Language and learning

Language and learning

312 Boor: REVIEWS pharmacology and psychiatry. The very deficit of this book--its perhaps excessive focus upon the (important) pioneering work of Lo...

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312

Boor: REVIEWS

pharmacology and psychiatry. The very deficit of this book--its perhaps excessive focus upon the (important) pioneering work of Longo and his group--contributes to its intrinsic interest, there is a sense of historical continuity which makes this rather technical subject become alive even to the nonspecialist in the area. BROWN, DANIEL C. Behavior Modification in Child School and Family Mental

Health: An Annotated Biobliography on Applications with Parents and Teachers in Marriage and Family Counseling. Champaign, IL: Research Press, 1972, ix + 105 Pp. $2.00. The full title of this inexpensive little book accurately describes its contents and scope. Daniel Brown has achieved a nice balance between comprehension and selectivity and the outcome is a useful, up-to-date compendium of the more important items in the areas covered that the nonacademic busy clinician or field investigator is likely to need. The annotations are sufficiently detailed to be truly informative, and books, films, and tapes are not neglected. Also included are names, addresses, prices, and other key data.

BmTTON, JAMES. Language and Learning. Harmondsworth, Penqnin Books, 1972, 297 Pp. $2.45.

Middlesex, England:

The author is neither psychologist, philosopher, sociologist, linguist, nor literary critic: he is Professor of Education in The University of London. And yet his book skillfully embraces all of these areas as he strives to make anyone who cares to listen--which include parents and teachers, not to mention members of the above professions--aware of the manner in which language is employed as a representation of the world we create for ore'selves and use as the basis of all the predictions by which we govern our lives. Language-using behavior--says Britton--is of two kinds: as participants, we use language in the everyday management of our lives; as spectators, we employ language contemplative!y and to modify the representation within ourselves of this world. His most difficult chapter--Language and Thought--leans heavily on the concepts of Bruner and, to a lesser extent, Vigotsky as it attempts to trace the development of cognitive processes first in the individual and then as part of the cognitiveeum-affective complex to be found in the arts. Other chapters consider the role of langrlage in the child's home and school and, beyond these limiting areas, its extension into the world around him as he emerges into manhood. BECK, AARON T. Depression: Causes and Treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972, xiv + 370 Pp. $12.50 (Paperback $4.45). Originally published in 1967 in hard-cover edition under the title of "Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects," this book is now available in paperback form for the first time. Well written, interesting, comprehensive and scholarly, yet free of unnecessary jargon, this outstanding and now inexpensive contribution to the topic of depression should be on the desk of all who have a professional interest in this field. Students will find it particularly valuable. My only regret is that Beck did not bring it up to date and include not only the general and