American Psychological
Association Mental retardation has been studied by psychologists for a long time. The assessment and conceptualization of human intelligence is basic to understanding the developmental progress of individuals and groups. Many social problems and social policies are affected by the differing levels of capacity and the cognitive structures of individuals. This includes allegations of abuse and the impact of individual differences in cognition on how the society responds to the abuse of children. This 540-page book consists of 33 chapters by different experts in mental retardation, 73 pages of references, and author and subject indexes. It is the most recent summary of the thinking and research that psychologists need to know in order to be responsible professionals whenever there is a possibility of mental retardation being involved in any issue. However, it requires a fairly sophisticated level of understanding and knowledge of retardation and cognitive development in order to use it. It is not an introduction and does not give the foundation that makes the material of the individual chapters usable except for those who already are familiar with the research and history of the last one hundred years of the science of psychology and cognition. For those with the requisite background, this is a useful summary. Reviewed by Ralph Underwager, Institute for Psychological Therapies.
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