Psychology and Your Life

624 Pages·2009·25.943 MB·English

by  Robert Feldman

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and your life
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Y
and your life
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Robert S. Feldman
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University of Massachusetts, Amherst
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PSYCHOLOGY AND YOUR LIFE
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ISBN 978-0-07-337702-5
MHID 0-07-337702-3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feldman, Robert S. (Robert Stephen), 1947-
Psychology and your life / Robert S. Feldman.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-337702-5 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-07-337702-3 (alk. paper)
1. Psychology—Textbooks. I. Title.
BF121.F35 2010
150—dc22
2008047500
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does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill, and McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the
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dedication
To Alex, #1
author
about the
robert s. feldman
is Professor of Psychology and
Associate Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Feldman, a win-
ner of the College Distinguished Teacher award, also has taught
courses at the Lincoln Educational Services system, Mount
Holoyoke College, and Virginia Commonwealth University .
Feldman teaches introductory psychology to classes rang-
ing in size from 20 to nearly 500 students. He has served as
a Hewlett Teaching Fellow and Senior Online Teaching Fellow,
and he frequently gives talks on the use of technology in teach-
ing. He initiated distance learning courses in psychology at the
University of Massachusetts.
Feldman is committed to helping students achieve success.
He directs the first-year experience course for entering students
at the University of Massachusetts, P ower Up for College Success.
He is also author of P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Strategies for Success
in College and Life and edited T he First Year of College, books
devoted to increasing student success in college.
A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the
Association for Psychological Science, Feldman received a B.A.
with High Honors from Wesleyan University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison. Feldman is actively involved in promoting
the field of psychology. He is on the Board of Directors of the Federation o f
Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences and also is on the Board of
the Foundation for the Advancement of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Feldman is a winner of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award
and has written more than 100 books, book chapters, and scientific articles. His
books include Fundamentals of Nonverbal Behavior, Development of Nonverbal
Behavior in Children, Social Psychology, and Development Across the Life Span,
and they have been translated into a number of languages, including Span-
ish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese. His research interests
include honesty and deception and the use of nonverbal behavior in impression
management, and he has received grants from the National Institute of Mental
Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research.
Feldman’s spare time is most often devoted to earnest, if not entirely expert,
piano playing, and serious cooking. He also loves to travel, and—despite living
in New England—is a devoted New York Yankees fan. He has three children and
lives with his wife, who is also a psychologist, overlooking the Holyoke moun-
tain range in Amherst, Massachusetts.
vi
brief
table of contents
Preface xxi
To the Students xxviii
chapter one
Introduction to Psychology 2
Module 1 Psychologists at Work 4
Module 2 A Science Evolves: The Past, the Present, and the Future 12
Module 3 Research in Psychology 24
Module 4 Research Challenges: Exploring the Process 36
chapter two
Neuroscience and Behavior 46
Module 5 Neurons: The Basic Elements of Behavior 48
Module 6 The Nervous System and the Endocrine System: Communicating within the Body 56
Module 7 The Brain 64
chapter three
Sensation and Perception 82
Module 8 Sensing the World Around Us 84
Module 9 Vision: Shedding Light on the Eye 89
Module 10 Hearing and the Other Senses 98
Module 11 Perceptual Organization: Constructing Our View of the World 107
chapter four
States of Consciousness 122
Module 12 Sleep and Dreams 124
Module 13 Hypnosis and Meditation 137
Module 14 Drug Use: The Highs and Lows of Consciousness 142
chapter five
Learning 160
Module 15 Classical Conditioning 162
Module 16 Operant Conditioning 170
Module 17 Cognitive Approaches to Learning 183
chapter six
Thinking: Memory, Cognition, and Language 198
Module 18 The Foundations of Memory 200
Module 19 Recall and Forgetting 207
Module 20 Thinking, Reasoning, and Problem Solving 220
