stress process theoretical model for understanding variations in risk for suicide ideation and the contribution of physical disability to such risk. In this article, we examine the independent and joint explanatory significance of physical disability and components of the stress process model for risk of suicide ideation. Data from an ethnically diverse and representative sample of disabled and nondisabled adults (n = 1,768) reveal that physical disability is associated with a greater risk of lifetime suicidal ideation.     

Can Messages Make a Difference? The Association Between E‐Mail Messages and Health Outcomes in Diabetes Patients

This investigation examined the impact of social support messages on patient health outcomes. Forty‐one American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian patients received a total of 618 e‐mail messages from their healthcare provider (HCP). The e‐mail messages were divided into 3,565 message units and coded for instances of emotional social support. Patient glycosulated hemoglobin scores (HbA1c) showed significantly improved glycemic control and emotional social support messages were associated with significant decreases in HbA1c values. Patient involvement with the system, measured by system login frequency and the frequency of uploaded blood glucose scores to the HCP, did not predict change in HbA1c.     

Can Personal Values Predict Performance? Evidence in an Academic Setting

In this paper we briefly review the construct of personal values, and we examine whether achievement values may be incrementally related to performance beyond personality. We also consider the motivational processes that may mediate the relationships between characteristics of the individual (personality and values) and performance. In an academic setting, achievement values were related to course performance even after controlling for the relevant personality factors of Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Extraversion. Further, motivational processes of goal content and goal striving mediated the relationships between individual characteristics (personality and values) and performance.     

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The Medicalization of Misbehavior

During the past decade, there has been an increase in the diagnosis and treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This syndrome, typically diagnosed in childhood, is characterized by inattention, hyperactive motor behavior, and distractibility. Current prevalence rates obtained in various countries generally exceed the 3–5% reported by DSM-IV. Reasons for increased ADHD prevalence include changes in diagnostic standards, overlap between ADHD and other externalizing disorders, nonspecific behavioral criteria, and the rapid effects of stimulant medication on cognitive functioning. However, social, cultural, and economic factors may also contribute to increased diagnosis. ADHD has become a common topic in the lay media. Popular discussions of ADHD may serve as a metaphoric expression of social anxieties, particularly with respect to children. At the same time, ADHD has rapidly become incorporated into a medical model, with emphasis on pharmacological treatment. Reductions in mental health and educational services, as well as economic pressures of managed care, may also contribute to medicalization of behavioral problems. Collaboration between psychologists and primary care physicians can lead to more accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of ADHD and related disorders.     

The economics of spiritual luxury: The glittering lobby and the parliament of religions

Richard H. Roberts's article on the theoretical setting of the 1993 World's Parliament of Religions is an example of the contradictions that result when scholars of religion presume that religion is autonomous or sui generis. By conceiving of religious experiences as independent variables that have socio‐political and economic implications, but not causes, such scholarship romanticises and thereby depoliticises historical, human interactions and institutions. Despite his efforts to portray globalised religion as an active, oppositional force, contradictions in Roberts's essay suggest that global religion is itself a commodified construct dependent on the process of mythifxcation to gloss over concrete differences in class, race and gender.     

Some cautions regarding statistical power in split-plot designs

We show that if overall sample size and effect size are held constant, the power of theF test for a one-way analysis of variance decreases dramatically as the number of groups increases. This reduction in power is even greater when the groups added to the design do not produce treatment effects. If a second independent variable is added to the design, either a split-plot or a completely randomized design may be employed. For the split-plot design, we show that the power of theF test on the betweengroups factor decreases as the correlation across the levels of the within-groups factor increases. The attenuation in between-groups power becomes more pronounced as the number of levels of the withingroups factor increases. Sample size and total cost calculations are required to determine whether the split-plot or completely randomized design is more efficient in a particular application. The outcome hinges on the cost of obtaining (or recruiting) a single subject relative to the cost of obtaining a single observation: We call this thesubject-to-observation cost (SOC) ratio. Split-plot designs are less costly than completely randomized designs only when the SOC ratio is high, the correlation across the levels of the within-groups factor is low, and the number of such levels is small.