Introduction to Psychology
v. 1.0
Table of Contents
Licensing Information
Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology
Chapter Introduction
Psychology as a Science
The Evolution of Psychology: History, Approaches, and Questions
Chapter Summary
Chapter 2: Psychological Science
Psychologists Use the Scientific Method to Guide Their Research
Psychologists Use Descriptive, Correlational, and Experimental Research Designs to Understand Behavior
You Can Be an Informed Consumer of Psychological Research
Chapter Summary
Chapter 3: Brains, Bodies, and Behavior
Chapter Introduction
The Neuron Is the Building Block of the Nervous System
Our Brains Control Our Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior
Psychologists Study the Brain Using Many Different Methods
Putting It All Together: The Nervous System and the Endocrine System
Chapter Summary
Chapter 4: Sensing and Perceiving
Chapter Introduction
We Experience Our World Through Sensation
Seeing
Hearing
Tasting, Smelling, and Touching
Accuracy and Inaccuracy in Perception
Chapter Summary
Chapter 5: States of Consciousness
Chapter Introduction
Sleeping and Dreaming Revitalize Us for Action
Altering Consciousness With Psychoactive Drugs
Altering Consciousness Without Drugs
Chapter Summary
Chapter 6: Growing and Developing
Chapter Introduction
Conception and Prenatal Development
Infancy and Childhood: Exploring and Learning
Adolescence: Developing Independence and Identity
Early and Middle Adulthood: Building Effective Lives
Late Adulthood: Aging, Retiring, and Bereavement
Chapter Summary
Chapter 7: Learning
Chapter Introduction
Learning by Association: Classical Conditioning
Changing Behavior Through Reinforcement and Punishment: Operant Conditioning
Learning by Insight and Observation
Using the Principles of Learning to Understand Everyday Behavior
Chapter Summary
Chapter 8: Remembering and Judging
Chapter Introduction
Memories as Types and Stages
How We Remember: Cues to Improving Memory
Accuracy and Inaccuracy in Memory and Cognition
Chapter Summary
Chapter 9: Intelligence and Language
Chapter Introduction
Defining and Measuring Intelligence
The Social, Cultural, and Political Aspects of Intelligence
Communicating With Others: The Development and Use of Language
Chapter Summary
Chapter 10: Emotions and Motivations
Chapter Introduction
The Experience of Emotion
Stress: The Unseen Killer
Positive Emotions: The Power of Happiness
Two Fundamental Human Motivations: Eating and Mating
Chapter Summary
Chapter 11: Personality
Chapter Introduction
Personality and Behavior: Approaches and Measurement
The Origins of Personality
Is Personality More Nature or More Nurture? Behavioral and Molecular Genetics
Chapter Summary
Chapter 12: Defining Psychological Disorders
Chapter Introduction
Psychological Disorder: What Makes a Behavior “Abnormal”?
Anxiety and Dissociative Disorders: Fearing the World Around Us
Mood Disorders: Emotions as Illness
Schizophrenia: The Edge of Reality and Consciousness
Personality Disorders
Somatoform, Factitious, and Sexual Disorders
Chapter Summary
Chapter 13: Treating Psychological Disorders
Chapter Introduction
Reducing Disorder by Confronting It: Psychotherapy
Reducing Disorder Biologically: Drug and Brain Therapy
Reducing Disorder by Changing the Social Situation
Evaluating Treatment and Prevention: What Works?
Chapter Summary
Chapter 14: Psychology in Our Social Lives
Chapter Introduction
Social Cognition: Making Sense of Ourselves and Others
Interacting With Others: Helping, Hurting, and Conforming
Working With Others: The Costs and Benefits of Social Groups
Chapter Summary