The purpose of this chapter is to review key principles and findings of intelligence research, with special attention to psychometrics and neuroscience. Following Jensen (1998), the chapter focuses on intelligence defined as general intelligence (g). g represents variance common to mental tests and arises from ubiquitous positive correlations among tests (scaled so that higher scores indicate better performance). The positive correlations indicate that people who perform well on one test generally perform well on all others. The chapter reviews measures of g (e.g., IQ and reaction times), models of g (e.g., Spearman’s model and the Cattell-Horn-Carroll model), and the invariance of g across test batteries.

What distinguishes observed-score methods from other types of method described in this book is that they typically use raw scores1 to match examinees from the reference and focal groups. As a result, there is no need to fit a latent variable model such as an IRT model (the disadvantages of using latent variable models are that they often require large sample sizes to obtain accurate parameter estimates, and they require acceptable model fit to obtain valid DIF statistics [Bolt, 2002]). Another advantage of using observed-score methods is that many of the procedures provide an effect size measure in addition to a hypothesis test. Many of the effect sizes, in fact, have well-established benchmarks that test developers and researchers can use to classify an item as exhibiting negligible, moderate, and large DIF. Because of these advantages, observed-score methods are a popular approach for testing DIF.

In Chapter 1, based on the notion of emerging adulthood, we define adult entrenched dependence as a failure to emerge. Children’s dependence on their parents can be characterized as functional or dysfunctional. We propose ways to differentiate between the two. We clarify that the goal of our approach is not fostering "independence" (which we view as a rather problematic goal) but helping transform dysfunctional into functional dependence. The main changes we try to promote are: (a) developing a time perspective that allows parents to strive for better functioning; (b) helping parents transition from personal effacement into presence; (c) releasing parents from their "sacrifice mentality" in favor of recommitment to wellness; (d) helping parents counter the adult-child's entitlement; and (e) identifying and resisting various forms of violence, blackmail and exploitation.

Non-violent resistance (NVR) is an approach to families, schools, and communities that is inspired by the doctrine championed by Mahatma Gandhi and by Martin Luther King, Jr. At first sight, it may seem puzzling that an approach that was developed for resisting political oppression effectively and morally should be found relevant for helping parents of children with behavior problems. Parents are not usually in a position of weakness relative to their children, nor do they experience themselves as oppressed. Nevertheless, the moment we understood that the principles and methods of sociopolitical NVR could help in our therapeutic work with parents, enormous possibilities opened up. To understand this, we must recapitulate what, in our view, was missing (and still is) in psychotherapists’ work with parents.

This chapter takes its point of departure the politics of shame in the context of racism expressed by Trump’s rhetoric and examines how different types of white shame require different pedagogical strategies to address white shame critically and productively. The chapter is developed along two directions: first, it analyzes how Trump takes political advantage of different types of white shame to restore a lost sense of dignity for Whites; second, the chapter argues that the response to this politics of shame and its linkage to racism is not to retreat to shaming Trump and his supporters, but rather to understand the political and pedagogical limits of different types of white shame and shaming and seek strategies that address them. The chapter concludes by suggesting pedagogical strategies for different types of white shame emerging from Trump’s rhetoric and its linkage to racism. These strategies are expanded upon in Part III of the book.

Chapter 1 provides context for the central themes of the book, highlighting the challenges and importance of the collective conservation education mission shared by accredited zoos worldwide and situating the zoo as a unique setting for learning and potential vector of social change. We also outline the rationale for our endeavor to reconcile recent findings from various domains of social science research with zoos’ conservation mission in the context of their value to the diverse public audiences and communities they serve, pointing to opportunities for the development of new questions, approaches, and measurements of mission success that might help zoos better leverage their human and facility capacities to achieve mission-related outcomes that are valued by the public.

Part II examines studies of metastable rhythms in the brain, particularly the rhythms involved in mind wandering, sustained by the brain, body and art. I draw upon empirical studies which reveal how the brain functions as a system of numerous unstable networks, where neurons are jittering on the edge of chaos, continuously ready for and acting in concert with ‘perturbations’: unanticipated abstract patterns and rhythms in the external environment.

The 2016 US presidential race was one of the most contentious in recent history for one very important reason – the reliance on ad hominem attacks by both candidates to bolster their bids for office.

Chapter 1 presents the objectives of the book, which blends a traditional monograph with topics of contemporary interest and an analysis of attitude and behavior change in real and virtual contexts. Definitions and a overview of the theory are presented.

Jane Costello, Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University (United States) was born in England (1939) and received her PhD in social psychology from the University of London School of Economics. She participated in two National Academy of Medicine (United States) panels on aggressive and violent behavior. She began her career as an epidemiologist and evolved into a developmental epidemiologist, incorporating methods from the developmental sciences. Her interest in aggressive behavior started with studies of children with psychiatric illnesses. She created the DSM diagnostic interview for children. She studied the role of puberty in the development of conduct disorder. She created the Great Smoky Mountains Study in the United States, which led to an opportunity to compare the development of American Indian and non-Indian participants in response to a ‘natural experiment’: the creation of a casino. It had no effect on the children of the well-off members of the American Indian community, but it had a marked positive effect on children from poor families, even into their 30s. Results point to a critical period of exposure early in the teenage years: a bio-psycho-social phenomenon, which also has considerable economic and social effects, similar to the expected effect of a ‘Universal Basic Income’ (UBI).

