| Summary: | "Much of what is considered basic knowledge about behavior pathology is the result of clinical observation rather than experimentation. However, a history of both the persistence of fundamental issues and the failure to resolve differences between theoretical viewpoints suggests that experimentation must be accorded a more central position in the field of abnormal behavior. Thus, the editor believes that research methods and the findings of representative research studies should be brought to the attention of students of abnormal psychology as early as possible. The thirteen research reports brought together in this volume represent attempts to investigate, by empirical methods, problems that have been of historical concern in the field and are no less important today. These papers have been chosen not only for their topical importance, but also because they represent the use of different kinds of experimental approaches which can fruitfully be brought to bear on the complex research problems presented by abnormal behavior. Some of these papers represent attempts to test specific aspects of theory, while others are exploratory in that they are seeking variables which may have an effect. The papers have first been grouped under the classical tripartite division of the functional disorders (psychosis, psychoneurosis, and conduct disorder) so as to parallel a widely used type of course organization. A further subdivision in terms of specific areas of topical concern has also been provided in order to point up historical and contemporary emphases. It is my hope that this set of readings will prove valuable both as collateral material in an upper-division undergraduate course and as a basic set of research studies around which a graduate course might be organized"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).
|
|---|