Essentials of Psychology

Description

In a concise and accessible 14-chapter format, Essentials of Psychology, 4/e, retains key features of Bernstein’s, Psychology, 7/e, including Thinking Critically, Focus on Research, and Linkages. Combining extensive pedagogical support and emphasis on active learning, the text challenges students to learn by doing--to actively participate using materials from the text and to think about what they’re learning as opposed to passively receiving written information. The Fourth Edition includes the latest information on research in the field. The text’s integrated pedagogical system helps students master the material by supporting the elements of the PQ4R (Preview, Question, Read, Recite, Review, and Reflect) Study System. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Brief Contents Contents Preface 1 Introduction to the Science of Psychology The World of Psychology: An Overview Subfields of Psychology Linkages Within Psychology and Beyond A Brief History of Psychology Approaches to the Science of Psychology The Biological Approach The Evolutionary Approach The Psychodynamic Approach The Behavioral Approach The Cognitive Approach The Humanistic Approach Human Diversity and Psychology The Impact of Sociocultural Diversity on Psychology Thinking Critically About Psychology (or Anything Else) Five Questions for Critical Thinking Critical Thinking and Scientific Research Research Methods in Psychology Naturalistic Observation: Watching Behavior Case Studies: Taking a Closer Look Surveys: Looking at the Big Picture Correlational Studies: Looking for Relationships Experiments: Exploring Cause and Effect FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Studying EMDR Selecting Human Participants for Research LINKAGES: Psychological Research and Behavioral Genetics Statistical Analysis of Research Results Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Active Review 2 Biology and Behavior Cells of the Nervous System Neurons Action Potentials Synapses and Communication Between Neurons Organization of the Nervous System The Peripheral Nervous System: Keeping in Touch with the World The Somatic Nervous System The Autonomic Nervous System The Central Nervous System: Making Sense of the World The Spinal Cord The Brain THINKING CRITICALLY: What Can fMRI Tell Us About Behavior and Mental Processes? The Hindbrain The Midbrain The Forebrain The Cerebral Cortex Sensory and Motor Cortex FOCUS ON RESEARCH: The Case of the Disembodied Woman Association Cortex The Divided Brain: Lateralization Plasticity in the Central Nervous System LINKAGES: Human Development and the Changing Brain The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters Three Classes of Neurotransmitters The Endocrine System: Coordinating the Internal World Active Review 3 Sensation and Perception Sensing and Perceiving the World Sensory Systems Coding Sensations: Did You Feel That? Absolute Thresholds: Is Something Out There? Seeing Light Focusing Light Converting Light into Images Seeing Color Theories of Color Vision Colorblindness Hearing Sound The Ear Coding Sounds The Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell Smell, Taste, and Flavor Our Sense of Smell Our Sense of Taste Sensing Your Body Touch and Temperature Pain THINKING CRITICALLY: Does Acupuncture Relieve Pain? Sensing Body Position Perception Organizing the Perceptual World Principles of Perceptual Organization Perception of Depth and Distance Perception of Motion Perceptual Constancy Size Illusions Recognizing the Perceptual World Bottom-Up Processing Top-Down Processing Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing Together Culture, Experience, and Perception LINKAGES: Perception and Human Development Attention Directing Attention Dividing Attention FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Attention and the Brain Active Review 4 Consciousness The Scope of Consciousness States of Consciousness Levels of Consciousness Mental Processing Without Awareness THINKING CRITICALLY: Can Subliminal Messages Change Your Behavior? FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Subliminal Messages in Rock Music Altered States of Consciousness Sleeping and Dreaming Stages of Sleep Sleep Disorders Why Do People Sleep? Dreams and Dreaming Hypnosis Experiencing Hypnosis Explaining Hypnosis Applications of Hypnosis LINKAGES: Meditation, Health, and Stress Psychoactive Drugs Psychopharmacology The Varying Effects of Drugs Depressants Stimulants Opiates Hallucinogens Active Review 5 Learning Classical Conditioning: Learning Signals and Associations Pavlov’s Discovery Conditioned Responses over Time: Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination The Signaling of Significant Events Some Applications of