- Email: [email protected]
Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children.
BOOK REVIEWS
behaviors to comprehensively examine all recent data. The volume is a collection of research abstracts and reviews from a newsletter produced by the editors, organized into an outline format. Topics progress from a general overview of the various risk factors that lead to violence to discussion of specific topics such as substance abuse and juvenile sex offenders. The book is a fairly exhaustive look at all of the various aspects that contribute to delinquency and violence. The chapters are concise reviews of the current research literature on all areas of juvenile violent and antisocial behaviors. As a whole, it is extremely well-referenced, with pertinent articles cited at the end of each section. The book is very easy to read and is ideal for child mental health professionals looking to quickly review the data on specific aspects of violence. The book has eight chapters in all. The first two chapters discuss antisocial and aggressive behaviors and examine both innate as well as environmental factors contributing to these behaviors in youths. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the relevant psychiatric disorders including conduct, oppositional defiant, attention deficit, and disruptive behavior disorders. Chapter 5 provides an overview of juvenile offenders and includes a section on sex offenders. The remainder of the book covers the comorbid psychiatric disorders associated with this population, including substance abuse, childhood abuse, neglect, and suicide. Throughout the book, the editors discuss treatment modalities. They include both pharmacological as well as familial and psychological treatment options at the end of each chapter. The chapters and material are presented in a straightforward manner so as to be easily accessed by both pediatricians as well as specialists. Given its format, Antisocial and Violent Youths is an ideal reference for pediatricians, family physicians, and child and adolescent psychiatrists working with at-risk youth populations in urban settings. It offers the opportunity for physicians to familiarize themselves conceptually with this developing body of multidisciplinary research. It also provides direct applications to clinical practice with an introduction to potential risk factors for youth violence and a review of measures to prevent the development of violence in adolescence. It also affords the child and adolescent psychiatrist a wealth of information on effective treatment modalities and the research that supports their use. The major weaknesses of this volume stem from its being a collection of digest reports. This is most noticeable with the authors’ tendency to be too brief and concise at times. Many of the chapters merely summarize the data without any subsequent discussion of what is presented. The book would have benefited from expanded commentaries from the editors about the data presented in the various articles. When comments are included in chapters, they are often sparse and limited to a few sentences. Another weakness of this book lies in its outline format. If used as a reference, this is a desirable and helpful feature; however, if the reader is attempting to read the book as a whole, the material is presented in a way that renders it dense and disjointed. 1484
It is also interesting to note how the editors have chosen to group the various topics into chapters. For example, while the editors exhaustively review the role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use in the development of violence, they present few data on the role of various other Axis I disorders such as psychotic, mood, and anxiety disorders. The data that are presented on these topics appear to be only briefly included at the end of chapter 3. Because of the frequent comorbidity between these disorders, it would have made more sense to include these data in a separate chapter. This would have allowed the editors to discuss suicide within the context of the various disorders instead of in a separate chapter. Having suicide as a separate topic at the end of the book lends a disconnected sense to the editors’ discussion of violence. Throughout the book, the editors present a wealth of information on various family factors that contribute to violence. Again, it seems that given the relative importance of psychosocial and family influences on the development of violence, it would have been helpful to have a separate chapter for these reports. It also would have helped consolidate data that otherwise are presented in a somewhat disjointed fashion. Finally, given that most of the data on physical aggression are incorporated into other sections of the book, it seems unnecessary to discuss this topic separately. Finally, it is important to note that because the book is a collection of the most current data, it runs the risk of becoming outdated relatively quickly. We hope that the editors will publish follow-up volumes of collected reviews periodically. Despite these shortcomings, we highly recommend the book; it contains a wealth of important and relevant information that can easily be accessed by any physician. Pediatricians and child and adolescent psychiatrists, especially those working in forensic psychiatry, should consider Antisocial and Violent Youths a major reference source for the evaluation and treatment of violent young people. Michele Casoli-Reardon, M.D. Triple Board Resident Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Brown University Medical School Providence, RI Joseph V. Penn, M.D. Clinical Assistant Professor Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Brown University Medical School Providence, RI
Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children. Edited by Karl S. Rosengren, Carl N. Johnson, and Paul L. Harris. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 418 pp., $69.95 (hardcover), $24.95 (softcover).
