The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View

Laura King did her undergraduate work at Kenyon College, where, an English major, she declared a second major, in psychology, during the second semester of her junior year. She completed her A.B. in English with high honors and distinction and in psychology with distinction in 1986. Laura then did graduate work at Michigan State University and the University of California, Davis, receiving her Ph.D. in personality psychology in 1991.Laura began her career at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, moving to the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 2001, where she is now a professor. In addition to seminars in the development of character, social psychology, and personality psychology, she has taught undergraduate lecture courses in introductory psychology, introduction to personality psychology, and social psychology. At SMU, she received six different teaching awards, including the M award for sustained excellence in 1999. At the University of Missouri, she received the Chancellors Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity in 2004.Her research, which has been funded by the National Institutes for Mental Health, has focused on a variety of topics relevant to the question of what it is that makes for a good life. She has studied goals, life stories, happiness, well-being, and meaning in life. In general, her work reflects an enduring interest in studying what is good and healthy in people. In 2001, her research accomplishments were recognized by a Templeton Prize in positive psychology. Lauras research (often in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate students) has been published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Cognition and Emotion, the Journal of Personality, and other publications . A new paper on the place of regrets in maturity is forthcoming in the American Psychologist.Currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Research in Personality, Laura has also served as associate editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, as well as on numerous grant panels. She has edited or co-edited special sections of the Journal of Personality and the American Psychologist. In real life, Laura is an accomplished cook and enjoys listening to music (mostly jazz vocalists and singer-songwriters), gardening, and chasing Sam, her 3-year-old son.

King, The Science of Psychology, Second EditionContentsPreface Chapter 1 What Is Psychology?Defining Psychology The Psychological Frame of MindCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Are Young Americans in the Middle of a Narcissism Epidemic?Psychology as the Science of All Human BehaviorPsychology in Historical PerspectiveWundt’s Structuralism and James’s FunctionalismDarwin’s Natural SelectionPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Explore Evolution from Giraffes to Human BeingsContemporary Approaches to PsychologyThe Biological ApproachThe Behavioral ApproachThe Psychodynamic ApproachThe Humanistic ApproachThe Cognitive ApproachThe Evolutionary ApproachThe Sociocultural ApproachSumming Up the Seven Contemporary ApproachesWhat Psychologists DoCareers in PsychologyAreas of SpecializationPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Questions That Psychology Specialists AskINTERSECTION Social Psychology and Cross-Cultural Psychology: Is Success Always Sweeter Than Failure?The Science of Psychology and Health and WellnessHow the Mind Impacts the BodyHow the Body Impacts the MindSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 2 Psychology’s Scientific MethodPsychology’s Scientific MethodStep 1. Observing Some PhenomenonStep 2. Formulating Hypotheses and PredictionsStep 3. Testing Through Empirical ResearchStep 4. Drawing ConclusionsStep 5. Evaluating the TheoryTypes of Psychological ResearchDescriptive ResearchCorrelational ResearchPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Miserable but Helpful?Experimental ResearchINTERSECTION Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology: Is High Self-Esteem Such a Good Thing?Applications of the Three Types of ResearchResearch Samples and SettingsThe Research SampleThe Research SettingPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Experimentation in a Natural SettingAnalyzing and Interpreting DataDescriptive StatisticsInferential StatisticsConducting Ethical ResearchEthics GuidelinesThe Place of Values in Psychological ResearchCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Would Reality TV Pass the Institutional Review Board?Thinking Critically About Psychological ResearchAvoid Overgeneralizing Based on Little Information Distinguish Between Group Results and Individual NeedsLook for Answers Beyond a Single StudyAvoid Attributing Causes When None Have Been FoundConsider the Source of Psychological InformationThe Scientific Method and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 3 Biological Foundations of BehaviorThe Nervous SystemCharacteristics of the Nervous SystemPathways