Self-Observation in the Social Sciences

Clegg (psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City U. of New York) contends that psychologists cannot ignore the role of self-observation in the field and that there is a need for more adequate theories and practices related to the practice. For psychologists and students, he brings together 14 chapters by psychologists in the US and UK who address the evolution of self-observation, including myths surrounding the introspectionist tradition, the early history of self-report measures in psychology, and the three-stage myth of movement from introspection to behaviorism to cognitivism; the theory and practice of contemporary self-observation, including its use as a linguistic and social practice, principles for conducting self-observation research, and a multi-modal introspection theory; and history, theory, and practice in the phenomenological and narrative traditions, including ethnographic perspectives. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)