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1
BOOK REVIEWS
Imagining the Impossible, a tantalizingly titled book, attempts to “capture something of the larger spirit of . . . efforts” of research in the past 10 years that has explored children’s thinking about magic, religion, and imaginary beings. Its editors identify three recurrent themes of the book: “going beyond the possible, beyond scientific rationality and shaping the metaphysical.” Further delineated in the preface, the book aims to focus on (1) the way children think about magic, the supernatural, and the metaphysical; (2) alternative ways of conceptualizing the developmental progress of children’s modes of thinking; and (3) development of metaphysical thinking within social and cultural contexts, as well as searching for universal features of human mentation. One of the difficulties of the book is how loosely the “larger spirit” is defined. One chapter (13) does not mention children at all, and children seem rather incidental to several other chapters (1, 9–12). It is easy to wonder whether these chapters were composed for the sole purpose of this book or were separate works pulled together by the editors. In spite of a synoptic overview in the preface, the book does not seem cohesive. In only 1 of the 13 chapters is a target audience identified, but it appears that academic developmental psychologists would be the most likely candidates. Readers who are not developmental psychologists may easily find the jargon/vocabulary, style of writing, and concepts that are mentioned, but not defined, difficult to understand and very tedious. Much of the material presented is wordy and esoteric. Struggling through the verbiage, with multiple rereadings, may result in little reward for the effort. It is possible that this situation is akin to a nonpsychiatrist plodding through a text on psychoanalytic theories and concepts, as much as it is a criticism of this particular volume. Throughout the book and in the preface, the authors claim this work is a counterpoint to prior research that suggests that children become increasingly scientific and rational over the course of development. Again and again, the notion of logical and magical thinking occurring simultaneously in an individual throughout the lifespan is presented as novel and in need of supporting evidence. To the reader trained in psychiatry this emphasis may seem tiresome. Coming from a profession grounded in other conceptual frameworks, including psychoanalytic theories of behavior, these readers will not appreciate the debate this book aims to address. There are several chapters that may appeal to child and adolescent psychiatrists. In particular, the chapters authored by the editors are presented in a clearer writing style. The Rosengren and Hickling chapter, Metamorphosis and Magic: The Development of Children’s Thinking About Possible Events and Plausible Mechanisms, proposes an alternative developmental trajectory of magical reasoning. According to these authors, magical thinking is not an error in logic, but a specific type of causal reasoning that uses specific supernatural powers. Magical rea-
soning represents an alternative form of causal reasoning that is separate from foundational forms of reasoning (e.g., biology, physics, etc.) and from religious explanations. This type of reasoning emerges during the preschool years and shows a rapid decline when children enter the years of formal schooling. The search for causal explanations, the acquisition of new knowledge, and cultural support shape and determine this timetable. The Development of Beliefs About Direct Mental-Physical Causality in Imagination, Magic and Religion by Woolley claims to challenge the traditional Piagetian view of the development of magical thinking. Experimental work about children’s beliefs regarding wishing versus praying—their components, the processes involved, beliefs about efficacy—is presented. The author concludes that children do not seem to be confused about reality, but categorize wishing and praying separately from the rest of their understanding about cause and effect. Woolley suggests that mental-physical causality plays a useful role in most cultures for both children and adults, by providing an increased sense of control, as well as a source of fun and pleasure. In On Not Falling Down to Earth: Children’s Metaphysical Questions, Paul Harris, another of the book’s editors, wonders why little attention has been paid to the development of children’s religious thinking. He blames this lack on traditional Piagetian thinking. Later, he concludes there is no distinct difference in how children think about religion versus other nonactual events, making his assignment of blame somewhat moot. However, this chapter presents a summary of some of Piaget’s theories, as well as some insightful criticism of these concepts. He presents some thoughts about how children contemplate the nonactual, combining cultural information and knowledge of causality to develop their notions regarding God, death, and spirituality. Putting Different Things Together: The Development of Metaphysical Thinking offers a less critical view of Piaget’s work. Carl Johnson, the third editor, reports that much of the criticism leveled at Piaget does not fully appreciate Piaget’s own goals and agenda for his work. Johnson’s essay discusses the contributions of many scholars to the understanding of how children think, emphasizing the strengths of Piaget’s contributions. He refers to several of the other chapters in the book, possibly attempting to pull the book together. Another readable chapter of interest to child and adolescent psychiatrists is The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parental Attitudes About Children’s Fantasy Behavior. Taylor and Carlson present information from ethnographic studies, case histories, and anecdotes describing adults’ reactions to children’s fantasy activities. Even in cultures in which parents had very negative attitudes about children’s fantasies, children engaged in fantasy play. The authors contend that adults’ religious ideologies shape their own reactions and interpretations of the children’s
