Exploring Psychology

Always on top of the latest news in psychology, always tuned in to what’s happening in the classroom, David Myers’ __Exploring Psychology__ is far and away the best-selling brief introduction to psychology. Thoroughly reexamined page by page, line by line, and reference by reference, each new edition is both refreshingly innovative and reassuringly Myers. The new Seventh Edition is both classic Myers and cutting-edge psychology, a rich presentation of ideas and applications featuring hundreds of new research citations, over 40% new photos, and state-of-the-art media and supplements. But its most compelling feature remains the inimitable Myers’ voice—a voice that speaks directly to the curiosities and experiences of all kinds of students. Myers’ writing keeps students reading...and learning. 1. Thinking critically with psychological science Contemporary psychology Intuition and common sense Scientific attitude Critical thinking 2. Neuroscience and behavior Neural communication Neurons Neurotransmitters The peripheral nervous system The central nervous system The endocrine system The brain The cerebral cortex Hemispheric differences 3. Nature, nurture, and human diversity Behavior genetics Genes Twin and adoption studies Temperament and heredity Nature and nurture Gene-environment interaction Evolutionary psychology : understanding human nature Natural selection Evolutionary explanation of human sexuality Parents and peers Peer influence Cultural influences Variation across cultures Variation over time Culture and the self culture and child-rearing Reflections on nature and nurture 4. Developing through the life span Prenatal development and the newborn The competent newborn Infancy and childhood Autism and "mind-blindness" Adolescence Adulthood Continuity and stages Stability and change 5. Sensation and perception Sensory adaptation Vision Light energy the eye Visual information processing Color vision Hearing Touch Pain Taste Smell Body position and movement Form perception Depth perception Perceptual constancy Sensory deprivation and restored vision Perceptual adaptation Extrasensory perception 6. States of consciousness Waking consciousness Selective attention Sleep and dreams Biological rhythms and sleep Sleep disorders Hypnosis The hypnotized state Drugs and consciousness Dependence and addiction Psychoactive drugs 7. Learning Classical conditioning Pavlov's experiments Operant conditioning Skinner's experiments Training our mates Learning by observation Bandura's experiments 8. Memory Studying memory : information-processing models Encoding : getting information in Storage : retaining information Sensory memory Working/short-term memory Long-term memory Storing memories in the brain Retrieval cues Forgetting Encoding failure Storage decay Retrieval failure Retrieving passwords Memory construction Misinformation and imagination effects Source amnesia Children's eyewitness recall Repressed or constructed memories of abuse? Improving memory. 9. Thinking, language, and intelligence Concepts Solving problems Making decision and forming judgments The fear factor : do we fear the right things? Language development Thinking and language Animal thinking and language Theories of intelligence Assessing intelligence Extremes of intelligence Genetic and environmental influences on intelligence Group differences in intelligence test scores 10. Motivation Motivational concepts Instincts and evolutionary psychology Drives and incentives Optimum arousal Physiology of hunger Psychology of hunger Eating disorders Obesity and weight control Physiology of sex Psychology of sex Adolescent sexuality Sexual orientation Sex and human values The need to belong Achievement motivation 11. Emotions, stress, and health Embodied emotion Emotions and the autonomic nervous system Lie detection cognition and emotion Expressed emotion Gender, emotion, and nonverbal behavior Culture and emotional expression Effects of facial expressions Experienced emotion Anger Happiness Stress and stressors Stress and the heart Stress and susceptibility to disease Coping with stress Complementary and alternative medicine 12. Personality Psychoanalytic perspective Exploring the unconscious Neo-Freudian and psychodynamic theorists The humanistic perspective Abraham Maslow's self-actualizing person Carl Rogers' person-centered perspective Assessing the self The trait perspective How to be a "successful" astrologer or palm reader The social-cognitive perspective Reciprocal influences Personal control Exploring the self Benefits of self-esteem Culture and self-esteem Self-serving bias 13. Psychological disorders ADHD : normal high energy or genuine disorder? Classifying psychological disorders The "un-DSM" : a diagnostic manual of human strengths Insanity and responsibility Anxiety disorders Panic disorder Phobias Obsessive-compulsive disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder Dissociative and personality disorders Mood disorders Major depressive disorder Bipolar disorder Suicide Schizophrenia Rates of psychological disorders 14. Therapy Psychoanalysis Humanistic therapies Behavior therapies Cognitive therapies Group and family therapies Alternative therapies Culture and values in psychotherapy Consumer's guide to psychotherapists - The biomedical therapies Drug therapies Brain stimulation Psychosurgery Preventing psychological disorders 15. Social psychology Social thinking Abu Ghraib Prison " "atrocity-producing situation" Social influence Conformity and obedience Group influence Social relations Prejudice Automatic prejudice Aggression Do video games teach, or release, violence? Parallels between smoking effects and media violence effects Attraction Altruism Conflict and peacemaking Appendix A. Statistical reasoning in everyday life Appendix B. Psychology at work Personnel psychology Organizational psychology Satisfaction and engagement Managing well Appendix C. Careers in psychology Preparing for a career in psychology Subfields of psychology Appendix D. Answers to Test Yourself questions Glossary.

for This Sixth Edition Of A High-interest Undergraduate Text, Myers (psychology, Hope College) Has Added A New Chapter On The History Of Psychology, A Timeline, And A Revised Chapter On Personality, With More Discussion Of Contemporary Research On Traits, The Social- Cognitive Perspective, And The Modern Unconscious. There Is Enhanced Coverage Of Cognitive Psychology, And More Material On Multicultural And Gender Issues And The Global Perspective. The Text's Focus On Critical Thinking Has Been Strengthened With Boxes, Stories, Activities, And Questions. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or