navbar Table
Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology

Psychology: An Introduction
      Psychology: Science or Common Sense?
      The Goals of Psychology
      Critical Thinking: Thinking Like a Student

Descriptive Research Methods
      Naturalistic Observation: Caught in the Act of Being Themselves
      The Case Study Method: Studying a Few Subjects in Depth
      Survey Research: The Art of Sampling and Questioning

The Experimental Method: Searching for Causes
      Independent and Dependent Variables
      Experimental and Control Groups: The Same Except for the Treatment
      Generalizing the Experimental Findings: Do the Findings Apply to Other Groups?
      Potential Problems in Experimental Research
      Advantages and Limitations of the Experimental Methods

Other Research Methods
      The Correlation Method: Discovering Relationships, Not Causes
      Psychological Tests: Assessing the Subject
      Meta-Analysis: Combining the Results of Many Studies

Participants in Psychological Research
      Ethics in Research: Protecting the Participants
      Human Participants in Psychological Research
      Bias in Psychological Research
      The Use of Animals in Research

Exploring Psychology's Roots
      Wilhelm Wundt: The Founding of Psychology
      Titchener and Structuralism
      Functionalism: The First American School of Psychology
      Gestalt Psychology: The Whole is More Than Just the Sum of Its Parts
      Behaviorism: Never Mind the Mind
      Psychoanalysis: It's What's Down Deep That Counts
      Humanistic Psychology: Looking at Human Potential
      Cognitive Psychology: Focusing on Mental Processes

Psychology Today
      Modern Perspectives in Psychology: Current Views on Behavior and Thinking
      Psychologists at Work

Apply It! Study Skills and Critical Thinking

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 2: Biology and Behavior

The Neurons and the Neurotransmitters
      The Neurons: Billions of Brain Cells
      Neurotransmitters: The Chemical Messengers of the Brain
      The Effect of Drugs on Neurotransmission
      The Variety of Neurotransmitters
      The Rate of Neural Firing and the Speed of the Impulse
      Glial Cells: The Neurons' Helper Cells

The Central Nervous System
      The Spinal Cord: An Extension of the Brain
      The Brainstem: The Most Primitive Part of the Brain
      The Cerebellum: A Must for Graceful Movement
      The Thalamus: The Relay Station between Lower and Higher Brain Centers
      The Hypothalamus: A Master Regulator
      The Limbic System: Primitive Emotion and Memory

The Cerebral Hemispheres
      The Lobes of the Brain
      Specialized Functions of the Left Hemisphere: Language, First and Foremost
      Specialized Functions of the Right Hemisphere: The Leader in Visual-Spatial Tasks
      The Split Brain: Separate Halves or Two Separate Brains?

Discovering the Brain's Mysteries
      The EEG and the Microelectrode
      The CT Scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
      The PET Scan, fMRI, and Other Imaging Techniques

Brain Damage: Causes and Consequences
      Stoke
      Head Injury
      Recovering from Brain Damage

The Peripheral Nervous System

The Endocrine System

Apply It! Handedness—Does It Make a Difference?

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception

Sensation: The Sensory World
      The Absolute Threshold: To Sense or Not to Sense
      The Difference Threshold: Detecting Differences
      Signal Detection Theory
      Transduction: Transforming Sensory Stimuli into Neural Impulses
      Sensory Adaptation

Vision
      Light: What We See
      The Eye: Windows to the Visual Sensory World
      Color Vision: A Multicolored World

Hearing
      Sound: What We Hear
      The Ear: More to It Than Meets the Eye
      Theories of Hearing: How Hearing Works
      Bone Conduction: Hearing Sound Vibrations through the Bones
      Hearing Loss: Kinds and Causes

Smell and Taste
      Smell: Sensing Scents
      Taste: What the Tongue Can Tell

Our Other Senses
      The Skin Senses: Information from Our Natural Clothing
      Pain: Physical Hurts
      The Kinesthetic Sense: Keeping Track of Our Body Parts
      The Vestibular Sense: Sensing Up and Down and Changes in Speed

Perception: Ways of Perceiving
      The Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization
      Perceptual Constancy
      Depth Perception: Perceiving What's Up Close and Far Away
      Perception of Motion
      Extraordinary Perceptions: Puzzling Perceptions
      Cultural Differences in the Perception of Visual Illusions

Additional Influences on Perception
      Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing
      The Role of Psychological Factors in Perception

Subliminal Persuasion and Extrasensory Perception
      Subliminal Persuasion: Does It Work?
      Extrasensory Perception: Does It Exist?