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1
1485
BOOK REVIEWS
behaviors, as well as determine how openly and in what form the children’s fantasies will be expressed. Other chapters make cogent and worthy points. However, the issues alluded to earlier outweigh the merits of these chapters. A case in point is Theology and Physical Science: A Story of Developmental Influence at the Boundaries. The central claims of this chapter are that Christian theology has been profoundly shaped by the development of Western physical science and that the relationship between the two fields has not been fundamentally adversarial. The chapter summarizes vast periods of time and major contributions to the fields of science and religion in a coherent and succinct fashion. Unfortunately, its role in this particular volume is unclear at best. In Knowledge Change in Response to Data in Science, Religion, and Magic, it is reported that researchers have found that children from different cultures construct very similar preinstructional explanations for phenomena in biology and physics. It is unfortunate that these intriguing data are not explored further. Moreover, this chapter repeatedly gets bogged down in supporting such “conclusions” as these: the goals of science and religion are different; religion is not data-driven; students
1486
often endorse correct scientific theories based on their trust in teaching authorities even when they are presented with no observable data to support these theories. Taken as a whole, this book is disappointing. However, several of the chapters are well-written and of likely interest to child and adolescent psychiatrists, many of whom know little of cognitive psychology except for the traditional Piagetian developmental theories. It is worthwhile to read about points of contention in this field, alternative ways of understanding these aspects of development, and a reassessment of Piaget’s contributions. Emphasis on environmental, cultural, and social impacts on development is also valuable. However, it is hoped that this book has much more than this to offer to the field of academic developmental psychology. Diane Elizabeth Treadwell-Deering Department of Psychiatry Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Note to Publishers: Books for review should be sent to Christopher Thomas, M.D., UTMB Department of Psychiatry, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0193.
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1
behaviors to comprehensively examine all recent data. The volume is a collection of research abstracts and reviews from a newsletter produced by the editors, organized into an outline format. Topics progress from a general overview of the various risk factors that lead to violence to discussion of specific topics such as substance abuse and juvenile sex offenders. The book is a fairly exhaustive look at all of the various aspects that contribute to delinquency and violence. The chapters are concise reviews of the current research literature on all areas of juvenile violent and antisocial behaviors. As a whole, it is extremely well-referenced, with pertinent articles cited at the end of each section. The book is very easy to read and is ideal for child mental health professionals looking to quickly review the data on specific aspects of violence. The book has eight chapters in all. The first two chapters discuss antisocial and aggressive behaviors and examine both innate as well as environmental factors contributing to these behaviors in youths. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the relevant psychiatric disorders including conduct, oppositional defiant, attention deficit, and disruptive behavior disorders. Chapter 5 provides an overview of juvenile offenders and includes a section on sex offenders. The remainder of the book covers the comorbid psychiatric disorders associated with this population, including substance abuse, childhood abuse, neglect, and suicide. Throughout the book, the editors discuss treatment modalities. They include both pharmacological as well as familial and psychological treatment options at the end of each chapter. The chapters and material are presented in a straightforward manner so as to be easily accessed by both pediatricians as well as specialists. Given its format, Antisocial and Violent Youths is an ideal reference for pediatricians, family physicians, and child and adolescent psychiatrists working with at-risk youth populations in urban settings. It offers the opportunity for physicians to familiarize themselves conceptually with this developing body of multidisciplinary research. It also provides direct applications to clinical practice with an introduction to potential risk factors for youth violence and a review of measures to prevent the development of violence in adolescence. It also affords the child and adolescent psychiatrist a wealth of information on effective treatment modalities and the research that supports their use. The major weaknesses of this volume stem from its being a collection of digest reports. This is most noticeable with the authors’ tendency to be too brief and concise at times. Many of the chapters merely summarize the data without any subsequent discussion of what is presented. The book would have benefited from expanded commentaries from the editors about the data presented in the various articles. When comments are included in chapters, they are often sparse and limited to a few sentences. Another weakness of this book lies in its outline format. If used as a reference, this is a desirable and helpful feature; however, if the reader is attempting to read the book as a whole, the material is presented in a way that renders it dense and disjointed. 1484
