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Copyright, ii
Preface, xiii
Meet the Authors, xxvii
Prologue: How Psychology Became a Science, 1
What Is Psychology? Basic Questions and Key Challenges, 2
Psychology and Levels of Explanation, 2
Psychology: A Nasty Little Subject, 2
What Makes Psychology Challenging—And Fascinating, 3
Psychology in Historical Perspective: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been, 6
Psychology: From Séance to Science, 6
Psychology Today: Reasons for Both Optimism and Concern, 9
The Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology, 10
Structuralism: The Elements of the Mind, 10
Functionalism: Psychology Meets Darwin, 11
Behaviorism: The Laws of Learning, 11
Cognitivism: Opening the Black Box, 12
Psychoanalysis: The Depths of the Unconscious, 12
The Multifaceted World of Modern Psychology, 13
Critical Multiplism: Psychology’s Intellectual Diversity, 13
Applications of Psychological Science to Everyday Life, 14
The Great Debates of Psychology, 18
The Nature-Nurture Debate, 18
The Free-Will Determinism Debate, 19
The Mind–Body Debate, 20
The Psychology Journey, 21
1. Science and Pseudoscience in Psychology: Skills for Thinking Scientifically in Everyday Life, 22
Preview: Think, 24
Science versus Popular Psychology: Common versus Uncommon Sense, 24
Common and Uncommon Sense, 25
Naive Realism: Seeing Is Believing, or Is It?, 25
When Our Common Sense Is Right, 26
Truth Is Often Stranger Than Fiction, 26
The Amazing Growth of Popular Psychology, 27
Psychology as a Science, 29
PsychoMythology: What a Scientific Theory Is and What It Isn’t, 33
Critical Thinking: Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff, 34
Scientific Skepticism, 34
Basic Principles of Critical Thinking, 37
Psychological Pseudoscience: Imposters of Science, 43
What Is Pseudoscience?, 44
Metaphysical Claims: The Boundaries of Science, 44
The Prevalence of Pseudoscientific Beliefs, 45
The Seven Deadly Sins of Pseudoscience: Useful Warning Signs, 45
Pseudoscientific Beliefs: Origins and Dangers, 48
Why Are We Drawn to Pseudoscience?, 48
New Frontiers: Terror Management Theory and Its Implications for Pseudoscientific Beliefs, 50
Logical Fallacies in Psychological Thinking, 54
The Dangers of Pseudoscience: Why Should We Care?, 56
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 58
2. Research Methods: Safeguards against Error, 62
Preview: Think, 64
The Beauty and Necessity of Good Research Design, 65
Why We Need Research Designs, 65
Heuristics and Biases: How We Can Be Fooled, 66
Cognitive Biases, 69
The Scientific Method: Toolbox of Skills, 71
Naturalistic Observation: Studying Humans “In the Wild”, 71
Case Study Designs: Getting to Know You, 72
Correlational Designs, 73
Experimental Designs, 78
New Frontiers: Meta-Analysis: A Safeguard against Confirmation Bias, 79
Asking People about Themselves and Others, 85
PsychoMythology: Laboratory Research Doesn’t Apply to the Real World, Right?, 89
Ethical Issues in Research Design, 90
Tuskegee: A Shameful Moral Tale, 91
Ethical Guidelines for Human Research, 91
Ethical Issues in Animal Research, 92
Statistics: The Language of Psychological Research, 94
Descriptive Statistics: What’s What?, 94
Inferential Statistics: Testing Hypotheses, 95
How People Lie with Statistics, 96
Becoming a Peer Reviewer of Psychological Research, 99
Most Reporters Aren’t Scientists: Evaluating Psychology in the Media, 100
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 102
3. Biological Psychology: The Brain–Body Communication Superhighway, 106
Preview: Think, 108
The Brain and Behavior: Networked with the Somatic Nervous System, 108
The Forebrain, 109
The Brain Stem, 114
The Spinal Cord, 116
The Somatic Nervous System, 116
New Frontiers: Jesse’s Story: The Million Dollar Man, 117
The Brain and Emotion: Networked with the Autonomic Nervous System, 118
