Chaos and Complexity in Psychology: The Theory of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

by Stephen J. Guastello (Editor), Matthijs Koopmans (Editor), David Pincus (Editor)

While many books have discussed methodological advances in nonlinear dynamical systems theory (NDS), this volume is unique in its focus on NDS’s role in the development of psychological theory. After an introductory chapter covering the fundamentals of chaos, complexity, and other nonlinear dynamics, subsequent chapters provide in-depth coverage of each of the specific topic areas in psychology. A concluding chapter takes stock of the field as a whole, evaluating important challenges for the immediate future. The chapters are written by experts in the use of NDS in each of their respective areas, including biological, cognitive, developmental, social, organizational, and clinical psychology. Each chapter provides an in-depth examination of theoretical foundations and specific applications and a review of relevant methods. This edited collection represents the state of the art in NDS science across the disciplines of psychology.

Genres: Psychology

552 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some chapters are extremely technical mathematically, but a number of essays are quite accessible and provide interesting insight into the ubiquitous application of the systems model in different domains such as organizational and social behaviour, and neural net modelling. The conclusion is excellent.

[Nikos Bar · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book you are incited to start searching nonlinear modelling in psychology.