What is Psychology?: Essentials

About the Authors......Page 7
Brief Contents......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 22
Ch 1: What is Psychology?......Page 33
What is Psychology?......Page 35
The Origins of Psychology......Page 38
Psychology in the Modern World......Page 43
Psychological Research: Goals, Hypotheses, and Methods......Page 50
Ethical Principles of Psychological Research......Page 61
Studying the Chapter......Page 64
Ch 2: How Does Biology Influence Our Behavior?......Page 69
Billions of Neurons: Communication in the Brain......Page 71
Neurotransmitters: Chemical Messengers in the Brain......Page 79
The Structure of the Nervous System......Page 83
The Brain and Spine: The Central Nervous System......Page 86
The Endocrine System: Hormones and Behavior......Page 101
Studying the Chapter......Page 103
Ch 3: How Do We Sense and Perceive Our World?......Page 109
How Do Psychologists Measure Sensation and Perception?......Page 111
Vision: Seeing the World......Page 114
Hearing: Listening to the World......Page 124
The Other Senses: Taste, Smell, Touch, and the Body Senses......Page 129
Perception: How Do We Interpret Sensory Information?......Page 137
How Accurate are Our Perceptions?......Page 144
Studying the Chapter......Page 147
Ch 4: Consciousness: Wide Awake, in a Daze, or Dreaming?......Page 153
Sleep, Dreaming, and Circadian Rhythm......Page 155
Hypnosis: Real or Imagined?......Page 169
Psychoactive Drugs......Page 173
Studying the Chapter......Page 188
Ch 5: How Do We Learn?......Page 193
Learning in Its Simplest Form: Habituation......Page 195
Classical Conditioning: Learning Through the Association of Stimuli......Page 199
Operant Conditioning: Learning from the Consequences of Our Actions......Page 209
Observational Learning or Modeling: Learning by Watching Others......Page 225
Studying the Chapter......Page 228
Ch 6: How Does Memory Function?......Page 233
The Functions of Memory: Encoding, Storing, and Retrieving......Page 235
How Do We Process New Memories?......Page 236
Long-Term Memory: Permanent Storage......Page 247
Retrieval and Forgetting: Random Access Memory?......Page 254
Is Memory Accurate?......Page 261
The Biology of Memory......Page 264
Studying the Chapter......Page 266
Ch 7: Cognition, Language, and Intelligence: How Do We Think?......Page 271
Thinking: How We Use What We Know......Page 273
Problem Solving: Where Does Our Thinking Get Us?......Page 279
Reasoning, Decision Making, and Judgment......Page 282
Language: Communication, Thought, and Culture......Page 286
Defining and Measuring Intelligence......Page 293
Let's Review......Page 307
Studying the Chapter......Page 308
Ch 8: Motivation and Emotion: What Guides Our Behavior?......Page 313
How Do Psychologists View Motivation?......Page 315
Hunger: What Makes Us Eat?......Page 320
Sexual Motivation......Page 332
Theories and Expression of Emotion......Page 341
Studying the Chapter......Page 349
Ch 9: How Do People Grow, Change, and Develop?......Page 355
Development: How Does It All Begin?......Page 357
Physical Development in Infancy and Childhood......Page 361
Cognitive Development in Infancy and Childhood......Page 364
Psychosocial Development in Infancy and Childhood......Page 374
Physical Changes in Adolescence and Adulthood......Page 382
Cognitive Changes in Adolescence and Adulthood......Page 387
Psychosocial Changes in Adolescence and Adulthood......Page 391
Death and Dying......Page 400
Studying the Chapter......Page 402
Ch 10: Social Psychology: How Do We Understand and Interact With Others?......Page 407
Attitudes: Changing Our Minds......Page 409
Forming Impressions of Others......Page 414
Prejudice: Why Can't We All Just Get Along?......Page 417
The Nature of Attraction: What Draws Us to Others?......Page 424
Groups: How Do Others Influence Us?......Page 428
Requests and Demands: Compliance and Obedience......Page 434
Aggression: Hurting Others......Page 441
Prosocial Behavior: Will You or Won't You Help Others?......Page 444
Let's Review......Page 447
Studying the Chapter......Page 448
Ch 11: Health, Stress, and Coping: How Can You Create a Healthy Life?......Page 453
What is Stress? Stress and Stressors......Page 455
The Stress Response: Is This Stress? How Do I React?......Page 463
How Can I Cope With Stress?......Page 468
Personality and Health......Page 474
Lifestyle, Health, and Well-Being......Page 478
Let's Review......Page 485
Studying the Chapter......Page 486
Ch 12: What is Personality and How Do We Measure It?......Page 491
The Psychoanalytic Approach: Sigmund Freud and the Neo-Freudians......Page 493
The Trait Approach: Consistency and Stability in Personality......Page 500
The Social Cognitive Approach: The Environment and Patterns of Thought......Page 509
The Humanistic Approach: Free Will and Self-Actualization......Page 512
Measuring Personality......Page 515
Studying the Chapter......Page 520
Ch 13: What are Psychological Disorders, and How Can We Understand Them?......Page 525
What is Abnormal Behavior?......Page 527
The DSM Model for Classifying Abnormal Behavior......Page 531
Anxiety Disorders: It's Not Just "Nerves"......Page 535
Dissociative and Somatoform Disorders: Other Forms of Anxiety?......Page 542
Mood Disorders: Beyond the Blues......Page 546
Schizophrenic Disorders: Disintegration......Page 555
Personality Disorders: Maladaptive Patterns of Behavior......Page 561
Studying the Chapter......Page 564
Ch 14: What Therapies are Used to Treat Psychological Problems?......Page 569
Providing Psychological Assistance......Page 571
Psychoanalytic Therapies: Uncovering Unconscious Conflicts......Page 576
Humanistic Therapy: Empathizing to Empower......Page 578
Behavior Therapies: Learning Healthier Behaviors......Page 580
Cognitive Therapies: Thinking Through Problems......Page 586
Group Therapy Approaches: Strength in Numbers......Page 589
Effective Psychotherapy: What Treatments Work?......Page 592
Biomedical Therapies: Changing the Chemistry......Page 595
Let's Review......Page 603
Studying the Chapter......Page 604
Appendix A: How are Statistics Used in Psychology?......Page 609
Appendix B: How Do We Apply Psychology in the Workplace?......Page 623