The Limbic System, 118
The Autonomic Nervous System, 120
The Endocrine System, 120
Nerve Cells: Communication Portals, 124
Neurons: The Brain’s Communicators, 124
Glial Cells: Supporting Roles, 125
Electrical Responses of Neurons, 125
Chemical Neurotransmission, 127
Mapping the Mind to Understand Our Actions, 129
Mind-Brain Identity, 129
A Tour of Brain-Mapping Methods, 130
How Much of Our Brain Do We Use?, 133
What Parts of Our Brain Do We Use?, 133
Which Side of Our Brain Do We Use?, 134
PsychoMythology: Left-Brained versus Right-Brained Persons, 136
Nature and Nurture: Did Your Genes—Or Parents—Make You Do It?, 137
How We Came to Be Who We Are, 137
Behavioral Genetics: How We Study Heritability, 139
Neural Plasticity: How and When the Brain Changes, 142
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 146
4. Sensation and Perception: How We Sense and Conceptualize the World, 150
Preview: Think, 152
Two Sides of the Coin: Sensation and Perception, 153
Sensation: Our Senses as Detectives, 153
Perception: When Our Senses Meet Our Minds, 157
Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Fact or Fiction?, 159
Seeing: The Visual System, 163
Light: The Energy of Life, 163
The Eye: How We Represent the Visual Realm, 163
Visual Perception, 166
When We Can’t See or Perceive Visually, 173
New Frontiers: LASIK Surgery: The Pros and Cons, 175
Hearing: The Auditory System, 176
Sound: Mechanical Vibration, 176
How the Ear Works, 177
Auditory Perception, 178
When We Can’t Hear, 180
Smell and Taste: The Sensual Senses, 180
What Are Odors and Flavors?, 180
Sense Receptors for Smell and Taste, 181
Olfactory and Gustatory Perception, 182
When We Can’t Smell or Taste, 183
Our Body Senses: Touch, Body Position, and Balance, 184
The Somatosensory System: Touch and Pain, 184
Proprioception and Vestibular Sense: Body Position and Balance, 187
PsychoMythology: Psychic Healing of Chronic Pain, 187
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 190
5. Consciousness: Expanding the Boundaries of Psychological Inquiry, 194
Preview: Think, 196
The Biology of Sleep, 197
The Circadian Rhythm: The Cycle of Everyday Life, 197
Stages of Sleep and Dreaming, 198
Lucid Dreaming, 201
Disorders of Sleep, 202
Theories and Psychology of Dreams, 205
Freud and Wish Fulfillment: The Dream Protection Theory, 205
Activation–Synthesis Theory, 205
Dreaming and the Forebrain, 206
Neurocognitive Perspectives on Dreaming: Information Processing and Development, 206
What’s the Function of Dreams?, 207
Other Alterations of Consciousness and Unusual Experiences, 208
Hallucinations: Experiencing What Isn’t There, 208
Out-of-Body Experiences, 208
Near-Death Experiences, 209
Déjà vu Experiences, 210
New Frontiers: Demystifying Mystical Experiences, 211
Meditation, 212
Hypnosis, 213
PsychoMythology: Age Regression and Past Lives, 215
Drugs and Consciousness, 218
The Depressant Drugs: Alcohol and the Sedative-Hypnotics, 218
The Stimulant Drugs: Tobacco, Cocaine, and Amphetamines, 221
The Opiate Narcotic Drugs: Heroin, Morphine, and Codeine, 223
The Psychedelic Drugs: Marijuana, LSD, and Ecstasy, 223
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 226
6. Learning: How Nurture Changes Us, 230
Preview: Think, 232
Classical Conditioning, 234
British Associationism, 234
Pavlov’s Discoveries, 234
The Classical Conditioning Phenomenon, 234
Aversive Conditioning, 235
Adaptive Value of Classical Conditioning, 236
Acquisition, Extinction, Spontaneous Recovery, 236
Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination, 237
Higher-Order Conditioning, 238
Applications of Classical Conditioning to Daily Life, 238
PsychoMythology: Are We What We Eat?, 241
Operant Conditioning, 242
Operant Conditioning: What It Is and How It Differs from Classical Conditioning, 242
The Law of Effect, 243
