Author Description

This new encyclopedic dictionary integrates all of the diverse approaches that have gone into the making of the modern field of psychology. It is unique among available reference works in that it covers the most recent topics of research and interest, combines the features of an encyclopedia and a dictionary, presents material concisely in one convenient volume, and provides extensive cross-referencing and indexing. The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology contains approximately 1,300 entries prepared by over 200 specialists coordinated by 17 list editors. The "lists" include clinical, developmental, educational, historical, occupational, personality, philosophical, physiological (human and animal), and social psychology, the emotions, ethology, psycholinguistics, and learning and memory. Emphasis is placed throughout on intersections with related disciplines such as sociology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. Schools of psychology, important practitioners, fundamental concepts, and empirical techniques are treated in articles about 1,500 words long, while the most widely used terms are defined in entries of about 150 words. Both types of entries contain bibliographic references. A special index of other terms and variants is included to guide readers to appropriate entries. The tenets of numerous schools and movements are presented objectively, as are "fringe" areas such as folk and pop psychology. The editors have attempted to highlight areas of disagreement, in some cases to the extent of multiple entries, so that readers will, where necessary, have a basis for making up their own minds. The general editors are both affiliated with the University of Oxford. The list editors were drawn from a variety of major American and British universities. Paul F. Secord of the University of Houston served as advisory editor. In The MIT Press edition all bibliographic references are to American sources.