Exploring Psychology

by Myers

• ISBN13: 9780716715443
• ISBN10: 0716715449
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-02
• Publisher: Macmillan Higher Education

Summary

Through five editions of this bestselling brief text, David Myers has introduced psychology to millions of students. As always, the author's exceptionally communicative writing style and integrated use of the SQ3R learning system (Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review) make the text supremely engaging and understandable. The new edition of "Exploring Psychology offers a wealth of cutting-edge research and content from the most dynamic and burgeoning areas of the field--cognition, gender and diversity studies, neuroscience, industrial/organizational psychology, and more. In addition, a spectacular media-powered supplements package makes the "Sixth Edition the most compelling, effective, concise psychology textbook available.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
chapter 1 Thinking Critically With Psychological Science	1	(36)
What Is Psychology?	1	(10)
Psychology's Roots	1	(6)
Contemporary Psychology	7	(4)
Why Do Psychology?	11	(4)
What About Intuition and Common Sense?	11	(2)
The Scientific Attitude	13	(1)
Critical Thinking	14	(1)
How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?	15	(12)
The Scientific Method	15	(1)
Description	16	(3)
Correlation	19	(4)
Thinking Critically About: Hot and Cold Streaks in Basketball and the Stock Market	23	(1)
Experimentation	24	(3)
Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology	27	(4)
Tips for Studying Psychology	31	(6)
chapter 2 Neuroscience and Behavior	37	(32)
Neural Communication	38	(5)
Neurons	38	(1)
How Neurons Communicate	39	(1)
How Neurotransmitters Influence Us	40	(3)
The Nervous System	43	(3)
The Peripheral Nervous System	44	(1)
The Central Nervous System	45	(1)
The Brain	46	(12)
Lower-Level Brain Structures	46	(2)
Close-Up: The Tools of Discovery	48	(4)
The Cerebral Cortex	52	(6)
Brain Reorganization	58	(5)
Our Ever-Changing Brain	58	(1)
Our Divided Brain	59	(4)
The Endocrine System	63	(6)
chapter 3 The Nature and Nurture of Behavior	69	(30)
Genes: Our Biological Blueprint	69	(1)
Evolutionary Psychology: Maximizing Fitness	70	(5)
Natural Selection	71	(1)
Sexuality	72	(3)
Behavior Genetics: Predicting Individual Differences	75	(7)
Twin Studies	76	(2)
Adoption Studies	78	(1)
Temperament Studies	79	(1)
Group Differences	80	(1)
Nature Enables Nurture	80	(1)
Gene-Environment Interaction	80	(2)
Environmental Influence	82	(8)
How Much Credit (or Blame) Do Parents Deserve?	82	(1)
Prenatal Environment	83	(1)
Experience and Brain Development	83	(2)
Peer Influence	85	(1)
Culture	86	(4)
The Nature and Nurture of Gender	90	(3)
The Nature of Gender	90	(1)
The Nurture of Gender	90	(3)
Postscript: Reflections on Nature and Nurture	93	(6)
chapter 4 The Developing Person	99	(42)
Prenatal Development and the Newborn	99	(4)
Conception	99	(1)
Prenatal Development	100	(1)
The Competent Newborn	101	(1)
Close-Up: How Do We Know What Infants See and Remember?	102	(1)
Infancy and Childhood	103	(12)
Physical Development	103	(1)
Cognitive Development	104	(6)
Social Development	110	(5)
Adolescence	115	(9)
Physical Development	115	(2)
Cognitive Development	117	(2)
Social Development	119	(5)
Adulthood	124	(10)
Physical Development	124	(2)
Cognitive Development	126	(3)
Social Development	129	(5)
Reflections on Two Major Developmental Issues	134	(7)
Continuity and Stages	134	(1)
Stability and Change	135	(6)
chapter 5 Sensation and Perception	141	(46)
Sensing the World: Some Basic Principles	142	(4)
Thresholds	142	(3)
Sensory Adaptation	145	(1)
Vision	146	(10)
The Stimulus Input: Light Energy	146	(1)
The Eye	147	(3)
Visual Information Processing	150	(3)
Color Vision	153	(3)
The Other Senses	156	(9)
Hearing	156	(3)
Touch	159	(1)
Pain	159	(3)
Taste	162	(1)
Smell	162	(2)
Body Position and Movement	164	(1)
