Discovering Psychology

Annotated Table of ContentsChapter 1  Introduction and Research Methods
Introduction: The Origins of Psychology
Contemporary Psychology
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: What Is Cross Cultural Psychology?
The Scientific Method
CRITICAL THINKING: What is CRITICAL THINKING?
Descriptive Research Methods
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: What is Pseudoscience?
The Experimental Method
Ethics in Psychological Research
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Psychological Research Using Brain Imaging
In Focus: Questions About the Use of animals in Psychological Research
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology in the Media: Becoming an Informed Consumer

Chapter 2 Neuroscience and Behavior
Introduction: Neuroscience and Behavior
The Neuron
How Drugs Affect Synaptic Transmission
Focus On Neuroscience: Is “Runner’s High” an Endorphin Rush?
The Nervous System and the Endocrine System
A Guided Tour of the Brain
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: Phrenology: The Bumpy Road to Scientific Progress
Neurogenesis
 Focus On Neuroscience: Juggling and Brain Plasticity
Specialization in the Cerebral Hemispheres
CRITICAL THINKING: “His” and “Her” Brains?
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: Brain Myths
Application: Pumping Neurons: Maximizing Your Brain’s Potential
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Maximizing Your Brain's Potential

Chapter 3  Sensation and Perception
Introduction: What Are Sensation and Perception?
Basic Principles of Sensation
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: Subliminal Perception
Vision: From Light to Sight
Processing Visual Information
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Vision, Experience, and the Brain
Hearing: From Vibration to Sound
The Chemical and Body Senses: Smell, Taste, Touch, and Position
In Focus: Do Pheromones Influence Human Behavior?
Perception
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Ways of Seeing
CRITICAL THINKING: ESP: Can Perception Occur Without Sensation?
Perceptual Illusions
The Effects of Experience on Perceptual Interpretations
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Culture and the Müller-Lyer Illusion: The Carpentered-World Hypothesis
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Strategies to Control Pain

Chapter 4  Consciousness and Its Variations
Introduction: Consciousness: Experiencing the “Private I”
Biological and Environmental “Clocks” That Regulate Consciousness
Sleep
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Sleep-Deprived Emotional Brain
Dreams and Mental Activity During Sleep
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Dreaming Brain: Turning REM On and Off
Sleep Disorders
CRITICAL THINKING: Is Hypnosis a Special State of Consciousness?
Meditation
Psychoactive Drugs
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Addicted Brain: Diminishing Rewards
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: How Methamphetamines Erode the Brain
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Stimulus Control Therapy for Insomnia
  
Chapter 5  Learning
Introduction: What Is Learning?
Classical Conditioning: Associating Stimuli
From Pavlov to Watson: The Founding of Behaviorism
IN FOCUS: Watson, Classical Conditioning, and Advertising
Contemporary Views of Classical Conditioning
IN FOCUS: Evolution, Biological Preparedness, and Conditioned Fears: What Gives You the Creeps?
Operant Conditioning: Associating Behaviors and Consequences
IN FOCUS: Changing the Behavior of Others: Alternatives to Punishment
CRITICAL THINKING: Is Human Freedom Just an Illusion?
Contemporary Views of Operant Conditioning
Observational Learning: Imitating the Actions of Others
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Mirror Neurons: Imitation in the Brain?
CRITICAL THINKING: Does Exposure to Media Violence Cause Aggressive Behavior?
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Using Learning Principles to Improve Self-Control

Chapter 6  Memory
Introduction: What Is Memory?
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Culture’s Effects on Early Memories
Retrieval: Getting Information from Long-Term Memory
Forgetting: When Retrieval Fails
IN FOCUS: Déjà Vu Experiences: An Illusion of Memory?
CRITICAL THINKING: The Memory Wars: Recovered or False Memories?
Imperfect Memories: Errors, Distortions, and False Memories
The Search for the Biological Basis of Memory
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Assembling Memories: Echoes and Reflections of Perception
IN FOCUS: H.M. and Famous People
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Mapping Brain Changes in Alzheimer’s Disease
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Superpower Memory in Minutes per Day!

Chapter 7  Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Introduction: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Seeing Faces and Places in the Mind’s Eye
Solving Problems and Making Decisions
CRITICAL THINKING: The Persistence of Unwarranted Beliefs
Language and Thought
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: The Effect of Language on Perception
Measuring Intelligence
IN FOCUS: Does a High IQ Score Predict Success in Life?
The Nature of Intelligence
IN FOCUS: Neurodiversity: Beyond IQ
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Performing with a Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Undermine Performance
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: A Workshop on Creativity

