Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Uttal, David H.

Titel

Maintaining Homeostasis Is Certainly Important, But Can It Lead to Change?

Ist Teil von

• Contemporary psychology, 1991-12, Vol.36 (12), p.1054-1055

Erscheinungsjahr

1991

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Reviews the book, Coping with Uncertainty: Behavioral and Developmental Perspectives edited by David S. Palermo (see record 1989-97875-000). The processes through which organisms cope with the stress and uncertainty associated with unpredictable environments is a topic of both classic and current interest. Unfortunately, research on stress and coping has too often been hampered by traditional divisions within psychology. The chapters presented in this volume represent an attempt to redress this problem. The book presents research on both behavioral and physiological responses to stress and uncertainty, and the reader with basic knowledge in these areas can easily integrate many of the chapters. Two central themes can be discerned from the various chapters. First, it is clear that behavior is the primary mechanism by which organisms balance the need to maintain internal homeostasis with the complexity and uncertainty that are encountered in the external environment. The second consistent theme is that within many species, there are wide individual differences in coping mechanisms, as well as reactions to uncertainty. In general, this book is less successful in its attempt to explore issues in the development of mechanisms for dealing with uncertainty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)