Includes bibliographical references and indexes 1. Psychology and life -- What makes psychology unique? -- Psychology in your life : why study psychology -- The evolution of modern psychology -- What psychologists do -- Psychology in the 21st century : the future is now -- 2. Research methods in psychology -- The process of research -- Psychological measurements -- Ethical issues in human and animal research -- Becoming a wiser research consumer -- Psychology in the 21st century : psychological research and the information explosion -- Statistical supplement -- Analyzing the data -- Becoming a wise consumer of statistics -- 3. The biological and evolutionary bases of behavior -- Heredity and behavior -- Biology and behavior -- The nervous system in action -- Psychology in the 21st century : unlocking the "locked-in" brain -- Psychology in your life : how does music have an impact on how you feel? -- 4. Sensation and perception -- Sensing, organizing, identifying, and recognizing -- Sensory knowledge of the world -- The visual system -- Psychology in the 21st century : can technology restore sight? -- Hearing -- Your other senses -- Organizational processes in perception -- Psychology in your life : why is eating "hot" food painful? -- Identification and recognition processes -- 5. Mind, consciousness, and alternate states -- The contents of consciousness -- The functions of consciousness -- Psychology in your life : when do children acquire consciousness? -- Sleep and dreams -- Psychology in the 21st century : the 24/7 lifestyle and sleep -- Altered states of consciousness -- 6. Learning and behavior analysis -- The study of learning -- Classical conditioning : learning predictable signals -- Operant conditioning : learning about consequences -- Psychology in your life : spare the rod, spoil the child? -- Biology and learning -- Cognitive influences on learning 7. Memory -- What is memory? -- Sensory memory -- Short-term memory and working memory -- Long-term memory : encoding and retrieval -- Psychology in your life : how can memory research help you prepare for exams? -- Structures in long-term memory -- Biological aspects of memory -- Psychology in the 21st century : understanding Alzheimer's disease -- 8. Cognitive processes -- Studying cognition -- Language use -- Psychology in your life : can nonhuman animals learn language? -- Visual cognition -- Problem solving and reasoning -- Psychology in the 21st century : expert systems and medicine -- Judgment and decision making -- 9. Intelligence and intelligence assessment -- What is assessment? -- Intelligence assessment -- Psychology in the 21st century : assessment on the World Wide Web -- Theories of intelligence -- Psychology in your life : do theories of intelligence matter? -- The politics of intelligence -- Creativity -- Assessment and society -- 10. Human development across the life span -- Studying development -- Physical development across the life span -- Cognitive development across the life span -- Acquiring language -- Social development across the life span -- Psychology in your life : how does day care affect children's development? -- Gender development -- Moral development -- Learning to age successfully -- 11. Motivation -- Understanding motivation -- Eating -- Psychology in the 21st century : genes and obesity -- Sexual behaviors -- Motivation for personal achievement -- Psychology in your life : can psychology help find me a career? -- A hierarchy of needs -- 12. Emotion, stress, and health -- Emotions -- Psychology in your life : why are some people happier than others? -- Stress of living -- Health psychology -- Psychology in the 21st century : healthy people 13. Understanding human personality -- Type and trait personality theories -- Psychology in your life : why are some people shy? -- Psychodynamic theories -- Humanistic theories -- Social-learning and cognitive theories -- Self theories -- Comparing personality theories -- Psychology in the 21st century : the self on the Internet -- Assessing personality -- 14. Psychological disorders -- The nature of psychological disorders -- Classifying psychological disorders -- Psychology in your life : is "insanity" really a defense? -- Major types of psychological disorders -- Psychology in the 21st century : pinpointing interactions of nature and nurture -- Schizophrenic disorders -- The stigma of mental illness -- 15. Therapies for psychological disorders -- The therapeutic context -- Psychodynamic therapies -- Psychology in your life : are lives haunted by repressed memories? -- Behavior therapies -- Cognitive therapies -- Humanistic therapies -- Group therapies -- Biomedical therapies -- Psychology in the 21st century : therapies and brain activity -- Treatment evaluation and prevention strategies -- 16. Social cognition and relationships -- Constructing social reality -- Attitudes, attitude change, and action -- Psychology in your life : do late night TV ads really work? -- Prejudice -- Social relationships -- Psychology in the 21st century : relationships and the Internet -- 17. Social processes, society, and culture -- The power of the situation -- Psychology in your life : how do groups affect decision making? -- Altruism and prosocial behavior -- Aggression -- The psychology of conflict and peace -- A personal endnote -- Glossary -- References -- Name index -- Subject index -- Credits