Psychology in everyday life

586 Pages·2012·53.777 MB·English

by  Myers, David G

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Can we be controlled by What happens when we Why do we remember some
subliminal messages? occasionally give in to things easily and others only
p. 125 p. 183
children’s tantrums for the if we study hard?
sake of peace and quiet?
p. 164
Why don’t we have one big Can a good night’s sleep
ear—perhaps above our improve test grades?
p. 141 p. 185
one nose? Should we physically punish
children to change their
p. 166
behavior?
How do we experience Why are some memories so
pain, and how might we much more crisp and clear
control it? p. 143 than others? p. 189
What would it be like to live What causes déjà vu?
Does the frequent pairing of
p. 191
without being able to sense
red and sex—with
the positions of your limbs
Valentine’s hearts, red-light
when you wake during the
districts, and red lipstick—
p. 147
night?
naturally enhance men’s
attraction to women?
p. 170
Why are habits so hard to
p. 156
break?
Can objects, sights, and
smells associated with
sexual pleasure become
conditioned stimuli for
sexual arousal?
p. 159
Continued inside back cover.
Senior Publisher: Catherine Woods
Executive Editor: Kevin Feyen
Executive Marketing Manager: Katherine Nurre
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Credits for the cover, endpages, chapter beginnings, and
page 287 appear on p. xxxix, which constitutes an extension
of this copyright page.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010942207
ISBN-13: 978-1-4292-6394-8
ISBN-10: 1-4292-6394-6
© 2012, 2009 by Worth Publishers
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
All royalties from the sale of this book are assigned to the David
and Carol Myers Foundation, which exists to receive and distribute
funds to other charitable organizations.
Worth Publishers
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in everyday life
SECOND EDITION
David G. Myers
Hope College
Holland, Michigan
WORTH PUBLISHERS
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for Kevin Feyen, with gratitude for a decade
of superb support and faithful friendship
about the author
D
avid Myers received his psychology Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He
has spent his career at Hope College, Michigan, where he has taught
dozens of introductory psychology sections. Hope College students have
invited him to be their commencement speaker and voted him “outstanding
professor.” In 2010, Myers was named to the FABBS (Federation of Associations
in Behavioral and Brain Sciences) Foundation’s Gallery of Scientists—a program
that recognizes “scientists who have made important and lasting contributions to
the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior.” In 2011, he received the Society for
Personality and Social Psychology’s Award for Distinguished Service on Behalf
of Social-Personality Psychology.
With support from National Science Foundation grants, Myers’ scientific articles
have appeared in more than two dozen scientific periodicals, including Science,
American Scientist, Psychological Science, and the American Psychologist. In
addition to his scholarly writing and his textbooks for introductory and social
psychology, he also digests psychological science for
the general public. His writings have appeared in three
dozen magazines, from Today’s Educationto Scientific
American. He also has authored five general audience
books, including The Pursuit of Happiness and
Intuition: Its Powers and Perils.
David Myers has chaired his city’s Human
Relations Commission, helped found a
thriving assistance center for families
in poverty, and spoken to hundreds of
college and community groups.
Drawing on his experience, he also
has written articles and a book (A
Quiet World) about hearing loss, and he is advocating a
transformation in American assistive listening
technology (see www.hearingloop.org).
He bikes to work year-round and plays
daily pick-up basketball. David and Carol
Myers have raised two sons and a daughter.
In 2009, he and three of his family hiked
Scotland’s 95-mile West Highland Way.
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brief contents
Contents viii CHAPTER 9
Motivation and Emotion 236
Preface xiv
CHAPTER 10
Content Changes xxvii
Stress, Health, and Human
Time Management: Or, How to Flourishing 272
Be a Great Student and Still
CHAPTER 11
Have a Life! xxxiii
Personality 292
CHAPTER 1
Psychology’s Roots, Big Ideas, and CHAPTER 12
Critical Thinking Tools 1 Psychological Disorders 316
CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 13
The Biology of Mind and Therapy 350
Consciousness 26
CHAPTER 14
Social Psychology 376
CHAPTER 3
Developing Through the
APPENDIX A
Life Span 62 Psychology at Work 411
CHAPTER 4 APPENDIX B
Gender and Sexuality 100 Answers to The Big Picture
Questions 421
CHAPTER 5
Sensation and Perception 122
Glossary G-1
CHAPTER 6
Glosario GE-1
Learning 154
References R-1
CHAPTER 7
Memory 180 Name Index NI-1
CHAPTER 8 Subject Index SI-1
Thinking, Language, and
Intelligence 204
vii
contents
Preface xiv Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology 18
CLOSE-UP: How to Be a Better Student 22
Content Changes xxvii
Time Management: Or, How to Be a Great Student
and Still Have a Life! xxxiii
CHAPTER 2
The Biology of Mind and
Consciousness 26
CHAPTER 1
Psychology’s Roots, Big
Biology and Behavior 28
Ideas, and Critical
Neural Communication 28
Thinking Tools 1
A Neuron’s Structure 28
How Neurons Communicate 28
Psychology’s Roots 2
How Neurotransmitters Influence Us 29
Psychological Science Is Born 2
Contemporary Psychology 3 The Nervous System 30
The Peripheral Nervous System 31
Four Big Ideas in Psychology 5
The Central Nervous System 32
Big Idea 1: Critical Thinking Is Smart Thinking 5
Big Idea 2: Behavior Is a Biopsychosocial Event 5 The Endocrine System 33
Big Idea 3: We Operate With a Two-Track Mind The Brain 34
(Dual Processing) 7
Older Brain Structures 34
Big Idea 4: Psychology Explores Human Strengths as
CLOSE-UP: Tools of Discovery—Having Our Head
Well as Challenges 8 Examined 35
Why Do Psychology? 8 The Cerebral Cortex 39
The Limits of Intuition and Common Our Divided Brain 46
Sense 8
Brain States and Consciousness 49
The Scientific Attitude 10
Selective Attention 49
How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Sleep and Dreams 50
Questions? 11
The Scientific Method 11
Description 12
Correlation 13
Experimentation 15
viii