Perceptual Organization	165	(10)
Form Perception	166	(1)
Depth Perception	167	(5)
Perceptual Constancy	172	(3)
Perceptual Interpretation	175	(12)
Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision	175	(1)
Perceptual Adaptation	176	(1)
Perceptual Set	177	(1)
Thinking Critically About: Extrasensory Perception	178	(9)
chapter 6 States of Consciousness	187	(38)
Waking Consciousness	187	(2)
Selective Attention	188	(1)
Levels of Information Processing	189	(1)
Steep and Dreams	189	(14)
Biological Rhythms and Sleep	190	(4)
Why Do We Sleep?	194	(4)
Sleep Disorders	198	(2)
Dreams	200	(3)
Hypnosis	203	(5)
Facts and Falsehoods	204	(2)
Explaining the Hypnotized State	206	(2)
Drugs and Consciousness	208	(17)
Dependence and Addiction	208	(2)
Psychoactive Drugs	210	(7)
Influences on Drug Use	217	(8)
chapter 7 Learning	225	(32)
Classical Conditioning	228	(9)
Pavlov's Experiments	228	(5)
Updating Pavlov's Understanding	233	(2)
Pavlov's Legacy	235	(2)
Operant Conditioning	237	(11)
Skinner's Experiments	237	(6)
Updating Skinner's Understanding	243	(2)
Skinner's Legacy	245	(2)
Contrasting Conditioning Techniques	247	(1)
Learning by Observation	248	(9)
Bandura's Experiments	249
Applications of Observational Learning	240	(17)
chapter 8 Memory	257	(36)
The Phenomenon of Memory	257	(3)
Information Processing	258	(2)
Encoding: Getting Information In	260	(5)
How We Encode	260	(2)
What We Encode	262	(3)
Storage: Retaining Information	265	(7)
Sensory Memory	265	(1)
Short-Term Memory	266	(1)
Long-Term Memory	267	(1)
Storing Memories in the Brain	267	(5)
Retrieval: Getting Information Out	272	(3)
Retrieval Cues	273	(2)
Forgetting	275	(6)
Encoding Failure	276	(1)
Storage Decay	277	(1)
Retrieval Failure	278	(3)
Memory Construction	281	(6)
Misinformation and Imagination Effects	281	(2)
Source Amnesia	283	(1)
Children's Eyewitness Recall	284	(1)
Repressed or Constructed Memories of Abuse?	285	(2)
Improving Memory	287	(6)
chapter 9 Thinking, Language, and Intelligence	293	(48)
Thinking	293	(9)
Concepts	293	(1)
Solving Problems	294	(2)
Making Decisions and Forming Judgments	296	(2)
Thinking Critically About: Risks-Do We Fear the Right Things?	298	(4)
Language	302	(13)
Language Development	302	(6)
Thinking and Language	308	(3)
Animal Thinking and Language	311	(4)
Intelligence	315	(26)
The Origins of Intelligence Testing	315	(2)
What Is Intelligence?	317	(5)
Assessing Intelligence	322	(2)
Close-Up: Extremes of Intelligence	324	(2)
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence	326	(5)
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores	331	(10)
chapter 10 Motivation	341	(38)
Motivational Concepts	341	(4)
Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology	341	(1)
Drives and Incentives	342	(1)
Optimum Arousal	343	(1)
A Hierarchy of Motives	343	(2)
Hunger	345	(12)
The Physiology of Hunger	345	(3)
The Psychology of Hunger	348	(1)
Obesity and Weight Control	349	(1)
Close-Up: Eating Disorders	350	(6)
Close-Up: Helpful Hints for Losing Weight	356	(1)
Sexual Motivation	357	(13)
Describing Sexual Behavior	357	(1)
The Physiology of Sex	358	(2)
The Psychology of Sex	360	(1)
Adolescent Sexuality	361	(3)
Sexual Orientation	364	(5)
Sex and Human Values	369	(1)
The Need to Belong	370	(3)
Aiding Survival	371	(1)
Wanting to Belong	371	(1)
Acting to Increase Social Acceptance	371	(1)
Maintaining Relationships	371	(1)
Fortifying Health	372	(1)
Achievement Motivation	373	(6)
Identifying Achievement Motivation	373	(1)
Sources of Achievement Motivation	374	(5)
chapter 11 Emotions, Stress, and Health	379	(50)
Theories of Emotion	379	(4)
The James-Lange and Cannon-Bard Theories	379	(2)
Cognition and Emotion	381	(2)
Embodied Emotion	383	(4)
Emotion and Physiology	383	(2)
The Physiology of Specific Emotions	385	(1)
Thinking Critically About: Lie Detection	386	(1)
Expressed Emotion	387	(6)
Nonverbal Communication	387	(3)
Culture and Emotional Expression	390	(2)