It is also interesting to note how the editors have chosen to group the various topics into chapters. For example, while the editors exhaustively review the role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use in the development of violence, they present few data on the role of various other Axis I disorders such as psychotic, mood, and anxiety disorders. The data that are presented on these topics appear to be only briefly included at the end of chapter 3. Because of the frequent comorbidity between these disorders, it would have made more sense to include these data in a separate chapter. This would have allowed the editors to discuss suicide within the context of the various disorders instead of in a separate chapter. Having suicide as a separate topic at the end of the book lends a disconnected sense to the editors’ discussion of violence. Throughout the book, the editors present a wealth of information on various family factors that contribute to violence. Again, it seems that given the relative importance of psychosocial and family influences on the development of violence, it would have been helpful to have a separate chapter for these reports. It also would have helped consolidate data that otherwise are presented in a somewhat disjointed fashion. Finally, given that most of the data on physical aggression are incorporated into other sections of the book, it seems unnecessary to discuss this topic separately. Finally, it is important to note that because the book is a collection of the most current data, it runs the risk of becoming outdated relatively quickly. We hope that the editors will publish follow-up volumes of collected reviews periodically. Despite these shortcomings, we highly recommend the book; it contains a wealth of important and relevant information that can easily be accessed by any physician. Pediatricians and child and adolescent psychiatrists, especially those working in forensic psychiatry, should consider Antisocial and Violent Youths a major reference source for the evaluation and treatment of violent young people. Michele Casoli-Reardon, M.D. Triple Board Resident Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Brown University Medical School Providence, RI Joseph V. Penn, M.D. Clinical Assistant Professor Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Brown University Medical School Providence, RI
Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children. Edited by Karl S. Rosengren, Carl N. Johnson, and Paul L. Harris. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 418 pp., $69.95 (hardcover), $24.95 (softcover).
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1
BOOK REVIEWS
Imagining the Impossible, a tantalizingly titled book, attempts to “capture something of the larger spirit of . . . efforts” of research in the past 10 years that has explored children’s thinking about magic, religion, and imaginary beings. Its editors identify three recurrent themes of the book: “going beyond the possible, beyond scientific rationality and shaping the metaphysical.” Further delineated in the preface, the book aims to focus on (1) the way children think about magic, the supernatural, and the metaphysical; (2) alternative ways of conceptualizing the developmental progress of children’s modes of thinking; and (3) development of metaphysical thinking within social and cultural contexts, as well as searching for universal features of human mentation. One of the difficulties of the book is how loosely the “larger spirit” is defined. One chapter (13) does not mention children at all, and children seem rather incidental to several other chapters (1, 9–12). It is easy to wonder whether these chapters were composed for the sole purpose of this book or were separate works pulled together by the editors. In spite of a synoptic overview in the preface, the book does not seem cohesive. In only 1 of the 13 chapters is a target audience identified, but it appears that academic developmental psychologists would be the most likely candidates. Readers who are not developmental psychologists may easily find the jargon/vocabulary, style of writing, and concepts that are mentioned, but not defined, difficult to understand and very tedious. Much of the material presented is wordy and esoteric. Struggling through the verbiage, with multiple rereadings, may result in little reward for the effort. It is possible that this situation is akin to a nonpsychiatrist plodding through a text on psychoanalytic theories and concepts, as much as it is a criticism of this particular volume. Throughout the book and in the preface, the authors claim this work is a counterpoint to prior research that suggests that children become increasingly scientific and rational over the course of development. Again and again, the notion of logical and magical thinking occurring simultaneously in an individual throughout the lifespan is presented as novel and in need of supporting evidence. To the reader trained in psychiatry this emphasis may seem tiresome. Coming from a profession grounded in other conceptual frameworks, including psychoanalytic theories of behavior, these readers will not appreciate the debate this book aims to address. There are several chapters that may appeal to child and adolescent psychiatrists. In particular, the chapters authored by the editors are presented in a clearer writing style. The Rosengren and Hickling chapter, Metamorphosis and Magic: The Development of Children’s Thinking About Possible Events and Plausible Mechanisms, proposes an alternative developmental trajectory of magical reasoning. According to these authors, magical thinking is not an error in logic, but a specific type of causal reasoning that uses specific supernatural powers. Magical rea-