Classical Conditioning Instrumental and Operant Conditioning: Learning the Consequences of Behavior From the Puzzle Box to the Skinner Box Basic Components of Operant Conditioning Forming and Strengthening Operant Behavior Why Reinforcers Work Punishment Some Applications of Operant Conditioning LINKAGES: Networks of Learning Cognitive Processes in Learning Learned Helplessness FOCUS ON RESEARCH: The “I Can’t Do It” Attitude Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps Insight and Learning Observational Learning: Learning by Imitation THINKING CRITICALLY: Does Watching Violence on Television Make People More Violent? Using Research on Learning to Help People Learn Classrooms Across Cultures Active Learning Skill Learning Active Review 6 Memory The Nature of Memory Basic Memory Processes Types of Memory Models of Memory Storing New Memories Sensory Memory Short-Term Memory and Working Memory Long-Term Memory Distinguishing Between Short-Term and Long-Term Memory Retrieving Memories Retrieval Cues and Encoding Specificity Context and State Dependence Retrieval from Semantic Memory Constructing Memories FOCUS ON RESEARCH: I Could Swear I Heard It! Constructive Memory and PDP Models LINKAGES: Memory and Perception in the Courtroom Forgetting How Do We Forget? Why Do We Forget? THINKING CRITICALLY: Can Traumatic Memories Be Repressed, Then Recovered? Biological Bases of Memory The Biochemistry of Memory Brain Structures and Memory Improving Your Memory Mnemonics Guidelines for More Effective Studying Active Review 7 Thought, Language, and Intelligence Basic Functions of Thought The Circle of Thought Mental Representations: The Ingredients of Thought Concepts Propositions Schemas, Scripts, and Mental Models Images and Cognitive Maps Thinking Strategies Formal Reasoning Informal Reasoning Problem Solving Strategies for Problem Solving FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Problem-Solving Strategies in the Real World Obstacles to Problem Solving Problem Solving by Computer Creative Thinking Decision Making Evaluating Options Biases and Flaws in Decision Making LINKAGES: Group Processes in Problem Solving and Decision Making Language Learning to Speak: Stages of Language Development How Is Language Acquired? Testing Intelligence A Brief History of Intelligence Tests Intelligence Tests Today Calculating IQ Evaluating Intelligence Tests The Reliability and Validity of Intelligence Tests IQ Scores as a Measure of Inherited Ability Group Differences in IQ Scores THINKING CRITICALLY: Are Intelligence Tests Unfairly Biased Against Certain Groups? Diversity in Intelligence Practical and Creative Intelligence Multiple Intelligences Unusual Intelligence Active Review 8 Motivation and Emotion Concepts and Theories of Motivation Sources of Motivation Instinct Theory and Its Descendants Drive Reduction Theory Optimal Arousal Theory Incentive Theory Eating Signals for Hunger and Satiety Hunger and the Brain Flavor, Sociocultural Experience, and Food Selection Eating Disorders Sexual Behavior FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Tell Me About Your Sex Life The Biology of Sex Social and Cultural Factors in Sexuality Sexual Orientation THINKING CRITICALLY: What Shapes Sexual Orientation? Sexual Dysfunctions Achievement Motivation Need for Achievement Achievement and Success in the Workplace Achievement and Subjective Well-Being Relations and Conflicts Among Motives Maslow’s Hierarchy LINKAGES: Conflicting Motives and Stress The Nature of Emotion Defining Characteristics The Biology of Emotion Theories of Emotion James’s Peripheral Theory Cannon’s Central Theory Cognitive Theories Communicating Emotion Innate Expressions of Emotion Social and Cultural Influences on Emotional Expression Active Review 9 Human Development Exploring Human Development Understanding Genetic Influence Genes and the Environment Beginnings Prenatal Development The Newborn Infancy and Childhood: Cognitive Development The Development of Knowledge: Piaget’s Theory FOCUS ON RESEARCH: What Do Infants Know About Physics? Modifying Piaget’s Theory Information Processing During Childhood LINKAGES: Development and Memory Culture and Cognitive Development Individual Variations in Cognitive Development Infancy and Childhood: Social and Emotional Development Individual Temperament The Infant Grows Attached THINKING CRITICALLY: Does Day Care Harm the Emotional Development of Infants? Relationships with Parents and Peers Social Skills Gender Roles Adolescence The Challenges of Change Identity and Development of the Self Moral Reasoning Adulthood Physical Changes Cognitive Changes Social Changes Death and Dying Active Review 10 Health, Stress, and Coping Health Psychology Understanding Stress and Stressors Psychological