B. F. Skinner and Reinforcement, 244
Terminology of Operant Conditioning, 244
Principles of Reinforcement, 248
Applications of Operant Conditioning, 250
Two-Process Theory: Putting Classical and Operant Conditioning Together, 254
Cognitive Models of Learning, 255
Watson, Skinner, and Thinking, 255
S-O-R Psychology: Throwing Thinking Back into the Mix, 256
Latent Learning, 256
Observational Learning, 257
New Frontiers: Mirror Neurons and Observational Learning, 259
Insight Learning, 260
Biological Influences on Learning, 261
Conditioned Taste Aversions, 261
Preparedness and Phobias, 263
Instinctive Drift, 264
Learning Fads: Do They Work?, 265
Sleep-Assisted Learning, 265
Accelerated Learning, 266
Discovery Learning, 266
Learning Styles, 267
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 268
7. Memory: Constructing and Reconstructing Our Pasts, 272
Preview: Think, 274
How Memory Operates: The Memory Assembly Line, 275
The Paradox of Memory, 275
The Fallibility of Memory, 276
The Reconstructive Nature of Memory, 277
The Three Systems of Memory, 278
The Three Stages of Memory, 287
Encoding: The “Call Numbers” of the Mind, 288
PsychoMythology: Memory Boosters, 290
Storage: Filing Our Memories Away, 291
Retrieval: Heading for the “Stacks”, 292
The Biology of Memory, 296
The Neural Basis of Memory Storage, 296
Where Is Memory Stored?, 297
The Biology of Memory Deterioration, 299
The Development of Memory: Acquiring a Personal History, 301
Memory over Time, 301
Infants’ Implicit Memory: Talking with Their Feet, 302
Infantile Amnesia, 302
Suggestibility and Child Testimony, 303
When Good Memory Goes Bad: False Memories, 304
False Memories, 304
New Frontiers: Using Medication to Erase Memories, 306
The Seven Sins of Memory, 310
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 312
8. Language, Thinking, and Reasoning: Getting Inside Our Talking Heads, 316
Preview: Think, 318
How Does Language Work?, 319
The Features of Language, 319
Where Did Language Originate and Why?, 322
How Do Children Learn Language?, 323
Nonhuman Animal Communication, 328
Special Cases of Language Learning, 330
PsychoMythology: Do Twins Have Their Own Language?, 333
Do We Think in Words? The Relation between Language and Thought, 334
Linguistic Determinism: We Speak, Therefore We Think, 334
New Frontiers: Putting the Brain on “Pause”, 336
Linguistic Relativity: Language Gives Thought a Gentle Nudge, 337
Reading: Recognizing the Written Word, 338
How Does Reading Work?, 338
Prereading, 339
Speed-Reading—A Hoax in Sheep’s Clothing?, 340
Thinking and Reasoning, 341
Is the Mind a Living Computer?, 341
Cognitive Economy—Imposing Order on Our World, 342
The Risks of Economizing: You Get What You Pay For, 344
Problem Solving: More Thinking Hurdles, 345
The Scientific Method Doesn’t Come Naturally, 347
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 348
9. Intelligence and IQ Testing: Controversy and Consensus, 352
Preview: Think, 354
What Is Intelligence? Definitional Confusion, 354
Special Considerations in Interpreting Intelligence Research, 355
Intelligence as Sensory Capacity: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, 355
Intelligence as Abstract Thinking, 356
That Controversial Little Letter: g, 357
Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence, 358
Multiple Intelligences: Different Ways of Being Smart, 358
Biological Bases of Intelligence, 361
New Frontiers: How Aware Are We of Our Intellectual Limitations?, 361
Intelligence Testing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 363
Two More Controversial Letters: IQ, 364
The Eugenics Movement: Misuses and Abuses of IQ Testing, 364
IQ Testing Today, 366
Standardized Tests: What Do They Measure?, 367
PsychoMythology: Do Standardized Tests Predict Grades?, 368
Reliability of IQ Scores: Is IQ Forever?, 369