Apply It! Noise and Hearing Loss—Bad Vibrations

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 4: States of Consciousness

What is Consciousness?

Circadian Rhythms: Our 24-Hour High and Lows
      The Suprachiasmatic Nucleus: The Body's Timekeeper
      Jet Lag: Where Am I and What Time Is It?
      Shift Work: Working Day and Night
      Taking Melatonin As a Sleep Aid

Sleep: That Mysterious One-Third of Our Lives
      NREM and REM Sleep: Watching the Eyes
      Sleep Cycles: The Nightly Pattern of Sleep
      Variations in Sleep: How We Differ
      Sleep Deprivation: How Does It Affect Us?
      The Functions of Sleep: The Restorative and Circadian Theories
      Dreaming: Mysterious Mental Activity While We Sleep

Sleep Disorders
      Parasomnias: Unusual Behaviors during Sleep
      Major Sleep Disorders

Altering Consciousness through Concentration and Suggestion
      Meditation: Expanded Consciousness or Relaxation?
      Hypnosis: Look into My Eyes
      Culture and Altered States of Consciousness

Altered States of Consciousness and Psychoactive Drugs
      Variables Influencing Individual Responses to Drugs
      Drug Addiction: Slave to a Substance
      Stimulants: Speeding Up the Nervous System
      Depressants: Slowing Down the Nervous System
      Hallucinogens: Seeing, Hearing, and Feeling What Is Not There
      How Drugs Affect the Brain

Apply It! Battling Insomnia

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 5: Learning

Classical Conditioning: The Original View
      Pavlov and Classical Conditioning
      The Elements and Processes of Classical Conditioning
      John Watson, Little Albert, and Peter
      Pioneers: John B. Watson

Classical Conditioning: The Contemporary View
      The Cognitive Perspective: Prediction is the Critical Element
      Biological Predispositions: Their Role in Classical Conditioning
      Classically Conditioned Taste Aversions
      Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life
      Factors Influencing Classical Conditioning

Operant Conditioning
      Thorndike and the Law of Effect
      The Elements and Process in Operant Conditioning
      Pioneers: Burrhus Frederic Skinner
      Reinforcement: What's the Payoff?
      Factors Influencing Operant Conditioning
      Comparing Classical and Operant Conditioning: What's the Difference?
      Punishment: That Hurts!
      Escape and Avoidance Learning
      Learned Helplessness
      Applications of Operant Conditioning

Cognitive Learning
      Learning by Insight: Aha! Now I Get It
      Latent Learning and Cognitive Maps: I Might Use That Later
      Observational Learning: Watching and Learning

Apply It! How to Win the Battle against Procrastination

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 6: Memory

Remembering
      The Three Processes in Memory: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval
      The Three Memory Systems: The Long and the Short of It
      The Levels-of-Processing Model: Another View of Memory

Measuring Memory
      Three Methods of Measuring Memory
      Hermann Ebbinghaus and the First Experimental Studies on Learning and Memory

Forgetting
      The Causes of Forgetting
      Prospective Forgetting: Forgetting to Remember

The Nature of Remembering and Forgetting
      Memory as a Permanent Record: The Videocassette Recorder Analogy
      Memory as a Reconstruction: Partly Fact and Partly Fiction
      Eyewitness Testimony: Is It Accurate?
      Recovering Repressed Memories: A Controversy
      Unusual Memory Phenomena
      Memory and Culture

Factors Influencing Retrieval
      The Serial Position Effect: To Be Remembered, Be First or Last But Not in the Middle
      Environmental Context and Memory
      The State-Dependent Memory Effect
      Stress, Anxiety, and Memory: Relax and Remember

Biology and Memory
      Brain Damage: A Clue to Memory Formation
      Neuronal Changes in Memory: Brain Work
      Hormones and Memory

Improving Memory
      Study Habits That Aid Memory

Apply It! Improving Memory with Mnemonic Devices

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 7: Cognition and Language

Imagery and Concepts: Tools of Thinking
      Imagery: Picture This—Elephants with Purple Polka Dots
      Concepts: Our Mental Classification System (Is a Penguin a Bird?)

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning: Logical Thinking

Decision Making: Making Choices in Life
      The Additive Strategy
      Elimination by Aspects
      Heuristics and Decision Making
      Framing Alternatives to Influence Decisions

Problem Solving: Beyond Decision Making
      Approaches to Problem Solving: How Do We Begin?
      Impediments to Problem Solving: Mental Stumbling Blocks
      Artificial Intelligence

Language
      The Structure of Language
      Animal Language
      Language and Thinking
      Bilingualism

Apply It! Making Good Decisions—Avoiding Bad Decisions

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 8: Intelligence and Creativity

The Nature of Intelligence
      The Search for Factors Underlying Intelligence
      Intelligence: More Than One Type?