in the Nervous SystemDivisions of the Nervous SystemNeuronsSpecialized Cell StructureThe Neural ImpulseSynapses and NeurotransmittersNeural NetworksStructures of the Brain and Their FunctionsHow Researchers Study the Brain and Nervous SystemHow the Brain Is OrganizedPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY The Brain in Different SpeciesThe Cerebral CortexCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Are Human Brains Uniquely Wired to Recognize Faces?The Cerebral Hemispheres and Split-Brain ResearchINTERSECTION Emotion and Neuroscience: Is Your Brain Happy?Integration of Function in the BrainThe Endocrine SystemBrain Damage, Plasticity, and RepairThe Brain’s Plasticity and Capacity for RepairBrain Tissue ImplantsGenetics and BehaviorChromosomes, Genes, and DNAThe Study of GeneticsPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY The Jim TwinsGenes and the EnvironmentPsychology’s Biological Foundations and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 4 Sensation and PerceptionHow We Sense and Perceive the WorldThe Processes and Purposes of Sensation and PerceptionPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Old Woman or Young Woman?Sensory Receptors and the BrainThresholdsPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Subliminal Perception: Working Up a ThirstSignal Detection TheoryPerceiving Sensory StimuliINTERSECTION Perception and Social Psychology: Was That a Gun or Car Keys?Sensory AdaptationExtrasensory PerceptionThe Visual SystemThe Visual Stimulus and the EyeVisual Processing in the BrainColor VisionPerceiving Shape, Depth, Motion, and ConstancyThe Auditory SystemThe Nature of Sound and How We Experience ItStructures and Functions of the EarCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Are Cochlear Implants a “Cure” for Deafness?Theories of HearingAuditory Processing in the BrainLocalizing SoundOther SensesThe Skin SensesThe Chemical SensesThe Kinesthetic and Vestibular SensesSensation, Perception, and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 5 States of ConsciousnessThe Nature of ConsciousnessDefining ConsciousnessConsciousness and the BrainLevels of AwarenessINTERSECTION Consciousness and Developmental Psychology: How Do We Develop a Sense of the Minds of Others?Sleep and DreamsBiological Rhythms and SleepWhy Do We Need Sleep?Stages of Wakefulness and SleepPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Taking a Ride on the Sleep CyclesSleep and DiseaseSleep DisordersDreamsPsychoactive DrugsPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Drug Use by American TeenagersUses of Psychoactive DrugsTypes of Psychoactive DrugsCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Should Illicit Psychoactive Drugs Be Legalized for Medical Use?HypnosisThe Nature of HypnosisExplaining HypnosisUses of HypnosisConsciousness and Health and Wellness: MeditationMindfulness MeditationThe Meditative State of MindGetting Started with MeditationSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 6 LearningTypes of LearningClassical ConditioningPavlov’s StudiesPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY From Acquisition to Extinction (to Spontaneous Recovery)Classical Conditioning in HumansOperant ConditioningDefining Operant ConditioningThorndike’s Law of EffectSkinner’s Approach to Operant ConditioningShapingINTERSECTION Behaviorism and Cognitive Neuroscience: If It Feels Good, Is It Rewarding? Principles of ReinforcementPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Schedules of Reinforcement and Different Patterns of RespondingCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Will Sparing the Rod Spoil the Child?Applied Behavior AnalysisObservational LearningCognitive Factors in LearningPurposive BehaviorInsight Learning Biological, Cultural, and Psychological Factors in LearningBiological ConstraintsCultural InfluencesPsychological ConstraintsLearning and Health and WellnessWhat Can a Rat Tell Us About Stress?SummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 7 MemoryThe Nature of MemoryMemory EncodingAttentionLevels of ProcessingElaborationImageryMemory StorageSensory MemoryShort-Term MemoryPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY The Inner Workings of Working MemoryLong-Term MemoryINTERSECTION Memory and Sensation: Why Does Smell Share a Special Relationship with Memory?Memory RetrievalSerial Position EffectPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Don’t Mess with Mr. In-BetweenRetrieval Cues and the Retrieval TaskSpecial Cases of RetrievalCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Memories: Recovered, Discovered, or False?ForgettingEncoding FailureRetrieval FailureStudy Tips from the Science of Memory Memory and Health and WellnessKeeping Memory SharpMemory and Everyday LifeSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 8 Thinking, Intelligence, and LanguageThe Cognitive Revolution in PsychologyThinkingConceptsProblem SolvingPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Thinking Outside the BoxReasoning and Decision