Validity of IQ Scores: Predicting Life Outcomes, 370
A Tale of Two Tails: From Mental Retardation to Genius, 371
Genetic and Environmental Influences on IQ, 374
Exploring Genetic Influences on IQ, 375
Exploring Environmental Influences on IQ, 376
Group Difference in IQ: The Science and the Politics, 380
Sex Differences in IQ and Mental Abilities, 380
Racial Differences in IQ, 382
The Rest of the Story: Other Dimensions of Intellect, 387
Creativity, 387
Personality, Interests, and Intellect, 389
Emotional Intelligence: Is EQ as Important as IQ?, 390
Why Smart People Believe Strange Things, 390
Wisdom, 391
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 392
10. Human Development: How and Why We Change, 396
Chapter Preview: Think, 398
Special Considerations in Human Development, 399
Post Hoc Fallacy, 399
Bidirectional Influences, 399
Keeping an Eye on Cohort Effects, 400
The Influence of Early Experience, 400
Clarifying the Nature–Nurture Debate, 401
The Developing Body before and after Birth: Physical and Motor Development, 403
Conception and Prenatal Development: From Zygote to Baby, 403
Growth and Physical Development after Infancy, 405
Infant Motor Development: How Babies Get Going, 406
Cognitive Development: Children’s Learning about the World, 407
Developmental Processes: Theories and Evidence, 408
PsychoMythology: The Mozart Effect, Baby Einstein, and Creating “Superbabies”, 412
Cognitive Landmarks of Early Development, 413
New Frontiers: Gesture as a Window into the Mind, 417
Social and Moral Development: Children’s Relations with Others, 418
Stranger Anxiety: The Sudden Change at 8 Months, 418
Attachment: Establishing Bonds, 418
Temperament and Social Development: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle?, 421
Parenting: What’s Right and What’s Wrong?, 422
Self-Control: Learning to Inhibit Impulses, 426
Moral Development: Knowing Right from Wrong, 426
Gender Identity, 429
Development Doesn’t Stop: Changes in Adolescence and Adulthood, 430
Adolescence: A Time of Dramatic Change, 430
Adulthood and Aging: The Ups and Downs of Getting Older, 435
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 440
11. Emotion and Motivation: What Moves Us, 444
Preview: Think, 446
Theories of Emotion: What Causes Our Feelings?, 447
Discrete Emotions Theory: Emotions as Evolved Expressions, 447
Cognitive Theories of Emotion: Think First, Feel Later, 450
Unconscious Influences on Emotion, 453
Nonverbal Expression of Expression: The Eyes, Bodies, and Cultures Have It, 456
Body Language: Letting Our Bodies Do the Talking, 456
Gestures, 456
New Frontiers: The Emotional Social Intelligence Prosthesis (ESIP), 457
Proxemics: Personal Space, 458
Lying and Lie Detection, 458
PsychoMythology: Is “Truth Serum” Really a Truth Serum?, 461
Happiness and Self-Esteem: Science Confronts Pop Psychology, 462
Positive Psychology: Psychology’s Future or Psychology’s Fad?, 462
What Happiness Is Good For?, 463
What Makes Us Happy: The Myths, 464
What Makes Us Happy: The Realities, 465
Forecasting Happiness, 466
Self-Esteem: Important or Overhyped?, 467
Motivation: Our Wants and Needs, 469
Motivation: A Beginner’s Guide, 469
Positive Motivation, 471
Our Needs: Physical and Psychological Urges, 472
Hunger, Eating, and Eating Disorders, 472
Sexual Motivation, 476
Attraction, Love, and Hate: The Greatest Mysteries of Them All, 482
Social Influences on Interpersonal Attraction, 482
Love: Science Confronts the Mysterious, 486
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 488
12. Stress, Coping, and Health: The Mind–Body Interconnection, 492
Preview: Think, 494
What Is Stress?, 495
Stress in the Eye of the Beholder: Three Approaches, 495
No Two Stresses Are Created Equal: Measuring Stress, 496
How We Adapt to Stress: Change and Challenge, 499
The Mechanics of Stress: Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, 499
