It's a Jungle in There
How Competition and Cooperation in the Brain Shape the Mind

It's a Jungle in There pursues the hypothesis that the overarching theory of biology, Darwin's theory, should be the overarching theory of cognitive psychology. David Rosenbaum, a cognitive psychologist and former editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology, proposes that the phenomena of cognitive psychology can be understood as emergent interactions among neural elements that compete and cooperate in a kind of inner jungle. This perspective allows Rosenbaum to present cognitive psychology in a new way, both for students (for whom the book is mainly intended) and for seasoned investigators (who may be looking for a fresh way to approach and understand their material). Rather than depicting the discipline as a rag-tag collection of miscellaneous facts, as has generally been the case in textbooks, this book presents cognitive psychology under a single rubric: "It's a jungle in there." Making continual reference to hypothetical neural creatures eking out their livings in a tough environment, the book offers an over-arching principle that will both entertain readers and motivate more in-depth study of the mind and brain.

David A. Rosenbaum is Professor of Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University. He is an award-winning researcher and teacher in the field of cognitive psychology. His research on the cognitive psychology of motor control has helped bridge these two fields. His teaching of cognitive psychology has led him to the theory offered here.