Measuring Intelligence
      Alfred Binet and the First Successful Intelligence Test
      Intelligence Testing in the United States
      Requirements of Good Tests: Reliability, Validity, and Standardization
      The Range of Intelligence
      Intelligence and Neural Speed and Efficiency

The IQ Controversy: Brainy Dispute
      The Uses and Abuses of Intelligence Tests
      The Nature-Nurture Controversy: Battle of the Centuries
      Intelligence: Is It Fixed or Changeable?
      Expectations, Effort, and Academic Achievement—A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Emotional Intelligence
      Personal Components of Emotional Intelligence
      Interpersonal Components of Emotional Intelligence

Creativity: Unique and Useful Productions
      The Creative Process
      The Nature of Creative Thinking
      Measuring Creativity: Are There Reliable Measures?
      Characteristics of the Creative Person
      Savant Syndrome: A Special Form of Creativity

Apply It! Stimulating Creativity

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 9: Child Development

Developmental Psychology: Basic Issues and Methodology
      Controversial Issues in Developmental Psychology
      Approaches to Studying Developmental Change

Heredity and Prenatal Development
      The Mechanism of Heredity: Genes and Chromosomes
      The Stages of Prenatal Development: Unfolding According to Plan
      Negative Influences on Prenatal Development: Sabotaging Nature's Plan

Physical Development and Learning in Infancy
      The Neonate: Seven Pounds of Beauty?
      Perceptual Development in Infancy
      Learning in Infancy
      Motor Development in Infancy

Emotional Development in Infancy
      Temperament: How and When Does It Develop?
      The Formation of Attachment
      The Father-Child Relationship

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
      The Cognitive Stages of Development: Climbing the Steps to Cognitive Maturity
      Pioneers: Jean Piaget
      An Evaluation of Piaget's Contribution

Vygotsky's Sociocultural View of Cognitive Development

Cognitive Development: The Information-Processing Approach

Language Development
      The Stages of Language Development: The Orderly Progression of Language
      Theories of Language Development: How Do We Acquire It?

Socialization of the Child
      Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development
      The Parents' Role in the Socialization Process
      Peer Relationships
      Television as a Socializing Agent: Does It Help or Hinder?

Apply It! What Kind of Care Is Best for Your Child?

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 10: Adolescence and Adulthood

Adolescence: Physical and Cognitive Development
      Physical Development during Adolescence: Growing, Growing, Grown
      Cognitive Development in Adolescence: Piaget's Formal Operations Stage

Adolescence: Moral and Social Development
      Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
      Parental Relationships: Their Quality and Influence
      The Peer Group
      Sexuality and Adolescence
      Teenage Pregnancy: Too Much Too Soon
      Part-Time Jobs for Adolescents: A Positive or a Negative?

Erikson's Psychological Theory: Adolescence through Adulthood
      Identity versus Role Confusion: Erikson's Stage for Adolescence
      Intimacy versus Isolation: Erikson's Stage for Early Adulthood
      Pioneers: Erik Homburger Erikson
      Generativity versus Stagnation: Erikson's Stage for Middle Adulthood
      Ego Integrity versus Despair: Erikson's Final Stage
      Erikson's Theory: Does Research Support It?

Other Theories of Adulthood
      Levinson's Seasons of Life
      Reinke, Ellicott, and Harris: The Life Course in Women
      Life Stages: Fact or Fiction?

Early and Middle Adulthood
      Physical Changes in Adulthood
      Intellectual Capacity during Early and Middle Adulthood
      Lifestyle Patterns in Adulthood
      Personality and Social Development in Middle Age

Later Adulthood
      Physical Changes in Later Adulthood
      Cognitive Development in Later Adulthood
      Personality and Social Development in Later Adulthood
      Culture and Care for the Elderly
      Death and Dying

Apply It! Building and Maintaining a Good Relationship

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 11: Motivation and Emotion

Introduction to Motivation

Theories of Motivation
      Instinct Theories of Motivation
      Drive-Reduction Theory: Striving to Keep a Balanced Internal State
      Arousal Theory: Striving for an Optimal Level of Arousal
      Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Putting Our Needs in Order

The Primary Drives: Hunger and Thirst
      Thirst: We All Have Two Kinds
      The Biological Basis of Hunger: Internal Hunger Cues
      Other Factors Influencing Hunger: External Eating Cues
      Understanding Body Weight: Why We Weigh What We Weigh
      Dieting: A National Obsession
      Eating Disorders: Tyranny of the Scale

Social Motives
      The Need for Achievement: The Drive to Excel
      Fear of Success
      Work Motivation

The What and Why of Emotions
      Motivation and Emotion: What Is the Connection?
      The Components of Emotions: The Physical, the Cognitive, and the Behavioral
      Theories of Emotion: Which Comes First, the Thought or the Feeling?
      The Polygraph: Lie Detector or Emotion Detector?