Stressors Measuring Stressors Stress Responses Physical Responses Psychological Responses LINKAGES: Stress and Psychological Disorders Stress Mediators How Stressors Are Perceived Predictability and Control Coping Resources and Coping Methods Social Support Stress, Personality, and Gender FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Personality and Health The Physiology and Psychology of Health and Illness Stress, Illness, and the Immune System Stress, Illness, and the Cardiovascular System THINKING CRITICALLY: Does Hostility Increase the Risk of Heart Disease? Promoting Healthy Behavior Health Beliefs and Health Behaviors Changing Health Behaviors: Stages of Readiness Programs for Coping with Stress and Promoting Health Active Review 11 Personality The Psychodynamic Approach The Structure of Personality Stages of Personality Development Variations on Freud’s Personality Theory Contemporary Psychodynamic Theories Evaluating the Psychodynamic Approach The Trait Approach Early Trait Theories The Big-Five Model of Personality Biological Trait Theories THINKING CRITICALLY: Are Personality Traits Inherited? Evaluating the Trait Approach The Social-Cognitive Approach Prominent Social-Cognitive Theories Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Approach The Humanistic Approach Prominent Humanistic Theories Evaluating the Humanistic Approach LINKAGES: Personality, Culture, and Human Development FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Personality Development over Time Assessing Personality Objective Personality Tests Projective Personality Tests Personality Tests and Employee Selection Active Review 12 Psychological Disorders Defining Psychological Disorders What Is Abnormal? Behavior in Context: A Practical Approach Explaining Psychological Disorders The Biopsychosocial Model Diathesis-Stress as an Integrative Explanation Classifying Psychological Disorders A Classification System: DSM-IV Evaluating the Diagnostic System THINKING CRITICALLY: Is Psychological Diagnosis Biased? Anxiety Disorders Types of Anxiety Disorders Causes of Anxiety Disorders LINKAGES: Anxiety Disorders and Learning Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders Mood Disorders Depressive Disorders Bipolar Disorders Causes of Mood Disorders Schizophrenia Symptoms of Schizophrenia Categorizing Schizophrenia Causes of Schizophrenia Personality Disorders FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Exploring Links Between Child Abuse and Antisocial Personality Disorder A Sampling of Other Psychological Disorders Psychological Disorders of Childhood Substance-Related Disorders Mental Illness and the Law Active Review 13 Treatment of Psychological Disorders Basic Features of Treatment Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Classical Psychoanalysis Contemporary Variations on Psychoanalysis Humanistic Psychotherapy Client-Centered Therapy Gestalt Therapy Behavior Therapy and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Techniques for Modifying Behavior Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Group, Family, and Couples Therapy Group Therapy Family and Couples Therapy Evaluating Psychotherapy THINKING CRITICALLY: Are All Forms of Therapy Equally Effective? FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Which Therapies Work Best for Which Problems? Sociocultural Factors in Therapy Rules and Rights in the Therapeutic Relationship Biological Treatments Electroconvulsive Therapy Psychoactive Drugs Human Diversity and Drug Treatment Drugs and Psychotherapy LINKAGES: Biology, Behavior, and the Treatment of Psychological Disorders Community Psychology Active Review 14 Social Psychology Social Influences on the Self Social Comparison FOCUS ON RESEARCH: Self-Esteem and the Ultimate Terror Social Identity Theory Social Perception The Role of Schemas First Impressions Explaining Behavior: Attribution Biases in Attribution Attitudes The Structure of Attitudes Forming Attitudes Changing Attitudes Prejudice and Stereotypes Theories of Prejudice and Stereotyping Reducing Prejudice Interpersonal Attraction Keys to Attraction Intimate Relationships and Love Social Influence Social Norms Conformity and Compliance Obedience Factors Affecting Obedience Evaluating Obedience Research Aggression Why Are People Aggressive? When Are People Aggressive? THINKING CRITICALLY: Does Pornography Cause Aggression? Altruism and Helping Behavior Why Do People Help? Cooperation, Competition, and Conflict Group Processes The Presence of Others Group Leadership Groupthink LINKAGES: Biological and Social Psychology Active Review Appendix: Statistics in Psychological Research Answer Key to Multiple-Choice Self-Test Questions Answer Key to In Review Chart Questions References Credits Glossary/Index