Module 21 Language 230
vii
chapter seven
Motivation and Emotion 242
Module 22 Explaining Motivation 244
Module 23 Human Needs and Motivation: Eat, Drink, and Be Daring 253
Module 24 Understanding Emotional Experiences 267
chapter eight
Development 280
Module 25 Nature and Nurture, and Prenatal Development 282
Module 26 Infancy and Childhood 293
Module 27 Adolescence: Becoming an Adult 309
Module 28 Adulthood 319
chapter nine
Personality and Individual Differences 334
Module 29 Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality 336
Module 30 Trait, Learning, Biological and Evolutionary, and Humanistic Approaches to Personality 347
Module 31 Assessing Personality: Determining What Makes Us Distinctive 358
Module 32 Intelligence? 366
chapter ten
Psychological Disorders 386
Module 33 Normal versus Abnormal: Making the Distinction 388
Module 34 The Major Psychological Disorders 397
Module 35 Psychological Disorders in Perspective 419
chapter eleven
Treatment of Psychological Disorders 428
Module 36 Psychotherapy: Psychodynamic, Behavioral, and Cognitive Approaches to Treatment 430
Module 37 Psychotherapy: Humanistic and Group Approaches to Treatment 441
Module 38 Biomedical Therapy: Biological Approaches to Treatment 449
chapter twelve
Social Psychology 464
Module 39 Attitudes and Social Cognition 466
Module 40 Social Influence and Groups 475
Module 41 Prejudice and Discrimination 482
Module 42 Positive and Negative Social Behavior 488
Module 43 Stress and Coping 498
Glossary 512
References 526
Credits 560
Name Index 564
Subject Index 576
viii brief table of contents
table of
contents
Preface xxi
To the Students xxviii
1
chapter
Introduction to Psychology 2
module 1 Psychologists at Work 4
What Is Psychology? 4
The Subfields of Psychology: Psychology’s Family Tree 4
Try It! Psychological Truths? 5
What Are the Biological Foundations of Behavior? 5
How Do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and Think about the World? 5
What Are the Sources of Change and Stability in Behavior Across the Life Span? 7
How Do Psychological Factors Affect Physical and Mental Health? 7
How Do Our Social Networks Affect Behavior? 7
Expanding Psychology’s Frontiers 8
Working at Psychology 9
Psychologists: A Portrait 9
The Education of a Psychologist 10
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 10
module 2 A Science Evolves: The Past, the Present, and the Future 12
The Roots of Psychology 13
Women in Psychology: Founding Mothers 14
Today’s Perspectives 16
The Neuroscience Perspective: Blood, Sweat, and Fears 16
The Psychodynamic Perspective: Understanding the Inner Person 17
The Behavioral Perspective: Observing the Outer Person 17
The Cognitive Perspective: Identifying the Roots of Understanding 17
The Humanistic Perspective: The Unique Qualities of the Human Species 18
Psychology and Your Life 18
Psychology’s Key Issues and Controversies 20
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 22
module 3 Research in Psychology 24
The Scientific Method 24
Theories: Specifying Broad Explanations 24
Hypotheses: Crafting Testable Predictions 25
Psychological Research 26
Descriptive Research 26
ix
Archival Research 26
Naturalistic Observation 26
Survey Research 27
The Case Study 27
Correlation Research 28
Experimental Research 29
Experimental Groups and Control Groups 30
Independent and Dependent Variables 30
Random Assignment of Participants 31
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 33
module 4 Research Challenges: Exploring the Process 36
The Ethics of Research 36
Exploring Diversity: Choosing Participants Who Represent the Scope of Human Behavior 37
Should Animals Be Used in Research? 37
Threats to Experimental Validity: Avoiding Experimental Bias 38
Becoming an Informed Consumer of Psychology: Thinking Critically About Research 39
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 40
2
chapter
Neuroscience and Behavior 46
module 5 Neurons: The Basic Elements of Behavior 48
The Structure of the Neuron 48
How Neurons Fire 49
Where Neurons Connect to One Another: Bridging the Gap 51
Neurotransmitters: Multitalented Chemical Couriers 52
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 54
module 6 The Nervous System and the Endocrine System: Communicating
within the Body 56
The Nervous System 56
Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems 56
Activating the Divisions of the Automatic Nervous System 58
Behavioral Genetics 59
The Endocrine System: Of Chemicals and Glands 61
Recap/Evaluate/Rethink 62
module 7 The Brain 64
Studying the Brain’s Structure and Functions: Spying on the Brain 64
The Central Core: Our “Old Brain” 66
The Limbic System: Beyond the Central Core 67
The Cerebral Cortex: Our “New Brain” 68
The Motor Area of the Cortex 68
The Sensory Area of the Cortex 69
The Association Areas of the Cortex 70
Neuroplasticity and the Brain 71
The Specialization of the Hemispheres: Two Brains or One? 71
Exploring Diversity: Human Diversity and the Brain 72
x table of contents