The Diversity of Stress Responses, 501
PsychoMythology: Almost All People Are Traumatized by Highly Aversive Events, 502
The Brain–Body Reaction to Stress, 503
New Frontiers: Brain Studies Reveal Placebos Are “Strong Medicines”, 504
The Immune System, 505
Stress-Related Illnesses: A Biopsychosocial View, 506
Coping with Stress, 511
Social Support, 511
Gaining Control, 512
Flexible Coping, 513
Individual Differences: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Personality, 514
Promoting Good Health—and Less Stress!, 516
Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 516
Toward a Healthy Lifestyle, 516
Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 523
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 528
13. Social Psychology: How Others Affect Us, 532
Preview: Think, 534
What Is Social Psychology?, 534
Humans as a Social Species, 535
The Great Lesson of Social Psychology, 536
Social Comparison: Person See, Person Do, 538
Social Influence: Conformity and Obedience, 539
Conformity: The Asch Paradigm, 539
Deindividuation: Losing Our Typical Identities, 542
Groupthink, 544
Obedience: The Psychology of Following Orders, 546
Helping and Harming Others: Prosocial Behavior and Aggression, 551
Safety in Numbers or Danger in Numbers? Bystander Nonintervention, 552
Social Loafing: With a Little Too Much Help From My Friends, 553
PsychoMythology: Is Brainstorming in Groups a Good Way to Generate Ideas?, 554
Prosocial Behavior and Altruism, 555
Aggression: Why We Hurt Others, 556
Attitudes and Persuasion: Changing Minds, 558
Attitudes and Behavior, 558
Origins of Attitudes, 559
Attitude Change: Wait, Wait, I Just Changed My Mind, 561
Persuasion: Humans as Salespeople, 563
Prejudice and Discrimination, 565
The Nature of Prejudice, 565
Discrimination, 565
Stereotypes, 566
New Frontiers: Implicit Measures of Prejudice, 567
Roots of Prejudice: A Tangled Web, 569
Combating Prejudice: Some Remedies, 570
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 572
14. Personality: Who We Are, 576
Preview: Think, 578
Personality: What Is It and How Can We Study It?, 579
Studying Personality: Nomothetic versus Idiographic Approaches, 579
The Causes of Personality Differences: How We Come to Be, 579
New Frontiers: Molecular Genetic Studies of Personality, 582
Psychoanalytic Theory: Controversial Legacy of Sigmund Freud and His Followers, 584
Psychoanalytic Theory: The Foundation of Freud’s Thinking, 584
Core Assumptions of Psychoanalytic Theory, 585
The Three Agencies of the Human Psyche, 586
Anxiety and the Defense Mechanisms, 588
Freud’s Theory of Personality Development, 590
Psychoanalytic Theory Evaluated Critically, 592
Freud’s Followers: The Neo-Freudians, 594
Behavioral and Social Learning Theories of Personality, 597
Behavioral Views of the Causes of Personality, 597
Social Learning Theories of Personality: The Causal Role of Thinking Resurrected, 598
Humanistic Models of Personality: The Third Force, 600
Rogers and Maslow: Self-Actualization Realized and Unrealized, 601
Humanistic Models Evaluated Critically, 601
Trait Models of Personality: Consistencies in Our Behavior, 602
Trait Models: Key Challenges, 602
Personality Traits Under Siege: Walter Mischel’s Critique, 603
Models of Personality Structure: The Geography of the Psyche, 604
Cultural Influences on Personality, 605
Basic Tendencies versus Characteristic Adaptations, 606
Can Personality Traits Change?, 606
Trait Models Evaluated Critically, 607
Personality Assessment: Measuring and Mismeasuring the Psyche, 608
Famous—and Infamous—Errors in Personality Assessment, 608
Structured Personality Tests, 609
Projective Tests, 612
Common Pitfalls in Personality Assessment, 614
PsychoMythology: Criminal Profiling, 615
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 618
15. Psychological Disorders: When Adaptation Breaks Down, 622