The Expression of Emotion
      The Range of Emotion: How Wide Is It?
      The Development of Facial Expressions in Infants: Smiles and Frowns Come Naturally
      Facial Expressions for the Basic Emotions—A Universal Language
      Cultural Rules for Displaying Emotion
      Emotion as a Form of Communication

Experiencing Emotion
      The Facial-Feedback Hypothesis: Does the Face Cause the Feeling?
      Emotion and Rational Thinking
      Gender Differences in Experiencing Emotion
      Love: The Strongest Emotional Bond

Apply It! Quest for Happiness

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 12: Human Sexuality and Gender

What Makes a Male, a Male and a Female, a Female?
      The Sex Chromosomes: X's and Y's
      The Sex Hormones: Contributing to Maleness and Femaleness

Gender Role Development
      Environmental Influences on Gender Typing
      Psychological Theories of Gender-Role Development

Gender Differences: Fact or Myth?
      Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities
      Gender Differences in Social Behavior and Personality
      Adjustment and Gender Typing: Feminine, Masculine, or Androgynous?
      Gender Stereotyping—Who Wins? Who Loses?

Sexual Attitudes and Behavior
      The Kinsey Surveys: The First In-Depth Look at Sexual Behavior
      Sexual Attitudes and Behavior Today: The New Sexual Revolution
      Sexual Desire and Arousal: Driving the Sex Drive
      Child Sex Abuse

Sexual Orientation
      What Determines Sexual Orientation: The Physiological or the Psychological?
      Research Findings on the Developmental Experiences of Gay Men and Lesbians
      Social Attitudes Towards Gays: From Celebration to Condemnation

Sexual Dysfunction
      Sexual Desire Disorders: From Disinterest to Aversion
      Sexual Arousal Disorders
      Orgasmic Disorders
      Sexual Pain Disorders

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: The Price of Casual Sex
      The Bacterial Infections
      The Viral Infections
      Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
      Protection against Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Minimizing the Risk

Apply It! Protecting Yourself from Rape

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 13: Personality Theory and Assessment

Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis
      The Conscious, the Preconscious, and the Unconscious: Levels of Awareness
      The Id, the Ego, and the Superego: Warring Components of the Personality
      Pioneers: Sigmund Freud
      Defense Mechanisms: Protecting the Ego
      The Psychosexual Stages of Development: Centered on the Erogenous Zones
      Freud's Explanation of Personality
      Evaluating Freud's Contribution

The Neo-Freudians
      Carl Gustav Jung
      Alfred Adler: Overcoming Inferiority
      Karen Horney: Champion of Feminine Psychology

Trait Theories
      Gordon Allport: Personality Traits in the Brain
      Raymond Cattell's 16 Personality Factors
      Hans Eysenck: Stressing Two Factors
      The Five-Factor Theory of Personality: The Big Five
      Evaluating the Trait Perspective

Learning Theories and Personality
      The Behaviorist View of B. F. Skinner
      The Social-Cognitive Theorists: Expanding the Behaviorist View

Humanistic Personality Theories
      Abraham Maslow: The Self-Actualizing Person
      Carl Rogers: The Fully Functioning Person
      Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective

Personality: Is It in the Genes?
      The Twin Study Method: Studying Identical and Fraternal Twins
      The Shared and Nonshared Environment
      The Adoption Method
      Personality and Culture

Personality Assessment
      Observation, Interviews, and Rating Scales
      Personality Inventories: Taking Stock
      Projective Tests: Projections from the Unconscious
      Personality Theories: A Final Comment

Apply It! Becoming More Optimistic

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 14: Health and Stress

Two Approaches to Health and Illness

Theories of Stress
      Hans Selye and the General Adaptation Syndrome
      Richard Lazarus's Cognitive Theory of Stress
Sources of Stress: The Common and the Extreme
      Everyday Sources of Stress
      Catastrophic Events and Chronic Intense Stress
      Stress in the Workplace

