Synopses & Reviews
Featuring a look and style that's more like a magazine than a textbook, Plotnik's INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, Tenth Edition will draw you in and show you how exciting the study of psychology can be. This modular, visual approach to the fundamentals of psychology--the pioneer of the "visual" or "magazine" style approach--makes even the toughest concepts engaging and entertaining. Each and every page is individually planned, written, and formatted to effectively incorporate the use of Visual Cues, which help you to better remember information. Extensively updated, the text also utilizes "chunking," a method of breaking concepts down into small, easily digested sections that help you learn at your own pace.
About the Author
Rod Plotnik earned his Ph.D. as a biological psychologist from the University of Florida and a post doctorate at Yale University. Early in his career, he realized the effectiveness of teaching students through visuals to get them excited about the material, a technique he utilizes throughout INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, now in its Tenth Edition (Cengage Learning, 2014). Haig Kouyoumdjian's interest in psychology was sparked when he used Rod Plotnik's INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY in his first psychology course. He later received a Master of Arts in psychology at San Diego State University, where he had the opportunity to work closely with Rod Plotnik, who at the time was a professor in the department and supervisor of the graduate teaching associates training program. Dr. Kouyoumdjian later earned his Ph.D. as a clinical psychologist from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He has been teaching undergraduate psychology courses and authoring introductory psychology textbooks ever since.
Table of Contents
Part I: PSYCHOLOGY'S FOUNDATIONS AND METHODS OF RESEARCH. 1. Discovering Psychology. 2. Psychology and Science. Part II: THE BRAIN, BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR. 3. Brain's Building Blocks. 4. Incredible Nervous System. Part III: SENSING AND PERCEIVING. 5. Sensation. 6. Perception. Part IV: CONSCIOUSNESS. 7. Sleep and Dreams. 8. Hypnosis and Drugs. Part V: LEARNING. 9. Classical Conditioning. 10. Operant and Cognitive Approaches. Part VI: MEMORY. 11. Types of Memory. 12. Remembering and Forgetting. Part VII: COGNITION. 13. Intelligence. 14. Thought and Language. Part VIII: MOTIVATION AND EMOTION. 15. Motivation. 16. Emotion. Part IX: The Developing Human. 17. Infancy and Childhood. 18. Adolescence and Adulthood. Part X: PERSONALITY. 19. Psychoanalytic and Humanistic Theories. 20. Social and Cognitive and Trait Theories. Part XI: HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY. 21. Health, Stress and Coping. Part XII: PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS. 22. Assessment and Anxiety Disorders. 23. Mood Disorders and Schizophrenia. 24. THERAPIES. Part XIII: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. 25. Social Cognition and Behavior.