Psychology for Living Adjustment, Growth, and Behavior Today

Helps readers apply psychological insights to their own lives.

The eleventh edition of Psychology for Living: Adjustment, Growth, and Behavior Today is designed for students interested in applying psychological insights and principles to their own lives. The text helps readers achieve a better understanding of themselves and others.

The scope of Psychology for Living draws material from the major perspectives of psychology, including the psychodynamic, ecological, cognitive-behavioral, and humanistic viewpoints. The goal of the text is based firmly on increasing readers’ understanding as well as their knowledge about adjustment, in order that they may continue learning and growing on their own. 

This text is available in a variety of formats — digital and print. Check your favorite digital provider for your etext, including Coursesmart, Kindle, Nook, and more.

Learning Goals

Upon completing this book, readers will be able to:

• Apply psychological insights and principles to their own lives.
• Increase their knowledge on adjustment, in order to continue learning and growing on their own.
• Understand themselves and others better.

This Book a la Carte Edition is an unbound, three-hole punched, loose-leaf version of the textbook and provides students the opportunity to personalized their book by incorporating their own notes and taking the portion of the book they need to class – all at a fraction of the bound book price.  

Karen Duffy is a Distinguished Service Professor—emerita, at the State University of New York College at Geneseo. She received her Ph.D. in social and personality psychology from Michigan State University. Dr. Duffy served as a family mediator for the New York Unified Court System. She has also served on the executive committee and as the chief instructor for the training insti-tute for the New York State Employee Assistance Program (EAP), as well as on the board of di-rectors for a shelter for domestic violence and on an educational committee for a family planning agency. She has consulted to a variety of work settings on stress management, EAPs, and other work issues. She is a member of the American Psychological Society. Dr. Duffy has written sev-eral other books, including Community Mediation: A Handbook for Practitioners and Research-ers and Community Psychology. She also edits several hard-copy and web-based annual editions for another publisher, on topics including psychology of personality, social psychology, intro-ductory psychology, and adjustment. She has held two Fulbright Fellowships to St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia. While in Russia, she worked with AIDS International, several children’s shelters, and other community agencies. More recently, she completed a hu-manitarian aid trip to Mongolia.

Steven J. Kirsh is a Professor of Psychology at The State University of New York at Geneseo. Dr. Kirsh’s primary areas of research focus on the influence of violent media on emo-tion recognition and social information processing. He has published Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence: A Critical Look at the Research (2006) and Media and Youth: A Developmental Perspective (2010) as well as numerous scientific articles and book chapters.

In this Section:
1. Brief Table of Contents

2. Full Table of Contents

1. Brief Table of Contents

Chapter 1:     Self-Direction in a Changing World

Chapter 2:       The Puzzle of Childhood  

Chapter 3:      Affirmative Aging — Adulthood

Chapter 4:     Seeking Selfhood

Chapter 5:     Toward Better Health

Chapter 6:     Taking Charge

Chapter 7:     Managing Motives and Emotions

Chapter 8:     Making and Keeping Friends

Chapter 9:     Leader or Follower?

Chapter 10:   At Work and Play

Chapter 11:   Sexuality

Chapter 12:   Love and Commitment

Chapter 13:    Stress

Chapter 14:   Understanding Mental Disorders

Chapter 15:   If You Go for Help

Chapter 16:   Good Grief and Death

 2. Full Table of Contents

PART 1:  Introduction

Chapter 1:                 Self-Direction in a Changing World

Social Change

The Challenge of Self-Direction

Themes of Personal Growth

PART 2:  Becoming

Chapter 2:                 The Puzzle of Childhood

Perspectives on Child Development

Key Foundational Elements of Childhood

Chapter 3:                 Affirmative Aging—Adulthood

Adult Development

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions—Early Adulthood

Same Old, Same Old?—Middle Adulthood

Aging Gracefully—Late Adulthood

Chapter 4:                 Seeking Selfhood

What Is Self-Concept?

The Components of the Self

Core Characteristics of Self-Concept

The Self-Concept and Personal Growth

Chapter 5:                 Toward Better Health

Body Image

Health and the Mind–Body Relationship

Coping with Illness

Promoting Wellness

Chapter 6:                 Taking Charge         

Personal Control

Decision Making

Decisions and Personal Growth

Chapter 7:                 Managing Motives and Emotions

Understanding Motivation

Understanding Emotions

PART 4:  Being Social

Chapter 8:                 Making and Keeping Friends

Meeting People

Keeping Friends

When It’s Hard to Make Friends

Chapter 9:                 Groups: Belonging, Following, and Leading

Kinds of Groups

Creating and Joining Groups

What Goes on in Groups?

When Groups Go Wrong

Group Leadership

Chapter 10:               At Work and Play

At Work

At Play

PART 5:  Being Intimate

Chapter 11:               Sexuality

Sexuality and Shared Partnerships

Sexual Responsiveness

Sexual Orientation

Practical Issues

Chapter 12:               Love and Commitment

Love is a Many Splendored (and Defined) Thing

Finding Love

Marriage and Other Committed Relationships

Adjusting to Intimate Relationships

Divorce and Its Consequences

PART 6:  Facing Challenges

Chapter 13:               Stress!

Oh No!—Understanding Stress

Yikes!—Reactions to Stress

Phew!—Managing Stress

Chapter 14:               Understanding Mental Disorders

Psychological Disorders

Anxiety Disorders

Mood Disorders

Other Disorders

Applying This to Yourself

Chapter 15:               If You Go for Help

Psychotherapy: What is it? Who Uses it?

Insight Therapies—The Talking Cure

Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies

Other Approaches to Treatment

How Well Does Therapy Work?

Finding Help

Chapter 16:               Death, Dying, and Grief

Death and Dying

Life and Death in Perspective

Bereavement and Grief

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.