Scientific American: Psychology

In this breakthrough introduction to psychology, two committed, tech-savvy professors, Deborah Licht and Misty Hull, combine years of research and teaching insights with the journalistic skill of science writer, Coco Ballantyne, who came to this project directly from Scientific American. Together, they have created a an introductory textbook and online system that draws on written profiles and video interviews of 27 real people to help students better understand, remember, and relate to psychology’s basic ideas.  Beautifully designed, the printed text is filled with high-interest examples and features, including full-page infographics that help students understand and retain key concepts.  Online, additional author-created resources, including scaffolded activities and adaptive quizzes, provide a seamless learning experience for students and a reliable assessment mechanism for instructors and programs.   This innovative collaboration between Worth Publishers and Scientific American reflects a commitment to engaging and educating all students, including those who sometimes seem difficult to engage—in the contemporary style of the world’s most respected science magazine.   What's in the LaunchPad

Deborah Licht is a Professor of Psychology and co-chair of the Department of Psychology at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has had over two decades of teaching and research experience in a variety of settings, ranging from a small private university in the midwest to a large public university in Copenhagen, Denmark. She has taught introductory psychology, psychology of the workplace, abnormal psychology, the history of psychology, child development, and elementary statistics. She has experience in traditional, online, and hybrid courses, and is particularly inspired by first-generation college students who turn to community colleges to pursue their education. She received her Bachelor of Science in psychology from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology from the University of Dayton; and a PhD from Harvard University, in experimental psychopathology in 2001. She continues to be interested in research on causal beliefs and their influence on behavior, particularly in relation to how college students think about their successes and failures as they pursue their degrees.

Misty Hull is a Professor of Psychology and co-chair of the Department of Psychology at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has taught a range of psychology courses at Pikes Peak Community College, including introductory psychology, human sexuality, and social psychology in a variety of delivery formats (traditional, online, and hybrid). Her love of teaching comes through in her dedication to mentoring new and part-time faculty in the teaching of psychology. She received her Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and her Master’s in Professional Counseling at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. She has served in a variety of administrative roles at Pikes Peak Community College, including interim Associate Dean, and Coordinator of the Student Crisis Counseling Office. In addition, she has helped to develop the state system’s approach to teaching psychology, as the state psychology discipline chair of the Colorado Community College System from 2002-2010. One of her many professional interests includes research on the impact of student persistence in higher education.

Coco Ballantyne is a New York-based journalist and science writer with a special interest in psychology. Before joining forces with Misty Hull and Deborah Licht to write Scientific American: Psychology, Coco worked as a reporter for Scientific American online, covering health, medicine, and neuroscience beats. She contributed to Discover magazine and Nature Medicine while earning her masters in journalism from Columbia University, where she received the Horgan Prize for Excellence in Science Writing. Prior to her journalistic career, Coco worked as a teacher and tutor, helping high school and college students prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, and MCAT. She also worked as a physics and math teacher at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California, and as a human biology course assistant at Stanford University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.

1. Introduction and Research Methods
2. Biology and Behavior
3. Sensation and Perception
4. Consciousness
5. Learning
6. Memory
7. Cognition, Language, and Intelligence
8. Human Development
9. Motivation and Emotion
10. Gender and Sexuality
11. Personality
12. Stress, Health, and Coping
13. Psychological Disorders
14. Psychological Therapies
15. Social Psychology