Chapter 8  Motivation and Emotion Chapter Outline
Introduction: Motivation and Emotion
Motivational Concepts and Theories
Biological Motivation: Hunger and Eating
CRITICAL THINKING: Has Evolution Programmed Us to Overeat?
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Dopamine Receptors and Obesity
Human Sexuality
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Romantic Love and the Brain
Sexual Orientation: The Elusive Search for an Explanation
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Evolution and Mate Preferences
Psychological Needs as Motivators
Emotion
Critical Thinking: Are Women Really More Emotional Than Men?
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Emotions and the Brain
CRITICAL THINKING: Emotion in Nonhuman Animals: Laughing  Rats, Silly Elephants, and Smiling Dolphins?
Theories of Emotion: Explaining Emotion
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Turning Your Goals into Reality

Chapter 9  Lifespan Development
Introduction: Your Life Story
Genetic Contributions to Your Life Story
Prenatal Development
Development During Infancy and Childhood
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Where Does the Baby Sleep?]
CRITICAL THINKING: The Effects of Child Care on Attachment and Development
Adolescence
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Adolescent Brain: A Work in Progress
Adult Development
Late Adulthood and Aging
The Final Chapter: Dying and Death
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Raising Psychologically Healthy Children
   
Chapter 10 Personality
Introduction: What Is Personality?
The Psychoanalytic Perspective on Personality
The Humanistic Perspective on Personality
CRITICAL THINKING: Freud Versus Rogers on Human Nature
The Social Cognitive Perspective on Personality
The Trait Perspective on Personality
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Personality Traits and Patterns of Brain Activity
IN FOCUS: Explaining Those Amazing Identical-Twin Similarities
Assessing Personality: Psychological Tests
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: Graphology: The “Write” Way to Assess Personality?
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Possible Selves: Imagine the Possibilities

Chapter 11 Social Psychology
Introduction: What Is Social Psychology?
Person Perception: Forming Impressions of Other People
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Brain Reward When Making Eye contact with Attractive People
Attribution: Explaining Behavior
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Explaining Failure and Murder: Culture and Attributional Biases
The Social Psychology of Attitudes
Understanding Prejudice
Conformity: Following the Crowd
Obedience: Just Following Orders
CRITICAL THINKING: Abuse at Abu Ghraib: Why Do Ordinary People Commit Evil Acts?
Helping Behavior: Coming to the Aid of Strangers
The Influence of Groups on Social Behavior
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: The Persuasion Game

Chapter 12 Stress, Health, and Coping
Introduction: What Is Stress?
CULTURE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR: The Stress of Adapting to a New Culture 
Physical Effects of Stress: The Mind–Body Connection
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Mysterious Placebo Effect
Individual Factors That Influence the Response to Stress Psychological Factors
CRITICAL THINKING: Do Personality Factors Cause Disease?
In Focus: Providing Effective Social Support
Coping: How People Deal with Stress
IN FOCUS: Gender Differences in Responding to Stress: “Tend-and-Befriend” or  “Fight-or-Flight”?
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Minimizing the Effects of Stress

Chapter 13 Psychological Disorders
Introduction: Understanding Psychological Disorders
CRITICAL THINKING: Are People with a Mental Illness as Violent as the Media Portray Them?
Anxiety Disorders: Intense Apprehension and Worry
Mood Disorders: Emotions Gone Awry
CRITICAL THINKING: Does Smoking Cause Depression and Other Psychological Disorders?
Eating Disorders: Anorexia and Bulimia
Personality Disorders: Maladaptive Traits
The Dissociative Disorders: Fragmentation of the Self
Schizophrenia: A Different Reality
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: The Hallucinating Brain
Culture and Human Behavior: Travel Advisory: The Jerusalem Syndrome
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Schizophrenia: A Wildfire in the Brain
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: Understanding and Helping to Prevent Suicide

Chapter 14 Therapies
Introduction: Psychotherapy and  Biomedical Therapy
Psychoanalytic Therapy
Humanistic Therapy
Behavior Therapy
IN FOCUS: Using Virtual Reality to Conquer Phobias
Cognitive Therapies
Group and Family Therapy
IN FOCUS: Self-Help Groups: Helping Yourself by Helping Others
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy
SCIENCE VERSUS PSEUDOSCIENCE: EMDR: Can You Wave Your Fears Away?
Culture And Human Behavior: Cultural Values and Psychotherapy
Biomedical Therapies
FOCUS ON NEUROSCIENCE: Comparing Psychotherapy and Antidepressant Medication
Closing Thoughts
ENHANCING WELL-BEING WITH PSYCHOLOGY: What to Expect in Psychotherapy

Appendix A  Statistics: Understanding Data
Descriptive Statistics
Inferential Statistics
Endnote

Appendix B Industrial/Organizational Psychology
What Is Industrial/Organizational Psychology?
History of I/O Psychology
Industrial (Personnel) Psychology
Organizational Behavior
IN FOCUS: Servant Leadership: When It’s Not All About You Workplace Trends and Issues
IN FOCUS: “Name, Title, Generation?”
Employment Settings, Type of Training, Earnings, and Employment Outlook

Appendix C  American Psychological Association’s Goals and Outcomes

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