MakingThinking Critically and CreativelyINTERSECTION Emotion and Cognition: How Are You Feeling and Thinking Today?IntelligenceMeasuring IntelligencePSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY The Normal CurveGenetic and Environmental Influences on IntelligenceExtremes of IntelligenceTheories of Multiple IntelligencesLanguageThe Basic Properties of LanguageLanguage and CognitionCRITICAL CONTROVERSY Does Gender Influence Language?Biological and Environmental Influences on LanguageLanguage Development over the Life SpanThinking, Problem Solving, and Health and WellnessCognitive Appraisal and StressCognitive ReappraisalSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 9 Human DevelopmentExploring Human DevelopmentResearch Methods in Developmental PsychologyHow Do Nature and Nurture Influence Development
?CRITICAL CONTROVERSY Genes or Superparents: Which Matters More to Kids?What Is the Developer’s Role in Development?Are Early or Later Life Experiences More Important in Development?Child DevelopmentPrenatal DevelopmentPhysical Development in ChildhoodCognitive Development in ChildhoodPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Thinking Critically About Object PermanenceSocioemotional Development in ChildhoodINTERSECTION Developmental Psychology and Clinical Psychology: Is “Girl Talk” Always a Good Thing?AdolescencePhysical Development in AdolescenceCognitive Development in AdolescenceSocioemotional Development in Adolescence: The Emergence of IdentityPSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Looking at Identity ExplorationEmerging Adulthood, Adult Development, and AgingEmerging AdulthoodPhysical Development in AdulthoodCognitive Development in AdulthoodSocioemotional Development in AdulthoodHuman Development and Health and WellnessCoping and Adult DevelopmentLife Themes and Life-Span DevelopmentSummaryKey TermsApply Your KnowledgeChapter 10 Motivation and Emotion1. Theories of Motivation2. Hunger, Obesity, and Eating Disorders3. Beyond Hunger: Approaches to Motivation in Everyday Life4. Emotion5. Motivation, Emotion, and Health and Wellness: The Pursuit of HappinessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 11, Gender and Sexuality1. Defining Sex and GenderSex and Its Biological ComponentsGenderThe Role of GenesDisorders of Sexual Development2. Theories of Gender Development Biological ApproachesEvolutionary Psychology ApproachesSocial Cognitive ApproachesSocial Role TheoryEvaluating the Theoretical Approaches to Gender3. The Psychology of Gender DifferencesInfant Sex DifferencesCognitive DifferencesGender Differences in Aggression Gender Differences in Sexuality Evaluating the Evidence for Gender4. Sexual Orientation Defining Sexual OrientationMeasuring Sexual OrientationOccurrence of the Different Sexual OrientationsOrigins of Sexual Orientation: A Scientific PuzzleGay and Lesbian FunctioningIndividual Adjustment and Well-BeingRelationship FunctioningGay and Lesbian Families5. Sexual Behaviors, Practices, and AttitudesSexual BehaviorsSexual PracticesThe Human Sexual Response PatternCognitive and Other Factors in Sexual Behavior and Attitudes 6. Gender and Sexual Variations and Disorders Transgender: A Variation of Gender IdentityVariations in Sexual BehaviorVariations, Disorders, and the Meaning of Normality7. Gender, Sexuality, and Health and Wellness Sexual Behavior and Physical HealthSexual Behavior and Psychological Well-BeingSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge
Chapter 12, Personality1. Psychodynamic Perspectives2. Humanistic Perspectives3. Trait Perspectives4. Personological and Life Story Perspectives5. Social Cognitive Perspectives6. Biological Perspectives7. Personality Assessment8. Personality and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 13, Social Psychology1. Social Cognition2. Social Behavior3. Social Influence4. Intergroup Relations5. Close Relationships6. Social Psychology and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 14, Industrial and Organizational Psychology1. Origins of I/O Psychology2. Industrial Psychology3. Organizational Psychology4. Organizational Culture5. I/O Psychology and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 15, Psychological Disorders1. Defining and Explaining Abnormal Behavior2. Anxiety Disorders3. Mood Disorders4. Eating Disorders5. Dissociative Disorders6. Schizophrenia7. Personality Disorders8. Psychological Disorders and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 16, Therapies1. Biological Therapies2. Psychotherapy3. Sociocultural Approaches and Issues in Treatment4. The Effectiveness of Psychotherapy5. Therapies and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge

Chapter 17, Health Psychology1. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine2. Making Positive Life Changes3. Resources for Effective Life Change4. Toward a Healthier Mind (and Body): Controlling Stress5. Toward a Healthier Body (and Mind): Behaving as If Your Life Depends upon It6. Integrating Psychology and Health and WellnessSummaryKey TermsApply Your Knowledge