Highlights
A Better Balance of Biological and Social Psychology and Classic and Contemporary Research
Coverage of behavior’s biological components remains strong, but is balanced in the Second Edition with equal treatment of social and cultural psychology. The new, simplified "levels of analysis"—biological, individual, and social—enable students to think in a more integrative way about the forces of nature and nurture that influence human behavior. Classic and contemporary research and theories are better balanced in the Second Edition to demonstrate how the field constantly reexamines its basic principles and to reveal the cumulative nature of psychology as a science.
Emphasis on Core Principles
Psychological Science, Second Edition, places a premium on ideas rather than facts. Its underlying pedagogy, the "ask-and-answer" approach, enables this idea-driven presentation by organizing each chapter around a series of questions driving research today. The authors divide each chapter into major sections according to the questions they address—for example, "How Do We Understand Intelligence?"—while the sub-sections directly answer aspects of the question—for example, "General Intelligence Involves Multiple Components" and "Genes and Environment Both Influence Intelligence."
Cohering Psychological Themes
Four broad themes run throughout the text:
- "Psychological Science Is Cumulative,"
- "The Mind Is Adaptive,"
- "The New Biological Revolution," and
- "Behavior Can Be Explained at Multiple Levels of Analysis."
These themes help students link concepts and material across chapters and broaden their understanding of psychology.
New Critical Thinking Tools
The Second Edition adds rich new pedagogy to help students think critically. Each chapter features a new "Thinking Critically" section that includes a newspaper or magazine story on a provocative contemporary topic and prompts students to draw their own interpretations. In addition, marginal "Critical Thinking Questions" are placed throughout each chapter to ensure that students closely examine core principles. A new "Applying the Principles" feature challenges students to demonstrate that they understand how core psychological principles apply to real-world situations.
Psychology in Everyday Life
To further emphasize the relevance of psychological research to students’ lives, the Second Edition offers expanded examples and applications in each chapter, including new "Psychological Science in Action" units that highlight major areas of applied research and possible careers in psychology-related fields. Each chapter now opens with a relevant real-world story and includes a compelling "Profiles in Psychological Science" section focusing on the intersections of psychological science and people’s lives.
Copyright © 2005, W. W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.
XHTML, CSS, 508