Neuroscience, Psychology and Conflict Management

Reviewed by Rebecca Stoddart, Emerita Professor of Psychological Science, Saint Mary's College on 8/20/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book has a lofty goal: covering the relationship between Neuroscience, Psychology, and Conflict Management. Taken individually by topic, the author does a thorough job addressing aspects of neuroscience and theories of psychology and relevant topics to conflict management, e.g., attention, problem solving, social cohesiveness and group identity, etc., but little to specifically address conflict management or its relationship to neuroscience and psychology. It seems at times to be an introductory psychology or neuroscience textbook with little attention to conflict analysis and its resolution. I was surprised that there was no integrative chapter at the end of the book addressing conflict management itself and integrating the previously-presented information on neuroscience and psychology in relationship to that focal topic.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The information in each chapter is accurate and unbiased. The use of "her" and "him" to refer to various theorists and authors main be normative in Australia, but may be disconcerting for American social scientists, many of whom have now adopted "they'' as the personal pronoun reference in order to be neutral in referring to authors' gender identity.
There are significant errors in accessing many of the key readings in each chapter. I encountered difficulty at the outset in reading the e-book, whether accessed via Chrome or Safari, as many of the required readings either did not have http links provided to them, or the links took you to a paywall. The book needs a thorough editing to add http links to every reading, and to negotiate with publishers so that users of the ebook can access them without payment. For example, one of the main readings on neuroscience and conflict management, e.g., Fitzduff's Our Brains at War: The Neuroscience of Conflict and Peacebuilding, cannot be accessed without payment to Oxford Press. This happened to me with many of the assigned readings and needs to be corrected before the book can be used as a classroom text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The majority of the text is up-to-date, and once the links to the readings are included and work, chapters could be used independently in an introductory psychology introduction to neuroscience, or conflict management course. Given that I was unable to access the majority of the assigned readings external to the text, I cannot state for certain that the readings are fully up-to-date. The videos and TED talks are accessible and up-to-date and are one of the main highlights throughout the text.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written clearly and terms are defined throughout the text before delving into technical information.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is consistent for the most part in how each of the 5 chapters are covered. The inconsistency that I found was in the depth of coverage afforded to the topics. For example, the chapters on neuroscience and biology of the mind were very detailed, down to details on neurons, heredity, brain structures, and epigenetic transcription factors, while sections in other chapters, e.g., personality, required the reader to access details found in assigned readings (that I was unable to access) without much discussion or context.

Modularity rating: 4

For the most part, the text could be used in modules with chapters assigned to supplement other texts that instructors are using in their introductory psychology, social psychology, neuroscience, or conflict management courses. Some of the chapters refer back to readings and topics covered previously, e.g., the Mind and Emotions chapters refers to neural processes and brain structures covered in the first chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Each chapter follows the same organization throughout the text: and introduction to the topic, learning outcomes, a list of key readings (though as stated earlier, many are inaccessible), links to videos and/or TED talks, and reflection activities. Appropriate subheadings are provided in each chapter, e.g., in the Mind chapter, there are 7 sections that address perception through decision-making.

Interface rating: 2

As stated earlier, a major problem with the text is the inability access required readings that are left uncovered within the text itself. The TED talks accompanying videos, and graphs are clear, informative and accessible.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is free of grammatical errors and is well-written.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The author opens the text with a reference to the contributions and respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. Culture differences are acknowledged in several chapters, specifically in the Mind and Emotions chapters. There are no inoffensive references.

Comments

As a psychologist with special interests in neurodevelopmental and social psychology, I looked forward to reading and learning more about the connections between the 3 topics stated in the book title. I came away from it learning relatively little about how neuroscience and psychology connected to conflict management, analysis and resolution, and frustrated by my inability to complete the required external readings throughout. I hope that the author, who is a clear writer and has done a wonderful job of integrating interesting and informative videos in each chapter, revises the text to make the readings accessible. And importantly, integrates more information in each chapter about how the topic is specifically relevant and useful to those involved in conflict management, rather than asking readers to figure this out for themselves via the reflection activities.

Reviewed by Rachel Feldwisch, Associate Dean, College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, University of Indianapolis on 4/3/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The title of the book was an immediate draw, as it is difficult to find applied neuroscience texts on practical topics that feel approachable to a wide range of readers. The book begins with coverage of neuroscience, then applies major areas of psychology (cognitions, emotions, personality, and social psychology) to the study of conflict resolution. The table of contents is a helpful navigation tool (index and glossary were not included).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

A few minor errors exist in the text, such as referring to the APA as the "American Psychology Association." The text appears to be free from bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is contemporary and relevant, with inclusion of topics in recent history such as COVID-19. Coverage of neuroscience is current and could easily be updated over time given how well the book is structured and organized.

Clarity rating: 4

The author's writing is clear and accessible with an approachable tone. Some of the psychological content (for example, coverage of personality theories) could have been explained more in depth as opposed to relying on external resources.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

Based upon the title, I was expecting neuroscience to be more integrated throughout the text. However, the author's approach does lend well to utilizing the book within a classroom where topical areas are covered separately. The book could easily be utilized for a college course or for independent self-study.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Chapters are well organized with Learning Outcomes, Key Readings, bolded key terms, imbedded Extensions, and Reflection Activities.

Interface rating: 4

The images and text are easy to read. Weblinks were functional, such as the links to professional organizations. Using the PDF version, it takes several steps to access the videos (navigating out of the text and following a path through several websites). However, the videos would enhance understanding of the material and were well selected. Internal links (for example, at the beginning of Chapter 2, page 10) did not function when using the online PDF version of the text. Some images were crisp and clear, whereas some figures contained blurry text (e.g., Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, p. 141).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical errors were not prevalent.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book opens with an Acknowledgement of Country/land acknowledgement and is respectful of cultural differences throughout. The imagery depicts people from diverse ethnicities/cultures. Section on prejudice (Chapter 4) and the "Culture and Attribution" segment (Chapter 5) were highlights.

Comments

I enjoyed reading Neuroscience, Psychology, and Conflict Management and could envision using the text for an advanced topics course at the undergraduate level, or within our graduate level neuroscience course to apply concepts to real world practice.