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Summary
"This is a top-notch, scholarly work. I believe that Slife took a very difficult, complex topic and brought considerable understanding to it for the reader. Books of this type raise the level of sophistication in psychology." -- Joseph F. Rychlak, Loyola University
Psychology has been captured by an assumption that is almost totally unrecognized. This assumption--the linearity of time--unduly restricts theory and therapy, yet this restriction is so common, so customary, that it is often completely ignored. This book traces the influence of this assumption and reveals the many overlooked "anomalies" to its dominance. Slife describes the many findings and explanations that are incompatible with linear time in several psychological specialties. He contends that these unnoticed anomalies point to alternative conceptions of time that offer innovative ideas for psychological explanation and treatment.
"The book makes an effective case that questions of time lie at the very soul of psychology and how we try to understand and to explain.The type of analysis that Slife does in the course of the book is also important as a model for what should be going on with increasing frequency in the field. I believe the book will be a significant contribution to the emerging field of critical, theoretical psychology." -- Richard N. Williams, Brigham Young University
Brent D. Slife is Director of Clinical Training and Associate Professor of Psychology at Baylor University. He is Senior Editor of Taking Sides:Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues (now in its seventh edition), Editor-in-Chief of theJournal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, and on the Editorial Boards of Theory & Psychology and the Journal of Mind and Behavior.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Linear Time and Psychological Explanation
Purpose of the Book
Content of the Book
1 Newtonian Time and Psychological Explanation
The Rise of Linear Time in Western Culture
Newtonian Time
Newton's Temporal Framework for Explanation
Criticisms of Newton's Framework
Psychology's Newtonian Framework
Conclusion
2 Developmental Psychology
The History of Time and Developmental Studies
The Newtonian Framework and Developmental Stages
Newtonian Explanations of Social Development
Anomalies to the Newtonian Paradigm for Development
Conclusion
3 Personality Theory
The Conceptual Roots of Personality Theory
Objectivist and Subjectivist Models of Time
Freud as a Mixed Model Theorist
The Objectivist Tradition in Personality
Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory
The Subjectivist Tradition—Newtonian Anomalies
Kurt Lewin
Carl Jung
Conclusion
4 Psychological Method
The History of Method and Time
The Newtonian Framework of Method
Objectivity
Continuity
Linearity
Universality
Reductivity
Anomalous Methods
Systemic Method
Hermeneutic Method
Conclusion
5 Cognitive Psychology
Time and Associationism—A Brief History
Rationalism Versus Empiricism
Time and Contemporary Cognitive Psychology
Language and Problem Solving
Anomalies to the Current Paradigm
Rationalistic Constructivism
Humanistic Learning Theory
The Black Knight of Artificial Intelligence
Conclusion
6 Individual Therapy
The History of Individual Therapy and Time
Modern Individual Therapy and Time
Psychoanalysis
Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Therapy
Existential Psychotherapy—Temporal Anomaly
Conclusion
7 Group Therapy
Linear Time and the Study of Groups
The History of Group Therapy and Time
The Current Status of Group Therapy
Psychoanalytic Group Therapy
Educative and Behavioral Group Therapy
Experiential and Existential Anomalies
Conclusion
8 Family Therapy
The History of Family Therapy and Time
The Current Status of Family Therapy
Individual Models of Family Therapy
Mechanistic Systems Therapy
Organismic Systems Therapy—Linear Anomaly
Cybernetics of Cybernetics
Conclusion
9 General Temporal Themes of Explanation
General Themes of the Newtonian Temporal Paradigm
The Objectivity of Time
The Continuity of Time
The Universality of Time
The Linearity of Time
The Reductivity of Time
General Anomalies to the Newtonian Temporal Paradigm
The Objectivity of Time
The Continuity of Time
The Universality of Time
The Linearity of Time
The Reductivity of Time
Implications of the Anomalies for Causation and Change
