Introduction to Psychology

This text encourages students to develop critical-thinking skills while studying psychology's major theories and concepts. James Kalat teaches students to separate what sounds plausible from what can be backed up with scientific evidence and how to tell the difference between sound and flawed evidence. The book's modular organization provides logical breaks within chapters, helping students manage the material for comprehension and providing a more flexible teaching tool for instructors. Kalat's text gets students involved in using the scientific method to question assertions, and in engaging students to want to know more.

Table of Contents:
What is psychology?: The Goals of Psychologists. Psychology Then and Now. The Current Era In Psychology. Scientific methods in psychology: Science and the Evaluation of Evidence. Methods of Investigation in Psychology. Measuring and Analyzing Results. Appendix to Chapter 2. Statistical Calculations. Biological psychology: Psychological Explanations at the Level of the Gene. Explanations of Behavior at the Level of the Neuron. Explanations of Behavior at the Level of the Nervous System. Sensation and perception: Vision. The Nonvisual Senses. The Interpretation of Sensory Information. Altered states: Sleep and Dreams. Hypnosis. Drugs and Their Effects. Learning: Behaviorism. Classical Conditioning. Operant Conditioning. Social Learning. Memory: Types of Memory. Memory Improvement. Memory Loss. The Reconstruction of Memory. Cognition and language: Thinking and Mental Processes. Problem Solving, Expertise, and Error. Language. Intelligence and its measurement: Intelligence and Intelligence Tests. Evaluation of Intelligence Tests. Development: The Study of Early Development. The Development of Thinking and Reasoning. Social and Emotional Development. Growing Up the Same and Different: Temperament, Family, Gender, and Cultural Influences. Motivation: General Principles of Motivation. Motivation and Biological States: The Case of Hunger. Sexual Motivation. Achievement Motivation. Emotions, health psychology, and coping with stress: Emotional Behaviors. Health Psychology. Anger and Aggressive Behaviors. Coping with Stress. Personality: Theories of Personality. Personality Traits. Personality Assessment. Social psychology: Attitudes and Changing Attitudes. Social Perception and Cognition. Interpersonal Attraction. Interpersonal Influence. The Power of the Social Situation. Abnormal behaviour: An Overview of Abnormal Behavior. Anxiety and Avoidance Disorders. Substance-Related Disorders. Mood Disorders. Schizophrenia. Treatment of psychologically troubled people: Psychotherapy. Medical Therapies. Social and Legal Issues in the Treatment of Troubled People.

Review :
"I am constantly searching for a better textbook, one that would interest students and get them to actually read the book before class. I think this book would do this. The shorter modules are one advantage, but the visual graphics are truly exceptional. The many real-life examples should engage the students, and perhaps 'turn them on' to the idea of studying psychology. . . . I would say that this is one of the best Introduction to Psychology textbooks I have ever seen!" "It is comprehensive and does not over-simplify--my greatest problem with so many introductory texts. From the students' perspective, it is fun--but also clear enough and presented with enough examples and repetition so as to make learning almost certain. The fill-in-the-blank Concept Review and Summary Tests are fun to take and also an excellent way of reinforcing learning." "The main reason I first used this book was directly related to seeing Rod Plotnik's presentation on undergraduate teaching at a Teaching Psychology conference a few years ago. He is really committed to and focused on undergraduate education in psychology. What a refreshing change! . . . I found this text met all my criteria for content and so I decided to give it a try. The students loved it! In 25 years of teaching psychology, this was the first time I got student comments on my course evaluation that praised the textbook. This was amazing!" "The module approach is very useful in organizing lectures and more convenient for the student's study task than the longer chapter approach. The content is interesting as well as highly suitable for educational purposes. This is a difficult combination to achieve--interesting and educational at the same time. My better academic students as well as my more average students tell me how much they like the book. Plotnik somehow manages to appeal to both levels of students."