HCC Recommended books

There is no single text that covers all the material for the course, but here are 4 that cover essential ideas:

Context and Consciousness by Bonnie A. Nardi (Ed.), 2nd printing, MIT Press, 1997.

Proposes activity theory as the theoretical basis for human-computer interaction. Includes a survey by Nardi contrasting activity theory, situated action and distributed cognition.

Interpersonal Processes in Groups and Organizations by Sara Kiesler, Harlan Davidson Inc., Illinois,1978.

An excellent survey of topics in social psychology that are relevant to dyads and groups. Includes attribution and a variety of theories of influence and persuasion.

Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind by James Wertsch, Harvard University Press 1985.

Vygotsky's ideas encompass education, learning and activity in the workplace, theories of language and social processes, and use of cognitive tools - i.e. most of the stuff in this course. This book is a well-written and critical exposition of those ideas. Its not an easy read, and is full of new ideas and perspectives and high in concept density. If you skim it, you can miss something very important. On the other hand, it really rewards careful reading.

Things that make us smart by Donald A. Norman, Addison Wesley, 1993.

Many important ideas about cognition and use of tools. Chapters on the power of represention, distributed cognition, and overall articulates human-centered design.

Other Good references:

The Psychology of the Child by Jean Piaget and Barbel Inhelder, Basic Books 1969.

Popular and very readable reference on Piaget's ideas.

 

Nonverbal Communication: The unspoken dialogue by Burgoon, Buller and Woodall, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Covers both non-verbal modes, and (part II) the functions of nonverbal communication, including emotion expression.

 

Scaffolding Children's Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education by Berk and Winsler, NAEYC Press.

Very readable and practical introduction to Vygotsky's ideas about education. Includes lots of beautiful photos of adult-child scaffolding. Good place to go first to get the gist of the Vygotskian point of view. Then follow up with Wertsch.

 

Understanding Practice: Perspectives on Activity and Context by Chaiklin and  Lave, Cambridge U Press, 1995.

A collection of chapters on situated activity, peripheral participation and distributed cognition. Good as an overview and report on the state-of-the-art in these areas.

Computers and Design in Context by Morten Kyng and Lars Mathiassen, MIT Press, 1997.