soning represents an alternative form of causal reasoning that is separate from foundational forms of reasoning (e.g., biology, physics, etc.) and from religious explanations. This type of reasoning emerges during the preschool years and shows a rapid decline when children enter the years of formal schooling. The search for causal explanations, the acquisition of new knowledge, and cultural support shape and determine this timetable. The Development of Beliefs About Direct Mental-Physical Causality in Imagination, Magic and Religion by Woolley claims to challenge the traditional Piagetian view of the development of magical thinking. Experimental work about children’s beliefs regarding wishing versus praying—their components, the processes involved, beliefs about efficacy—is presented. The author concludes that children do not seem to be confused about reality, but categorize wishing and praying separately from the rest of their understanding about cause and effect. Woolley suggests that mental-physical causality plays a useful role in most cultures for both children and adults, by providing an increased sense of control, as well as a source of fun and pleasure. In On Not Falling Down to Earth: Children’s Metaphysical Questions, Paul Harris, another of the book’s editors, wonders why little attention has been paid to the development of children’s religious thinking. He blames this lack on traditional Piagetian thinking. Later, he concludes there is no distinct difference in how children think about religion versus other nonactual events, making his assignment of blame somewhat moot. However, this chapter presents a summary of some of Piaget’s theories, as well as some insightful criticism of these concepts. He presents some thoughts about how children contemplate the nonactual, combining cultural information and knowledge of causality to develop their notions regarding God, death, and spirituality. Putting Different Things Together: The Development of Metaphysical Thinking offers a less critical view of Piaget’s work. Carl Johnson, the third editor, reports that much of the criticism leveled at Piaget does not fully appreciate Piaget’s own goals and agenda for his work. Johnson’s essay discusses the contributions of many scholars to the understanding of how children think, emphasizing the strengths of Piaget’s contributions. He refers to several of the other chapters in the book, possibly attempting to pull the book together. Another readable chapter of interest to child and adolescent psychiatrists is The Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parental Attitudes About Children’s Fantasy Behavior. Taylor and Carlson present information from ethnographic studies, case histories, and anecdotes describing adults’ reactions to children’s fantasy activities. Even in cultures in which parents had very negative attitudes about children’s fantasies, children engaged in fantasy play. The authors contend that adults’ religious ideologies shape their own reactions and interpretations of the children’s
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1
1485
BOOK REVIEWS
behaviors, as well as determine how openly and in what form the children’s fantasies will be expressed. Other chapters make cogent and worthy points. However, the issues alluded to earlier outweigh the merits of these chapters. A case in point is Theology and Physical Science: A Story of Developmental Influence at the Boundaries. The central claims of this chapter are that Christian theology has been profoundly shaped by the development of Western physical science and that the relationship between the two fields has not been fundamentally adversarial. The chapter summarizes vast periods of time and major contributions to the fields of science and religion in a coherent and succinct fashion. Unfortunately, its role in this particular volume is unclear at best. In Knowledge Change in Response to Data in Science, Religion, and Magic, it is reported that researchers have found that children from different cultures construct very similar preinstructional explanations for phenomena in biology and physics. It is unfortunate that these intriguing data are not explored further. Moreover, this chapter repeatedly gets bogged down in supporting such “conclusions” as these: the goals of science and religion are different; religion is not data-driven; students
1486
often endorse correct scientific theories based on their trust in teaching authorities even when they are presented with no observable data to support these theories. Taken as a whole, this book is disappointing. However, several of the chapters are well-written and of likely interest to child and adolescent psychiatrists, many of whom know little of cognitive psychology except for the traditional Piagetian developmental theories. It is worthwhile to read about points of contention in this field, alternative ways of understanding these aspects of development, and a reassessment of Piaget’s contributions. Emphasis on environmental, cultural, and social impacts on development is also valuable. However, it is hoped that this book has much more than this to offer to the field of academic developmental psychology. Diane Elizabeth Treadwell-Deering Department of Psychiatry Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Note to Publishers: Books for review should be sent to Christopher Thomas, M.D., UTMB Department of Psychiatry, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0193.
J . A M . AC A D . C H I L D A D O L E S C . P S YC H I AT RY, 4 0 : 12 , D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 1