The quality of any research is undoubtedly based on a sound methodological approach, and this is certainly true for acculturation psychology. Unfortunately, acculturation psychology has had its own challenges and limitations. In this chapter, we will review the development and evolution of models, measures and methods that are specific to psychological acculturation research as well as explore the mechanisms underlying acculturation processes. We approach this by describing three generations of acculturation theory and research in terms of their areas of emphasis and major contributions to the field: (i) Models; (ii) Measurements and Methods; and (iii) Mechanisms. We conclude with a note on re-visioning acculturation and speculate about the next cycle of developments.

Current societally-entrenched conceptions of intelligence, like hand-shaking, are hard for society to give up. Whole educational systems are based on the use of tests, like the SAT, ACT, PISA, and statewide and local mastery tests, that are highly correlated with and largely proxies for conventional tests of intelligence. But these tests are proving to be as adaptive today as is hand-shaking. People are just slower to realize the full destructive power of the tests based on these conceptions of intelligence.

Research on purpose is based on the fact that the behavior of organisms is a control process. What we call “behavior” are controlled results of an organism's actions. Controlled results are consistent results produced in the face of disturbances that should prevent such consistency. The ability to produce controlled results is explained by control theory, which shows that the behavior of living systems is organized around the control of perceptual variables. Thus, the application of control theory to understanding the behavior of organisms has come to be called Perceptual Control Theory or PCT. PCT shows that in order to understand purposeful behavior it is necessary to determine the perceptual variables that organisms control: controlled variables. So the main goal of research on purpose is the discovery of the variables that organisms control. The next chapters explain how to do research on purpose.

And there was light. Vision starts when photons reflected from objects in the world impinge on the retina. Although this may seem rather clear to us right now, it took humanity several centuries, if not more, to arrive at this conclusion. The compartmentalization of the study of optics as a branch of physics and visual perception as a branch of neuroscience is a recent development. Ideas about the nature of perception were interwoven with ideas about optics throughout antiquity and the middle ages. Giants of the caliber of Plato (~428–~348 BC) and Euclid (~300 BC) supported a projection theory according to which cones of light emanating from the eyes either reached the objects themselves or met halfway with other rays of light coming from the objects, giving rise to the sense of vision. The distinction between light and vision can be traced back to Aristotle (384–322 BC) but did not reach widespread acceptance until the investigations of properties of the eye by Johannes Kepler (1571–1630).

The opening chapter charts the way from initial concerns with unruly crowds to contemporary social movements. It locates various modalities of social influence within interactive processes and different modes of communication. Social influence must be analysed in relation to a shifting common sense in line with aspirations of individuals or groups. The chapter steps back from an 'empiricist' treatment of social influence that has predominated in the field, and clarifies three conditions of possibility. Firstly, social influence is non-violent. Social influence seeks to institute claims about the world 'rhetorically', without the violence that turns might into right. Secondly, a functioning public sphere, and less the systems of markets and kinship, is the natural place of social influence. This, however, requires a reciprocal orientation before actors can seek to further their own interests. Thirdly, individual differences of citizen competences condition the prevailing social influences in a society. The chapter concludes with an overview of the chapters on the various modalities of social influence that have been investigated to date.

Quiz question: What do small plates, pink prisons, flies painted on urinals and organ donation all have in common? And what does any of this have to do with meetings?

Well, all four cases are examples of nudging in action and the same mechanism at work here can also turn your meetings into productive meetings. The idea goes like this:

If we use smaller plates, then the portions appear larger and we feel full faster, meaning we eat less. In a US prison whose cells were painted pink, the number of aggressive attacks fell significantly. Since images of flies began appearing on the urinals in men’s toilets at Amsterdam Airport, the floors have been much cleaner (men, it seems, love aiming at something). Similarly, in countries where you are automatically registered as an organ donor and have to opt-out if you do not want to be one, the number of potential donors is much higher than in places where you have to opt-in.

What an argument is, for purposes of this book. Examples of definitions. Purposes that arguments serve. Notable arguments in history. Argumentation as reasoning and conversely. Why another book on argumentation?

Growth mindset is defined as the belief that with hard work and effort persons can improve intelligence, talent, and ability. This so-called mindset is associated with persons who have achieved certain versions of success and is, thus, treated as a necessary quality to instill in students. Although appealing, especially in relation to its apparent binary, the notion of growth mindset is underpinned by certain assumptions about selfhood, the operation of systems, and values for being. Features of growth mindset include a commitment to perpetual improvement and added value, a vision of selfhood as in process, orientation to pursue an elusive endpoint, assessments of lack, and responsibilized individualism. These features are foundational to neoliberal selfhood.

The availability of objective quantitative measures of a player’s chess strength makes chess an optimum field to study individual differences. While several indicators quantify accurately chess skill, the Elo rating system is by far the most popular and worldwide-accepted chess skill indicator. Every chess player participating regularly in rated tournaments holds an Elo rating, a dynamic indicator that depends on the outcomes in the games played within a given time period considering the Elo rating of the opponents. The chapter provides an in-depth description of the Elo chess rating system, while highlighting valid alternatives such as the Universal rating system (URS). The quantitative rating of chess skill has been used in a variety of studies addressing relevant topics in several fields of psychological research, which are summarized within the Appendix 1 of the book.

The chapter will describe a pragmatist view of habit formation and of learning or inquiry. Indeed, one essential function of the brain is the formation of habits to suit contexts. Another major function of cephalic (mind, brain, body, world) sensibility is maintaining them. Habit formation in our species is tied to learning and inquiry; habit stability is mediated across the brain and continuous with the ecological/social milieu we are living in. There is a continuous thread between what is in the brain/body and what is not, in the neural organization of habits. The thread is quite permeable. Habits are sustained, or not, by the niche they are sculpted in, and evolve in or not.