Preview: Think, 624
Conceptions of Mental Illness: Yesterday and Today, 624
What Is Mental Illness? A Deceptively Complex Question, 625
Historical Conceptions of Mental Illness: From Demons to Asylums, 626
Psychiatric Diagnosis Over Time, 627
Psychiatric Diagnosis Across Cultures: Culture-Bound Syndromes, 628
Special Considerations in Psychiatric Classification and Diagnosis, 630
PsychoMythology: Is There an Autism Epidemic?, 632
Psychiatric Diagnosis Today: The DSM-IV, 634
Anxiety Disorders: The Many Faces of Worry and Fear, 639
Panic Disorder: Terror That Comes Out of the Blue, 639
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Perpetual Worry, 640
Phobias: Irrational Fears, 640
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: The Enduring Effects of Experiencing Horror, 641
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Trapped in One’s Thoughts, 642
Explanations for Anxiety Disorders: The Roots of Pathological Worry and Fear, 643
Mood Disorders And Suicide, 644
Major Depressive Disorder: Common, But Not the Common Cold, 644
Explanations for Major Depressive Disorder: A Tangled Web, 645
Bipolar Disorder: When Mood Goes to Extremes, 649
Suicide: Facts and Fictions, 650
Dissociative Disorders: The Divided Self, 652
Depersonalization Disorder, 652
Dissociative Amnesia, 652
Dissociative Fugue, 652
Dissociative Identity Disorder: Multiple Personalities: Multiple Controversies, 653
The Enigma of Schizophrenia, 654
Symptoms of Schizophrenia: The Shattered Mind, 654
New Frontiers: Electrical Brain Stimulation and the “Shadow Man”, 655
Explanations of Schizophrenia: The Roots of a Shattered Mind, 657
Personality Disorders and Substance Abuse, 660
Borderline Personality Disorder: Stable Instability, 661
Psychopathic Personality: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover, 662
Substance Abuse and Dependence, 663
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 666
16. Psychological and Biological Treatments: Helping People Change, 670
Preview: Think, 672
Psychotherapy: Patients and Practitioners, 672
Who Seeks and Benefits from Treatment?, 672
Who Practices Psychotherapy?, 673
Professionals versus Paraprofessionals: A Difference That Makes a Difference?, 673
What Does It Takes to Be an Effective Psychotherapist?, 674
Insight Therapies: Acquiring Understanding, 676
Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapies: Freud’s Legacy, 676
Humanistic-Existential Psychotherapy: Achieving Our Potential, 680
Behavioral Approaches: Changing Maladaptive Actions, 683
The Phases of Behavior Therapy, 683
Systematic Desensitization and Exposure Therapies: Learning Principles in Action, 683
Modeling in Therapy: Learning by Watching, 686
Operant Procedures: Consequences Count, 687
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies: Learning to Think Differently, 687
The Trend Toward Eclecticism and Integration, 689
Group and Family Systems Therapies: The More, the Merrier, 690
Group Therapies, 691
Family Therapies: Treating the Dysfunctional Family System, 692
Is Psychotherapy Effective?, 693
The Dodo Bird Verdict: Alive or Extinct?, 693
How Different Groups of People Respond to Psychotherapy, 695
Common Factors, 695
Empirically Supported Treatments, 695
Why Do Ineffective Therapies Appear to be Helpful? How We Can Be Fooled, 696
PsychoMythology: Are Self-Help Books Always Helpful?, 698
Biological Treatments: Drugs, Physical Stimulation, and Surgery, 699
Pharmacotherapy: Targeting Brain Chemistry, 699
New Frontiers: Psychotherapy and the Brain, 701
Electrical Stimulation: Conceptions and Misconceptions, 703
Psychosurgery: An Absolute Last Resort, 704
Think Again: The Complete Review System, 706
Glossary, G-1
References, R-1
Name Index, NI-1
Subject Index, SI-1
Credits, CR-1

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