Principles of Psychology

Description

Organized around four well-established core principles, Principles of Psychology provides students with a framework to understand the science of behavior. Written in a conversational style, the text is organized around the following four well-established principles that serve as touchstones for the field of psychology:

--The mind is a process at work in a physical machine, the brain.
--We are consciously aware of only a fraction of our mental activity.
--We constantly modify our behavior, beliefs, and attitudes according to what we perceive about the people around us.
--Experience physically alters the structure and function of the brain.

With these four principles as a framework for the text, Principles of Psychology emphasizes that psychology is a science through discussion of relevant big-picture and proven concepts and cutting-edge research-based investigations that examine behavioral, psychological, and neuroscience experiments. By presenting data and facts from other scientific disciplines, as well as real-world vignettes and stories, Marc Breedlove teaches the reader how to think critically and scientifically about the underlying mechanisms of behavior.

In-Text Features
--Vignette: Each chapter begins with a story, an instance when behavior has a big impact on someone's life. The chapter returns to the vignette several times as we cover findings that relate to that particular case.
--Researchers at Work: In every chapter, important discoveries are explained and illustrated to highlight the process of experimentation and hypothesis testing. Over the course of the book, the progression of experiments provides an increasingly sharper picture of the factors shaping behavior.
--Skeptic at Large: Intended to sharpen the student's critical thinking skills, these boxes explore a widespread misconception and demonstrate how scientific research disproves it. The exploration of scientific experimentation also reinforces the Researchers at Work feature.
--Psychology in Everyday Life: These are topics where knowledge of psychology might be applicable to everyday life, such as whether people with schizophrenia are violent, the importance of "blind" auditions for musicians, how to stop smoking, or how conditioned taste aversion might cause you to stop eating sushi when you used to love it.
--The Cutting Edge: Just prior to the end of every chapter, this feature explores an exciting report of current research. Showing students these vibrant and bold experiments will emphasize that psychology research remains alive and well.
--Think Like a Psychologist: Principles in Action: To close each chapter, each principle is related back to the vignette to show the student that when they observe an interesting behavior they can recall and apply the four principles. If they can do this, they will indeed be thinking like a psychologist.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Principles of Psychology
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1.1 Psychology's Roots
1.2 The Rise of Empiricism
1.3 The Modern Synthesis
1.4 A Preview of the Text: Four Principles of Psychology

Chapter 2 Psychology as a Science
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2.1 What Constitutes A Science?
2.2 How Do We Scientifically Study Behavior?

Chapter 3 The Neuroscience of Behavior
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3.1 The Structure Of The Nervous System: A Microscopic View
3.2 The Nervous System At Work: The Body Electric
3.3 Understanding The Nervous System: Divide and Conquer
3.4 How We Study The Brain

Chapter 4 Genes, Environment, and Behavior
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4.1 Genes at Work
4.2 The Regulation of Genes
4.3 Single Gene Effects on Behavior
4.4 Multiple Gene Effects on Behavior
4.5 The Interaction of Genes and Experience

Chapter 5 Developmental Psychology
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5.1 The Brain
5.2 The Developing Mind
5.3 Adolescence: Developing Identity
5.4 Adulthood and Beyond

Chapter 6 Sensation and Perception
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6.1 The Developing Brain
6.2 Touch and Pain
6.3 Vision
6.4 Hearing
6.5 Taste and Smell

Chapter 7 Consciousness
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7.1 Consciousness
7.2 Sleep and Dreams
7.3 Hypnosis and Meditation
7.4 Psychoactive Drugs

Chapter 8 Learning
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8.1 Predicting the Future
8.2 Rewarding Behavior
8.3 Observational Learning

Chapter 9 Memory
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9.1 The Stages of Memory Formation
9.2 The Vulnerability of Memory
9.3 Different Forms of Memory

Chapter 10 Language and Cognition
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10.1 Language
10.2 Decomposing Mental Processes
10.3 Decision Making and Problem Solving

Chapter 11 Intelligence
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11.1 History and Development of Intelligence Tests
11.2 The Many Facets of Intelligence
11.3 The Controversy over Group Differences in IQ

Chapter 12 Motivation and the Regulation of Behavior
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12.1 Motivation
12.2 Hunger
12.3 Sexual Behavior
12.4 Social Motivation

Chapter 13 Emotions, Stress, and Health
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13.1 Emotions
13.2 Stress and Health

Chapter 14 Personality
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14.1 The Quest for Personality
14.2 The Rejection of Personality Types and the Pursuit of Traits
14.3 Biological Influences on Personality
14.4 Social Influences on Personality

Chapter 15 Social Psychology
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15.1 Social Perception
15.2 Social Influences on Behavior
15.3 Friendship and Romance
15.4 Aggression
15.5 Persuasion and Authority

Chapter 16 Clinical Psychology
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16.1 Modern Classification of Psychological Disorders
16.2 Anxiety Disorders and Depression
16.3 Personality Disorders
16.4 Schizophrenia and Related Disorders