Consciousness, Literature and the Arts

Archive

Volume 6 Number 2, August 2005

Special Issue: Literary Universals

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Lamberts, Koen; Goldstone, Robert L. (editors). Handbook of Cognition. London, Sage Publications Ltd, 2004. Pages: 480. ISBN: Hardcover: 0761972773 Price: $140.00

 Reviewed by

 Amy Ione

The Diatrope Institute

 

As a humanistic scholar who delves into scientific research, I must admit that I am quite taken with the way scientists design research problems that bracket off a piece of information for study, examine the results and then extrapolate from the fresh data yet another angle that might be explored to elevate our understanding in his or her area of focus. Reading through The Handbook of Cognition I was reminded of this and of the degree to which the books in our libraries are as varied as the human population in general. This book does not, nor is it intended to, heighten one’s understanding of abstract human dilemmas. Rather it successfully provides an overview of current theory and research in the specific field of cognitive psychology, the mechanisms of thought, and includes clinical data as well. Although not aimed at the generalist, it is a quite readable volume that I would, on the whole, recommend to those in the humanities who seek to incorporate current cognitive research into their studies.

 

Thirty-three world-leading researchers contributed to the publication edited by Koen Lamberts (the University of Warwick) and Robert L. Goldstone (Indiana University). The resulting collection is a far-reaching resource that offers a synthesis of up-to-date and advanced work in cognition. Topics covered range from core issues within established areas (e.g., memory, attention, categorization, perception, and language) to cognitive neuroscience and computational and mathematical modeling. The broad aspects of cognition are found in the first four parts, which include Perception, Attention and Action, Learning and Memory, Language and Reasoning and Decision-Making. Common methodological ideas are presented in the final portion of the book where we find sections on Cognitive Neuropsychology and Modelling Cognition. Organizationally the book is well thought out and includes an extensive index. Each article also includes a list of bibliographic materials that will direct a reader to other work in the field.

 

I read the two chapters on visual perception with the greatest interest, since this is a primary focus within my own work. Each presentation was comprehensive and quite easy to follow on the whole. The first chapter (by Wagemans, Wichmann and de Beeck) includes classic studies that fit within the measurement approach to low-level vision, mid-level vision, and how vision creates psychologically meaningful internal representations. Perhaps of greatest interest to humanistic scholars is their comparison of Gestalt psychology and Gibson’s ecological approach, topics frequently integrated into visual culture research. Admittedly, I would have preferred some mention of the classic studies of the nineteenth century early in the chapter (it is cited mid-chapter), when they introduced the topic. This is a small point, however, and perhaps more indicative of my prejudices than a flaw within their writing. High-level vision was discussed in the following chapter (by Hayward and Tarr). This moved the book from the low- and mid-level idea of representation of the environment and the objects it contains to the processes that underlie our ability to recognize objects despite variations in viewing conditions (luminance, viewpoint, motion, etc.). Not only will this information aid scientists, humanistic thinkers, who tend to conflate the levels, will benefit from the clearly stated presentations.

 

Overall, it should be noted, that the word ‘handbook’ in the title does not mean that the book introduces and comments on all topics equally. Rather the writers of this volume presume that the reader already brings some background in cognitive psychology or cognitive science to the material. They do not ignore the general thrust of the field so much as they primarily focus on research that aligns with their own studies. Their various vantage points do serve to introduce topics in a way that advanced graduate students and researchers who have a working knowledge of the discipline will easily digest. Still, as readable as the book is, I nonetheless would recommend it more for a class or as a supplementary text than as a stand-alone reference since some topics are excluded and the index is not reliable. For example, I checked the index for change blindness and blindsight since I was attempting to formulate definitions for a project currently on my desk, and didn’t recall reading about either in any of the chapters. Neither term was listed.  Conversely, priming was listed in the index, but the pages given were incomplete. Following the entries took me primarily to the chapter on implicit learning and gave no indication that the chapter on attention speaks of priming extensively.  Other topics, such as consciousness and the binding problem, are only mentioned in passing.  Recognizing that even a 480-page book is not able to include everything, a glossary might have been a useful addition.

 

Finally, admittedly, I learned quite a bit from the book and was reminded of my own biases as an interdisciplinary thinker as well. I would have liked more interplay among chapters as well as a chapter that referenced the historical development of the field. Perhaps this thought is indicative of how the forward-looking goals of scientists differ from the integrative approach of humanists. In summary, coherent and accessible, The Handbook of Cognition works well overall. Despite the small limitations noted above, it would be a welcome to addition to research and library collections, (although the price may put it out of reach of readers of modest means).