The Effects of Facial Expressions	392	(1)
Experienced Emotion	393	(9)
Anger	394	(1)
Happiness	395	(6)
Close-Up: How to Be Happier	401	(1)
Stress and Health	402	(12)
Stress and Stressors	402	(6)
Stress and the Heart	408	(1)
Stress and Susceptibility to Disease	409	(5)
Promoting Health	414	(15)
Coping With Stress	414	(6)
Thinking Critically About: Alternative Medicine-New Ways to Health, or Old Snake Oil?	420	(9)
chapter 12 Personality	429	(40)
Historic Perspectives on Personality	429	(13)
The Psychoanalytic Perspective	429	(10)
The Humanistic Perspective	439	(3)
Contemporary Research on Personality	442	(27)
The Trait Perspective	442	(4)
Thinking Critically About: How to Be a "Successful" Astrologer or Palm Reader	446	(4)
The Social-Cognitive Perspective	450	(4)
Close-Up: Toward a More Positive Psychology	454	(2)
Exploring the Self	456	(7)
The Modern Unconscious Mind	463	(6)
chapter 13 Psychological Disorders	469	(38)
Perspectives on Psychological Disorders	470	(6)
Defining Psychological Disorders	470	(1)
Understanding Psychological Disorders	470	(2)
Classifying Psychological Disorders	472	(1)
Close-Up: The "unDSM"-A Diagnostic Manual of Human Strengths	473	(1)
Labeling Psychological Disorders	473	(1)
Thinking Critically About: Insanity and Responsibility	474	(2)
Anxiety Disorders	476	(6)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder	476	(1)
Phobias	477	(1)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder	478	(1)
Explaining Anxiety Disorders	479	(1)
Close-Up: The Wounds of War-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	480	(2)
Dissociative and Personality Disorders	482	(4)
Dissociative Disorders	482	(2)
Personality Disorders	484	(2)
Mood Disorders	486	(10)
Major Depressive Disorder	486	(1)
Bipolar Disorder	487	(1)
Explaining Mood Disorders	488	(2)
Close-Up: Suicide	490	(4)
Close-Up: Loneliness	494	(2)
Schizophrenia	496	(5)
Symptoms of Schizophrenia	496	(1)
Subtypes of Schizophrenia	497	(1)
Understanding Schizophrenia	498	(3)
Rates of Psychological Disorders	501	(6)
chapter 14 Therapy	507	(32)
The Psychological Therapies	507	(11)
Psychoanalysis	508	(2)
Humanistic Therapies	510	(2)
Behavior Therapies	512	(4)
Cognitive Therapies	516	(2)
Group and Family Therapies	518	(1)
Evaluating Psychotherapies	519	(10)
Is Psychotherapy Effective?	520	(3)
The Relative Effectiveness of Different Therapies	523	(1)
Evaluating Alternative Therapies	523	(3)
Commonalities Among Psychotherapies	526	(2)
Close-Up: A Consumer's Guide to Psychotherapists	528	(1)
Culture and Values in Psychotherapy	528	(1)
The Biomedical Therapies	529	(5)
Drug Therapies	529	(4)
Electroconvulsive Therapy	533	(1)
Psychosurgery	534	(1)
Preventing Psychological Disorders	534	(5)
chapter 15 Social Psychology	539
Social Thinking	539	(6)
Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations	539	(2)
Attitudes and Actions	541	(4)
Social Influence	545	(10)
Conformity and Obedience	545	(5)
Group Influence	550	(5)
Social Relations	555
Prejudice	555	(4)
Aggression	559	(6)
Thinking Critically About: Do Video Games Teach or Release Violence?	565	(1)
Conflict	566	(2)
Attraction	568	(5)
Altruism	573	(3)
Peacemaking	576
appendix A Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life	A-1
Describing Data	A-1
Measures of Central Tendencies	A-1
Measures of Variation	A-3
Correlation: A Measure of Relationships	A-3
Making Inferences	A-6
When Is a Difference Reliable?	A-6
When Is a Difference Significant?	A-7
appendix B Psychology at Work	B-1
Personnel Psychology	B-2
Close-Up: I/O Psychology at Work	B-3
Harnessing Strengths	B-3
Close-Up: Discovering Your Strengths	B-4
Do Interviews Predict Performance?	B-5
Appraising Performance	B-7
Organizational Psychology	B-7
Satisfaction and Engagement	B-7
Managing Well	B-9
Human Factors Psychology	B-11
appendix C Answers to Rehearse It and Critical Thinking Questions	C-1
Glossary	G-1
References	R-1
Name Index	NI-1
Subject Index	SI-1