Coping with Stress
      Problem-Focused and Emotion-Focused Coping
      Religion and Coping with Negative Life Events
      Proactive Coping: Dealing with Stress in Advance

Evaluating Life Stress: Major Life Changes, Hassles, and Uplifts
      Holmes and Rahe's Social Readjustment Rating Scale: Adding up the Stress Score
      The Hassles of Life: Little Things Stress a Lot

Health and Disease
      Responding to Illness
      Coronary Heart Disease: The Leading Cause of Death
      Cancer: A Dreaded Disease
      Health in the United States
      The Immune System: An Army of Cells to Fight Off Disease
      Personal Factors Reducing the Impact of Stress and Illness

Your Lifestyle and Your Health
      Smoking: Hazardous to Your Health
      Alcohol: A Problem for Millions
      Exercise: Keeping Fit Is Healthy
Apply It! Managing Stress

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

What is Abnormal?
      Perspectives on the Causes and Treatment of Psychological Disorders
      Defining and Classifying Psychological Disorders

Schizophrenia
      The Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Many and Varied
      Types of Schizophrenia
      The Causes of Schizophrenia

Mood Disorders
      Depressive Disorders and Bipolar Disorders: Emotional Highs and Lows
      Causes of Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder
      Suicide and Gender, Race, and Age

Anxiety Disorders: When Anxiety Is Extreme
      Generalized Anxiety Disorder
      Panic Disorder
      Phobias: Persistent, Irrational Fears
      Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders
      Somatoform Disorders: Physical Symptoms with Psychological Causes
      Dissociative Disorders: Mental Escapes

Other Psychological Disorders:
      Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders
      Personality Disorders: Troublesome Behavior Patterns

Apply It! Depression—Bad Thoughts, Bad Feelings

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 16: Therapies

Insight Therapies
      Psychodynamic Therapies: Freud Revisited
      Humanistic Therapies
      Therapies Emphasizing Interaction with Others

Behavior Therapy: Unlearning the Old, Learning the New
      Behavior Modification Techniques Based on Operant Conditioning
      Therapies Based on Classical Conditioning
      Therapies Based on Observational Learning Theory: Just Watch This!

Cognitive Therapies: It's the Thought That Counts
      Rational-Emotive Therapy: Human Misery—The Legacy of False Beliefs
      Beck's Cognitive Therapy: Overcoming "the Power of Negative Thinking"

The Biological Therapies
      Drug Therapy: Pills for Psychological Ills
      Electroconvulsive Therapy: The Controversy Continues
      Psychosurgery: Cutting to Cure

Therapies and Therapists: Many Choices
      Evaluating the Therapies: Do They Work?
      Mental Health Professionals: How Do They Differ?
      Therapy and Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

Apply It! Finding a Therapist

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary and Review

Chapter 17: Social Psychology

Introduction to Social Psychology

Social Perception
      Impression Formation: Sizing Up the Other Person
      Attribution: Our Explanation of Behavior

Attraction
      Factors Influencing Attraction: Magnets That Draw Us Together
      Romantic Attraction
      Mate Selection: The Mating Game

Conformity, Obedience, and Compliance
      Conformity: Going Along with the Group
      Obedience: Following Orders
      Compliance: Giving In to Requests

Group Influence
      The Effects of the Group on Individual Performance
      The Effects of the Group on Decision Making
      Social Roles

Attitudes and Attitude Change
      Attitudes: Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Patterns
      Persuasion: Trying to Change Attitudes

Prejudice and Discrimination
      The Roots of Prejudice and Discrimination
      Discrimination in the Workplace
      Combating Prejudice and Discrimination
      Prejudice: Is It Increasing or Decreasing?

Prosocial Behavior: Behavior That Benefits Others
      The Bystander Effect: The More Bystanders, the Less Likely They Are to Help
      People Who Help in Emergencies

Aggression: Intentionally Harming Others
      Biological Factors in Aggression: Genes, Hormones, and Brain Damage
      Aggression in Response to Frustration: Sometimes but Not Always
      Aggression in Response to Aversive Events: Pain, Heat, Noise and Crowding
      The Social Learning Theory of Aggression: Learning to Be Aggressive

Apply It! Nonverbal Behavior—The Silent Language

Thinking Critically

Chapter Summary

Appendix: Statistical Methods

References

Glossary

Name Index

Subject Index



About the Authors | Walkthrough | TOC | Link It! | What's New | Student Center | Faculty Lounge

ab_webmaster@abacon.com
©1998 Allyn & Bacon